WHOOPING CRANE CHICK: DAY 02 |
|
Our
chick is warm and comfortable in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). His legs
are not as swollen and he's
strong enough to sit up and eat a little. He's walking, but he's still
uncoordinated and his legs and feet don't always do what he wants them
to. You can see his white leg band in the picture and make out his
number -- 018. He is our thirteenth whooper chick this year, and our
eighteenth crane chick. (We've also hatched 5 Florida sandhill crane
chicks.) The ICU is made of clear plexiglass so he can see out. In
front
of the chick is a whooping crane puppet head that is small enough to
stay in the ICU with him. This helps with proper imprinting (an
attachment the chick develops for whoever feeds and cares for him).
When
young chicks sleep in the ICU they often cuddle up to this puppet. We
can also use this smaller puppet to start feeding the chick right in
the
ICU. The puppet has a plastic molded crane head, glass eyes, and is
covered with felt that won't unravel if the chick picks at it. The red
tip on the bill helps the chick focus on it when we use it to feed him.
Check on our chick tomorrow! |
Cool Facts: Teaching a chick to eat and drink: Whooper parents catch food for their chicks all day long. At Patuxent, the chicks' human parents have it a little easier. We feed the chicks a prepared diet called Crane Chick Starter Crumbles. It's a green-gray pelleted food that looks a little like rabbit food, that's crushed into a crumbled form. The diet is a balanced formula, with everything in it the chick needs to grow.
See this page for more
cool facts each day. |
Click
here to ask questions about our chick or Patuxent's crane program. Patuxent
("Tux" for short) - for the name of our Research Center *This contest was run in May, 2000. If you follow the progress of the chick you will find out the results. |
Hatch Day (Click on numbered links to view other egg (negative numbers) and chick days).
To check on updates after day 14, go to whooper's
home.