Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

OMG, Hawkeye - those are the most adorable mama/baby team I've ever seen. I just had to email my DH and tell him "This is the kind of chicken you are getting me next". And he even admitted that they were "overly cute". You got me really wanting a silkie now!!

LOL wow, I didn't have to try and enable you! I just posted some pics... and there you go! You're Welcome!

(chicken math.....)

 

[chicken danz]

Love the silly pictures! Don't worry about showing the baby the water. Yoda will lead her to the water. The marbles will help. When I've had broodies raising babies the babies ended up standing in the waterer some times. Not good cause they could slip and get spraddle leg. But with a hen she will warm them back up if they get wet.One more advantage to having a broody.
I've still got tons of pips in the hatcher to go. Looks like this is going to be a big hatch.
I was adding water to my incubators and the newest one has no see through door. When I opened the door I found I had a tray out of track and it had jammed the turning mechanism so all those eggs haven't gotten turned for a bout 3 days. The older ones should be ok but there were some I just put in there and were in their first few days. I could end up with some weak or retarded chicks. I hope not. I can't just take the eggs out and destroy them because they have embryos in them. Accidentally broke one trying to get the tray out and it had a bean size embryo in it. Makes me feel awful.
Did I happen to mention before that one of my Mandarin hens is in the nest box? Also my Red Golden, Black Melanistic, and Lady Amhurst pheasants are all laying. Now if the peacocks would get busy I would be thrilled.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Love the silly pictures! Don't worry about showing the baby the water. Yoda will lead her to the water. The marbles will help. When I've had broodies raising babies the babies ended up standing in the waterer some times. Not good cause they could slip and get spraddle leg. But with a hen she will warm them back up if they get wet.One more advantage to having a broody.
I've still got tons of pips in the hatcher to go. Looks like this is going to be a big hatch.
I was adding water to my incubators and the newest one has no see through door. When I opened the door I found I had a tray out of track and it had jammed the turning mechanism so all those eggs haven't gotten turned for a bout 3 days. The older ones should be ok but there were some I just put in there and were in their first few days. I could end up with some weak or retarded chicks. I hope not. I can't just take the eggs out and destroy them because they have embryos in them. Accidentally broke one trying to get the tray out and it had a bean size embryo in it. Makes me feel awful.
Did I happen to mention before that one of my Mandarin hens is in the nest box? Also my Red Golden, Black Melanistic, and Lady Amhurst pheasants are all laying. Now if the peacocks would get busy I would be thrilled.

Oh wow!! You always do so great at hatching! Wish I had your mojo with that. Sorry about cracking that egg, I would feel bad, too. I'm not sure the chick can get out of the nest.. or maybe it can "fall" out of the nest. It won't be able to get back in though. It kind of freaks me out how small it is.

 

[HEChicken]

I'm not sure the chick can get out of the nest.. or maybe it can "fall" out of the nest. It won't be able to get back in though. It kind of freaks me out how small it is.

When my broody first hatched her chicks last year, they could jump out of the nest but couldn't get back in. I solved the problem by putting a brick next to it and they used it as a step. Jump up onto the brick and then into the nest - worked perfectly. Mine were LF chicks so could manage a brick while your chick may not be able to, but perhaps you can find something smaller she can use as a step to get into the nest?

I wouldn't worry about teaching her to drink and dunking her beak like you do with brooder chicks. Mama Hen will encourage her to drink and show her where it is. If she's having trouble reaching, you might try a jar lid for a few days. That's what I used for my Coturnix Quail when they hatched last year as they are SOOOOO tiny! It wasn't long before they graduated up to chick feeders and waterers though. The other option is a quail waterer. Those have a shorter, narrower water base so they can't get in and drown, and can reach the water more easily when first hatched. They are about $1 at TSC and screw onto the same water bottle as the chick waterers.

 

[tweetysvoice]

LOL wow, I didn't have to try and enable you! I just posted some pics... and there you go! You're Welcome!

(chicken math.....)

LOL!

DH just emailed me back and said "Do we need to find someone around here that breeds them?"

I think he was enamored with the pics as well! Yep - chicken math. The only good thing is that we are limited to a total of 20 fowl per city code. 8 down (might be 7 if we have to get rid of Quackers) and 12 more I can go! hehe


BTW - next time you stage pics, put something common next to him/her so I can see how small she actually is! I'm curious now!

