The little sickie of the half dozen chicks we bought today was lay down and breathing hard when I went out to check on it. I held it and tried to see if some water and feed would help it along, but to no avail. It finally looked up at me and its leg stretched out, and its eyes lost their life. It was so small, it only took about five minutes for the rigor to set in, and I was sure then that had definitely passed.
It is sad to have such a frail little life go right in the hand like that. I had hoped for these chicks to be pets. I was hopeful it would recover and live out a long life here, but alas, it was not to be.
So we will carry on with the five which remain, all seeming quite energetic and strong. I had predicted this one would die while we were on the way home with it. But the others give no sign they are on such a path. They appear well. The one that died bent its neck back a couple of times before it went. I don’t think it was a sign of rye neck, but it may have been, so I will be watching the others for symptoms of it.
