The toughest new addition to the Moody Gardens penguin exhibit has been named after the toughest athlete in the Houston area – Texans defensive star J.J. Watt.
Watt, a baby King Penguin who hatched earlier this month, suffered an injury shortly after breaking out of his shell. Under the care of Moody Gardens biologists, Watt proved he was one tough chick and made a quick recovery. He is back on exhibit, joining the nearly 100 penguins housed in the Aquarium Pyramid.
“The little chick braved through it all,” said Moody Gardens assistant curator Diane Olsen. “It was an injury we had to keep an eye on, and our staff did a good job taking care of it.”
Olsen said she’s not completely sure how Watt suffered the injury, a cut on his back, but said it was likely caused by a squabble between the parent and another penguin. Penguins are extremely protective of their young and will fight those that appear to be a threat to their chick.
Galveston veterinarian Dr. Richard Henderson closed the wound after Watt was injured. From there, Moody Gardens Vet Tech Karen Holcroft and the rest of the penguin biologists treated him until the injury was healed.
“You always have to be worried about infection and stuff,” Olsen said. “We cleaned the wound and weighed him twice a day. We watched it very carefully.”
J.J. Watt is the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year and one of the most popular athletes in Houston. He was drafted by the Texans in 2011 out of Wisconsin, and quickly became known as one of the toughest players in the franchise’s history.
Olsen said that like all other chicks, the new King penguin will only be on exhibit with its parents for a limited time. Although adult penguins are expert swimmers, babies must be kept safely away from the exhibit waters until they become water savvy.
The gender of the young chick is still unknown because penguins are not sexually dimorphic, meaning it is impossible to tell male and female penguins apart based solely on looks. While away from the exhibit, blood tests will be done to determine the sex of the hatchling.
MOODY GARDENS KING PENGUIN HISTORY
King Penguins originally arrived in Galveston in 1998, when a group of staff members from the Aquarium at Moody Gardens joined biologists and other professionals from Chile, France and the United States on an expedition to South Georgia Island in the Antarctic to collect eggs. The eggs were gathered during the fall breeding season and then transported to Galveston and hatched prior to the opening of the Aquarium Pyramid in May 1999.
Moody Gardens has a successful breeding program, with 15 King Penguin chicks hatched since 2003. There has been a total six chicks hatched overall among the King, Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins this breeding season. This is the first King to hatch this year.
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Baby
Chickens Hatchery in
Shelby, Michigan
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Baby Chicks And Ducks in
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Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Shelby Michigan
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Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
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Baby
Chickens Hatchery in
Shelby, Michigan
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is
necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put
in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce
enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to
buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you
choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship
and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
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experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks
but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all
those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait
was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Shelby,
Michigan Baby chicks are very
adorable as well as
hard to withstand,
but it's finest to prepare for their
arrival before you get them. Prepare initially
by gathering not only the
correct materials, but
likewise the correct
expertise to care for
them. Raising baby chicks is fairly
easy, you simply need
to provide them with the following: A
clean and cozy
habitat Plenty of food and water Interest and also
love Environment Your habitat could be a
simple box, fish tank,
cat service provider, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels and
blankets (without any loose
strings!) to begin, as well as after a
couple of weeks make use of straw over paper.
Keep in mind: Avoid making use of only
newspaper or various other slipper
surface areas-- or your chicks legs can grow
malformed. You additionally need
something to serve up food and also
water in, such as a chicken feeder and also water
meal from the feed store, or a pickle jar
cover for food as well as a pet dog bird water dispenser from a pet shop. Additionally, as the chicks get
older you can introduce a perch
right into the environment to obtain them
trained on setting down. Heat To
maintain your chicks warm you need to
offer them with a warmth source.
This could be as basic as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from an equipment store, or an infrared reptile heat
light bulb also work extremely well (my
suggestion). Chicks require this
warmth 24/7 till their downy fluff is
replaced with feathers (which can occupy to 2 months). The newly
hatched require a temperature level
between 90 and also 100 degrees,
and also each week this can
be reduced by
approximately 5 degrees approximately. The warmth resource must get on just one side of the cage
to allow chicks a variety of
temperatures. The chicks are your finest
thermometer- if they are hiding in the
opposite corner of your heat
lamp, you should
reduce the temperature. If
they are surrounding each other under the
heat (not just cuddling),
you have to include some heat.
House cleaning
Cleanliness is vital and also it keeps your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make sure to change
the bedding
frequently as well as
constantly provide tidy
food as well as water Food as well as water.
Chicks expand extremely quick
which requires lots of tidy
food as well as water. Provide
enough at all times and also check
frequently to prevent dehydrated and
starving chicks. Chick food is various than adult chicken food, as well as it can be found in both medicated as well as non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
first 2 months, after that
switch to a grower food (~ 17 %
healthy protein) for an additional 2 months,
and afterwards to a slightly
lower healthy protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have layers). Dirt Some chicks like to get a running start on taking
dust baths, while others will not take
up that task till they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
enclosure, present a tray of sand or
dirt for them to wash in.
Interest and also love There are a couple of benefits to spending time with your chicks. To start
with, they will more than likely bond with you as well as
not escape as adults. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily and also
see their actions, you can
catch health problem or other issues previously. Watch out for wheezing, hopping, or
various other harmful
signs. Make certain to
also look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels can bring about matted plumes and also blocked cloaca.
Last but not least, it is necessary to look out
for social concerns, such as the
littlest chick getting teased. Empty nest syndrome So your
chicks are now completely feathered
as well as its time for them to leave the
security of your residence
as well as move outside into a cage. Look into our
part on chicken cages to find out
more
concerning coops and also
appropriate cage environments.
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