Woohoo!!! We got an egg this morning from a second hen
I've been waiting and watching 4 of my pullets squat every time I go anywhere near them for the last two weeks. I couldn't believe it bc the first hen that laid for us began laying after two days of squatting.
Anyways, we now have two of nine laying and another 3 of them showing those "any day now" signs.
I had another unsuccessful crested cream legbar hatch. [COLOR=333333]Sigh. Only two hatched out of my 15 crested cream legbar eggs. One was facing the wrong end, and I helped her out, but she didn't make it. And then there was one little ... she is going to live my friend [/COLOR][COLOR=333333]@AZChiknGoddess
since she had o[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]ne boy and one girl make it. She is going to trade me for a trio of wheaten amerecaunas. I didn't want the Princess to be alone.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]Also, we made lots of fortifications to the coop and the pen, so I was surprised when I found Agatha, my rescue leghorn, dead. At first, I thought it was a predator, but she had a prolapsed cloaca and was a few feet away from one of her eggs (which she never lays outside in the pen). She is a little older, maybe 2 or 2.5 years, so maybe it was her time. I don't know, but it's been difficult. I still have five Rouen eggs in the Hovabator that last look were paddling away. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]I'm down to 5 laying hens, so while I'd like to do more chicks at some point, I'll probably look for some started pullets or already laying hens if anyone has any or knows of any.[/COLOR]
So... I'm a youth minister at my church, and I was talking yesterday at our meeting about how I'm going the TPPFFC show this coming weekend. All the teens got really excited, so they all decided to come to the show and visit all the chickens. I may have just inducted 20 kids into the love of chickens.
Quote: Aww, thanks!
I have quite a few hens to part with, mostly New Hampshires that are either 1-1/2 or 2-1/2 years old. I'm still trying to decide which of the older hens I will retain for breeding this coming year, but the New Hampshires are definitely out because I lost my male and have decided not to pursue replacement since I have enough breeds to work with. Also, I will probably wait until after Thanksgiving, but I'll be going through and culling the Barred Rock pullets again and I feel like I owe you one of those if you want to try again. These are older now so if they were going to get Marek's I think they would have already because I know they have been exposed. Hoping next year I will have more resistant stock to work withafter culling out the weak ones.
Also, if you can come to the poultry show at the Fairgrounds this weekend (doing wait until late Sunday, the birds will be gone by mid-afternoon), there will be birds for sale there and you might see something you'd like. I've seen people selling pullets for way less than I know it costs to feed/raise them---like $10 for one already laying---if you aren't picky about breed, you can get some good deals.
Chickens can get so many problems, it is a wonder any of them survive! Yes it can be a bit trying at times but the rewards are worth it IMO. I have read that the breeds that lay heavily, like leghorns and the hybrid crosses bred to lay heavily, have a higher rate of reproductive issues like cloacal prolapse. I'm sure it was nothing you did. There is certainly always something to learn when caring for chickens. I've had my share of problems this year and frankly, I'd like that learning curve to flatten out a little bit
It's absolutely amazing considering the shape I found her in!
