Badger Galore
Staying ‘Up Over’ for a while.
We all did it!
So...Sheng Mu is being a 'Mummy' again and doing a great job. All eight chicks, even those two who were faltering, are doing well!
Further trials.
So...I did not get much sleep last night. Two of the chicks were weaker than the others and I had read that a mixture of egg yolk and water was good for reviving them. I was up until about 2.30 am trying to get the 'reviving mixture' into whoever would take it. I was also keeping an eye on the temperature in the box which of course got cooler as the night went on. Eventually I found that half covering the box with a blanket kept the temperature around 36 degrees.Sheng spent the night in her box sat on the eggs and was reluctantly removed from them this morning to wander freely, feed and build up her strength.We put the eggs back in the box with the chicks under the light and both headed off to work.I nipped home at lunchtime and found the light had gone out. The chicks were all huddled together to keep warm. At first I thought our power had gone off or the fuse had tripped but that didn't seem to be the case. The bulb had obviously blown. I took the chicks out into the sun and rang next door to see if they were in and rushed over and got a spare bulb from them. Our neighbours middle son, Jarrah, came back with me because he wanted to see the chicks. Sheng had heard the chicks in the box and was squawking and trying to get to them. It sounded like she was wanting to look after them again so I tried to catch her but whereas yesterday she just sat lethargically today I couldn't get near her. I didn't have time to chase her. We tried the new bulb which glowed briefly and then went out. I couldn't get it lit. I had to get back to work so Jarrah took the box back next door to keep an eye on them and I headed back to work.We collected them tonight. The boys next door had looked after them well and had given them all names. Even the two weak chicks from last night were a lot perkier. Will had picked up some new bulbs so we got the light going again.We caught Sheng after dark. She is much like her old self though still looking pale but she has got her wits back. We moved her into the Chickery and have put the chicks back under her. She seems to be caring for them well so far. Let's hope our trials are over.Tomorrow we head to Brisbane. On Sunday Phoebe is flying up from Canberra to spend the week with us.
The Trials of Life.
"Shall I get the eggs too?" I asked Will."We might as well" he said.Collecting the 7 unhatched eggs from the nest they felt very cold in my hand and I was convinced we were too late to save them. In fact I was convinced that the chicks wouldn't make it either as they were all limp and pretty lifeless. All ten chicks now in the box were still breathing though one in particular looked very weak. Under the heat they seemed to perk up a bit and started to lift their heads a bit.We went out and forced Sheng some to take some 'honey water'. We suspected that it was the mites again that had weakened her. Her comb was very pale and she was very thin. We left her sitting under the Mandarin tree with some water and food but she didn't look well at all.Back in the box the very weak chick had died but the others seemed to be coming round more.I had to head off to the 'Book Cave', I was working from 10.00 until 6.00 today. Will was supposed to go in and turn the cheeses at the Cheese Factory but he stayed home with the chicks and Sheng. He nipped into town briefly for some mite killing powder and dusted Sheng with it when he got back.Amazingly this afternoon another of the eggs hatched
It has turned out much better than I thought it would after seeing that sorry sight first thing this morning. Let's hope we can save as many as possible and the lovely Sheng too!
