Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

SilkieSensation said:

A pregnant doe typically develops a roll of extra fur under her neck, which she then pulls out for her nest. I always watch for the neck roll. A first time momma develops it in the last week or so before birthing. A doe who has had a litter before will have a small roll until that last week, then it will get noticably bigger.

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A neck roll huh.... going by neck roll status, I did have the nest box in the wrong cage! We thought we had them all sorted out but they looked so similar when they were little that I've never really been certain if we had them backwards.

Tried to get some pictures... Lighter colored one we thought was the girl, but no neck roll. Darker colored one we thought was the boy but there is a definite neck roll there. I switched the next box to the darker bunny's cage after changing out the straw and adding a bit of Timothy hay. She seemed interested right away and sniffed around and jumped in and out a few times. I'm going down to check again in a bit. Today is day 31 so I certainly hope I have it right this time!

stephm14 said:

Hello everyone! I'm from hookstown pa. (Near Pittsburgh. But closer to west Virginia and ohio). I just started my first flock. 2 Columbian rock crosses and 4 Deklab amberlinks. Anyone near me? Lol and does anyone know some info on these breeds?

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I'm about 15 minutes from you... we are just up the hill from Midland

We started last year when my daughter came home from school in the spring and wanted to hatch eggs. We have 2 black australorp hens and 1 rooster and 2 rhode island reds. We also just got a bunch of Cornish roasters for meat and a few Delawares and Dark Cornish to breed for future meat birds (it will take time but we're hoping to eventually end up with a nice mix that can reproduce on its own, forage like a real chicken, and still fill out to be a good meat bird). Also picked up 4 bourbon red turkeys and we have a pair of meat rabbits as well. *and three human kids, lol, age 7 months to 7 years.

emorems0 said:

I'm about 15 minutes from you... we are just up the hill from Midland

We started last year when my daughter came home from school in the spring and wanted to hatch eggs. We have 2 black australorp hens and 1 rooster and 2 rhode island reds. We also just got a bunch of Cornish roasters for meat and a few Delawares and Dark Cornish to breed for future meat birds (it will take time but we're hoping to eventually end up with a nice mix that can reproduce on its own, forage like a real chicken, and still fill out to be a good meat bird). Also picked up 4 bourbon red turkeys and we have a pair of meat rabbits as well. *and three human kids, lol, age 7 months to 7 years.

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Huh! That's awesome to find someone so close!! I have a new chicken buddy! I swear I'm turning into a crazy chicken lady already! I just came in from spending some time with them. Lol

emorems0 said:

SilkieSensation said:

A pregnant doe typically develops a roll of extra fur under her neck, which she then pulls out for her nest. I always watch for the neck roll. A first time momma develops it in the last week or so before birthing. A doe who has had a litter before will have a small roll until that last week, then it will get noticably bigger.

Click to expand...

A neck roll huh.... going by neck roll status, I did have the nest box in the wrong cage! We thought we had them all sorted out but they looked so similar when they were little that I've never really been certain if we had them backwards. Tried to get some pictures... Lighter colored one we thought was the girl, but no neck roll. Darker colored one we thought was the boy but there is a definite neck roll there. I switched the next box to the darker bunny's cage after changing out the straw and adding a bit of Timothy hay. She seemed interested right away and sniffed around and jumped in and out a few times. I'm going down to check again in a bit. Today is day 31 so I certainly hope I have it right this time!

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Her neck roll is small, but certainly looks like a doe to me. If the other bunny has no roll at all then this is definitely your doe.

stephm14 said:

Well right now they are still chicks.
The large ones are the Columbian rock crosses. The smaller ones are the deklab amberlinks. So I'm not sure what they will look like when grown. Although I'd they resemble that.... they will be beautiful

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will be very beautiful yard candy indeed!!...

hendricks115 said:

No matter how many times we do it, I'm still as excited as my 5 year old when chicks hatch! Today is the day! 2 hatched overnight and are dry and in the brooder and 17 more have pipped. Waiting anxiously for some sign from 12 more. Pictures to follow!

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AnneInTheBurbs said:

It did turn out to be a lovely day yesterday, today is proving to be the same! Shovel welding? You're doing metal now? Or did you mean weilding?

