4th Annual BYC NYD Hatch-a-long

[RavenWood]

Hello everyone looks like Sally Sunshine won the last contest with photo # 4.
Congrats to Sally. I will contact you after I get home from work with details. Everyone give her a hand.
That wraps up this year's NYDH hope everyone had a blast, even if I was MIA for a while.

Clean sweep - 1st and 2nd no less. Congrats. And the Easter hatch contests are just around the corner.

 

[TMNfarm]

I have a question for those of you that have hatched under a broody hen before... I put Prim and her babies out in the main coop with the rest of the layers, and they are settling in, but they all hang out under the shelf with Prim. That's fine. I make sure they get food and they do mingle a bit. My question is... How long does it normall y take for the broody hen to start laying again?? Prim sat on her eggs for 3 weeks, now has raised them for 8 weeks, and seems to show no interest in visiting the nest boxes. It isn't a big deal at all to me, I'm just curious...

 

[NotAFarm]

All depends on the hen....they are all individuals and the fact that you are in MN and it is winter will also have an affect. How old is she and did she go through a molt last fall before she sat on the clutch?

 

[cochins1088]

Yay, I can upload pictures again!

Sally, here's what the chicks arrived in:









And here are some more pictures, the 2 big white ones are from the NYD hatch-along. They actually help care for and cover the little cochin bantam chicks, I've never seen anything like it before!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Yay, I can upload pictures again!

Sally, here's what the chicks arrived in:









And here are some more pictures, the 2 big white ones are from the NYD hatch-along. They actually help care for and cover the little cochin bantam chicks, I've never seen anything like it before!

how adorable, but how do you know who is who?? I have two EE's I hatched and do the same thing with these new peeps! Interesting packaging. I would order those chicks but I wouldnt be able to tell who is who, whats the blue on heads?

 

[cochins1088]

how adorable, but how do you know who is who?? I have two EE's I hatched and do the same thing with these new peeps! Interesting packaging. I would order those chicks but I wouldnt be able to tell who is who, whats the blue on heads?

There are so many! It's impossible to keep track of all of them. It's more enjoyable when I only raise a couple at a time, that way you can get close to them.

I can tell a few apart by their patterns and I also used a couple drops of food coloring to identify a few. The blue that you see on some of the chick's heads is the hatchery's way of marking which chicks are silver laced.

I plan to let them grow out to 3 month, and then I'll choose my favorites.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: this would stink for resell though, you would think they would band them or something? do you know how many roos you have?

 

[cochins1088]

this would stink for resell though, you would think they would band them or something? do you know how many roos you have?

I think it's nice, it doesn't get in the chick's way, it's just a little mark so that their head fluff is colored. It will go away eventually, it's already really faded. And I have no idea how many roos yet, I'll have to let them mature. I hope for about 50% roos and hens.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: LOL NO I meant that they dont actually band who is who LOLOLOL I think the blue is a good idea too! but what about the rest! lol

 

[cochins1088]

LOL NO I meant that they dont actually band who is who LOLOLOL I think the blue is a good idea too! but what about the rest! lol

I know, it's hard. Like I said, I marked a couple of others with a drop of food coloring but otherwise, they are just the chicks. It feels a little more like work raising so many rather than enjoyment. I enjoy raising smaller numbers. If I raise more then 5 chicks, I don't feel as close to them.