California - Northern

[chiqita]

I think we are close enough. We have a small window to inseminate after the vial thaws.

Oh my the things we do for the chickens!

I was going to say it is henseminate. My phone tries to change all insemination to henseminator now.

 x2.

Only that would require some of us to name a favorite breed.  I have mine narrowed down to 4    Imagine the voice of Count on Sesame Street.  Four!  Four Favorite breeds!

Mario has been getting back into drawing doing a picture a day as practice.
This mornings conversation went like this
Honey I need you to draw something for me!
Oh what?
Well I need someone in a chicken suit in cuckoo with a soft bat.
Erm...
And then someone else in a p@@@@ costume but with a silkie puff on top. And its gotta be a family friendly p $$$$.
?
And then I need a banner on top that says favored breed fight!
????
And then I need fans on the side carrying different breeds of chickens with banners waving them around!!
????????
Can you have your picture guy make that the picture of the day? It would be cool to have 300 of those!!

Needless to say I did not get the drawing this morning!

This is a long hatch drama post so feel free to skip it!  

Okay, this was a frustrating hatch and I do not want a repeat.  I was determined to keep my hands off and not intervene in hatching but I broke my rule last night.  I set 8 Pita Pinta eggs, 7 Pita Pinta/Cream Legbar mix eggs, and 10 black Langshan eggs from my new trio.  6 of the PP mix eggs and 6 of the PP eggs hatched on days 20 and 21.  Finally, a few of the Langshan eggs had pips on day 22.  I quickly took out the hatched chicks that had been in there for around 24 hours climbing all over all the other eggs.  I added warm, wet paper towels when I took them out in order to keep the humidity up.  By yesterday morning, some of the Langshan eggs had started zipping.  I was gone all day so that kept me from intervening.  When I came home 8 hours later, they had not made any progress and the membranes around the pips/zips was turning brown.  Two of them happened to be under the vent hole on the top of my Genesis.  I was able to use a skewer with a Q-tip taped to the end to put some moisture on the membranes and also to break the shell a little around the opening.  Five hours later, there was still no progress.  I made the opening a little bigger and made sure that they were still breathing and went to bed.  This morning, a different chick had zipped and hatched.  Also, one more mix chick pipped last night and hatched this morning.  One at a time, I took the ones out who were shrink wrapped, broke the shell a little more, wrapped them in warm, wet paper towels and laid them back in the incubator on their sides.  6 Langshan chicks have now hatched and are running around the incubator but I don't know if they will end up having problems because I assisted them.  How stressful!  I still have one that pipped yesterday but has made no progress (still breathing) and 3 that have not pipped at all. 

I have two more sets of eggs incubating that are a mix of chicks including more Langshans.  Ron, would you hatch the Langshan eggs in a separate incubator or just leave all the chicks in there for 48 hours while the Langshans are hopefully hatching?  I'm also wondering if I need to supplement my Langshans diet at the farm.  They are in a breeding pen and are eating King Freedom feed with access to oyster shell.  Their egg shells are nice and hard and the membranes seem very strong.  My birds here in town free range my backyard, are fed sprouted grain daily, and I supplement their morning Freedom mash with cayenne pepper, kelp powder, alfalfa powder, and milk thistle powder.  

One more question.  I am getting 3 doz eggs for the Easter Hatch Along.  1 doz each BBS Langshan, FBCM, and Cream Legbars.  I'm starting to worry about hatching those 3 breeds together.  What happened to my stress free hatching?!!! 

Are these the first chicks out of your cabinet? It sounds like you might have variable humidity.

I always help shrink wrapped and cemented chicks. I figure it is my issue not the chicks.

Question... Have any of you ever had an egg develop that didn't have an air cell? I ask because I just candled some Muscovy eggs and one of them does not seem to have one, yet it has and embryo.

-Kathy

ETA:
Also have a dud that has the air cell in the middle of the egg.

I have not seen an air cell on some eggs but they have developed. How long on is it?

@chiqita
...yes that is her.  I laughed.  Instead of saying "Oh...she must be Ellie, the basketball player's, mom."  we say "Oh yes I think I know her.  She has a silkie named Asparagus."

