"Springing in the Chicks" 2016 April Hatch-a-Long Hosted by Mike & Sally

[Chaos18]

Got home from work yesterday and another Ancona egg had a pip. Wrong end of the egg but here's hoping it hatches

 

[ChickenGrass]

If they are good quality people will buy the roosters. Last year I hatched 7 show quality barred rock and 7 were roosters. I sold them all!

They are great quality
All my birds are from top breeders all
Over Ireland and uk
And all do well at shows
But Ireland is smaller then America
So it is kind of harder to sell.

 

[ChickenGrass]

If that's your worst nightmare I'd say you're doing pretty good. Problem is Cream Legars don't really get big enough to make a proper meal out of them.

Yea that's a problem as there a pure breed laying bird
I should have bought some dual purpose breed

 

[wabbit1964]

Tapping my fingers impatiently...

. Tomorrow is hatch day.. so far no signs of anything.... Worried because my previous hatch was a horrible result but my first hatch was great and started early... Come on Chickies show me a sign of life

 

[Chaos18]

Yea that's a problem as there a pure breed laying bird
I should have bought some dual purpose breed

Now you know for next time

 

[cree57i]

So, what happens if I am so addicted to reading the posts on this hatch-a-long, and to watching my baby chicks hatch and grow, that I can't get any of my other work done? I keep sitting down to do it, and I can't stop thinking about chickens!

@weegarden My April hatch update:
Apr. 3 10 out of 11 hatched 6 white silkies and 4 Plymouth rock
Apr. 13-15, in my classroom 8 out of 11 hatched. So, we have 2 white silkies and 6 Plymouth rock X any other rooster winner.
April 24-25 Out of 15 eggs, hatched out 7 Plymouth rocks and one blue silkie.
Set 55 eggs, that are due to hatch on May 2nd, but will have plenty of infertile, due to one rooster who is not doing his job. (Yep, I pitched a ton of these. I have 18 left.) Should hatch on May 3rd.

Exchanged the infertile black ameraucana rooster on Apr. 23rd, so I’m excited to be getting some chicks from my very nice black ameraucanas. The breeder was super nice about this, and I got to visit his beautiful farm again! Gorgeous!!!!

I found out that my Easter Egger rooster, in another pen, is also not fertilizing. He is old, and produced plenty of beautiful chicks, so it might be time to put him out to pasture. He was hatched when my daughter was in my first-grade class, and we have had him ever since. He was the reason we built our first chicken coop, and got the bug bad. J His name is Cock-a-doo-doo.

Found out that the rooster my students named Mikey, is a girl! The first-graders had a great laugh over that!

April Total Count: 26 chicks. 17 Plymouth Rock and 8 white silkies, and 1 blue silkie.

Ready for the May Hatch-a-long to begin! Hoping for some better numbers this month. I really want some more silkie babies badly! Praying for at least 1 baby from my beautiful show girl Princess, who layed her first egg in a very long time, and it is fertile!!!!! Yippee!!!!

Ditto to the chicken addiction getting in the way of other work! and bosses just don't understand at all!

 

[chicken hawk 33]

first baby Muscovy ever this morning

 

[wabbit1964]

first baby Muscovy ever this morning

 

[ShrekDawg]

Hi cmom
That's what will be happening
Most of them the freezer!
It's disappointing though to have to kill so many
As you never realy sell much roosters.
Oh well
Hopefully next hatch is better.

If they are good quality people will buy the roosters. Last year I hatched 7 show quality barred rock and 7 were roosters. I sold them all!

If that's your worst nightmare I'd say you're doing pretty good. Problem is Cream Legars don't really get big enough to make a proper meal out of them.

They are great quality
All my birds are from top breeders all
Over Ireland and uk
And all do well at shows
But Ireland is smaller then America
So it is kind of harder to sell.

Yea that's a problem as there a pure breed laying bird
I should have bought some dual purpose breed

Now you know for next time

I think you should try to sell them if possible people love rare/interesting breeds, especially good quality ones. Of course, your area is smaller like you said but I still think someone would. Perhaps you could sell them in a city or something? Might be more people there? You could put up fliers or a Craigslist ad or something

 

[Lucky Lemon]

first baby Muscovy ever this morning