1972 mile eggs Georgia to Mass **FINAL update**

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

I am so bummed I cannot drive to Georgia and get eggs....and I do not even have an incubator.

 

[popcornpuppy]

Quote:
Joann, I have seen some of your previous posts, don't you have Delawares? I think I have seen pics of them on BYC? How are yours doing?

 

[Cetawin]

Ding Dongs are good to have around during hatch...yes yes they are!

I am not offended that you are not as crazy about the orps as I am...I am just Suede's number 1 fan. My husband is an Isaac fan.

Cyn is correct about the two breeds. Oh my are they different. the Orps are gentle, quiet, laid back and friendly. the delawares are active, spazzy, affection hogs and they must check out everything and get into everything! They have no fear either. When the puppy (80 lbs) barked, everyone jumped, tried to fly and hide...except the delawares. Both of them ran to the side of the brooder and were looking to see what it was. They are also the first ones to check out a new food item...they were the first to jump in the plate of scrambled eggs, the first into the cut up grape and the first into the steamed brown rice. The neat thing about them is they are curious about everything going on...they will sit and watch me whenever I am doing anything near the brooder. You are gonna love em. You will love the orps too because they are just so friendly and laid back.


About those pine shavings...I can see where they would remove the bloom and you are not supposed to "wash" the eggs or remove the bloom before you incubate. So, that makes sense on the development being affected. That bloom is important to the protection of the egg for sure.

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
Im guessing those are mine

Yes, Chris, those are yours and I'll add any Dels and Orps that I collect this morning to them since they are only on Day One anyway.

 

[walkswithdog]

I popped in to say hi... I did get eggs sent in sawdust that hatched REALLY well, but I bet shavings did create more friction, they would shift more.

Go Suedenator and Isaac babies...!

I've got some of my first dels likely to hatch out next week and more to add to the bator next week.

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

Quote:
Joann, I have seen some of your previous posts, don't you have Delawares? I think I have seen pics of them on BYC? How are yours doing?

Yes my Whitmore Farm Delawares are 16 weeks 9/15/2009, 3 cockerels, 2 pullets. I need to post pictures when they hit 18-20 weeks so I can get help culling two of the cockerels.

Mine are in a large pasture pen of 30 young birds which my son feels are "very High School" right now.

The Cackle Hatchery Speckled Sussex cockerel and 5 pullets are two weeks older than the rest and kind of dominate the pen, so I am not seeing a lot of the same behaviors with the Delawares that others have seen. The Sussex "senior class" crowd kind of forces the others to stand back when food is delivered or when someone different is visiting the pen.

My Delawares do not appreciate being picked up, even the pullets will turn and give me the evil eye or a remonstrative peck. The Sussex and Welsummers are much more friendly. They really enjoy cricket hunting in the pasture though.

Still, I am quite pleased with them so far. If the boy wishes to show them, I think we will need some slightly better stock. That is why I am disappointed about being so far away. The leg color is improving to yellow as they age, but they do not have the 5 point comb and the feathering is possibly a bit off (I am still learning). And one cockerel is way off on body type (but he still looks tasty).

We plan to keep a cockerel and the pullets over the winter and maybe hatch some this coming spring. If nothing else, they look to be better than average meat birds. Maybe we will be lucky and get some nicer birds from the hatch. It can happen.

 

[jthayerkatz]

Day 15 update *

all four BBS Orp eggs and 23 Del eggs are still doing great,

could see movement in each one and a few feet kicking around in there, very active little buggers already. or maybe it was just my wifes cold hands, they make me jump too

. only 3 more days until IBW we stocked up on ding dongs and ho ho's today and will set up the brooder box Sat.
The PA eggs are down to 13 out of 24 and we spoke to the shipper and are having another 24 sent out for next week after this hatch..

just can't quit this habit LOL. we asked that she package these in cotton instead of wood shavings and she agreed. this should be a very educational experiment too see if there are the same hatchability issues or if the cotton helps to preserve the bloom and they do better. but that is going to have to be a new thread for next week. for now we are aproaching IBW and can't wait for those little darlin's to pop out.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm really psyched for you and Kathy, Jim! JamesA just had all 7 of the BBS Orps he got from me that were fertile to hatch. Lockedhearts took them to him when she came up here awhile back. I would expect all four of those Orps to hatch and probably most of those Dels, too.

 

[jthayerkatz]

Thanx Cyn, I wanted to ask you about Sending some Orp eggs up I will have a free bator by next Fri. and would like to hatch some more before the weather gets too cold. maybe you could PM Kathy and work something out.
How are your eggs doing, have you candled them yet?

 

[speckledhen]

I haven't candled them yet, no. It's early yet. Just a few more days till first candling. I'm pretty sure Skye's are not fertile, but I hope that Dusty's are and I'm positive that Smoky's are, if nothing has changed with her. I'll talk to Kathy by PM later.