4th Annual BYC NYD Hatch-a-long

[Bettacreek]

I WISH I got $5 for ducklings and $4 for chicks!!! Silkies and the like can be sold for $5 per chick, but any of the layer breeds, you're lucky to sell them at $2, and you're extremely lucky to get a buck per mixed chick. :/ Ducklings, well, they're typically $3, or $2.50. We live in an agricultural area, so why they don't sell for more...? Maybe because the amish raise and sell for dirt cheap... Still though.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

ducklings are priced as straight run ($7 & $9/each depending on breed) and sexed ($9 & $11/each)
chicks are priced based on breed $7 - $35 each
Goslings are $40 - $80 each

this all newly hatched pricing and goes up with age. Fall juvenile geese get priced based on quality/parentage

 

[Cynthia12]

Yesterday night i candled and tossed 6 eggs, 2 silkies were dead and the others were clear. I saw moving though! my babies were bouncing around in there little bungy cords (aka viens). doing flips and everything, fun fun.

also, woke up to snow!

an inch or so, and coming hard. im expecting:
the three months old, my 'crew', will probably start partying in it, having a blast.
My older hens will know to stay in,
and the young pullets will most likely run out all excited like normal then realize they are cold, and come running back,
I KNOW my dogs are gonna run and play and party like theres no tomorrow in it, i will have to take pics! this will probably be my golden's last winter, so we are trying to savor it.

You have an old Golden? I've put down one, and just lost a Golden to the most weirf/friekish accident ever, right in front of me. My old boy, we put down..he loved the snow! So did my last boy..so glad I got pictures of him last month playing in the last snow we got..which was a lot. He loved looking for the ball I would throw, it would disappear in the snow, he would find it. There was one place..one place! In that darn fence. There was a pointed fence cap on one of the posts, instead of the round kind. I was in the yard part with my smaller dog, I could hear my Golden..Toby, jumping up on the fence like he has soo many times, I heard a whimper, then a thud. I turned, and knew as soon as I saw him, he was gone. He had broken his neck, just that quick. I've heard of these things happening..but my goodness, not to me, not if front of me. It was so sad. I love Goldens, need a Golden in my life as long as I can care for them. He was so well behaved, trained. Everyone that met Toby couldn't believe how well behaved he was. They are so willing to please. I am going to post a lot of pics now of all of my Goldens. Good luck with your old guy Sweetly! Post pictures of yours!


My first boy, Grizz, he was getting old, just a year before we My Grizz'a last winter, he loved the snow too..
put him down. He got tumors all over him, couldn't hardly
walk a year later..it was time.



Loved this big boy..he was not overweight at close to 80 lbs!




This is my Toby that just had that horrible accident last month.


Too young to die at just 3 and a half years old. Loved this guy!


My new girl.. Missy, and yes, she is pure. I will be asked a number of times throughout her life. She was the only one in the litter
that had the white. It can happen, but of course, not showable..I
don't care to show. She is precious. My first female Golden!



Wanting my Brody to come back and play, but my little Doxie
does not like the snow quite as much as she does.
Looking forward to a long life with this little girl.

 

[coldupnorth]

Have I ever mentioned that I hate snow? Well, I HATE snow. I hate it even more when the sky lights up from lightning while its snowing and I'm doing chores.

You can send the snow my way. I don't mind doing chores in it (better than soaking rain). Lightning and snow is just so strange and eerie to witness. Seriously, I hope you were able to get everything done and that everyone is warm, dry and safe at your house. I suppose I could drive the 6 hours to come help you shovel.

Lightning + Snow = kinda scary!

It only snowed a little bit here today. We have a cumulation of about 5 inches on the untouched spots. It's inconvenient to haul water in gallon jugs, I think that's my least fave part of winter! I do enjoy going out after a fresh snow to see who/what's been on the place and where.

