Penguin Rescue Update

Our oldest chicks. They died the next morning

​Hello friends and family
The honeymoon period lasted for a week. On Sunday we found our first case of Diphtheria and found our first dead chick. The dead chick was sent to Dunedin for autopsy, and the sick chicks were treated. We were halfway through hatching. Things were getting busy.

The reward for waking up early

​It got worse. On Wednesday we found 4 dead chicks. The 4 oldest chicks were dead in their nests. Only one was in a fit state to go for an autopsy. We consoled the parents with a dummy egg and looked at adoption options going forward.

The rogue Sea lion is back killing fur seals

​On Friday, we found another 4 dead chicks. What to do?
I phoned Jim at DOC to update him on events, and we agreed to talk on Monday afternoon, to decide if we will change tack and take our chicks to the wildlife hospital.

the 'before' photo. next week the hedge will be gone.

Yesterday the first 2 chicks we checked were both dead. Fortunately, the rest were okay.
Currently we have 25 live chicks and 14 dead ones. They mostly die between 4 and 9 days old. Most of the live ones are under 5 days old so these are challenging times. The cause of death is a Gyrovirus called Respitory Distress Syndrome (RDS). It is carried in the chick in the egg and is triggered by stress. It can only be confirmed by autopsy and shows up as red compressed lungs. Our plan was to manage it by minimising the stress at the nest. We reduced our monitoring, but that has not solved the problem. In a week the worst of this will be over.
Have the best week you can!
Rosalie