This little turkey had a rough start. Right from the start – he could not keep his head still, it rolled and rolled as though he was in need of an exorcism. He kept launching himself upwards and the propulsion of his body would flip him right over onto his back and there he would lay, his two flat feet waving about frantically, his head swaying from side to side but unable to right himself. He is a big bird – the last one to be hatched. But his equilibrium was totally out of wack. 
So I wrapped him in a cotton hanky, swaddling him like a baby, then after a drink of water I propped him inside the hot mother box on his tummy, legs tucked under,wings tucked in, head in place. So he was forced to sit correctly, with his head and body held in position by the fabric. Countless times I did this, countless times he wriggled out and was found upside down again. So I would give him another drink, wrap him up again and prop him back in place. By the second evening I began to think that he was not going to make it, that he would give up trying to control the awful dizziness in his head. That he would die of relief.
But yesterday morning six little turkeys came out when they heard my voice. The sick one had recovered and was walking all by himself. The hanky abandoned in the back of the box. So we have six turkeys and three peachicks hatched and recovered. I candled the last three eggs and they have not developed.
So today I will scrub the incubator clean and load it up again with peachick eggs. Pania has been sitting on them so they are already cooking giving me an approximate date. I will give her some newer ones that I have saved from Mrs Flowers. 
This is Tui wearing her hot day kimono. Tui does not Lay or Sit, she has no time for that kind of domestic stuff.
Carlotta and her two peachick siblings are growing exceptionally fast. Carlotta must be a piebald chick.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farm
celic
The Kitchen's Garden 
32 responses to “Flipper”
What a beautiful chick!
Glad your little turkey buddy is ok. It knew Miss C believed in him/her and didn’t want to let her down. That little peachick might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! Pania does such a good job of looking after the eggs, Tui is content to be the auntie who spoils the little ones. We had a cat with a litter of kittens, but she abandoned them–her mama raised her own litter as well as her daughter’s.
Good to hear that the last Turkey chick is ok! Your TLC did the trick 😃
Celi, you and Boo are in a class all of your own when it comes to caring for the weakest links on the Farmy. Thankfully the tender care worked for little Flipper.
It was a wing and a prayer – literally! have a lovely day Granny mar.. c
Well, the wing, prayer and cotton hanky did the trick. Have a lovely Sinday. At 07:30 mine is looking bright!
amazing recovery; hope he will be fine
Flipper, and Carlotta (clever!)… I love your naming creativity. Feathered chicks of any sort are just too cute, I can see why Boo is a little OTT.
Hmmm: first she brought up five children, now Miss C is swaddling turkey chicks! Truly hope all that caring works, sad if the feisty baby had to be put down . . . Any news from Fede?
The feisty baby is off and running and Fede is home again – he missed the farmy bless him and did not stay in the city one moment more than he had to.. c
As I read this I remembered “Harold” (who turned out to be a female mourning dove) who fell from her nest in an autumn storm. She was in pin feathers with head and neck issues. For a couple of weeks I thought she would not make it as she held her head in a strange sideways position. Then one day she was right as rain, and she flourished in our home over the winter and released in early spring. She was a success story… and it just goes to show that there is self-healing in nature! I love that photo and comment on Tui! How hilarious!! 😀
I’m amazed by (1) the endless stream of ailments and weird defects that show up in nature and (2) how a little care and time can right most of them.