Michigan - Page 3771  

A lot of things can affect the hatchability of eggs.  Are you sure that the eggs from your hens were fertile?  How old were the eggs?  Shipped eggs often have detached air cells.  I wouldn't despair you probably didn't do anything wrong.

 

 

Oh that was disturbing to me, as well...I think I was traumatized.

adorable Jen! I have showgirl eggs in the incubator....

 

continued prayers for this little guy...

soooooooooooooo cute!

Good Morning, Sam!

 

 

I was outside talking to my new neighbors yesterday..the people renting behind me. The girl/woman walked to the fence. The men stayed up by the house. My dog hates them..he usually calms down when I tell him its okay, or I start talking to people- because he really is a sweet big goof of a dog..not this time. He HATESSSSSSS the men behind me. I tend to trust my dog- so guess I will keep these guys in my radar. He wouldnt stop that low throaty growl and stare. She asked if she could pet him and for the first time in his life, I had to decline- because he wouldnt break focus on the men. 

The girl/woman..says to me "Those are the cutest ducks I have ever seen..." heh heh..I couldnt help it. I said, "They are chickens." ...and she said, "OH, and those are her babies?"  

Here's your sign~ Bill Engvall.....

 

So, to cover myself as usual, I let her know that most of them arent staying. They go to my brother in law, I told her...I let that one raise them to a certain size then off they go...

Mental list- get that **** privacy fence...make it most top priority.

 

My scary dog:

 

 

Edited by Mom 2em All - 3/25/12 at 3:59am

I started with 42 took out 16 after the first 10 days and 2 more at lockdown.  I ended up with 12, but since all of them were shipped eggs I'm going to call it good.  I had 3 die in the shell this time.  They pipped then it looked like too much liquid in the egg and it hardened up and stuck them right where they were. I know it's the eggs not the incubator because I tested 5 of our eggs and all 5 hatched.

 

sitting here posting watching the sparrows go through my run fence to get feedthink I will start puttig the bird net around the run. little buggers seem to be going more after spill on the ground, but know it wont stay that way.....course I will spend all that time bird netting the fence and they will fly in the door that I leave open so the hens can come and go

 

 

Angie if you had that fine sawdust I think you could be right it could be the problem,,, the fine stuff is like a powder and it could plug them up,

 

 

 

my daughter had some escape last year and get in a tree then we had an ice storm and their feet froze to the tree. tried to jump down in the AM and lost a foot, 

hobbled around for some time with 1 foot, 
 

 

hadn't heard of the rice before, good idea,,,, I work with a guy says they are good for 3-5yrs if kept cold

 

 

Opa do you keep your chicks outside?  I have mine in a tractor pushed up by the house, covered most air vents to keep the heat in did fine last night but I am a bit concerned about the cold temps. I have 2 heat lamp in there as the first day I had trouble getting the temp up, only had the 250 on last night. can turn another 250 on ore a 150   don't want them to freeze but don't really want them inside either

 

mom2

had sweet beagle at one time we had piano movers come in and he tried to take their leg off,     I would trust the dogs instinct, they often have good vibes especially if they are normally friendly

Cute dog Mom2!!
 

OMG that is terrible!! I think I would be traumatized by this.

Good morning Opa,

Not sure if my hen wad fertile at the time. Not a problem with my rooster, my other hens eggs have live chicks, he just seems to ...um...prefer her over the other hen I guess. All my eggs were less than 10 days old. Broke all of them open to see. Most of the shipped eggs had started growing, but quit some early, some had more developed embryos, some had what I wasn't sure was a blood ring or just poor vein development. This is only my second time incubating eggs so a little unsure.....Trying to research and gain as much knowledge as I can.
Thank-you for the encouragement. I'll keep trying. Just hope it goes right soon...hatching eggs are expensive.
Edited by Elliemae 77 - 3/25/12 at 6:23am

I agree Mom, keep an eye on those guys.  I trust my dog's instincts with people 100%.  As you know, they hear, smell, see and feel things we can't.  My big mastiff was friendly with almost everyone but one day when I was having my front porch built they had to call in an extra helper who hadn't been there before.  Otis took one look at him and started a low throaty growl and would not take his eyes off the guy.  I don't know why he reacted that way, but I trusted him and asked the builder not to have him come back.  Not only did I not trust the guy, but I didn't want to keep Big O in the house and I didn't want a law suit if he got bit.  The other guys all loved Otis and he spent the day laying in the shade watching them work or walking around getting pats and compliments from them.  Your guy looks scarey so they probably won't try to come in your yard, but I always worried about someone throwing poision or antifreeze in the yard to get rid of the dog.  Some people are just evil and dogs can sense it. 
 

 

Elliemae, 

 

Check out this link for great hatching tips and tricks with shipped eggs..

 

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatchability-hints-and-secrets-from-the-mahonri-2012-easter-hatchathon

 

 

Yep, snowflake and Chickmate, living in this drug-ridden low income neighborhood and Little Detroit on the corner- where they give you dirty looks if you happen to stop at the stop sign and look that direction (for cars coming) while they are at one of the many many cars that stop there...I trust my dog above all. He loves everyone but he has the scariest growl and bark. Usually, he will sound like a scary guard dog but once I am talking or if the person starts talking to him, he is a giant wiggle. Not so with these two men that hung by their house- and didnt come to the fence... so, its okay for them to fear him.  Looking back, I believe the woman came to talk at fence as a distraction from whatever they were doing. 

 

I found two dead chicks- my four weekers. My fault and I feel bad. I got a little lax at making sure they were locked up tight. You know, a few days of them staying close to the coop- and the big hens out free ranging..and I got lax. Whatever got them- got them through their back and left their bodies by the fence in back and beside the garage/fence. 

 

I kind of blame my golden retreiver. He is good when we are out there, but very interested in the tennis balls "rolling around". The only plus is it was two little cockerels. 

taprock, wow i can't believe you got them all to sit still, and managed to not get poop in the picture :D

 

chickmate, i had the same thing happen, only it was  with coons..... not even sure if they hibernated this year, so i am on guard already......

also at our local auction people carry the birds this way all the time. I was shocked at how they were so rough trying to yank the birds out of the cage, and it always took them a minute, the whole while the birds were literally screaming help! help!  Eyes popped and jaws dropped when i went to my cage and calmly grabbed my bird out by the body, pressing the wings so she didn't flap, tucked her head under my arm, and walked out. no cage, no fuss. Most of those fools didn't even know there WAS an easier way. Never met a bird that didn't calm down when i tucked it under my arm. Even if you are going to eat them, why treat them badly?  Because of this, the only way out around here is the long walk. I'd rather they died in peace at my house than in fear at another's.
 

Opa, great minds think alike! I made cake last night, guess i'd better get busy on the frosting, hmm? Does sound good right now.

 

For those of you with incubation questions and for trying to figure out chick deaths, i really do recommend "the chicken health handbook" by gail damarow. There are chapters on them, and there is a chart for chick deaths, with reasons for dying at what age. It is a good starting point for figuring out what's going on.  Haven't had a question about chickens yet that this book didn't address. Even tells you how to do autopsies....I borrow a copy from my library, so that may be an option for some of you?