California - Northern

[ronott1]

Well with 7 little peepers in a box in the house and the now 9 week old fosters taking up the brooder we just had a shift and closed off the little coop and moved the fosters outside. THe older buffs having spent the night with the dels seem to be a bit better off now so I think that is the way its going to be for now.
This gives me some time to really deep clean the brooder and move the chicks to the garage in a week or so. Just about the time they are ready to start flying.

Its really cool to see a brooder full of easily identifiable chicks.
They grow very fast.

It is nice to move them on to the next pen.

I need to be careful with the eggs I am setting today--some of them will look very similar.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Hard to tell on those 2 that are labeled splash - they might be light blue My splash chicks always look like this. The first was an Orpington, the 2nd an olive egger.

 

[TheKeeper]

Did you give them some chick grit or play sand?

Thanks for reminder. I gave them a dish of play sand today.
Mama broody dove right in.

 

[AlpineButterfly]

When I have to break broodies a metal dog carrier works well, they give up after 3 days or so and go back to being normal

just no bedding material in there with them.

Thanks for the tip! My trouble is I have two wannabe broodies, and only one cage! Plus, I feel bad because I gave Sybil foster babies, so why don't Edith and Rosie get babies too? But I worry if there are too many babies running around chaos will ensue... Keeping everyone happy is so hard!

I have a Wheaten Penedesenca that did not want the chicks. She kept screaming at me to get her out of the pet carrier I was trying to use. I will try again with some eggs that I am hatching this week. She may do the same thing--abandon the chicks and either stay broody or go join the flock. I have a Blue Australorp that has stayed on the nest for a week twice this year and then jumps off and quits.

My Blue Barnveldner is the first good broody and good at raising the chicks. You just never know I Guess.

Apparently chickens are unpredictable, just like people!

 

[Kaylish]

Hatchery Delawares from My Pet Chicken. Your Mileage may vary of course depending on the strain the hatchery your feed store uses. My Breeder Del was hatched 3/31/13 and she started laying in November or December of last year. The heavier body birds will often mature more slowly and lay later. That first egg is a much anticipated and terribly exciting thing...some girls like to make you wait for it a little or a a LOT longer

@HappyChooks hope you feel better. So sorry your fun was cut short by a bug.

All 4 of my AM EE eggs that were still viable hatched. Two eggs were blue and I got a blue and a splash from them. Two were green and I got a blue and red and chipmunk from them. If current patterns hold they will all be cockerels however I am hoping that the streak will be broken.

Pictures of everyone will be coming soon...I wish I had some of your talents and some of your cameras and I hope you don't mind my phone pics.

I never mind phone pics; and they are ADORABLE!

 

[tommysgirl]

Hard to tell on those 2 that are labeled splash - they might be light blue My splash chicks always look like this. The first was an Orpington, the 2nd an olive egger.

I will get a better pic to post. It is just 1 chick but I posted two pics

I never mind phone pics; and they are ADORABLE!

Thanks! They are pretty cute!

 

[BCollie]

Sorry I've been absent! I've been working on starting up my blog again.
https://fosterandphotograph.wordpress.com/
I need to write a few chicken-related posts.

 

[InWrongCentury]

I installed the chicken ramp today! The girls weren't so sure about it. They clustered at the top, giving me puzzled looks. Silly chickies.

Everyone's babies are soooooo cute! Congratulations on your hatches!

 

[BCollie]

FIFTEEN out of 21 Trader Joe's eggs are developing!! That's 71% of them!

Twelve out of 18 Easter Eggers are developing! With 2 that are too dark to see into. That's 66% or 77% of them.

So if the two that I can't see into aren't developing, that actually means that the TJ's eggs are doing better than the locally bought eggs. Compared to my last hatch, which was 4 TJ's developing out of 1 dozen & 0 hatching...this one is going much better! I am shocked that so many of the TJ's eggs are developing.

 

[TheKeeper]

FIFTEEN out of 21 Trader Joe's eggs are developing!! That's 71% of them! 
Twelve out of 18 Easter Eggers are developing! With 2 that are too dark to see into. That's 66% or 77% of them.

So if the two that I can't see into aren't developing, that actually means that the TJ's eggs are doing better than the locally bought eggs. Compared to my last hatch, which was 4 TJ's developing out of 1 dozen & 0 hatching...this one is going much better! I am shocked that so many of the TJ's eggs are developing.

Yay! Go peepers...