I just went down to candle eggs that were to go into the incubator. Of 12 eggs only 4 were viable, two golden lakenvelders and two ameraucanas. None of the serama eggs appeared to be fertile. I had a serama hen sitting on a nest. She had 7 eggs under her. She left the eggs just a couple days before they should have started hatching and it got super cold. I took them out and did the "eggtopsy" thing. None of them appeared to be fertile. I guess I will just have to wait a little longer on them. I've only got one serama hen laying right now, anyway.
I decided maybe I should go ahead and candle the eggs that should go into lockdown tomorrow. Of those 8 eggs there were 4 viable. Two ameraucanas, a lakenvelder and ONE ROSECOMB! I may get some of these rosecombs hatched yet.
THEN I had an accident. I get the "cluts of the day" award. I had the non viable eggs in a carton. The carton folded a bit and 3 of the eggs fell out and hit the cement floor! Thank goodness it was not the viable eggs and thankfully they were not rotten or something. It did make quite a mess, though.
So far all of the chicks that have hatched appear to healthy and hardy... growing and doing well. I'm happy about that.
Yes, it sure has been cold and I've been getting a few frozen eggs before I get to them. It was 8 degrees when I got home this morning. It has cleared off and warmed up a little now, but still very cold.
Hawkeye-Congratulations on your first egg! That thing looks pretty big for a silkie egg! You just might hatch some WHOPPIN babies! LOL! I thought that was funny that you thought my sister's DH shot that deer. EVERYONE in my family hunts. I've hunted deer for a number of years and have no idea how many I have harvested. We eat a lot of venison. I can shoot 'em, field dress them, drag them home, skin them, process them and cook them. I am very picky about how they are processed so I do my own. Sometimes when I make a roast my family can't tell if it's venison or beef. My older sister and one of my brothers both got their first deer this year. Checoukan has shot a number of deer as has my other brother. I started hunting when I was a kid, and I loved it. I never got to go often enough. I've always been an excellent shot and loved shooting of any kind. I am now a hunter education instructor, a bowhunter ed instructor and wish I had more time for shooting and educating. I have to give some credit for my deer hunting skills to my DH. He grew up in a family of 14. Much of his youth was spent in the woods of Minnesota and Wisconsin hunting deer. He helped feed the family since he was one of the oldest boys. He has hunted deer every year all his life and never fails to get a deer. He is not a trophy hunter. I guess it's because he knows those younger deer definitely taste better. He learned to hunt near some of the reservations up there and was taught by a native American Indian many of his skills. All the camo, bells and whistles people use to hunt deer he pretty much ignores. He can go out in his plaid flannel shirt with his "lucky" blue stocking cap with a little ball on the top and he comes home with a deer. He has had deer come up and sniff the little ball on the top of his cap and had young deer walk right up to him and sniff the buttons on his coat. Kind of makes me wonder what they are smelling!
Danz-Oh my! They are beautiful! No labrador there! I want that one... and that one... and that one.... Gee it will be hard to choose!
I'll just have to measure & see if I can find a frame kit available for the right size for that one. Yeah my eggs were pretty frozen this morning too & the rabbit's water was frozen solid.
