The Trials of Life.
So...just when we thought everything was going well...when we checked on Sheng-Mu and her chicks this morning we were horrified to see that she was not sitting on them. All we could see was a flattened mass of feathers that were barely moving and a few eggs.We found Sheng huddled outside in a corner of the Chickery looking very unwell. We don't know how long she had been there but two other chicks had hatched since we had checked the day before.Sheng was so weak that she hardly tried to getaway from Will when he went into collect her. We put her back with the chicks but she was just didn't respond to them.We got a box, removed the chicks from the nest and placed them under a lamp. 
"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
"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
Sheng perked up a bit and we tried putting the chicks back with her for the night but while she seemed to be responding more to them she didn't seem concerned that some were trying to snuggle under her but she seemed to just ignore them. We decided to take the chicks back and put them back in the box under the lamp for the night but we have left her sitting on the remaining 6 eggs.As it stands now we have Sheng on 6 eggs in a mite dusted crate with fresh sawdust and straw out the back and eight chicks in the box. We have lost three of the chicks during the day and a couple of others are looking weak but we have at least four that appear to be stronger that have been feeding and drinking. 
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!
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!