Any one want to join me in waiting for eggs, posting and comparing notes?

[backyardcelia]

greetings and spring salutations, all! today is so windy all the ladies are cooped up, so it gave me a chance to stop by and catch up & thanks for the 'poke' MB, i have been having fuzzy chick thoughts since!

from what i have been reading on BYC, i guess i should be thrilled that our remaining four ladies served up eggs practically all winter! (i think we only had only 2 or 3 eggless days, if that) maybe i should get a rooster and breed them! i couldn't call it the nunnery any longer. they seem to suddenly be always laying in one box, and they are always warm... so somebody must be sitting on them consistently (but nobody seems broody- at all!) so maybe they are taking turns/instinctually incubating? there was even a day we got an extra egg! and not only do they lay well, but they sure have sweet dispositions- cooing at us all winter long!

i need to build a more better hen pen!!! predator wise it is fabulous... but we need better for me (cleaning) and them (more room, but more to the point: more consistent dry land! after storms) any top tips? (DOS or DON'Ts)?? meanwhile, BEST of LUCK, MB sitting on your remaining batch!!!!!

 

[Melabella]

greetings and spring salutations, all! today is so windy all the ladies are cooped up, so it gave me a chance to stop by and catch up & thanks for the 'poke' MB, i have been having fuzzy chick thoughts since!

from what i have been reading on BYC, i guess i should be thrilled that our remaining four ladies served up eggs practically all winter! (i think we only had only 2 or 3 eggless days, if that) maybe i should get a rooster and breed them! i couldn't call it the nunnery any longer. they seem to suddenly be always laying in one box, and they are always warm... so somebody must be sitting on them consistently (but nobody seems broody- at all!) so maybe they are taking turns/instinctually incubating? there was even a day we got an extra egg! and not only do they lay well, but they sure have sweet dispositions- cooing at us all winter long!

i need to build a more better hen pen!!! predator wise it is fabulous... but we need better for me (cleaning) and them (more room, but more to the point: more consistent dry land! after storms) any top tips? (DOS or DON'Ts)?? meanwhile, BEST of LUCK, MB sitting on your remaining batch!!!!!

Celia, thanks love! I ordered a candler, and hope to get a better look as to what is going on. I am convinced I messed up and will get no chicks.. but I am a worrywart. I ordered some expensive lavender Ameraucana hatching eggs that are due week of May 1st so if this is a bust, hopefully I will learn from what I may have done wrong, and try again. I also just gave 12 fresh eggs to a friend who has an incessant broody with no rooster in her flock, so at least the poor thing can set on these and see if I have some luck there. I gave her 8 ameraucana eggs, and 4 barred rock.. I hope that goes well. I also have a friend that wanted these chicks, didn't care if they were roos, so I don't want to disappoint him.

As far as do's and don'ts.... I spent a FORTUNE on my run but it was money well spent. I wanted to be able to stand up in the run so I could clean and also catch the girls if I had to attend to them. I bit the bullet and went with galvanized 1x1 and also dug it under the dirt. Like I say it was expensive but nothing at all gets in there. I do realize a snake could still get through the 1x1, but so far, haven't had that issue. I also covered it on top.. I partially roofed one side andleft the other. I wish I had done it all though, as the snow takes up half the run. I was afraid the sun wouldn't get to them on days that they don't get out, but silly me.. is shines through on rising and setting... not to bright I am sometimes. Here is my setup.

 

[CatSol]

I couldn't help it... I just had to try and see if it would work. I have a broodie turkey hen. She will stay in box for months... So i decided to let her have some of the chicken eggs. It's all due to you Melabella if you can try to icubate then i have so many eggs I can let my turkey try. thanks... I will keep you updated.

 

[Melabella]

I couldn't help it... I just had to try and see if it would work. I have a broodie turkey hen. She will stay in box for months... So i decided to let her have some of the chicken eggs. It's all due to you Melabella if you can try to icubate then i have so many eggs I can let my turkey try. thanks... I will keep you updated.

