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

[Penny Hen]

This is completely off topic but thought it make everyone smile this morning

Meet Calista she is a last year frizzle Cochin silkie cross. This was right after her first molt.

She is soo gorgeous!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

ChickenCanoe, I don't vaccinate or use medicated feed either. Exact same reasons. I wrestled with that for a very long time, and once I reached my peace with my decision I had to explain to a really soft-hearted DH why I would not vaccinate for something that can kill birds. He gets very attached to things he takes care of, which is one of the things I love about him, but as time goes on he understands more and more how I decide what I will and will not do. He contributes and does his own research, and it makes for some interesting discussions. He finds things I don't, which is actually very helpful.

Birds that are self sufficient are a Godsend. Especially when it comes to foraging, disease resistance and daytime predators.

My DW likes the eggs and shows some concern for baby chicks but other than that I know better than to even talk about them. She doesn't have the same obsession.
I have actually successfully begged her 2 or 3 times to close up the coops at dusk when I couldn't get home in time.

Baby Hawke LOVES her egg!

As you can see her 'shoe' fell off today, but the longer it is off the more her foot curls up again. Should I fasion her a new one? Or since she is able to walk on it leave it?

I would put her shoe back on for a few days or as long as it takes till it doesn't curl.

I'm already planning ahead to the Easter Hatch-A-Long, and have decided I must hatch Cream or Silver Spangled Brabanters. If anyone on here is or knows of a good breeder of these please PM me. I found someone on e bay but they have cream & gold, and I don't want the gold.

Sunfaris Farms in Lees Summit, MO has Cream Brabanters. I'll PM their contact info if you want or you can find them in the Missouri Poultry Yearbook.
http://mda.mo.gov/animals/pdf/poultry_yearbook.pdf
I have no idea if they ship. Lees Summit is a suburb of Kansas City.

That's just it, though...all of them have feathers that are different lengths! I know it's hard to see in the photos...but trust me, every single chick but the 2 that don't have wing feathers yet, have two rows of feathers that are different lengths. If it's true about the speed of the growth being only for bantam breeds, then that means so far I have 4 pullets.

....his is why I'm trying to figure it out

Please let us know if everyone's guesses are correct.

We should all have a bottle of Baby Vitamins without iron for the chicks.

Give the slow one a Drop on the beak. Feed it a scrambled egg and pick up some Chick Grit for them.

It really does help the get their digestion going.

Best!

I never used to give grit to chicks because I never fed anything but crumbles which contains grain already ground but last winter I offered some #1 size grit to chicks about 3 weeks old and they devoured the entire container.
I give it to all birds now regardless what they're eating.

oh okay cool lol. there are a lot of things that are mentioned to use on chickens and I never realize they are just normal human products lol
and yes thanks Ron so much! I just saw my chick drink on its own so I think it's gonna be okay

Yes, in reality we're all just a bunch of animals.

WOW!

Too bad she is a little far....I lost my best rooster last summer to a coon, a lovely Glen See boy, and I want a replacement so, so much.

I lost my best/oldest rooster to a family of coons last summer too. I'm still devastated. They also took several hens (Ancona, Jaerhon, White Minorca) and chewed up another Jaerhon and a Penedesenca hen.
I started trapping again. After I caught a couple, they retaliated, broke into the basement and killed 10 chicks.
I lost 22 birds to raccoons last summer and 3 more to the Malamute/Husky pack across the field.

Just catching up, I've had my grandson here.

I think a silkie would be great for Hawk(e?)! A weeks difference in age isn't much.

I'm sorry some folks had little to no chicks hatch, that is so hard. I hope no one gives up though.

Big thanks to Ron for being so supportive and helpful all along, it's a ton of work, but fun as well ( I hope). Big thanks to all the participants who who always are so good good at cheering and commiserating and making us laugh!

I set 38 and hatched 28; OMG what will I do with all the Roos! Most were my mutts and some were from BYC member Chiqita, who is local to me. Here is a pic of those in the brooder, but 3 more are with a broody.

If the space is sufficient, I put chicks together any age under about 7 weeks or so. I just wait till the youngest are three or four days old so they can run.
It certainly wouldn't work with Aseels or similar breed.

These black Penes are about 4 weeks apart. Youngest are 4 days. It also helps if the younger ones are more numerous.

do you sell chicks and hatching eggs? I may consider getting eggs for another hatch. right now we just need these babies to grow a bit and move them to their coop.

what breed is Hawke? is it one of your highest show quality birds you breed?

