2018 Newbie Chat!

[CannedMonster]

I’m going to try this! What a brilliant idea. I’ll mark the eggs I want to hatch with an x, and take away the “community” eggs daily. You’re a genius! Thanks for the idea

I was thinking of putting a larger sized pet taxi in the run with nesting material in it to see if any broody would use it.
Or a covered kitty litter box.
I don’t really have predators here other than hawks, owls and the occasional dog (if the chickens go over the fence).
There’s a lot of BYC people that have let their broodys set and raise chicks amongst the flock.
It helps the success if the broody is higher in the pecking order.
The only reason I removed Pippin was because of the time of year and because the prefab is probably 3-3.5 feet off the ground.
I’m not sure about very young chicks negotiating the ramp.
Once they have feathers on their wings it’s no problem.

Speaking of Pippin...I candled again today and there’s still movement in the NN egg! Tomorrow is day 21 so it should be very soon.
There wasn’t much going on with the bantam egg. I’m afraid that one died.
I’m not 100% sure though.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

It's hard work producing an egg. I remember when Rain the barred rock was laying her first egg. I really felt bad for her, it was literally like she was in labor. Me and Prince were on stand by. He never left her side.

I relate to this completely it really was just like they were in labour! Today went much easier thank goodness, however to begin with both were very upset bcos Lilah was in the nest laying and both wanted to go in too and wouldn't use the other nest areas available, the poor girls dashed around the garden not knowing what to do with themselves and when Lilah finally came out, I only had seconds to grab her egg before they went in (I have to remove it otherwise they peck at it as they don't like it being in there when they lay) both were so desperate they jumped in at the same time and laid their eggs together, it took them less than 5 minutes today which explained why they got to desperate. Pedro's egg was slightly smaller today, about the same size as Lilah's and there was only the tiniest spot of blood on it, nothing at all compared to the amount of blood on her first egg, I assume the first egg was way too big and perhaps caused a little tear and today's egg being smaller was easier for her to lay. Jellybean's egg is the same size and colour of her first egg, I'm going to try post a pic of them tomorrow b'cos I am unsure about the colour being a kind of green colour, which I'm not sure if it should be that colour or if there's something wrong - I hope not.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

2-5 inches of snow coming tonight. We are lucking out up here, most of it is just a few miles south of us. We put the plastic up on the run under the coop on the north and west sides. The west side of the run was done a few weeks ago. I have the east side of the run open and most of the south side. The run is covered and most of our winter storms come from north-northwest. So I'm hoping we'll be ok. I put a thermometer/hygrometer combo up in the coop. It shows the range that occurs. When I put it up the outside humidity was 71% and the coop humidity was 57%...guess I'm using enough stall dry...hahaha. Have no idea if that has anything to do with it though.
@ChooksNQuilts , so happy you still have at least one egg going! Keep us updated. I've been watching some hatches here and there in the forums and it's so exciting! Makes me want to move out of the city a ways.

 

[CannedMonster]

I relate to this completely it really was just like they were in labour! Today went much easier thank goodness, however to begin with both were very upset bcos Lilah was in the nest laying and both wanted to go in too and wouldn't use the other nest areas available, the poor girls dashed around the garden not knowing what to do with themselves and when Lilah finally came out, I only had seconds to grab her egg before they went in (I have to remove it otherwise they peck at it as they don't like it being in there when they lay) both were so desperate they jumped in at the same time and laid their eggs together, it took them less than 5 minutes today which explained why they got to desperate. Pedro's egg was slightly smaller today, about the same size as Lilah's and there was only the tiniest spot of blood on it, nothing at all compared to the amount of blood on her first egg, I assume the first egg was way too big and perhaps caused a little tear and today's egg being smaller was easier for her to lay. Jellybean's egg is the same size and colour of her first egg, I'm going to try post a pic of them tomorrow b'cos I am unsure about the colour being a kind of green colour, which I'm not sure if it should be that colour or if there's something wrong - I hope not.

The shell color is just the shell color.
Each hen lays an egg with a specific color.
If she has Araucana/Ameracauna genes then she may lay a blue or green egg.
What breed is she?

