April 2023 Hatch-A-Long

[lilwanderer]

Another thing, yesterday afternoon a hen was acting a little broody-like- clucking and walking around puffed up. That night she was in the nest instead of perching, so i said, okay, if she's still acting like this tomorrow morning, I'll give her eggs. Sure enough, she was, still bundled up in the nest, no eggs. So i gave her 5 eggs, 3 belong to this beautiful barnyard mix hen:

And the remaining two are silkie bantam eggs, unsure if they'll be fertile but I've seen some mounting going on, so we'll see.

 

[junior67]

Candled eggs tonight and 23 of my 35 look to be developing! All due 4/7-4/8! I’m super excited as these are eggs I’ve been planning for since September! Finding bantam Ameraucanas in CA has proven to be more difficult than I expected So, I’m hoping to hatch black, self-blue, blue, and cuckoo!

I sadly had a hen suddenly die in the nesting box yesterday and I was super upset. She was my only bobtail Cochin and I’ve only had her for two months I just loved her spunky chatty personality. Well she’d been laying since I got her so I grabbed all the eggs from her that I had and stuck them in the incubator last night—if fertile they’d hatch 4/12. I had 8, 4 I’d just collected the day before and 4 I’ve had on the counter for about two or three weeks. I’m not at all expecting those 4 to develop, but you never know right? I should know if they’re even fertile by Sunday. I sure hope a couple hatch!!

Hopefully you get some of hers to hatch. I lost one of my girls about a week or two into incubating my March eggs. I had 2 of hers in there. I had a broody at the time so gave her a couple of her eggs, but sadly those eggs ended up having a sad ending. But I have her 2 babies I hatched. I wasn't sure if I could be confident picking out her other eggs from my counter so didn't put more in the incubator

 

[kurby22]

Hopefully you get some of hers to hatch. I lost one of my girls about a week or two into incubating my March eggs. I had 2 of hers in there. I had a broody at the time so gave her a couple of her eggs, but sadly those eggs ended up having a sad ending. But I have her 2 babies I hatched. I wasn't sure if I could be confident picking out her other eggs from my counter so didn't put more in the incubator

Thanks I hope so too! I’m just glad I had started labeling her eggs so I could consider using them to hatch! Cuz I know she laid a bunch more but I have way too many cream eggs to know the difference. I’m hoping I get at least a couple babies from her! I’m glad you were able to get a couple from your lost lady!

 

[junior67]

Thanks I hope so too! I’m just glad I had started labeling her eggs so I could consider using them to hatch! Cuz I know she laid a bunch more but I have way too many cream eggs to know the difference. I’m hoping I get at least a couple babies from her! I’m glad you were able to get a couple from your lost lady!

I was marking mine but I had 4 that lay eggs about the same size. one is slightly darker than the rest. the one that passed had eggs a bit lighter then the others. the middle 2 are the closest but they all look VERY similar so unless I caught on camera what box each one went in it was hard to tell whose eggs were whose and a lot of times they went into the same box so almost impossible. So glad I had a couple that she was either the only one in the box that laid eggs like that or the one with the darker eggs went in the same one so a bit easier to tell.

 

[5 Points Wingfeather]

I have 12 eggs set. Due Easter. At least 3-4 should be from this pairing. Full brother and sister. I asked someone on here a while back but I think I could get all kinds of different offspring from this match. Their parents were a BLRW and a Lavender Orpington.

 

[lilwanderer]

I have 12 eggs set. Due Easter. At least 3-4 should be from this pairing. Full brother and sister. I asked someone on here a while back but I think I could get all kinds of different offspring from this match. Their parents were a BLRW and a Lavender Orpington.

View attachment 3443011
View attachment 3443012

Roo looks like my old man! Very stunning, hen too. Though ig it makes since, mine is a pure Wyandotte, thought he was Blr but someone told me he is splash laced with those colors so I'm not sure.

Here's a younger photo of him, my boy is around 9 and 10 years, reason I say old man. He used to have green in his tail but they were plucked by a bully rooster of mine, never grew back and i figure its because he's old . Now he can hardly walk and has a strut to him, like a crab taking a big step every so often.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Another thing, yesterday afternoon a hen was acting a little broody-like- clucking and walking around puffed up. That night she was in the nest instead of perching, so i said, okay, if she's still acting like this tomorrow morning, I'll give her eggs. Sure enough, she was, still bundled up in the nest, no eggs. So i gave her 5 eggs, 3 belong to this beautiful barnyard mix hen:
View attachment 3442911
And the remaining two are silkie bantam eggs, unsure if they'll be fertile but I've seen some mounting going on, so we'll see.

That is a beautiful hen!

 

[Canadian Wind]

Yup, self-control is non-existent here. I contacted the seller of the first eggs I hatched out in March, and she had some available. She had FOUR DOZEN available. At $4 a dozen!

Guess who got them all? Guess who's going to *fingers crossed* have more chicks than he knows what to do with? Guess who has no brooder space OR incubator space? If any of you answered: "Wind", you are correct!

I'm thinking I can sell a few extra chicks and buy another incubator...

 

[lilwanderer]

That is a beautiful hen!

Thank you! She is definitely a barnyard mix but I'd say rather rare as her lacing is mostly complete and in order. Her father has at least 4 different mixes in him as both his parents were mixed. And her mom is a Light brahma. Let me also mention her father isn't laced either. I am told that the lacing came from her father having sebright in him, and some of the silver come from her mama being a light brahma.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Thank you! She is definitely a barnyard mix but I'd say rather rare as her lacing is mostly complete and in order. Her father has at least 4 different mixes in him as both his parents were mixed. And her mom is a Light brahma. Let me also mention her father isn't laced either. I am told that the lacing came from her father having sebright in him, and some of the silver come from her mama being a light brahma.

You gotta love genetics, or hate them! Or both!

Anyone have a good chicken genetics book suggestion? Something that starts off with the basics and works through the more complicated recessives and alleles? And co-dominants, and modifiers, and how the phase of the moon and the alignment of Venus affects traits? Oh, and tide schedules!