Utah! - Page 526

jwoo!!! Guess what!? The ducklings are hatching! I guess I didn't count the days right because they are all pipping! Hopefully I'll have some ducklings by Friday ^_^ I'm so excited. These ducklings are going to be my...grandkids? lol I hatched the parents so I guess they will :D

Shinx, any more pictures?

 Hector, way to go!

I remember Sindi, or how ever you want to spell that..lol..was noisy before laying.  Especially if someone was in the nest box she wanted, which would be what ever nest box a chicken was in!

I seem to have a broody hen up in Duchesne--when I went up earlier today, one of the hens had herself planted on a pile of eggs and was hissing at the roosters any time they got near. She didn't get off those eggs the whole time I was there and she wasn't inclined to let me see just how many eggs she had. There were other eggs in the pen that I was able to collect, but I'm not sure what to do with the ones she has. Never had a broody hen before. I'm incline to just let her do what she wants, but will the other hens and roosters attack the chicks if she manages to hatch them? Is it safe to bring her down to Bountiful with the eggs (2 hour drive)?

I have a picture of the remaining egg. I know that's not very exciting.  This is a picture I took of it at 3:20 today.

I really hope that I find a fluffy chick in the incubator in the morning.

I picked up some BEAUTIFUL BLRW eggs from Corvidae this evening, but unfortunately didn't get to meet her. I will set them tomorrow at my daughter's school. Sooooo, I need this chick to be hatched by morning. If it's not, and still alive, I'll peel it out. I know it was pipped at 8am this morning, so by 9am tomorrow, it's been definitely more than 24 hours. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.  I don't see getting more cute pictures til I take the chicks home- I don't want to take them out of the brooder when the kids are around.

Edited to add:  I think it'd be fun to let the broody keep the eggs, but I sure don't trust chickens to be nice to chicks. I'd be tempted to fence them off from the flock in general. I have heard countless stories where it's fine though.  I'd be afraid to drive the broody home because it could break her of her broodiness.

Sphinx, those pictures are fun to see. I had the neighbor's little boy over for a minute yesterday and was letting him see and hold a couple of my chicks. Some kids really get into that. Hope your baby is okay through the night! Let us know what happens.

corvidae, I like Sphinx's suggestion of fencing off that broody with her clutch so that the rest of the flock leave her alone. I don't have any experience with that kind of thing though, really. That's just the worrywart in me speaking. How are the rest of your babies doing? I'm sorry to ask for fear that it upsets you, but I'm hoping that everyone is okay right now. The bad news has to stop at some point, right?

So, yesterday while I had the chicks outside, I noticed something. My Welsummer has bloomers! I hope that means she's definitely a girl I don't see any pointy feathers on her yet, and her comb is still pale, not red. I also noticed that my GLW, who is a week younger than the Welsummer, has bloomers. Cute girls. And my little BO who isn't quite two weeks old is getting bloomers. AND the BO is the only one I've seen eat bugs so far when I have the group outside. It was the funniest thing to see the little blonde ball of fluff running around and chirping excitedly with a Box Elder bug or a moth in her beak, then gobbling it down before anyone else could see what was going on. I love my girls.

Edited to add: Lisa, awwww babies!

Oh Lisa, love those baby pics. (Well, I just love babies in general, but whatever)

To anyone who feels like I've been super chatty lately.............I'd agree. Sorry, can't help it I put two of the teenagers in their new "apartment" for the first time tonight. They're too big for the brooder and fully feathered, so they don't need the light. I just worry about them being okay in the relative dark when they're not used to it. The garage is well insulated, so they'll be plenty warm, and there's residual light leaking out from the brooder, but I still worry. My plan was to put the three oldest teens in their kennel, but my preteen GLW didn't like that. I took pity on her and put one of the older girls back in the brooder with her and the BO, and everyone seemed to be okay with that arrangement once I turned off the light. Once I get babies on Saturday, though, I'll put the two teens in the kennel and have the BO in the brooder with the other babies. I hope that will work okay.

I keep feeling like I should start these comments with, "Dear Chicken Diary......"

Sorry. I'll try to rein that in.