In this entry, we will show you pictures of babies hatching. All birds hatch the same way. They all start off in an egg. This picture shows a pip. A pip is a small hole in the egg shell caused by the baby. Once they pip, they start breathing. It sounds like tapping. When there are a bunch of them pipping, it will sound like popping popcorn. But, it doesn't smell like yummy popcorn. Trust us. This baby is zipping along. Zipping means a baby cracks a ring around the egg. They do this so they can get out of the egg. When they zip, they're turning around inside the egg. Just like mammals, they have umbilical cords. Their umbilical cords connect them to the egg. When they turn in the egg, they're closing off the blood vessels so they don't bleed after being born. This is an example of what it looks like when the baby has completely zipped the egg and almost came out. At this point, it's important to not help them. If someone does, the baby might be weak. Pushing the egg open helps to make the baby stronger and the ones that can't hatch themselves won't be born. If they can't hatch themselves, it means they're not strong enough, usually because of a genetic or developmental problem or weakness. This baby is completely out of the egg. It still has some shell pieces stuck to its back, which is perfectly fine and normal. When they came out of the egg, they are wet and kind of small. Their feathers look like hairs or fur. But, they dry off and get fluffy. This can take a little time, depending on humidity (moisture in the air). This is a quail, but it hatched the same way as a chicken. This baby's feathers are starting to dry. When they're first born, they're very clumsy. They don't really know how to walk. They have to learn and practice. These are quail, again, but act the same as chickens after they hatch. They are social animals, so they like to stick together. If they're alone, or they think they're alone, they make high-pitched peeps to try to find someone. It is during this time that they start to make friends. Chickens and quail have best friends, just like us!
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The babies are just over a week old. They seem to mature faster with mama. In this picture, you can see how babies go under their mom. They go under mom to stay warm and protected. Believe it or not, these are not all of her babies. This is only about half of them. The others are under her, probably sleeping. Sometimes, babies like to poke their heads out and look around from the safety of their mom. Here you can see that this baby has wing feathers. It's only a week old. When we raised babies, they tend to grow slower and die more. But, when mama takes care of them, they grow faster and rarely die.
Right now, mama wants to keep her babies away from her flock. This is because, sometimes, the flock kills babies. If there are too many roosters, the first babies that will die are the young males. If food is too scarce, the flock might kill and/or eat the babies. This is because, if there are too many roosters, there aren't enough hens for everyone and too many roosters results in hens dying from being over-bred. If there isn't enough food, the babies die first because adults can always make more babies, but they can't make more adults. By living this way, the flock is more able to survive and be stronger and healthy. Chickens aren't the only animals to live this way. Most animals that live in social groups do this, like hippos, elephants, lions, and even ants. As promised, we are doing a whole entry about babies. Not just any babies, Nipper's babies! Enjoy the pictures!
When a chicken is frizzled, that means its feathers curve out away from the body. This is caused by a genetic mutation. Any breed can be frizzled, but we only have two frizzled cochin. It's very rare because it's a recessive gene--that means, that it can be passed on, but most likely, it won't. Frizzle hens and frizzle roosters cannot reproduce with each other. If they do, their babies will die. But, a frizzle and a smooth can reproduce easily without problems. Only about 10% of the babies will be frizzled from this pair. This is Fluffers. He is an example of a smooth-feathered cochin. Goldie is a smooth cochin, as well. Grey Boy is, yet again, a smooth cochin. Liberace is Fluffer's brother. But, he is a frizzled cochin. Oswald is another frizzled cochin. It's very easy to see on him how curved the feathers are. Being a frizzle doesn't really effect their life, but mostly just their appearance. Their feathers aren't as waterproof as smooth chickens. And, they are more likely to get a sunburn because the feathers curl up and show some of their skin. Though, they typically don't get burned, but they can.
We haven't had any frizzled babies, yet. But, maybe one day we will. |
Just two brothers
Nanners & Mashers are brothers who just want to share their birds with the world. Archives
April 2016
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