OH MY HECK.. that is exciting news! I SO wish one of my girls would have been broody but no such luck. I am so happy to hear you are giving it a try. I have seen pictures of chickens hatching out ducks... so why wouldn't a turkey work! Please give us updates.. how many did you put under her? I need a picture of your turkey sitting on eggs! So cute!

Good LUCK!
MB

 

[Melabella]

Good Morning all,,

Hope you are all safe, and anyone in bad weather areas, I hope you are well and the weather passes quietly. Just an update. Today I am on Day 18, which is lockdown. I am trying to do everything correctly but to be honest, if any of these last 4 chicks hatch, I will surely be amazed. I took out the egg turning disc as told, and filled the water reservoir one last time,, and now the 3 day wait begins. I have 3 pure Ameraucana eggs, and one Ameraucana/Barred Rock egg that I am praying for. The Amer/BR cross will be an Easter Egger with auto sexed feature so I will be able to tell right away if he is a boy or girl. Pretty cool, thanks Brooster for the info there.
Wish me luck guys!


p.s. I realized I turned this to a hatch waiting thread briefly. Keep the info coming on those eggs, hopefully I will be waiting on those too before too long!
MB

 

[Melabella]

HI guys....

Guess what??? I am on Day 20, but woke up to this little pretty who is one strong little lady, hatched a day early! She is running around the incubator like mad. This is the only brown egg I set, an Easter egger from my Ameraucana roo and my Barred Rock hen. I am going to call her Prima since she was first!

 

[CatSol]

Sooo cute! Congrats Melabella!

So excited for you.

My Tia Turkey was sitting on 7 eggs. I had given her 6 but my blue Andalusian decided to give her one more egg and we decided to let her have it. We marked all the eggs and take away any new eggs. Unfortunately one of the Americana/EE eggs has gone missing. It looks like someone broke it and now it is mostly gone. So for the rest of the eggs are 3 blue Andalusian, 1 Americana/EE & 2 Cuckoo Marans. I was really hoping for the EE.... If the blue Andalusian Roo got to the girls then we would have had olive eggers. Oh well. We could always try again.

 

[Melabella]

That is the most precious picture EVER! Does she just sit on them all day, or does she get off them periodically? What a good girl, she is beautiful herself! love the color of those eggs! I just had the last hold out hatch, another lil Ameraucana. My rooster is a black/lav split, so I was hoping for a lavender chick, but got three little black Ameraucana chicks, and a Ameraucana/Barred rock cross chick. So 4 out of 7 hatched. 2 of the original 7 were infertile, and one was an early death.. These are the things you can tell when you have a candler, and can check. You on the other hand have the best darn incubator made! Keep us posted Cat, I can't wait to hear how it goes. All this anticipation about waiting for chicks, now the anticipation is hoping I have more girls than boys!

MB

 

[CatSol]

eww... We lost another egg. I am not sure who is eating them. We only find a little of a mess in the box with her. She is so protective that I can not believe she is doing it. So we decided to move her inside. She is in a nice big tub with shavings and her 5 eggs. We lost one of the Andalusian eggs. I am almost tempted to give her more eggs.... but then they would be a week apart in age. I am not sure if that would work or not. What do you all think?
We have been giving her bowls of food and water. She sometimes gets out to feed very quickly with the other birds but then goes back.
Oh it sounds so cute. I am really looking forward to seeing pics or your babies.... This is so exciting. Last year waiting on our girls to grow up and lay... Don't worry Melabella It will go back to an egg waiting thread Hens that we get from the girls we so agonized over last year. What a journey it has been.

 

[KilnChick]

This girl was freeloading for a bit. I was worried, this is her 1st full year...

Then I followed the brat...

Ha! Holding out!

So its been off n on rain, heat and what not and I hate to waste them so scrambled them up with garlic and added the crushed shells and fed them a dinner treat

Clever little miss henny! I love it! Reminds me of when one of my Seramas did that.