California - Northern

[mduerksen]

...

Hatch almost over 5 or 6 eggs left whch are quesionable if they will hatch. there is 2 chicks that are still wet so I'll just leave them in there for a day or so.got 8 wheaten marans 20 crest cream legbars 10 female 10 males 14 blue or black farmyard marans out of my old splash rooster who passed away this morning. Maybe one those will grow up and get to stay. oops got a extra egg pictures.. PS should have brahma chicks hatch 25 or 26th I am so addicted [/quote Watching my kids' kindergarten teacher hatch eggs in class is what got me started on chickens several years ago. Because if a sudden move we had to give them away but now that we own I am back at it! I know if I start hatching I will become addicted but I want to try it sooo bad!

 

[Sueg4332]

Quote: I got them from Sewandgrow in Turlock, I believe they were the Fritz chickens and from a lady in Merced. They are getting old too at least 4 if 5 years old. But still lay good.

 

[AmyPaperlady]

I candled tonight, and couldn't see much... Though, after looking at various examples of day 14 eggs, I do feel a bit better (if Frieda had stuck, it would be day 16--since the eggs were cold for around 40 hours, I've been simply subtracting 2 days). There was one seeping egg, so it got put into a ziplock and tossed. The dog had grabbed a second egg from the unguarded nest earlier this week, and I thought I had rescued it, but it must've had some cracks I didn't see.

Is there any reason not to stop tilting the incubator back and forth on the day between the original lock down day (of course, had Frieda stayed, "lock down" would've consisted of blocking off the nest box) and the recalculated one? So, day 19 original time, day 17 recalculated time?

Aircells were pretty good, though a little on the small side, so I'm not going to replenish the water until lock down (no way for me to monitor humidity other than candling). We'll see how they look then.

 

[TheKeeper]

More chick pics

Cute silkie, it has feathers on all 10 toes

2 more showgirls

And another Oliver egger

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi all - anyone got a Breda that picks at her toe feathers to the point of making them bleed? I don't know if ours is picking at the quills because they are annoying her or if it is a habit. We got her shipped to us 2 weeks ago and she and her Amer traveling companion are 4 m/o and we have them in quarantine in an indoor dog kennel. Both arrived positive for round worms via our vet's lab fecal tests which I treated for. The stress of shipping and a new environment brought on CRD symptoms w/ the Breda which the vet treated for and both juveniles are well again. Just to be certain we treated for lice/mites too. Now I have the issue w/ Breda of the toe-feather picking to the point of making it bleed and we don't want the other chicken to join in blood picking. We dip the feet in Grannick's Bitter Apple twice a day but its not deterring her. Other than BluKote are there any suggestions for stopping toe-feather picking? I have Silkies where I never had them pick at their toe-feathers.

Thanx for suggestions! This is a wonderfully active thread and hope someone has had a similar experience?

Wow this is an active thread! I had to go back many pages to find my original post (above).
Wanted to thank all of you who responded to my queries.
We are happy to say the Breda has gained weight and well now.
But here's a funny. Our Breda "pullet" started crowing. After a lot of emails back and forth to the breeder we found that our ordered pullet got shipped to Florida and Florida's cockerel got shipped to us in California! The breeder is replacing with another Breda pullet at our cost for shipping - sucks to have to pay again but in their own mind they're doing good and we really want a pullet.
Meanwhile the Breda boy we nursed back to health is going to our friend who rescues battery hens and unwanted roos on her acreage. Wish we could keep the sweet guy but we aren't allowed roos and I won't eat a rare breed - especially a breed with a renowned great temperament!

 

[Audio51]

Quote:
It is Very busy here but goes in spurts. This time of year it can be nearly impossible to keep up!. So glad your Breda is doing better after all your loving care. It is so rewarding to help them recover!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Quote:
I think for the vast majority of us, the price of home grown eggs FAAAAAAAR exceeds the price of store bought eggs (even top notch ones like EatWell that are $10/doz) once you factor in the cost of the coop and feed and all the other STUFF you need to keep chickens happy and healthy. Maybe somewhere down the road (like in 5 years), that will balance out, but not in the short term. I think most people I know who have chickens have them because it's fun/relaxing, it's rewarding, and the eggs are an awesome bonus. Same reason people like to grow their own vegetables and fruit, even though for most of us "self sufficiency" is an impossible goal unless we have a LOT of room and a LOT of time (I know one family that is self sufficient, and they have 15 acres which the husband manages fulltime while his wife works a day job).

 

[caychris]

When I mean self sufficient I mean being in more control of things and the choices you make. Being employed goes towards self sufficiency.

 

[CackleJoy]

Hello friends!
We are off to a running start with our hatching this year. I had planned to catalogue the number of chicks from each hatch. Guess who hasn't wrote down a single number? That isn't helpful! Most of our breeds are going like gangbusters and it is just fun. I so enjoy chicken farming when there are no problems!

However, I would love to have help troubleshooting a drop in production and fertility for the Cream Legbars. They are usually so dependable. But now production has dropped to dismal and with a rough 30% hatch rate (all cockerels). I did start supplementing with calf manna as I found evidence of a soft-shelled egg. I havn't seen signs of mites but I could treat them for that anyway. (Have to go buy the stuff first). Any other ideas? They are on the same program as my other chickens, which are thriving!

Would welcome input ~

 

[mduerksen]

I think for the vast majority of us, the price of home grown eggs FAAAAAAAR exceeds the price of store bought eggs (even top notch ones like EatWell that are $10/doz) once you factor in the cost of the coop and feed and all the other STUFF you need to keep chickens happy and healthy. Maybe somewhere down the road (like in 5 years), that will balance out, but not in the short term. I think most people I know who have chickens have them because it's fun/relaxing, it's rewarding, and the eggs are an awesome bonus. Same reason people like to grow their own vegetables and fruit, even though for most of us "self sufficiency" is an impossible goal unless we have a LOT of room and a LOT of time (I know one family that is self sufficient, and they have 15 acres which the husband manages fulltime while his wife works a day job).

I grow my own veggies and have my own chickens not because it saves me money (it really doesn't) but because I enjoy it. I have heard people assume that raising chickens is cheaper. So I wonder if thatassumption is why such a rise in chickens and if so here in a year we will see a rise in hens for sale.

But there is a rise in self sufficient living too, so maybe not.