I thought you said you didn't have any more room.

Welcome to the obsession.

Awesome! I will PM when ready! I have so many chickens right now...for me anyhow.17. 2 coops, one still being built. ill surely let you know! pretty birds!


I have relatives in PA....went up for turkey day. cold as heck there! LOL VA pretty cold......here....20s?wheather TERRIBLE today! wind! aaagggggg! ill let you know! I wouldn't order any now....for the sake of my gut and for the eggs itself! hahah

thanks!
~Bantambury

Multiple coops is the way to go IMO. I was somewhat forced to. Anything here over 100 sq. ft. needs a building permit. So I have a bunch of small buildings but is great for breeding, quarantining, broody apartments, grow out pens, bachelor pads, etc.

Long range forecast on Accuweather looks like a nice warmup the second half of January. That is once we get past the coldest temps in the last 20 years.

I wish there was someone here that had sizzle's or frizzle's. $10 seems like a fair price. Be careful when breeding the sizzle's though. If you breed anything with the gene in them together they turn out with bad feathering so I have read.


And the pic below is what happens when you breed two chickens with the frizzle gene.

Excellent point.

Frizzle Jaer pullet - Husky pack got her and 8 of her flockmates.


This frizzle was my best broody till the raccoons got her off the nest.

 

[Pozees]

Birds that are self sufficient are a Godsend. Especially when it comes to foraging, disease resistance and daytime predators.

Positively!

I never used to give grit to chicks because I never fed anything but crumbles which contains grain already ground but last winter I offered some #1 size grit to chicks about 3 weeks old and they devoured the entire container.
I give it to all birds now regardless what they're eating.

If one is not able to locate #1 it can be sieved from regular grit, right? Here, you ask for grit, and they ask, grey or red? LOL. I have started putting chicks still in brooder outside for brief periods on sunny days (2 weeks and older) and the first thing they do is start picking up bits of dirt and tiny gravel, so I know you're onto something. I am thinking of just putting my regular grit through a sieve and giving the chicks the little bits that go through. I used to be terrified to put them out at that age but there was a day I needed to clean out the brooder they were in, so I put them in a small enclosure with rabbit fence around it, and they LOVED it! Running, flapping wings, digging, scratching and dustbathing, it was so neat to see. Since then I try to get them out on dirt at least once a week if weather cooperates (which this weekend it will not be).

 

[ChickenCanoe]

they LOVED it! Running, flapping wings, digging, scratching and dustbathing, it was so neat to see. Since then I try to get them out on dirt at least once a week if weather cooperates (which this weekend it will not be).

Running outdoors is chick heaven.

The building I brood in is at the far corner of the property. It's just a gambrel roof barn style Lowes kit my son and I put up on a 150+ year old machine shed slab I found when I thought I was going to landscape that corner. I move fences a lot but outside the door there's an approximately 30 X 50 foot area for them to roam. I just open the door in the morning and shut it at night. It amazes me how different each brood is. Some will venture out at 3 weeks but last spring I had a brood that was so timid they were over 10 weeks before they stepped foot outdoors. I even picked some up, carried them out and they ran right back inside.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Ok so I almost have a total on the hatch.
The last three were still working but were apparently shrink wrapped from the last time I pulled chicks. One did quite well but I found it shortly later drown. The last one died before it got out of the shell. There is still one hanging on.
Otherwise , the rest are doing quite well.
47 set.
38 into the hatcher.
35 vibrant chicks and one iffy.
Without the shrink wrapping it would have been 80%. So now it's at least 75% even if this one doesn't make it. The whole concept for the incubator came when my son threw out a shelving unit. I'll try to post pics.

All 38 that were alive at lockdown at least started to hatch so I don't feel too bad. I have to work on abbreviating the hatch window so I don't get these stragglers any more.

The 3 shrink wrapped chicks were way late so maybe weren't vigorous enough anyway. I still like them to hatch and be chickens a while before freezer camp.

We still have a couple inches of snow on the ground with 8-12 coming tonight and tomorrow, another storm next weekend. 6 to 10 below zero Sunday and Monday night with a high of zero Monday. I think I have my work cut out for me.

 

[Pozees]

Ok so I almost have a total on the hatch.
The last three were still working but were apparently shrink wrapped from the last time I pulled chicks. One did quite well but I found it shortly later drown. The last one died before it got out of the shell. There is still one hanging on.
Otherwise , the rest are doing quite well.
47 set.
38 into the hatcher.
35 vibrant chicks and one iffy.
Without the shrink wrapping it would have been 80%. So now it's at least 75% even if this one doesn't make it. The whole concept for the incubator came when my son threw out a shelving unit. I'll try to post pics.

