6th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2015 Hatch-A-Long

[chickkrakidd]

I'm not even just hatching right now and it took me forever to catch up!! Lol

 

[chicken pickin]

Wish I could have a crow off at my house. Wish I could have a rooster at my house.

That's a bummer you cant have a rooster. They can be so great.

 

[hennible]

That's a bummer you cant have a rooster. They can be so great.

So great I have 3 ( all the boys are very gentle, one is not permanent though he will go to a new home in spring )

 

[Aphrael]

My last green(ish) eggs where very hard to see much in... But the single EE egg I've got going this is very is easy to see inside...Maybe it's a shell thickness thing...

I think that is probably the case.

Cute baby ducks! I have a couple of pullets out there that are sounding like ducks now..their voices are changing..pretty funny sound coming from a chicken.

Is it as funny as when ducklings start getting their quack? I swear they look so shocked and embarrassed when they are peeping along and suddenly this loud SQUONK comes out.

Took some photos of the ones for the HAL..and some that are going into lock down this come Sat.

A couple of the HAL ~ coming along....Not bad for shipped eggs..these are blue/green eggs

Now, these are the ones that are going into lock down come Sat. Note that huge double ~ saddle ~
air sac! I've had them make it..or make it up to lock down, then quit just before hatching,
or make it, and not be normal..usually bad head, or eye missing, or crooked beak..or make it easy like I
said, and be normal healthy chicks. I won't know until hatch date. Sure is moving well,
I hope it's ok.

This is from the same shipped egg as above, much better air sac. When I saw this one,
I had a bad feeling about the one with the double air sacs.

Another bad air sac, from the same person I got the others above from. This person
had them wrapped in what looked to be...plastic bags, placed in an egg carton, that part
being good..but..the plastic wrap..and just barely enough to cover the egg. Of course,
several had sweat, and I had to toss a lot with what looks like water floating on the top
of the egg. This person had only shipped eggs a couple of times. I wrote them and told
them a better way to pack their eggs for better chance of them hatching.

The other side
of this egg looks good.


This is an Olive colored egg, quite pretty! This is from a friend down the street, the air
sac is beautiful. As long as I can see that air sac like this, I know all is well.

Another of one of the three olive eggs I got from her. Nice air sac.

Those are great pics. I really hope those bad air cell ones do ok.

Saw this on another thread...and it was mentioned that it says.. Fedex ~ ground..

No eggs in there..no eggs.

Yikes! I hope there is nothing breakable in there!

Whole Foods used to have fertile eggs. I don't think we have a Trader Joes in Arkansas, but Little Rock does have a Whole Food. I guess I need to get back over there and see if they have fertile eggs anymore.
On the note about rates of hatch male/ female:
I think this year has been my closest to have 50/50 as I've ever had. I'm basing this in only the ones that I've kept. I have no ideal what it was on the ones I've sold. My last hatch was 14, lost one. Out if the thirteen left 7 females and 6 makes. 'Bout as close as you can get to 50/50.

That is a nice balance! I hope mine don't drift back to giving me almost nothing but cockerels again...

Pullet thoughts, pullet thoughts...

LOL I just remembered my old youtube account where I had loaded some vids. Here's one of our geese. It's called "Not cleared for landing" *hint* *hint*

Bwahahahaha. Too funny!

not the duck sounding chickens, but I took this of one of my NYD girls this summer...she randomly started walking around throwing sticks on her back! I wonder what for!!

How funny and weird! I wonder what she thought she was doing.

for any of you that need some distraction....heres what we will be having in a few weeks....

Too sweet. Thanks for sharing.

That's a bummer you cant have a rooster. They can be so great.

They can be great. I love seeing a roo doing the high pitched bok bok bok to call the girls when he has a goodie, and then he picks it up and dribbles it in front of them like a mama hen would for her chicks. It is so cute and sweet.

So great I have 3 ( all the boys are very gentle, one is not permanent though he will go to a new home in spring )

I have 3 keepers for now. One cockerel who will be going to freezer camp soon, and who knows how many little cockerels growing up in the chick hut right now.

 

[Dish chickens]

I am so bummed...... I had a hen go broody and since I still had the breeding pens kicking out eggs I stuck eggs under her from my best pen. This would have been the last day I was putting eggs under her (total of 5) she has been broody for 6 days and on these eggs for 3 days. I got home and there was 3 additional un-marked eggs in the nest and she moved to another nest box. I have no idea how long she had been off the nest but temps started dropping today. I moved the marked eggs under her but don't know if they got to cold.

PLEASE PLEASE Please be okay......They would have been or will be---- 1 week behind my HAL chicks

 

[LPeaslee]

Saw this on another thread...and it was mentioned that it says.. Fedex ~ ground.. No eggs in there..no eggs.

Looks kinda like an egg I dropped once.

 

[ronott1]

I am so bummed...... I had a hen go broody and since I still had the breeding pens kicking out eggs I stuck eggs under her from my best pen. This would have been the last day I was putting eggs under her (total of 5) she has been broody for 6 days and on these eggs for 3 days. I got home and there was 3 additional un-marked eggs in the nest and she moved to another nest box. I have no idea how long she had been off the nest but temps started dropping today. I moved the marked eggs under her but don't know if they got to cold.

PLEASE PLEASE Please be okay......They would have been or will be---- 1 week behind my HAL chicks

I am sorry to hear about the broody switch!

The eggs should be fine if she stays with them.

 

[chicken pickin]

I am sorry to hear about the broody switch!

The eggs should be fine if she stays with them.

I agree. I had a broody a few months ago that was a first time broody, she kicked random eggs out almost everyday by accident. They were often cold by the time I found them and I just slid them back under her. They hatched on days 21 and 22.

I wish you luck and hope she hatches them for you with no more difficulties.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

Oh I can't wait for my ducks to lay eggs! Maybe I'll have a broody and incubate some at the same time and pawn my hatch off on the mama duck

I was so busy freaking out about chicken eggs that I forgot ducks lay eggs too.... She surprised me. And of course she wanted to go broody right away. We took a few at the beginning to taste them and they are delicious. I am excited for the hatch, I candled some today and they have all gone dark like they are supposed to.

I hear duck eggs are magnificent for baking.

 

[hennible]

I hear duck eggs are magnificent for baking.

Me too