It's always a pleasure to watch the chickens. Yesterday someone made a comment to me that I may not have chickens one day. Yeah right!

Welcome to the party!
We want pics!

I would be so excited too!

So nice out today. It's very hard to sit in work here with the door open, I may run out before 2:00 p.m. It's going to be a sore night though, I worked out yesterday and I want to get out there and garden a plenty today and that involved throwing bags of soil.

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well thank you Annie...as soon as i posted that i was like..duh...you all understand...admitting it is half the battle....
Going to be letting the girls out in the yard a little later, maybe the wind will die-down a bit...hey, at least it's not raining or snowing

Auroradream26 said:

5 out so far and 4 more pipped! Feeling good about this hatch. I'll put up good, cute pics once they're all out and fluffy

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so cute!!

chippysmom327 said:

Guys, don't let anyone tell you that eggs over 10 days won't be viable. I set some 16 day old eggs that I didn't turn (I feel like the whole "turning hatching eggs" is a myth), and they're developing embryos. Just thought I'd post it for future reference.

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will def. keep that little tid-bit in mind...when you first start hatching it is real easy to be overwhelmed with "don't do this".."only do that"...i think, like everything else, nature has a soft cushion, nothing is exact...if it was ..it wouldn't know how anything would survive..just my 2 cents.., sorry i stole that one from ya Stake

SilkieSensation said:

A watched egg never pips

A pregnant doe typically develops a roll of extra fur under her neck, which she then pulls out for her nest. I always watch for the neck roll. A first time momma develops it in the last week or so before birthing. A doe who has had a litter before will have a small roll until that last week, then it will get noticably bigger.
I'm over in Ohio, about 45 minutes from the PA border just off of 40. I get over around Wheeling on occasion.
I've set unturned eggs, a month old, that had been in the fridge the last week before going in the bator...and had over 50% hatch rate. Yep, they will still hatch.

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A month old and they were in the fridge..woo, you broke ALL the rules right there....

LisaYolkUm said:

I wonder how many of us will be cleaning out the coops this weekend? !

I just did............at least most of it............

I will be doing a bit more thorough version soon...........but for now...........the winter deep litter method is now in the compost pile!

taking my babies out for their first day on the grass and sun.............

I did put in a shovel of dirt and grass in their brooder so they could learn about it and get used to it!

now for the real deal.

I feel they cant be out really long because its not that warm.........and they are between 3-4 weeks so they still have the heat lamp.

I am thinking a short outdoor romp must be okay though!

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mine will have to wait for awhile..there is just no-way i am going to be ably to handle that right now.....their coop isn't too bad anyway...i use sand and clean everyday...i is dusty though, and their supplies...bowls/waterer and such could use a good scrubbing & bleach bath...maybe tomorrow...might not have such a intense headache..here's to hoping

emorems0 said:

A neck roll huh.... going by neck roll status, I did have the nest box in the wrong cage! We thought we had them all sorted out but they looked so similar when they were little that I've never really been certain if we had them backwards.

Tried to get some pictures... Lighter colored one we thought was the girl, but no neck roll. Darker colored one we thought was the boy but there is a definite neck roll there. I switched the next box to the darker bunny's cage after changing out the straw and adding a bit of Timothy hay. She seemed interested right away and sniffed around and jumped in and out a few times. I'm going down to check again in a bit. Today is day 31 so I certainly hope I have it right this time!

Click to expand...

SilkieSensation said:

Her neck roll is small, but certainly looks like a doe to me. If the other bunny has no roll at all then this is definitely your doe.

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Loving all this rabbit info guys!!!...

We cleaned out our coops last week. It was a long winter!

We just planted our seeds in the house. We need to stand up the garden and till in some nice composted chicken fertilizer into the garden.

stephm14, I had the Columbian Rock Crosses. If you look them up on this website, you can see a picture of my boys and girls. They look a lot like Delawares.

Here's the start of our hatch!



My daughter checks the incubator every 5 minutes, as I was making lunch, I took a picture of her moving her chair over so she can stand and look in!

She refused to sit at the table and eat lunch. She had to be near the babies!