She wants 40.00 for the pair and I would have to drive 6 hours round trip.  I think it's steep.  She thinks they are hatchery and they are close to 3 years old.  I think I will wait.  I have a Houdan contact in AZ and I can get eggs from her for about the same...probably less if you count drive time.

I need to quell my instant gratification instincts and develop my "good things come to those who wait." ones.

Haha. She got the silkies from me she is a sweetie.

 

[ronott1]

Normally I would, but these egg are under a duck. What causes this to happen and what are the chances that this will hatch?

-Kathy

The egg is not as "round" as normal?

I think the duckling will still get out. Strong ones can break out even if they do not turn all the way.

Momma will often help too.

 

[fortyfivefarm]

Hey Chiqita! (Jules - the old MrsMoonCat now fortyfivefarm here).. are you going to the show this weekend in Modesto? We're coming up to socialize and of course, look at birds that we want but may not need.

 

[fortyfivefarm]

Hi Debi, Ron and Elizabeth!

I'm baaaaack!

 

[ronott1]

Hi Debi, Ron and Elizabeth!

I'm baaaaack!

I will need to get used to the new Name and Avatar!

What's been going on?

 

[chiqita]

Hey Chiqita!  (Jules - the old MrsMoonCat now fortyfivefarm here).. are you going to the show this weekend in Modesto?  We're coming up to socialize and of course, look at birds that we want but may not need. 

Hi! I thought modesto was canceled? Hrm.. can I talk dh into it....

 

[PetRock]

I was going to say it is henseminate. My phone tries to change all insemination to henseminator now.
Mario has been getting back into drawing doing a picture a day as practice.
This mornings conversation went like this
Honey I need you to draw something for me!
Oh what?
Well I need someone in a chicken suit in cuckoo with a soft bat.
Erm...
And then someone else in a p@@@@ costume but with a silkie puff on top. And its gotta be a family friendly p $$$$.
?
And then I need a banner on top that says favored breed fight!
????
And then I need fans on the side carrying different breeds of chickens with banners waving them around!!
????????
Can you have your picture guy make that the picture of the day? It would be cool to have 300 of those!!

Needless to say I did not get the drawing this morning!
Are these the first chicks out of your cabinet? It sounds like you might have variable humidity.

I always help shrink wrapped and cemented chicks. I figure it is my issue not the chicks.
I have not seen an air cell on some eggs but they have developed. How long on is it?
Haha. She got the silkies from me she is a sweetie.

I bet the look on his face was priceless!

These aren't my first chicks in my cabinet but I've been using it to incubate for the first 14 days or so and then putting the eggs in my Genesis Hovabator for the last week. I have to manually turn the eggs in my cabinet and the humidity in there is at around 50%. Maybe lack of turning and too high humidity. Of course almost all of the Pita Pinta and PP/CL mix eggs hatch with no problem. Bresse eggs also hatch easily. That's making me wonder if the conditions need to be different for the Langshans. I'm going to add to what my breeders are being fed and also experiment with lowering the humidity for the first 18 days and maybe upping it for hatch. I will figure this out!

 

[CackleJoy]

That is the number 1 reason to candle before setting eggs. The end with the air sell is not always obvious depending on the shape of the egg.

Air cell needs to be up!

Except for the eggs that spent 3 days under a broody, I have never pre-candled. I wonder if that is why a few of mine pipped on the wrong end. Some of the EE eggs are very ovoid. So glad to know this! THANK YOU!

 

[fortyfivefarm]

I will need to get used to the new Name and Avatar!

What's been going on?

We've been crazy busy. I took over my great grandpa's brand (the fortyfive) so we decided to just switch the poultry over to it as well. Once I have a new logo with the brand & the birds, I'll probably switch the avatar.

I've been getting to spend a lot of time with Karen lately, having a blast. Looking forward to immersing ourselves in birds this weekend.

Hi! I thought modesto was canceled? Hrm.. can I talk dh into it....

I saw they'd cancelled Ventura and one up in Washington, but I'm pretty sure Modesto is a go. I hope so!!

 

[CackleJoy]

Hi! I thought modesto was canceled? Hrm.. can I talk dh into it....

A show in Modesto? The JR show?