day 18 internal pip

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One down, 8 eggs to go

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Sorry I havnt replied sooner. I'm in UK so on different time and have just got up!!

Congrats on your first chick it looks great e
Hopefully now that chick will start to encourage the others more with its chirping and peeping. Well done its all well worth the wait.

 

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It was SO worth it! Egg number 2 is still working on hatching. I'm guessing from where the beak is that the chick is malpositioned. Zip is complete and working on kicking out I'm watching obsessively and cheering it on!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I'm sure it will be fine as its zipping. So must be in the right position or it wouldn't be able to. Their head is like tucked under the wing its quite amazing how they manage to get out!!
No wonder they are so tired when they have hatched.

 

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Yes when the first one hatched it looked like it shouldn't have been able to fit in that tiny egg shell LOL I've never seen bantam chicks before so it adds to the excitement. They're so TINY!

I can't wait to cuddle them

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I have hatched quail before too and they are microscopic tiny!! Like little bumble bees but God they are fast to say how small they are. They were jumping out of incubator as I was transferring them to brooder.

 

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The first chick is trying to jump out of the incubator, well more like climb the sides to get out lol. I want to get quail next! Which kind did you hatch? I'm looking at coturnix because they're supposedly more quiet than the other breeds. I can't wait to see newborn quail. I had no idea when I started how addicting birds can be. Of course I also didn't look into the many gorgeous breeds and varieties until about a month or so ago. Ignorance is bliss. Now I'm trying to figure out how to set up my house and yard to accommodate my expanding flock and a few ducks, quails, maybe a pheasant or two but I hear they have a high mortality rate... oh boy. My neighbors are going to love me . I'm pretty sure they think the Beverly hillbillies moved in next door!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Yes I hatched coturnix quail. They were lovely little birds but unfortunately the dog didn't like them and managed to get one through the wire and killed it. I found her death rolling it on the lawn. From that point on she was on full kill mode and it wasn't fair on her or the quail to keep so found a new home for them. I think it was the different smell she has never bothered the chickens even them free ranging in the garden.

I didn't realise either how addictive they become. I was bird phobic and my better half got offered a cheap coop and run so he bought two warrens (sex links) just for eggs. They were meant to be his and my sons project. But as usual it got left to me and they grew on me. Then someone gave us a couple of young birds they had hatched themselves. They just sort of grew and grew. Then along came the hatching!!

My better halfs fault as well!! He decided to buy a cheap incubator to hatch some partridge for the small shot he is on. It didn't go well he didn't research enough the incubator was wild on temps and nothing hatched. So a friend gave me some chickens eggs to try but I bought new thermometer and hygrometer and three out of six hatched. Did a few more hatches that were ok but by then I had the addiction. So he treated me to a Brinsea and I havnt looked back since.

There are some great looking birds out there that's how I started with the polish. Spotted them in my monthly poultry mag and just thought they looked great. They take a bit more looking after as in you have to check crest and eyes regular because the feathers hang down a lot
But they are so friendly They get so attached to you. I can only free range them under supervision because they can be a bit spooky because of the vision trouble with crest. But they really don't mind being in a run.

The neighbours think I'm mad when I'm out in the garden calling the chickens after me, but if I don't they will get lost!!

 

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Bummer but yes... not fair to either the dog or the quail. Rehoming would have been my solution too. I had a dog like that but had to put her down. So my biggest worry with quail is where will I put them? lol. I'm excited about building them a tower but have no idea where I want it yet. And I think I want to relocate my coop but again... where to???? It's also not very pleasing to the eyes and I would like to change that.

Ha! My other half is also responsible for my addiction LOL! He wanted chickens. Not me. I went with him to the feed store to get them (humoring him), helped pick them out, and as we get in the truck to leave he asks me "So what do you think of your new chickens?"............ I thought birds were just smelly, noisy, and messy so I wasn't thrilled but figured the eggs would be worth 'putting up with' them. I didn't expect to become attached to them but I did. I'm an animal lover so I suppose it was inevitable.

Several weeks ago I ran across this website (can't even remember what I was looking for) and found myself fascinated by all the pictures of everyones different breeds. I probably spent hours every day browsing all the threads and articles for the first few days after I found it. I have a sticky note on my desktop of breeds that I've ran across that I would love to add to my flock.

Oh I'd love it if my husband decided to gift me a brinsea

I'd even take the eco mini! lol which one do you have? What kind of hatch rate do you get with it? I've had 2 hatch in my homemade incubator and am anxiously waiting to see how many others of the 9 that went into lockdown will hatch. I'm fairly certain that 2 won't hatch. I've been looking at incubators but can't decide which route to go. I do know I want an automatic turner though. I think I started plotting my next hatch the day after I set my silkie eggs. I told my husband that we need to hurry and buy a new place with more land so I can have as many birds as I want.

I do the same thing with my flock when I'm outdoors. But more because I enjoy having them around me than anything else. I stand outside talking to them and the neighbors stare out their windows at me like I've grown a second head. Hopefully the willow I planted will grow like crazy and block their view so I can be a crazy bird lady without an audience. I often wish that I was a 400lb hairy man so I could walk around in my yard all day in my skivvies to discourage them watching me all the time, but that's a different story.

I plan to add a polish to my flock. I love their crests but good to know about checking them regularly. I'm trying to stick with breeds that do well in confinement. Right now I let them wander my whole backyard as they please but I'm working on their run so hopefully they'll enjoy staying in it more. I'd like to cut down on the amount of bird poo that gets stuck to my shoes when I do anything out back lol and the kids like to play out there barefoot and are constantly tracking the poo across the carpet as they run in and out. I want to change it to letting them roam the yard in the mornings and spend the afternoon in their run. How often do you supervised range yours? Just kind of trying to get an idea of what would work. My barred rocks just sit at the door waiting when I lock them in the run. I feel bad when I see them.