Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[Wishing4Wings]

I wouldn't mind having a muscovy or 2 to eat the summer flies. They always seem a bit snappy, mean-ish, like geese. Have you found that? Maybe it's the stories from my mom about her childhood muscovy and how it would bite her dog and hang on to his lips! Dog would swing him around and he'd still hang on!
It was a really good dog.

 

[BullChick]

I must be honest. I didn’t get to see the friendly Muscovy people speak of. I can definitely tell you that in the spring, drakes are nasty. My Pekin nipped the backs of my legs when he was in a romantic mood. I couldn’t trust him from March to May.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I only know them from the parks. They hiss and snap and threaten quite a bit. Never had one chomp me, though.

 

[BullChick]

/5

It is definite now that the holdout is laying. She has been for three weeks, but with three others going broody, plus the possibility that other pullets could have been having a small egg day, I wasn’t sure. Hatch day is today/tomorrow/whenever they want.

 

[ronott1]

View attachment 2647799View attachment 2647799View attachment 2647799View attachment 2647799View attachment 2647799/5

It is definite now that the holdout is laying. She has been for three weeks, but with three others going broody, plus the possibility that other pullets could have been having a small egg day, I wasn’t sure. Hatch day is today/tomorrow/whenever they want.

I hope you have a lot of them hatch!

 

[BullChick]

Ooooooookay. I’m at 20 chickens, and it should be double that. Thank God my broodies share! It is a little confusing that the younger girls’ eggs aren’t hatching. If I thought hard enough, and looked for my incubator notes*, I would remember if any even had developed.
I currently have four moms sharing one chick. It’s a Silver Pencil Rock/Welsummer. At least I think that is the egg that hatched. I didn’t annoy the broody more than necessary, and then an explosion happened. The chick was with another mom, so it was okay. Anyway, I cleaned up quickly, and didn’t scrutinize eggs to see if the lone Welsummer egg was intact.
* I kept notes in Hatchabatch, but it’s only available for old iPhones. Because said old phone dies quickly, I don’t always keep up with notes. I don’t know if I noted fertility rate of the younger hens’ eggs.

 

[BullChick]

Next entry!
The first two moms were given 8 chicks that Duckling picked out. Two reds, two LH, two grey, two black (1 got crushed). I said six. The woman didn’t stop her, and I wasn’t paying attention to them. I heard, “and one of thooose…” and asked how many were in the boxes already. That woman was probably having as much fun as Duckling!
There’s only one cockerel. The greys seem to be different breeds because the pullet has yellow legs, and the other has pink. The reds are different too obviously. I think the lighter one is RSL, and the darker is a “real” RIR or NHR. The black speckled… it’s too old to still look like that if it’s a BR, isn’t it? Could I possibly have a Java? They are 10 weeks in the pictures.

 

[BullChick]

And finally, the first two moms began laying again about two weeks ago. I tried separating them from the babies a week before, and it was a no-go. I’m going to try again soon. Probably this week. I want them back in the SPR coop. Hopefully I’ll get in the mood to process the Easter hatch cockerel and maybe the grey one too.

 

[ronott1]

And finally, the first two moms began laying again about two weeks ago. I tried separating them from the babies a week before, and it was a no-go. I’m going to try again soon. Probably this week. I want them back in the SPR coop. Hopefully I’ll get in the mood to process the Easter hatch cockerel and maybe the grey one too.

You are going to have so many eggs!

 

[BullChick]

The two are broody again.