13th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-Along

[SadieCat]

20 went into lock down, ( I expected a possible low fertility, have since rearranged pens)
16 babies in the brooder.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have one week old chicks in one brooder box with a screen, to see the 2+week old chicks in connecting brooder.

 

[AgnesGray]

Even here in California, there was frost yesterday in the foothills near the coast range mountains!

Wow! Is that unusual for that area this time of year? From the image I have of Cali that is surprising to me. I think it's always worse when unexpected.

 

[kurby22]

Wow! Is that unusual for that area this time of year? From the image I have of Cali that is surprising to me. I think it's always worse when unexpected.

It is a bit unusual! But not too unexpected for April in our part of Northern CA. It feels odd since like not even 10 days ago it was 90…which IS unusual for April in my experience! Weather this year seems rather bipolar everywhere! I relish these cooler days before summer hits…and it’s brutally hot Every. Single. Day.

 

[kurby22]

I hear Egg C cheeping!! It’s pip hole got bigger, I think baby 2 will be joining baby d’Anver 1 in the next hour or so!

 

[chickfused]

Hatching has started! First pip! Livestream for the next week, I have a bunch of staggered eggs. Pip is on the lower, left part of the screen on the egg nearest the camera.

 

[AgnesGray]

It is a bit unusual! But not too unexpected for April in our part of Northern CA. It feels odd since like not even 10 days ago it was 90…which IS unusual for April in my experience! Weather this year seems rather bipolar everywhere! I relish these cooler days before summer hits…and it’s brutally hot Every. Single. Day.

Wow, for sure!!

 

[3KillerBs]

Candled the remaining 3 eggs last week. Definitely dead.

I didn't have time the night before my trip to do an eggtospy on the 1 I pulled at 14 days but if I'm feeling well enough this afternoon I'll check these.

 

[kurby22]

Yay! Egg C joined the world! And she is beautiful my EHAL is complete! Terrible shipped egg hatch rate, but I’ll take it. 5/18 eggs hatched.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Well, this naked neck bantam is officially the weirdest chicken I've ever owned and it's not just the naked neck that makes me say that. I sat down yesterday to 'wing sex' the chicks as I do with all of my chicks to record results and see how accurate it actually is, and this little one's wings would not open. On further inspection, her wings appear to be fused somehow? It's almost as if there's extra skin over top of the wing pins that hold them together and don't allow the wing to be opened fully. I'm not sure how to describe it, but here is the best picture I could get of it. You can see almost a webbing of skin between the wing pins.

This picture shows all the further she can open her wings. They do not extend beyond this point:

She's otherwise healthy, eating, drinking, pooping, etc. Not sure what to make of this. I did find a thread where someone else had a naked neck bantam from shipped eggs with the same thing going on--wonder if they got theirs from the same place I got mine. There weren't any updates in the thread, though, so I don't know what ended up happening with their bird.


Anyway, here she is with her first full crop! I am beyond fascinated by how well you can see the chick crumble through the bare skin there

And our other wee one, with a full but much less visible crop, and definitely not pleased that I've disturbed her for a picture.

Casper is still keeping a close eye on things...

Pretty ready to call my hatch at just these two, but I'm going to open the air cells and peek on the other eggs later today before I report to those tracking hatch numbers.