I got some olive egger eggs from a forum member (blarneyeggs) at the NJ poultry show in October. When I got the eggs, I had no idea that Hurricane Sandy would strike a week after I started their incubation...
Once I knew the storm was coming, I really started to worry. We are in a very rural area in NJ, and we are VERY prone to losing power. Last year we lost power for a week from the other hurricane at the end of August, and for 10 days to the freak snowstorm in October.
But all I could do was hope for the best...
The day before Sandy hit, I brought all of my chickens into the basement, in case a tree fell on their coops. I have empty dog kennels set up down there...I threw some shavings in there for the chickens.
We lost power early afternoon the day the storm hit...that night was really scary. We are in a heavily wooded area, and all I could hear were trees crashing down everywhere, but it was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing. One did land on the house, but it didn't do too much damage. One of my two chicken coops did get hit, so it was a good thing I brought everyone inside!
Back to my poor eggs...they were about a week into their incubation. They went without heat overnight, but I was able to get them to our neighbor's. They had a generator running their whole house 24/7 - very lucky!
I didn't want to bug the neighbor 3x a day to turn the eggs, so I just left them alone and hoped for the best. After 3 days, we got power back, although the rest of the street was still dark. They didn't get power back for almost 2 weeks.
I candled the eggs before lockdown, and they all looked okay. So I locked down, and 3 days later the chicks started to hatch!
I did have some issues, probably due to the temperature fluctuations. There were some chicks with crooked toes, which I splinted right away, and open navels...but I left them alone, and they were healed up the next day. I did help some chicks out...but I only lost one. I had my best hatch yet, 14/15 eggs! Minus the one that didn't make it, I ended up with 13 chicks. One pure BCM and the rest BCM x OE and EE.
I just got my internet back this week - here are some pics of the gang! They are doing great.
First half...
The second half was not as cooperative...LOL
'
Here are a few from when they were just a day or so old...
Once I knew the storm was coming, I really started to worry. We are in a very rural area in NJ, and we are VERY prone to losing power. Last year we lost power for a week from the other hurricane at the end of August, and for 10 days to the freak snowstorm in October.
But all I could do was hope for the best...
The day before Sandy hit, I brought all of my chickens into the basement, in case a tree fell on their coops. I have empty dog kennels set up down there...I threw some shavings in there for the chickens.
We lost power early afternoon the day the storm hit...that night was really scary. We are in a heavily wooded area, and all I could hear were trees crashing down everywhere, but it was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing. One did land on the house, but it didn't do too much damage. One of my two chicken coops did get hit, so it was a good thing I brought everyone inside!
Back to my poor eggs...they were about a week into their incubation. They went without heat overnight, but I was able to get them to our neighbor's. They had a generator running their whole house 24/7 - very lucky!
I didn't want to bug the neighbor 3x a day to turn the eggs, so I just left them alone and hoped for the best. After 3 days, we got power back, although the rest of the street was still dark. They didn't get power back for almost 2 weeks.
I candled the eggs before lockdown, and they all looked okay. So I locked down, and 3 days later the chicks started to hatch!
I did have some issues, probably due to the temperature fluctuations. There were some chicks with crooked toes, which I splinted right away, and open navels...but I left them alone, and they were healed up the next day. I did help some chicks out...but I only lost one. I had my best hatch yet, 14/15 eggs! Minus the one that didn't make it, I ended up with 13 chicks. One pure BCM and the rest BCM x OE and EE.
I just got my internet back this week - here are some pics of the gang! They are doing great.
First half...
The second half was not as cooperative...LOL
Here are a few from when they were just a day or so old...