 

[llombardo]

Well it's coming down here. It's blizzard like conditions. I texted my boss and told him I would take a half day tomorrow--going in late because it's going to be a long night. I'm out there every 1/2 hour removing snow from net. I can't even get dry and I am going back out there. He texted me back that we are closed tomorrow. You know conditions are bad when a garbage company closes. This is so early in the year for this crap.

I'm worried im not going to be able to get to the chickens or ducks at this rate. And I also am worried about this net. Even with the snow off, the wetness is making it heavy.

Im still considering bringing these guys in during this kind of weather. I'm going to end up with a heck of a cold doing this.

 

[llombardo]

I need to come up with a plan to put a cover on this run for next year.

I'm thinking of working on the inside of run and possibly using clear panels peaking at 5.5 ft. Wonder if this would work?

I can't have my chickens soaking wet.

 

[llombardo]

Things have not gone well here, it's a wicked storm. The snow is heavy and just won't stop. There have been two transformers that exploded. Real loud and a purple color. Then a live wire went down and was on fire down the road and the only way in and out here. I thought it was someone's house when I saw the bright Orange, thankfully not.

A big tree branch fell on the run, broke one of the supports, shut down the electric fence and ripped a small area of the net. I also have two huge branches that fell on the other side of the yard. I tried moving the one on the run, but that was a no go. I almost stepped on what I think was a mole, I must have interrupted him under the wood I was standing on.

So the run is not safe right now. I was doing ok with the snow on the net but that branch screwed me up. I can hear the tree branches cracking--I'm pretty sure more will come down. I'm not letting the dogs out until tomorrow-not safe.

I did what I had to do to keep the chickens and ducks safe. They are all in the house. I had to hurry because I was afraid a tree was going to fall on me.

I have no garage, so they are all in my room--ducks are in the bathtub until further notice. I'm not sure how long it will take to fix the run. I don't have the funds for major fixing--hopefully once the tree branch is removed I can just replace the one area. I have some materials left over.

Tomorrow I will set the chickens up better. I had to move fast, so it's not perfect but they are safe. I could not find the two rabbits to try to get them at least in the coop or duck house--will try that again tomorrow. No animal belongs out in this crap.

The tree on the run

The trees in the yard

The ducks in the bathtub

The chickens in the house-the boys are talking away.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Things have not gone well here, it's a wicked storm. The snow is heavy and just won't stop.

So sorry, I hope it ends soon.

 

[llombardo]

So sorry, I hope it ends soon.

No sign of that happening. It sure the hell caused a lot of issues so far.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Things have not gone well here, it's a wicked storm. The snow is heavy and just won't stop. There have been two transformers that exploded. Real loud and a purple color. Then a live wire went down and was on fire down the road and the only way in and out here. I thought it was someone's house when I saw the bright Orange, thankfully not.

A big tree branch fell on the run, broke one of the supports, shut down the electric fence and ripped a small area of the net. I also have two huge branches that fell on the other side of the yard. I tried moving the one on the run, but that was a no go. I almost stepped on what I think was a mole, I must have interrupted him under the wood I was standing on.

So the run is not safe right now. I was doing ok with the snow on the net but that branch screwed me up. I can hear the tree branches cracking--I'm pretty sure more will come down. I'm not letting the dogs out until tomorrow-not safe.

I did what I had to do to keep the chickens and ducks safe. They are all in the house. I had to hurry because I was afraid a tree was going to fall on me.

I have no garage, so they are all in my room--ducks are in the bathtub until further notice. I'm not sure how long it will take to fix the run. I don't have the funds for major fixing--hopefully once the tree branch is removed I can just replace the one area. I have some materials left over.

Tomorrow I will set the chickens up better. I had to move fast, so it's not perfect but they are safe. I could not find the two rabbits to try to get them at least in the coop or duck house--will try that again tomorrow. No animal belongs out in this crap.

The tree on the run

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The trees in the yard

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The ducks in the bathtub

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The chickens in the house-the boys are talking away.

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Oh wow! Didn't see that post before I answered! What a terrible night you're having! Good to see everyone safe in the house. so scary!