 

[HEChicken]

Oh boy, Tweety, I know someone right there in Lawrence that might be able to hook you up. How's THAT for enabling?

 

[Trish44]

Hawkeye, that's such a cute baby! It really is tiny, but then Silkies aren't really big birds when grown right?

IVY, I took a couple of pics of the first set of chicks that seem to be getting lighter in color as the days go by. I wanted you to see what I'm talking about. Here they are:





You can see on the 2nd pic how the color on the head is getting lighter & spreading. When they first hatched they were mostly black with lighter wings, now the lighter color is spreading all over on some of them at least. There are a couple that are still darker, but these two & maybe more are starting to lighten up.

Then here are my latest babies hatched yesterday. They're now fluffier & are out in the brooder with the other batch. IVY, this one has a lighter head & has different coloring from the time it hatched than the others. I wonder what that one will look like in a day or two? The lighter chick is one of the EE chicks, they're cuties too. It's funny to look at them because they're all mixed with a RIR rooster or Speckled Sussex & they all so far have muffs. I have some people who don't care if they're full blood Ameraucana, they just want chicks, so I have been hatching a few EEs for those people. So far Audrey's eggs have had a really high rate of hatch, she's my EE hen who lays a pretty green egg.



Danz, oooh you're going to have pretty pheasants! I love those Red Goldens, they're just beautiful! I can't remember what color are your peacocks? I'm hoping to get some blue & green peacock eggs when they start laying. My DH has been wanting some peacocks & I think it would be fun to hatch some for him. Now that we have the GPs here I think we could raise them & let them free-range here.

 

[Hawkeye95]

LOL!

DH just emailed me back and said "Do we need to find someone around here that breeds them?"

I think he was enamored with the pics as well! Yep - chicken math. The only good thing is that we are limited to a total of 20 fowl per city code. 8 down (might be 7 if we have to get rid of Quackers) and 12 more I can go! hehe


BTW - next time you stage pics, put something common next to him/her so I can see how small she actually is! I'm curious now!

Renee (ChooksChick) has silkies and lives in Lawrence. It wouldn't be much drive time for you.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye, that's such a cute baby! It really is tiny, but then Silkies aren't really big birds when grown right?

IVY, I took a couple of pics of the first set of chicks that seem to be getting lighter in color as the days go by. I wanted you to see what I'm talking about. Here they are:





You can see on the 2nd pic how the color on the head is getting lighter & spreading. When they first hatched they were mostly black with lighter wings, now the lighter color is spreading all over on some of them at least. There are a couple that are still darker, but these two & maybe more are starting to lighten up.

Then here are my latest babies hatched yesterday. They're now fluffier & are out in the brooder with the other batch. IVY, this one has a lighter head & has different coloring from the time it hatched than the others. I wonder what that one will look like in a day or two? The lighter chick is one of the EE chicks, they're cuties too. It's funny to look at them because they're all mixed with a RIR rooster or Speckled Sussex & they all so far have muffs. I have some people who don't care if they're full blood Ameraucana, they just want chicks, so I have been hatching a few EEs for those people. So far Audrey's eggs have had a really high rate of hatch, she's my EE hen who lays a pretty green egg.



Danz, oooh you're going to have pretty pheasants! I love those Red Goldens, they're just beautiful! I can't remember what color are your peacocks? I'm hoping to get some blue & green peacock eggs when they start laying. My DH has been wanting some peacocks & I think it would be fun to hatch some for him. Now that we have the GPs here I think we could raise them & let them free-range here.

Awww, so cute!!!! I see your therm! I have it in "My Favorites" on ebay so I can find it easily if I break down and buy yet ANOTHER one. There are 4 in there already... sigh.

 

[Trish44]

Hawkeye, I've been very happy with those therm/hygrometers that I got, they're just the perfect size for the Brinsea, I'll take a pic in a bit & show you mine in the incubator. I have another chick pipping today, it's another EE. I have more eggs to go in the hatcher on Friday. Then I can put a few more of my own Ameraucana eggs in the bator. I think I'm going to take my friend up on some free RIR/Silver Phoenix eggs she's giving away. I'll wait until i get this last batch of eggs hatched in the next few days & then put my turner in the hovabator so I can put the eggs from her & the turkey eggs I'm getting next week in there along with my own eggs that I've been collecting that are waiting to go in. My Brinsea is full at the moment.