Consolidated Kansas

[ChooksChick]

I'd say it looks like you have two males. Females will tend to develop a saggy baginess on their underneath, between the legs. It's the egg sack. If they were hatched out last year, you or your neighbors would have been getting eggs by now. Do you ever see them mating? If not, then more than likely it's two ganders. they also have a higher pitched honk, similar to the sound (as someone else described) squeel-eee, but to me it sounds more like a high pitched honk. the females have a low throaty almost quack.

Naola

It's confirmed: Oscar and Felix. They think my cotton bag I use to hold egg-boxes is REALLY sexy!! If I crouch down to do anything they come running and flirt with me, making their necks vibrate! It's hilarious! I do love them already, as they are both very sweet boys. I wish I knew where to get some Chinese Brown geese for them.

No idea, Trish! The only eggs I've ever had in the mail were the little Rosecombs. All of their air sacs (but 5) were loose and wiggling around in there. I'm also thinking they got a really good shake up because none of them even STARTED to develop! Not like what I've seen my silkie eggs finally do. But they got here fast enough-- they arrived on the second day. I'd say that's pretty fast. I think it's the handling in between. I'm going to bet no matter how fast they ship, if they throw that box around, it's not going to matter. I wonder if they throw the boxes around even more on the faster shipping since they have less time? Just speculating since I have NO idea! Also, a lot of the overnight shipping is done on airplanes. I have no idea how the air pressure will effect them.

I ship eggs all the time. The farther they have to go, the gentler they're treated, as shorter distances are usually by truck and longer by plane. The cargo is always pressurized, and I've had 100% hatches from eggs I shipped to Alaska, so priority is fine.

Really?? So you don't think the 100.9 is what killed my egg?? Well if it didn't kill it, it sure didn't help it! I'm now down to 99.8 and I just moved it another teeny tiny bit and will check again in a while. At least now, I'm in a much more reasonable temperature. I honestly didn't think to check the digital. My digital was reading 99-- and that is when it was actually nearly 101. And NOW my digital therm in there (the piece 'o crap) is reading 97! We're talking about a 2 degree difference!! That is kind of a big deal. Oh the neurosis I could have over this. I hope I sleep tonight! Now I'll be wondering if Rosie's poor little rosecombs might have been fine and instead I put them in the "Incubator Of DEATH" to torture and kill them off. UGH.

Don't fret!! A hen's body temp is 102*-104*. We are just accustomed to thinking about OUR temps. 99-101.5* is totally fine.

Ivy, You have to remember with me I'm fresh out of the hospital, getting meds that I have never been on in my life, and have restricted air flow to me wee brain (the clots that hit my lungs 10 days ago) so what I type may not always make sense.. lol

But I have no problems explaining what I mean, sometimes with the written word it; not always taken as you mean, writing no one can hear inflection, expression, tone. But your dogs are what I'd call LGDs. They are doing what they should - awesome animals.


Danz - I LOVE the duckie!!!!

Josie (and everyone else) - I have an appointment in Topeka today with a doctor/surgeon. So I won't be around most of the day today. Should be home this evening, but don't know how I will be feeling, you're welcome to call though. If I am home and not asleep or something I'll answer (heck even if I am asleep!)

Even though I laugh at myself, I am a little scared/nerve wracked. So any prayers/thoughts today or ANYTIME until this is stabilized/resolved is greatly appreciated! I don't know if any one else on here is on the comedine (sp?), but they didn't take my INR in a few days and my doc took it on Tuesday, I have had to be really careful as mine was a 5. I am supposed to see what it is again tomorrow. But for now, get ready to leave late morning for the surgeon.

Have a great day all!

Prayers going out to you! For complete and total healing!

Ivy, I might have missed it. Are your turkeys adult and babies? I am still waiting for my midget white eggs. I have no idea what is taking them so long to start laying. I'm not ready for them but patience has never been my virtue either. I haven't gotten my peacocks delivered yet either. I thought they would be here the first of the week.

That silly Chopper. I have an aquarium on a stand in my hallway. There are just two fish left in it. I am waiting for them to die of old age so I can take it down.Chopper is running around looking for things to play with. While ago it was one of those cloth water balls, Then Daffy was getting his back chewed on etc. But to the point, Chopper spotted one of the fish in the aquarium and was determined he was going to get it. He started jumping up and hitting the glass with his beak. He is a major mess but he sure is comical.
I have an incubator full of chicks and ducks I need to move today. I put a huge load of duck eggs and a few of guinea eggs in the incubator yesterday. The youngest guineas are the only ones laying so far and I doubt these first few eggs are fertile. But I have people waiting so I need to get them going.
I have conflicting places to go next month on the same days. I wanted to take some guineas and chicks to a swap but it's the same day as the K-State open house. Ivy has graciously offered to pick up my birds for me but my son and daughter in law would like me to come to Manhattan. Ugh! I hate making decisions when things conflict.
My Mom had a very slight improvement yesterday and it gives me hope. She seemed coherent for the most part and did manage to eat some. It was mushed-up food like baby food but she did eat a little. It was such an encouragement to see a little improvement. I was to the point I was dreading going to see her because it got me so upset.
Candace my prayers are with you. I hope you get a really good report.