Ditto on the hauling water jugs in the winter. Yuck, for sure! Love the snowy avatar

That is still late to wash dogs, he he he

This summer ya all woulda laughed your butts off at my stupidness...

picture this.....
nice HOT summer evening going to bed at midnight after a night swim and campfire with the kiddos...
finally snuggle into bed and my Buddy laying at my feet.... Only to realize how bad the stench is! OMG what in the world did this dog roll in??? The smell was horrific, I couldnt sleep I tossed and turned and finally after 15 minutes of grossness and debating washing the dog.... I get up and as quietly as is possible washing a dog, scrubbed the dog till he was red (ok I really didnt but I scrubbed the living bejimmeny out of the poor guy) well he jumps out of the tub whilst I am washing him, shakes, I get him slithering back into the tub to rinse him off, by this time, the floor walls and myself are covered with wet dog and hair..... so I dry him off and scrub the bathroom and then take a shower for myself.....

I finally snuggle back into the bed only to find the stench remains.... I strip the bed replace all linens and start a load of wash..... snuggle back in bed and OMG SERIOUSLY the stench was HORRIFIC I mean bad!!! And when I realised my window was open a crack and the stench was coming from the outside I was fit to be tied!!! Sometimes I can beat my neighboring farms up for spreading **** in the middle of the night!!! DUGHHHHH moral... always check your windows first!!

Good to remember - check windows first! We have few farms up here in the woods, but the few that we have ALWAYS spread on the bluest, sunniest, bestest days to be outside.

I was Wrong!

the older girls/pullets all came rushing to the door and stopped abruptly when they saw snow and retreated

the three month olds (who are in a separate coop) all running out all excited before they realized there was snow, then all went piling back into the coop, HA! i got some pics..

we decided also to let the cats come in the garage, the poor things. one was huddled up against the door downstairs so i put him in there, one when i went out to feed chickens was hiding under the deck so he went in, but i didnt see macy, our little calico. OHHH IT JUST ABOUT BROKE MY HEART when i saw her all cold and calling for me to come pck her up. at first i didnt know where she was but then found her behind some paneling. I shoved her into my coat and dropped my phone in the snow, thanks to the good case nothing was damamged, but its all watery still

my two dogs were rolling in it, making dog angels, and running kicking up over everybody, they need manners hahahaha.
they came in surprisingly dry though, not a flake on them

Our chickens are all different - some will come racing outside and step in the snow and then retreat. Some of the others have not problem with it. The funniest ones are the ones that try to fly over it, land in it and then try flying over it again; they look like they are hopping.

Don't you just love the exuberance of dogs and snow together. Our go crazy with it; stuffing their noses deep into it, picking up chunks of snow and ice to throw around and play keep-away and general dashing through the white stuff.

I don't think we've ever had a cat that liked to step in snow.

 

[Cynthia12]

Beginning Hatching day 3!!!! I have Maran in from Duramax that just started hatching!

I lost track of my count as who is in the bator vs brooder!!

I have two GOLD Laced Cochin in the bator drying off and another 2 marans
and about 4 more pipping....

brooder = 4 yellow Serama from CPL and they are all different believe it or not! YAY
some of DMrippy Marans in the brooder now too.....

So far One death and ONEI helped that was deformed : (



the two cochin are so much smaller than the marans!! and WIRY little buggers too!!
Nose will again be pressed against the plexy on the coolerbator!



AGAIN even with shipped eggs, I AM SO IMPRESSED WITH THIS COOLERBATOR Harmony and Daddo made!!! Its so awesome!!! I NEVER WANT a bought bator again!!
Now if I praise him enough maybe he will find me some Blue cochin eggs for christmas

Its not like I asked for silver Appenzeller Spitzhauben PERHAPS I should have!!

Congrats on your babies! I just love the new baby chicks! And, you can ask your dad if he would like to start building bators, lots of them, for those of us that want one!!

 

[coldupnorth]

12Days Till Hatch Day!

