Christmas is coming early Hatch-A-Long!

[The Welch Chickens]

Maybe this could be our BYC invention, a multifunctional Christmas tree that serves coffee and hot cocoa right from its branches

Yes! And a zero clean up, no washing, no coffee grounds, can it also clean the mug when you return it to the tree?

Oooo yes just wake up go to the tree and get your coffee without having to make it.

 

[2ndTink]

I'm getting prepared to learn to ship eggs as some lady in upstate New York has asked if I would ship her some eggs from Wisconsin. Since I'm not hatching anymore (famous last words) until Feb/March, we've got a lot of extras hubby just takes to work.

I've received eggs thrice from eBay sellers so know how to do it, but the darn Priority Shipping looks to be around $15. Just saying in case you like those splash chocolates I've never even seen yet, I could send you some eggs. For you, free and you just pay shipping.

We could egg swap! That would be fun I think I'll have my first hatchable eggs in July.

My silkies are just 4 months old, I'll make sure you see photos of them next year so you can see how they look and let me know which breeding pen you'd like eggs from. I plan on hatching a lot as I want to build out my chocolate pen. It's the true recessive chocolate genes too the one thing my boys have odd is a bumpy comb, I'm not sure how "bad" that is or how to breed it out, JetPack will be bred to pullets with smooth combs and really long foot feathers, crests, and beards. Chonkers and his chocolates don't have a lot of foot feathering, I don't know if that is a huge negative if you were to show them, but I'm thinking it may be nicer for them just running around, cleaner and such.

Since you twisted my arm for Pictures (ok you didn't, but I'm so enamored with these little chickens )

JetPack has a wonderful character he's just heart stealing even though he looks like he stuck his beak in an electrical outlet.

His bumpy comb


Chonkers is a paint but his chocolate is leaking out since he's so hot

JetPack and Chonkers with Sylvi my partridge pullet in the back


Freya a chocolate frizzle, she has a massive beard this photo is from close to 2 months ago


And foot feathers, all the satins from my hatch are cockerels, but here is Cracker Jack to show you the insane length on these boys. The silkies are longer from this pen too but don't show like this. I need to get a photo of them for comparison.

 

[2ndTink]

I found this really deep dive into chicken embryo development online, I skim read it and was mind-blown by the intricacies of how life forms.

https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php?title=Chicken_Development

We are 24 hours in to incubation! This means the eye is beginning to form on any of the eggs that are viable. For my flock eggs, they may be a bit behind (secretly hoping to get at least 3 from my eggs to hatch )

For arguments sake, I'm going to say that each evening ticks over to the next day, so tonight we will start Day #2. But for now, we are still riding on Day #1 and here is the growth expected!

First day:
16 hours - first sign of resemblance to a chick embryo
18 hours - appearance of alimentary tract
20 hours - appearance of vertebral column
21 hours - beginning of nervous system
22 hours - beginning of head
24 hours - beginning of eye

Credit: https://extension.msstate.edu/content/stages-chick-embryo-development

 

[GreenJay]

Fr

We could egg swap! That would be fun I think I'll have my first hatchable eggs in July.

My silkies are just 4 months old, I'll make sure you see photos of them next year so you can see how they look and let me know which breeding pen you'd like eggs from. I plan on hatching a lot as I want to build out my chocolate pen. It's the true recessive chocolate genes too the one thing my boys have odd is a bumpy comb, I'm not sure how "bad" that is or how to breed it out, JetPack will be bred to pullets with smooth combs and really long foot feathers, crests, and beards. Chonkers and his chocolates don't have a lot of foot feathering, I don't know if that is a huge negative if you were to show them, but I'm thinking it may be nicer for them just running around, cleaner and such.

Since you twisted my arm for Pictures (ok you didn't, but I'm so enamored with these little chickens )

JetPack has a wonderful character he's just heart stealing even though he looks like he stuck his beak in an electrical outlet.
View attachment 3692546
His bumpy comb
View attachment 3692550

Chonkers is a paint but his chocolate is leaking out since he's so hot View attachment 3692549

JetPack and Chonkers with Sylvi my partridge pullet in the back
View attachment 3692551

Freya a chocolate frizzle, she has a massive beard this photo is from close to 2 months ago
View attachment 3692547

And foot feathers, all the satins from my hatch are cockerels, but here is Cracker Jack to show you the insane length on these boys. The silkies are longer from this pen too but don't show like this. I need to get a photo of them for comparison.
View attachment 3692548

Your silkies are beautiful, such handsome boys!

