Madie'sOddFlock

Well, first solo surgery was a success(at least as of now). I might have to go again soon, but we'll see how it does in the next day or two. Usually, I would have had a second set of hands but I've been putting it off for weeks now and it definitely needed to get done, so I gave in and did it all myself! (Thankfully there wasn't much blood, and the hen stayed extremely calm for the majority of it)

I'm finally moving from backyard chicken keeper to breeder. Our flocks still have a long way to go but I'm now set on keeping breed lines true instead of my willy-nilly mixed breeds(although my interesting guys will always have a piece of my heart, and I still have a few projects I want to play with).

Well... I've proven wrong the myth about cold incubation producing more hens(of course this is only the thought that the males just won't hatch/form properly). 1st incubation of the year produced 10 chicks, the power to the incubator was shut off throughout the incubation for a total of somewhere upwards of 12 hours. Pretty sure I've got 9 roos and 1 hen... Thankfully I was already planning to sell most of them.

So, due to a whole lot of hiccups, I wasn't expecting this hatch to go well, and I was expecting them to be late... instead they're early, and there's already 4.

Just got a new flashlight for candling(my other ones died, and I'm the type that would rather try a new one than get more batteries)... It's amazing! I've never been able to see more of the egg... I can actually see the edge of the yolk... And it's only Day 3! (I had to check them because power was shut off to them for at least a few hours yesterday, yikes!)

They told me to just drown her, to put her down and out of her "misery"... Well, I'm happy to announce that "Flat"(as we took to calling her due to her spraddle-leg-like condition(it likely was spraddle, but I'm not 100% sure")) is doing well, her legs fixed themselves with practically no intervention from me, and she's a perfectly happy 5-week old buff brahma.

This is that moment when I realize that I have $100 extra to spend... on chickens of course, and as I get excited, also realize that I can't decide what in the world I want because there's just too many options, and the most likely options are still too expensive...

Pretty sure I have Napoleon(avatar) grandbabies... He may be gone(RIP) but he will always live in my heart and his family line will live on, mostly at our farm(if I have anything to say about it).

You know you've gone a little chicken overboard when it becomes a good idea to change an old garden into a chicken village... We just picked up 3 coops from my aunt and have to go get at least 1 more tomorrow...

And on that same note, I'm hoping that Monroe will make it through the night... it's not looking too good right now(it's not a Brahma, but it's one of the older ones that's been being picked on for the last few weeks). It's all bandaged up and separated for now... wish us luck.