All 38 that were alive at lockdown at least started to hatch so I don't feel too bad. I have to work on abbreviating the hatch window so I don't get these stragglers any more.

The 3 shrink wrapped chicks were way late so maybe weren't vigorous enough anyway. I still like them to hatch and be chickens a while before freezer camp.

We still have a couple inches of snow on the ground with 8-12 coming tonight and tomorrow, another storm next weekend. 6 to 10 below zero Sunday and Monday night with a high of zero Monday. I think I have my work cut out for me.

I think those are great hatch numbers! Do you think it strung out because it started late, and do you attribute that to slightly low temps?

I have one that shrink wrapped that was one of the first two pipped when I moved eggs to the hatcher for today's hatch (26 Production Reds and 2 Silkies). I still think the temp in my Brinsea is a hair high, and will adjust down a tick again. At bedtime I had 5 hatched, this morning at 4 I had 8 hatched and 3 pipped, now 3 more have pipped. Since they are not due until today I think they incubated a little high. Silkies hatching early never surprises me but these egg layers laid within 30 miles and maybe a few hundred feet elevation should have been right on time, or at least I thought so, but then again it might be the low air pressure too. If I go lower to get them to hatch later, do I run the risk of letting the chicks get too large before they try to hatch and decrease the possibility of live hatch?

 

[chicknnugget]

Do you have your incubator yet? You have time for a test hatch before Easter. They we can work with you to fine tune your hatch!

for watching and cheering us on!

I'm not sure I could take the stress! There seems like a lot to it. How in the world does a hen EVER hatch a single egg. LOL. It seems like a great science project for the kids though. My sister has an incubator, so I could give it a whir I guess. Again, it was very interesting to see the progress/results of everyone hatches. Thanks!

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Just want to say thank you to Ron for the dedication this project took.

A thank you to all the experience shared. We didn't know anything but you all filled that gap. Other newbies asked questions I had and we all learned. Thank you so much! The documents on setting and hatching are a wonderful tool!

We are planning our next hatch, to set on the 18th. HOPEFULLY.

Here are some things I learned from this hatch that I can implement to make the next one better.

#1. Have a way to put in water without opening the bator.
#2. Don't candle by removing the egg, or don't candle until day 17, that's a thought!
#3. Get rubbery shelf liner for the bottom of the bator, that metal grate looks hard on new babies.
#4. If an early bird hatches a full day in advance, try to remove it before any other eggs pip.
#5. If possible, only hatch one kind of bird and maybe they'll all hatch the same day and avoid the early bird problem. (It's worth a try)
#6. Never leave a baby with a bloody umbilicus in the bator w/o separating it.
#7. Get medical grade thermometers, the froggy one is fun for photos as it disturbs people to see a waving frog, but it's not as accurate.
#8. Get sponges for lockdown.
#9. The dirty egg never developed, maybe don't bother setting dirty eggs.
#10. Other people (On BYC) know everything so don't be afraid to ask.

Thanks everybody!

I didn't think the metal grate in mine would hurt them, but realized it could...not that it would be hard on their feet...but the edges!! One of my newborns got her foot stuck UNDER the grate at the edge...and the metal was digging into her skin! Thank GOD I had shelf liner from when we moved in...I quickly remedied that problem!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChickenCanoe

Please let us know if everyone's guesses are correct.


I'm going to take better pictures of the wing feathers today...in bright light (since my daggone flash won't work). I checked this morning, and I do not see a single chick with two rows the same length...Miracle (named so because she's the one I had to help and was lucky to have made it...hope she's a girl or I'll have to change her name to something else lol) is still to young to feather sex...no wing feathers yet.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

So all this talk about the Easter Hatch has me wanting to join along and hatch some ducks (my mom is a duck maniac, and had planned on getting some ducks in the spring anyway, so I figure why not hatch some?). Anyone here have duck eggs to sell or trade for chicken eggs when it gets closer? Or should I ask in the buy/sell trade part of the forum??

 

[abmaddox1981]

Okay now that this hatch is over I'm ready to go again. Think I might try to get Turkey eggs for Easter hatch a long.

Ron, you have done awesome organizing this hatch a long! Are you going to be in charge of Easter too?