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[2 chiks n a roo]

5 1/2 weeks old, if summer comes back (10° today, 3 days cold so far) then I can take the brooder away.
Anyone able to advise the best way to introduce him to the outside world?
So far he's lived on the dishwasher, 4 wks in a warm tub, now the cage.

He knows he's a good looking bird.. His comb's getting bigger it's starting to get some weight to it an flop a little. Anyone know if that's normal?

So, Last night he was in his bed by 10.30pm. Made the dogs go out to the toilet earlier so pipi could go to bed.
He's got a new nickname..
Pipplenipple poopalotmess..
Perhaps that could be a new breed.. Poopalotamess's, all a bunch of friggin chickens!

 

[2 chiks n a roo]

almost 7 wks old. Has learnt night time is for sleeping. Pips no longer an only child..
He's got '6' Brothers and 1 sister...

 

[2 chiks n a roo]

Every picture tells a story..

Cheaky bum checkin out the rooftop..
Until littler brother pops up for a helping hand.. an gets a boot up the bum for being too slow

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Brat!

 

[2 chiks n a roo]

6 boys 1 girl in that batch.. out of 12.
That little one getting the boot was one of the last to be helped to hatch. He had the yolk still attached until the bigger ones helped it fall off. The girl was also helped, she took 18hours from when I started to help her until she flopped the rest of the way out. Both strong an healthy (dark one girl.. I think) probably wrong.

2 out of 14 hatched yesterday (28th) 1 at 3.30am this morning, 2 still trying to get out. Decided to swap incubators at 4am to give the hatched ones some room to wobble. The hatching ones are being dampened with warm water every half hour. It's working. I've found that using coconut oil at this stage creates the membrane to stick to them.
The first 2 seem to always get out on their own but after that, I have to help every single one of them out over 2 days. I'm almost certain it's because it's a manual fill water tank. Ya have to lift the lid an add it, so I'm going to modify it myself and add tubes for water.
#4 slid out of the shell just now.. time to help the other so it doesn't get rolled an die. Pic is of 2wk olds taken last night. The colored one is possibly female..

 

[2 chiks n a roo]

Too many boys..
Even going by their wings, only 1 girl..

The big incubator has the 2 hatched naturally and the 4am one I had to break out, it was wrong end around but had pipped the shell. Had to help it. Still weak but getting stronger. There's still 2 unhatched in there, I've partially hatched them, both are breech so I'm sure they're dead but neither are shrink-wrapped. Ones absorbed the blood, so I'm keeping eye on it just in case it's still alive.
In the little incubator are the 2 I had to get the shrink-wrap off them. One still chewing, I'd say another couple hours. The other still absorbing the yolk, or at least is dragging it's cord around

 

[chrissynemetz]

They're adorable! That's a lot of boys though.

 

[2 chiks n a roo]

Yeah.. way too many. At least the freezer will be full for a change.. Deliberately looking at them as food. Easier than letting them get cuddles etc. Food water, warmth, cleaned.. until the girls show their true selves. Then sperate the boys, to grow an fatten up

Still trying to home Pip. He's got real big, loves his cuddles an starting to crow.. he's 8 wks this Sat...

They're adorable! That's a lot of boys though.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Filling the freezer is easier for me if I have someone else do it for me. I talk a big game, but when it comes down to it, I always wimp out.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Filling the freezer is easier for me if I have someone else do it for me. I talk a big game, but when it comes down to it, I always wimp out.

We tried butchering a few roosters early on in our chickening days and learned we were really bad at it. Since then, we take them to our local Mennonite lady who charges us $2 a head to process them for us. I put them in a dog cage at night and take them to her first thing in the morning, knowing they have empty crops. I pick them up in the afternoon in plastic bags, ready to sit in the refrigerator for a few days before going into the freezer. I don't feel like a wimp. I feel that I'm doing right by my birds, having the deed done by someone who knows what she's doing and does it efficiently.