Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[satay]

Popped the egg with wobbly aircell in a cut egg carton so it’s fat end up, so far it’s still developing, day 10 today.
Another dilemma though. They are due to hatch on the 3rd and I have to be in Brisbane (3 hours away) on the 4th so we were planning to go the night before. I don’t know what to do if they aren’t all hatched before I leave.!! Partner thinks I’m crazy because I said I want to just take the incubator with us lol.

Little silkie mumma looks so happy with the babies Fancy, how many do you have?

If you only going to be gone a day or 2 they should be fine. They can go up to 48hours without food.

 

[satay]

View attachment 1192961 I have so many chicks hatching ATM, it a job in this heat keeping them and the garden alive. They are literally popping like popcorn.

They are so cute. This weather right now is sure odd. I haven't had to water much at all lately as we have had rain on and off and below average temps for this time of year too.

 

[LuckysMum]

Fancy It looks like the darker ones are boys. But I will have to wait a bit longer to tell. The darker ones seem to have bigger combs.

These are the ducks I hatched 8 weeks ago.

 

[LuckysMum]

I am hatching ducks now they are a like a kinder surprise I'm not sure what breeds hatching as I don't know what breeds were given to me. lol it should be interesting.
They are all different colours. A 4th should hopefully hatch soon its nearly unzipped.

 

[LuckysMum]

The 4th never hatched it unzipped but didn't get out I went to work and thought it would hatch. I found another that had pipped and that was dead too. I quickly checked a few and there were others that had stopped growing. I wonder if the humidity was not high enough I was using the hex. I don't know anything about the eggs either. Out of 48 eggs only 23 were viable. I have kept a few in the incubator and put a wet sponge in now too. I didn't candle all the eggs as I don't want to lose too much humidity. Maybe tomorrow I might risk checking a few more if there are no more pipping. This is only the 2nd time hatching ducks and the first in this incubator. I had borrowed and Janoel for the last ones. On the plus side if there's only 3 I might be able to keep them all.

 

[Anniebee]

Hi Everyone, it's been a month since I've been on and it seems everyone's had a few disasters. So sorry to hear about everyone's losses and mite infestations. I've been scratching in sympathy as i have been reading through the posts i've missed.

Fancychooklady: Your garden is gorgeous! I love TAS, my partner doesn't know it yet but we're moving there when we sell our house in a few years. I'm planning a weeks holiday down there this year to warm him up to the idea. LOL

Update on my poultry world. My two silkies Magnolia and Cricket (Silkies) hatched 2 out of 7 Belgium D'uccle eggs then they abandoned the rest. One had started to pip so i rushed it to the incubator and hoped it would hatch. Don't laugh... i played it chick noises for 3 days and it responded by rocking the egg and unzipping but then got stuck. On 4th day there was no movement so I did the unthinkable. I raised the humidity levels and temp in my bathroom to 37.5 degrees with 65% humidity, grabbed the egg from incubator and ran to bathroom. I helped it hatch, which was so unbelievably gross. It started to push at the egg halfway through so i just let it do the rest and popped it straight back in incubator.
View attachment 1187658
Poor little thing had straddled legs so i hobbled them with a bandaid and 33 days later she was ready to go into brood box when tragedy struck. I was babysitting my sisters dog who does not go well with chickens, when i'd ducked to pet store he tore through the kiddy gate, knocked over the incubator and ate her! I came home to a mess but no chick, was furious at myself more than anything, it wasn't the dogs fault.

Anyways, moving on from the tragedy, the 2 chicks i have left are just gorgeous, they look like little brown birds and this week they've been hilarious to watch, jumping over their mummies, flitting here and there and chirping there little heads off when they're not happy. Magnolia is a great mum and protects both of them, Cricket is more laid back and almost seems inconvenienced by the whole thing. LOL

1-2 Days Old
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Week 2
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So sad to hear of the loss of your little chick after the extraordinary lengths you went to help her out of her shell. The pics of your remaining two are lovely ...

Cheers ...

 

[Anniebee]

I don't think anything is normal with this site. I'm sorry they switched.
I don't think I posted that Bear killed another chicken on Thursday. He bit its head as it was eating the grass through the fence. I don't know what's got into him, I think he's blooded now. In 9 years he's never hurt them even when they free ranged around him.
4 chickens in 2 weeks Not Happy Jan. (rememeber those ads). On Saturday I went to Bunnings and bought some 1cm square wire to put up over the old fence. They can't get their heads out now.
On a happier note 1 duckling hatched today while I was at work. Now comes the fun of trying to identify what breed they are.
Sorry I can't help you Christie B maybe you can find some charts on google. Good luck.
I hope everyone and the feathered friends are doing well.

Sad to say, I have to agree with you - that Bear has been blooded, and it originally was most likely his doing with the others. Dogs can revert too, to more primitive behaviour. How old is he ? Is he older than 9 years, or have you had him since a puppy ? .... He may have some aging disorder that needs attending to ? At least a Vet could advise on that. Meantime, he must never go near them again.

Hope all turns out well, and that your chickens can live safely now, while you and Bear can more quietly enjoy one anothers company.

Cheers ...

 

[LuckysMum]

Bear is over 9 now. The vet doesn't think there's anything wrong with his mind. Just getting older and deciding he can do as he likes. He's not as obedient as he was a few years ago or maybe I should say he is slower to react than before. I would only have to raise my voice and he would do as he was told straight away. Now he does it in his own sweet time and sometimes if he doesn't feel like it he may not obey at all. He is still great with the grandkids and very patient with them.
We are just more vigilant now.
There's a cat bugging us at the moment, we have new neighbours and the cat keeps trying to get to my baby silkies. We've had to move them next to the ducks so we can see them from the kitchen window, it doesn't want to come to close to bear and he sits out on that side of the house.

 

[Anniebee]

Bear is over 9 now. The vet doesn't think there's anything wrong with his mind. Just getting older and deciding he can do as he likes. He's not as obedient as he was a few years ago or maybe I should say he is slower to react than before. I would only have to raise my voice and he would do as he was told straight away. Now he does it in his own sweet time and sometimes if he doesn't feel like it he may not obey at all. He is still great with the grandkids and very patient with them.
We are just more vigilant now.
There's a cat bugging us at the moment, we have new neighbours and the cat keeps trying to get to my baby silkies. We've had to move them next to the ducks so we can see them from the kitchen window, it doesn't want to come to close to bear and he sits out on that side of the house.

Wondering if Vet checked for mobility of limbs - ( manual manipulation - stretching of his legs etc.) Older large dogs, as you probably know well - are prone to a bit of arthritis, or discomfort in rising or moving as rapidly as they did when younger. You say he is 'slower to react than before' .. is that comprehension response, or in a physical sense ? ... have a think about another trip to the Vet - or another vets' opinion. And close observation is certainly a prudent move, no matter who he is with ( grand-children or chickens ). Possible also that the intruding cat is upsetting or confusing him a bit ? Good luck with your dear Bear.

 

[LuckysMum]

The vet checked him all over. He has a recurring skin problem. He is slow because he is deciding whether to obey. He will run around the back yard and muck around. He will run if you have a treat. We've had cats intruding before, just this one was being sneaky and coming from behind the shed so he didn't know it was there, that's why we moved the chicks to near where he lays. So he would chase it off, and he does. I have never trusted a dog around children I don't care what people say, it takes a second for them to snap. Even if they accidently grab kids, they still have sharp teeth. Such small faces and heads are too close to their mouths to ever be complacent no matter how well behaved the dog is. I totally agree with you Anniebee we have to be vigilant with our fur friends for the health and wellbeing as well as our kids.