Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Ma Noob]

Last egg had hatched by the time i got home from soccer with the kids last night. Which just left the one that hadnt started. As it was dated the 3rd and all the others were done i decided to crack it open this morning. I candled last night and the air cell was gone, couldnt see any movement. Popped it into some water to look for movement this morning and couldnt see anything. I decided it was time.

So I slowly cracked it open (you never know) and inside was a perfectly formed little yellow chick that has sadly passed. I noticed as i peeled back the outer shell and membrane, that there looked like there was a small amount of blood pooled. Then when i got to the chick, i saw a blood clot in its mouth. I have got a pic of it, but im guessing its pipped in the wrong spot and its had a small bleed. But its head was also tucked under its wing, so unless it wasnt able to pip through because of that. Membrane was nice and moist and came away easy so i dont think that was the problem. But i will put the pic up for the experts opinion after.

But it was another good learning for the kids. They not only got to see a chick hatch, but they got to see one as it would have been in the egg.

So Out of 11, one wasnt fertile, 9 hatched, and 1 fully grown but died during delivery. So i have to say im pretty stoked with that! Now to wait and see what the broody brings, She had 13 but has turfed out 2, then 1 is on the outer but i saw she has kinda pulled it back in.

Promise i will post some more pics tonight

 

[duckyfromoz]

Quote:
Sad as it is...it can tell you a lot when you open the eggs. Or at the very least ensure you that there was nothing you could have done differently that may have made a difference. I still at time do open eggs if I have a bad hatch- the last was some eggs I was hatching for a friend. I only opened one egg- but the duckling had a very weird shape to its head and it eyes at a weird angle, not sure of that had anything to do with it not making it to hatch- but I would not have seen that had I not opened the egg.

My drake got Champion Waterfowl at the Daylesford Ag show today. !!!

Different drake to the one that has already won twice this year as well. Pity the rain was pretty much constant all day- but it was still a good day out... I did take some pics- but I will have to have a look and see if there are any good enough to upload later.

 

[wooklet]

ongratulations to Ducky and her Drake!

 

[duckyfromoz]

Thanks wooklet...

Heres my boy.. Not a great picture of him though.

 

[Ma Noob]

Thats a fine looking Drake!! Congratulations!!!


Well, ive gone and lost one of my hens. I let them out this arvo to run around, and i think the dog may have stirred them up and one has jumped the fence

Ive been looking but i cant find it anywhere, hopefully someone has found it and will bring it back, or its just hiding somewhere.

Then to make me more annoyed, i bloody stepped on a dead egg that was in some thick grass! All over my bloody masuers, Just as well i need a new pair! So now i have a good excuse.

 

[Ma Noob]

Thought i would introduce my chooky family!

This is Clarence the Rooster

The mums, The one on the right is the only one i have like her, But i have 5 (well maybe 4 now) of the ones on the left

The new little hatchlings

My Broody hen in the milk crate

She will get a better nest when the eggs hatch but its too hard to move her now

And finally my Silkie boys, All 3 are roosters and they get on so well together. My dog does love his chooks, He is like mother hen to the young ones, He always checks on my new little hatchlings as soon as he comes in the house. He stills his head right in the box and gives them a sniff to make sure they are ok. He did the same with my silkies when we got them as chicks. Now they follow him around the back yard, They run around his feet, he even growled at the other chicks when they came a bit too close when they were little.

Funniest thing is, my silkies live in a large bird cage at the moment. But little spoggies get into the cage. He will sit there all day staring at the spoggies making sure they dont hurt his silkies

 

[70%cocoa]

Congrats on your win, Ducky!!!

He's a beautiful boy. Great to see colours other than white winning the top prizes.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Thanks 70%cocoa, Do you plan on showing much next year? With such a rare breed it would be lovely to have those ducks of yours out and about in the public eye.

Ma Noob - great looking flock!!! Love the broodie sitting in the milk crate... the chicks are gorgeous!!! And those boys-

I much prefer the look of coloured silkies to white - makes them look much less like a " feather duster "

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Congrats Ducky! He's a beautiful boy.

Ma Noob Clarence is a very unusual looking boy. So many different colors, pretty boy.

 

[Ma Noob]

He is! It will be interesting to see how any other chicks come out when the broody hens chicks come out. We got him from an old foreign fella with alot of chickens in alot of different colours, So i would think he is a right backyard bitzer. The darker brown hen was from the same place.

We also had another rooster from there, but we gave him to a friend, He had a gorgeous purple in his tail. I will see if I can find a pic of him.

Well my silly hen went missing again last night, then i realised what she was doing, she was trying to be a broody as well. So i booted her off and took away all the eggs, and she seems to have stayed off now. Will see what happens when the others go to lay