 

[Cynthia12]

I got an email this morning that someone wants to buy the rest of my chicks (21 of them). I will be happy and sad, because I won't have anymore until NYD, but at least it will give me more space. I just have to enjoy the ducklings until then. I'm not sure if they will really come or not because they have emailed me several times over the past several weeks and never set a time to get any. We shall see.

Aww, can't you just keep one..that looks to be a pullet? I have some RIR's going too. I want two pullets to start laying for me around May. Great egg layers, and I have had no problems with the RIR's being mean. Or, a leghorn, in fact, my fav. bird out there is my leghorn, Miss Piggy. She is right there by my side when I bring out the food. She squats for me if I reach out to her. I have a few different breeds going on that are just beautiful..but I love my leghorn, and..a red sex link.

 

[debs_flock]

I finally snuggle back into the bed only to find the stench remains.... I strip the bed replace all linens and start a load of wash..... snuggle back in bed and OMG SERIOUSLY the stench was HORRIFIC I mean bad!!! And when I realised my window was open a crack and the stench was coming from the outside I was fit to be tied!!! Sometimes I can beat my neighboring farms up for spreading **** in the middle of the night!!! DUGHHHHH moral... always check your windows first!!

LOL

With all the dog bathing I do (4 large dogs) I paid a plumber to run lines through the wall from the laundry room. I now have a dog bathing station (hot and cold) outside the back door to make things simple. We are in the process of building a deck there, so no mud either

. I had them install a showerhead too, now I can hose down DH if he is too bad

I candled my eggs last night and pulled the clears (I set a lot of first time layer pullet eggs). Out of the 42 set, I have 32, possibly 34 (dark brown) developing.

So I'm pretty happy with their numbers.

Deb

 

[RoyalT]

Mrheinz, Lightning AND snow? Doesn't seem fair somehow.

RoyalT, Great Avatar!

Thanks! That's our Christmas card photo this year

Good for you! I plan on selling all the chicks, ducklings, and maybe some of the quail babies. How much does everyone sell their baby chicks (or any feathered babies) for? I usually sell my chicks for about $4.00 each. I sold my ducklings for $8.00 each, and they were mixed. I sold peachicks last year for $35.00 each..however after doing some research that is WAY too cheap. Any hatchery you go to sells them for about $47.00+ each. Looking forward to hearing what everybody else gets for their hatchlings. : )

I am selling RIR chicks right now for $2 each, and BCM chicks for $5 each. I had some mixed chicks but sold all those for $2 each. Right now chicks on CL are running about $3 a chick. I like to keep my prices low so I don't have to hold on to them for long, plus I am farther out than most people so people don't like to drive out here as much. The ducks I have ready to hatch (rouen, Indian runners, and mixes of the 2) I am going to sell $5 for the females and $4 for the males. No one is selling ducklings right now so I can't compare prices, but in the spring/summer they tend to sell for $3-$6 each.

Let's see- Straight Run day to week-olds sell for $5 each. Started pullets go for $10-15 and if you buy 4, I give ya a roo for free if you want one. These are my FBCM and OE chicks.

When I get my rarer breeds going, I will be selling for 20+ each as day olds (auto-sexing) and more as starteds. People in town can have 6 hens here, and they like to know they're getting hens, so I foresee no issues with that pricing.

I also barter. I've traded chickens for other animals or things we need. Works great, and everyone is happy I haven't sold ducklings yet, but I'm getting two Juvie Muscovy girls for $12/ea on Saturday. And it's snowy here! They are pretty colors, though- so I couldn't resist

Ditto on the hauling water jugs in the winter. Yuck, for sure! Love the snowy avatar

Yeah it makes me want to make sure I get a no-freeze pump out there in the spring for sure. Aw ty

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Free snow. You haul.

Its a good thing this is a family friendly site. Otherwise my thoughts would make a sailor blush.

BTW, I'm 24 hrs behind on this thread.

LOL