There's a turkey hatchalong for anyone who wants to join...several of us have never hatched turkeys before, so we all wanted to set together. We're mostly going to set Easter for a Cinco de Mayo hatch. You're all welcome to join the chatter!!

Yipee!! My peafowls are here!!! Time to get busy building!!!

Congrats! Where are the pics??

My first % Aloha chick from my first hatch!!!! Isn't it a cutey? At least now I know I managed to not kill one of them. What a relief!

Good job! Sweet baby.

 

[Ivywoods]

Chooks-

Where ya been?

Hawkeye-No pics today! That wind is crazy out there. My new pair or Royal Palms are quietly getting used to their new pad. She had already caught them when I got there. She had them in a wire dog kennel waiting for us, and they were freaking out, wanting out. The jake was walking all over the hen. We took them out and put them in our car in an enclosed plastic large dog kennel, and I covered the open part of it with my jacket. They were quiet and calm the whole way home. I thought maybe they were scared out of their wits, but the hen started clamly "putt putt putt"ing on the way home. We took them out and opened the door in their new hut and they cautiously looked around and then calmly stepped out. As soon as the jake was out of the kennel his waddles reddened up and it was only a minute or two before he started strutting and gobbling his head off. I assume he may have been trying to call the other turkeys where he had been.

I don't want to stress them yet, so I will wait to get pictures, even though they are WAY calmer than I thought they would be. Their feathers are VERY messed up! The jake's tailfeathers are so beat up you can't even see the black band that should be there. I'm sure a picture won't look very good, but they do look good and healthy and are actually larger than I thought they would be. The jake is 9 months old and the hen is 8 months.

While I was out there I found where my guineas have been laying and Mike found a guinea hen sitting on a nest. I'm going to leave her there, but I might steal her eggs in a couple weeks. I've heard that guineas rarely are able to raise their chicks. There had been 4 more guinea eggs laid since yesterday, so I guess they are in full production right now.

Karen-That is a DARLING little chick!

Trish-Glad your car is finally in!
Danz-Congrats on your peacocks!

 

[Ivywoods]

OH REALLY!!!! You know how I love those brown reds!! Let me see, just what a brown red is going to cost you, HMMMM lets say 1 brown red chick for 5 wyandottes! That will work won't it!

OH REALLY yourself, sis. Let's see...I don't think we've agreed on a price for my silver ameraucanas.... hmmm... may have to think about a "handling fee for some K-State pullets.

 

[Trish44]

IVY & Checoukan you're hilarious!

 

[ChooksChick]

Hey, does anyone want a breeding pair of 'Silchins?' She's eternally broody, so they'd be like a living incubator couple. Very sweet, but have totally run out of room.

He's blue, she's black.

 

[Hawkeye95]

oh YAY Ivy that you got your Royal Palms! It sounds like they are really calm like my Seymore is. Not much ruffles her... although, if we have someone drive up, she sets off the alarm and is LOUD and does her turkey call over and over until we come out and see what it going on. So you may find that yours do something similar once they get used to who's supposed to be there. I want to see how big they are, so take a picture when you can! No big deal on the feathers, I think they really are rough on themselves. Seymore gets into the tightest spots and then turns around and messes hers up.

Danz-- exciting that you have your peafowl now!! Post pics of them when you can, too!! I'm not real familiar with them-- as far as knowing what their colors are.

Renee, not in need of any silchins, but they sound like excellent broodies! Do they have their feathers curled out or are they silkied?

Karen, congrats on your first chick!!! It's a cutie!!