 

[fluffycrow]

I found this really deep dive into chicken embryo development online, I skim read it and was mind-blown by the intricacies of how life forms.

https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php?title=Chicken_Development

We are 24 hours in to incubation! This means the eye is beginning to form on any of the eggs that are viable. For my flock eggs, they may be a bit behind (secretly hoping to get at least 3 from my eggs to hatch )

For arguments sake, I'm going to say that each evening ticks over to the next day, so tonight we will start Day #2. But for now, we are still riding on Day #1 and here is the growth expected!

First day:
16 hours - first sign of resemblance to a chick embryo
18 hours - appearance of alimentary tract
20 hours - appearance of vertebral column
21 hours - beginning of nervous system
22 hours - beginning of head
24 hours - beginning of eye

Credit: https://extension.msstate.edu/content/stages-chick-embryo-development

I'll have to read it later on. Thanks for the resource!

 

[2ndTink]

Fr

Your silkies are beautiful, such handsome boys!

Thank you! I got all the eggs from a local breeder and I am totally hooked!

 

[The Welch Chickens]

Gorgeous birds you have there, @2ndTink!
I love silkies and wanted some, but the feed store we got our chicks from didn't have any.


Maybe next year!

 

[Debbie292d]

We could egg swap! That would be fun I think I'll have my first hatchable eggs in July.

My silkies are just 4 months old, I'll make sure you see photos of them next year so you can see how they look and let me know which breeding pen you'd like eggs from. I plan on hatching a lot as I want to build out my chocolate pen. It's the true recessive chocolate genes too the one thing my boys have odd is a bumpy comb, I'm not sure how "bad" that is or how to breed it out, JetPack will be bred to pullets with smooth combs and really long foot feathers, crests, and beards. Chonkers and his chocolates don't have a lot of foot feathering, I don't know if that is a huge negative if you were to show them, but I'm thinking it may be nicer for them just running around, cleaner and such.

Since you twisted my arm for Pictures (ok you didn't, but I'm so enamored with these little chickens )

JetPack has a wonderful character he's just heart stealing even though he looks like he stuck his beak in an electrical outlet.
View attachment 3692546
His bumpy comb
View attachment 3692550

Chonkers is a paint but his chocolate is leaking out since he's so hot View attachment 3692549

JetPack and Chonkers with Sylvi my partridge pullet in the back
View attachment 3692551

Freya a chocolate frizzle, she has a massive beard this photo is from close to 2 months ago
View attachment 3692547

And foot feathers, all the satins from my hatch are cockerels, but here is Cracker Jack to show you the insane length on these boys. The silkies are longer from this pen too but don't show like this. I need to get a photo of them for comparison.
View attachment 3692548

They are sure gorgeous! As long as there were no naked necks (showgirls) in your pen, I'd take a few to swap you, especially from Chonkers as he is a gorgeous hunk, but they're all so beautiful!

 

[2ndTink]

They are sure gorgeous! As long as there were no naked necks (showgirls) in your pen, I'd take a few to swap you, especially from Chonkers as he is a gorgeous hunk, but they're all so beautiful!

I promise there are no showgirls! I refuse to get any I was looking at getting eggs from a different breeder but they only offered hens choice and had showgirls mixed in their flock, so I passed.

Chonkers is my hubby's favorite, I wasn't going to keep him, but once he was claimed by hubby I just couldn't part with him, so of course had to buy pullets for him

 

[TwoCrows]

We could egg swap! That would be fun I think I'll have my first hatchable eggs in July.

My silkies are just 4 months old, I'll make sure you see photos of them next year so you can see how they look and let me know which breeding pen you'd like eggs from. I plan on hatching a lot as I want to build out my chocolate pen. It's the true recessive chocolate genes too the one thing my boys have odd is a bumpy comb, I'm not sure how "bad" that is or how to breed it out, JetPack will be bred to pullets with smooth combs and really long foot feathers, crests, and beards. Chonkers and his chocolates don't have a lot of foot feathering, I don't know if that is a huge negative if you were to show them, but I'm thinking it may be nicer for them just running around, cleaner and such.

Since you twisted my arm for Pictures (ok you didn't, but I'm so enamored with these little chickens )

JetPack has a wonderful character he's just heart stealing even though he looks like he stuck his beak in an electrical outlet.
View attachment 3692546
His bumpy comb
View attachment 3692550

Chonkers is a paint but his chocolate is leaking out since he's so hot View attachment 3692549

JetPack and Chonkers with Sylvi my partridge pullet in the back
View attachment 3692551

Freya a chocolate frizzle, she has a massive beard this photo is from close to 2 months ago
View attachment 3692547

And foot feathers, all the satins from my hatch are cockerels, but here is Cracker Jack to show you the insane length on these boys. The silkies are longer from this pen too but don't show like this. I need to get a photo of them for comparison.
View attachment 3692548

Absolute cuteness overload!!