5th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2014 Hatch-A-Long

[Frankie Ruiz]

Do you guys think it's necessary to put a heat pack in with shipped hatching eggs? Anyone have experience with receiving shipped eggs in winter, particular in the northern and colder states or you guys up in canada? I was offered a heat pack with my egg shipment. Not sure if it's necessary or if it's indeed worth it. Mine, in particular, are only being shipped from Ohio to Pennsylvania.

take the heat pack. its so the eggs dont freeze in these really cold temps were having. its very easy for the eggs to freeze in a very little time. and with the other suggestion about the heat pack incubating the eggs, the chances of that happening are very slim. go for the heat pack!!

 

[Frankie Ruiz]

No my worry is that they are new pullet eggs. Even though they look quite biq.

Im wondering if she has more eggs out in her coop buried under the shavings... Hmmm... I think I will dig around her coop tomorrow and she wat I find. The above eggs unfortunately froze and cracked so they are trash. I plan to start collecting eggs mom for the hatch.

my birds have only been laying since the 18th and the eggs just keep getting bigger and bigger every day! take the chance !! you wont know if you dont try

 

[CackleJoy]

I am so excited! Looks like we will have eggs and be hatching along!

Our egg mix will include our own MF leghorns which have started laying again. Popping out those eggs at a remarkable rate!

 

[chicken pickin]

Just a reminder

Set day is Tomorrow(12/1) for anyone setting Goose eggs .

 

[Aphrael]

I have a new egg layer. My Olive Egger pullet has started a secret nest and I found 3 eggs today YAY!!!!!!!!!

I wonder if it will be too soon to try to incubate her eggs along with the rest of the NYDH eggs. DH is gonna kill me lol.

Those are gorgeous! I'd go for it.

 

[chicken pickin]

Thanks for the enabling, er I mean words of encouragement from everyone. I might just hatch me some OEs.

 

[Aphrael]

Oh oh guess what!!

Baby ducky!!!!





She pipped before bed last night and spent most of today hatching. I had to help her just a bit right at the end. She had zipped all around but the membrane was still hanging on in places and it was like leather. Glad I peeled back the outer membrane for her because some of the inner membrane or something had got wrapped around her head and she was stuck. Sorry the last pics aren't too great quality. She really didn't want to sit still for pictures. She wanted to crawl under my chin and sleep.

One of the others is internally pipped so am hoping it will hatch tomorrow. Sadly I think I've lost the 3rd one.

It was alive and moving yesterday morning. But stopped moving sometime after that and hasn't moved at all since that I have seen. It also developed a small spot that looks like a bruise in the shape of a duck foot.

 

[chicken pickin]

So Cute!!! Congrats on the duck hatching. I love baby ducks they are the absolute cutest babies ever.

 

[Summerlove]

 

[SunnySkies]

Can you show swedish flower hens in america?

They are NOT recognized by APA. A group of us breeders looked into what it would take to get SFH recognized by APA so they could be shown, it was...problematic. The biggest issue I recall is that APA wanted a base color. Well. There isn't a base color. They are all different. I have black ones, red ones, white ones, etc, and while they all share distinct breed characteristics, feather color is not one of them.

But I have seen people show them in AOV and showmanship classes, where they can do well.

I do not show mine, but my sons were asking if maybe we could select some for show next year. The problem I see is they do NOT like being confined and do much better if they free range, just because they are very active and curious.

I'm planning to start saving eggs for this in 3 days..my plan is to see how my SFH are laying (assuming the incubator doesn't act up and the kids don't take the top off, like they did last time...) and hopefully get some chicks that are ready to lay in May or young roosters to sell.