Okay, so I think God is really toying with me because I was gone delivering two casseroles I slaved over this afternoon to give to my SIL. She had major surgery done and can't really get around for a while. I was gone about an hour and half (most of it driving to get here) I didn't stay too long because she was hurting and didn't want to impose on her. When I got back home, my power was out! My neighbor called and said by that time, the power had been out for about 30 minutes!! ACK!!! SO I didn't know what to do with all the eggs in the incubator and I drug up my camp propane light-- I know it gives off a lot of heat. Then I thought better of that... didn't want to set the house on fire. My track record lately isn't good. SO then I thought and thought and grabbed up all the eggs and stuck them under my broodie. So now she's sitting on a ridiculous amount of eggs. I'm waiting for the incubator to get back up to temp and I'll put them back. I'd be tempted to leave them, but the chick is due to hatch in a few days and every time she gets more than 3 eggs, she starts kicking them out. Apparently she likes to sit on TWO eggs and that's it. I've been out there over and over checking to make sure she hasn't kicked anyone out. Sigh. I think this whole hatching thing is insane and I don't know HOW the heck you guys actually get babies from doing this!?!?!

OH BTW-- someone told me once that you could set the incubator on top of the fridge and I checked the top and it was already cold.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Okay, so I think God is really toying with me because I was gone delivering two casseroles I slaved over this afternoon to give to my SIL. She had major surgery done and can't really get around for a while. I was gone about an hour and half (most of it driving to get here) I didn't stay too long because she was hurting and didn't want to impose on her. When I got back home, my power was out! My neighbor called and said by that time, the power had been out for about 30 minutes!! ACK!!! SO I didn't know what to do with all the eggs in the incubator and I drug up my camp propane light-- I know it gives off a lot of heat. Then I thought better of that... didn't want to set the house on fire. My track record lately isn't good. SO then I thought and thought and grabbed up all the eggs and stuck them under my broodie. So now she's sitting on a ridiculous amount of eggs. I'm waiting for the incubator to get back up to temp and I'll put them back. I'd be tempted to leave them, but the chick is due to hatch in a few days and every time she gets more than 3 eggs, she starts kicking them out. Apparently she likes to sit on TWO eggs and that's it. I've been out there over and over checking to make sure she hasn't kicked anyone out. Sigh. I think this whole hatching thing is insane and I don't know HOW the heck you guys actually get babies from doing this!?!?!

How about putting some of them under a brooder light with a damp towel under them for humidity? Don't give up, Hawkeye, you've got this. Anybody else have any ideas?

 

[Deerfield Acres]

No, that was dumb. By the time the towel gets warmed up the incubator will be ready. I read somewhere, though, that eggs can go through a power outage and still be okay as long as it's not like hours and hours. I think you're still okay. How frustrating! I feel your pain. Me thinks that wasn't God, it was the debil!

I never realized he hated baby chicks too, but now I'm sure of it.

I'm losin' it, aren't I?

I just found out that my DS, upon discovering the newly hatched chick, was caught by big sister picking up the eggs to examine for pips with his normal amount of excess force and motion.

I am not pleased. I didn't even bother asking him if he shook them because he'd never admit it. Crap. He's just the egg shaking type too. He's one of those kinesthetic learners -- thinks with movement. Trouble is, many times the thinking is grossly under-represented in proportion to the ridiculous amount of movement. Have you ever watched a kid swinging really high suddenly decide he can do a perfect somersalt at the low point with no actual experience in airborn somersalts? I have and it's not a pretty sight.

If a chick is about to pip and they, say, get caught in an earthquake, will they still survive? Since they should be hatching today and tomorrow?

 

[JosieChick]

Hawkeye-If your bator is up and running and the power is back on I would stick them back in. Sometimes broodies get caught of the nest for several hours (I had one that got trapped out of her nest for almost 12 hours while I was gone for the day) and the eggs still hatch. They might just be a bit later because they cooled but if they are due to hatch shortly they are pretty resilient at that point and are generating some of their own heat too. I would hate for your broody to kick one out of the nest and crack it with them being so close to hatching. Don't worry, it will all be ok!! You will have babies before you know it. When I first starting hatching I had so much trouble, now I am up to eyeballs in chicks on hatch day. You just figure out what works for you and your location. Remember, the air temp in the bator drops a lot faster than the egg temp does. I have opened a bator for a few minutes and it has dropped several degrees but my homemade "real egg" thermometer is only down a degree or so. The eggs don't temp swing as much as the air does.

 

[Hawkeye95]

How about putting some of them under a brooder light with a damp towel under them for humidity? Don't give up, Hawkeye, you've got this. Anybody else have any ideas?

Thanks, our power came back on! It was off over an HOUR!! Geesh! My broody didn't kick any of them out, either. I just put them back in the incubator a couple minutes ago as it came back up to temp. I had it smothered under blankets to try to keep it some what warm. I figure these eggs are toast, though. I can't see anything growing in them and I checked them yesterday. They should be about 5 days by now, and nada. I think with the temperature swings in the incubator and now this... I'll give them a few days and I guess I'm starting over. This is so darned frustrating!!!!!!!!!!!!