Day 18 moved to hatch mode. IBW begins now. Day 21 PIPS! Now hatch!

[LoneCowboy]

Well, I moved those eggs into hatch mode this morning. I had to take out 6 more eggs that stopped developing mid-way.

So, I believe there are 20 in there now.

I'm a little nervous. I have 13 of my big girls, 11 from the last hatch in the breeder coop. 60 chicks from my order in the brooder coop and these little fluffy butts ready to hatch.

I think I've reached my caring capacity for chickens. I think I'm keeping up with all their needs, but I'm not. The 11 chicks were out of water today. It had to have spilled because I checked that last night. I feel like I'm always missing something.

However, ColoradoChick did pick up 16 little bantam last night, so I should be ok if only 16 hatch right? Puts me back up to where I was.

Oh well, still can't wait for the hatch

 

[Katy]

I think sometimes we get so caught up in the hatching excitement that we forget that unless we're hatching for someone else or to sell right away that we're gonna have to have a place and the time to care for all those little fuzzy butts.

 

[speckledhen]

After last summer's awful work load, extreme hot temps for our area, no rain, etc, carrying water, wetting down pens, etc, I was burned out. I sold three pullets who were new layers and now rooster-red is enjoying them. I sold my main Ameraucana breeding pair, too. After trying and trying to hatch enough Blue Orp pullets, I almost gave up on that, too. I thought, why kill myself? The tedium of packing eggs up every Sunday, going to the P.O. every Monday a.m., caring for separate pens, etc was getting to me, but I enjoy making people happy by helping them get a breed they normally would not have much access to, the Blue Orpingtons, so I continued. I just needed a break for awhile, to step back a bit. Now, I'm moving forward with things I believe I'll enjoy, but if it gets to be too much again, I'll take another step backward. Eventually, I may just go back to the simpler times of my basic laying flock and no breeders, but for now, I'm "stable" again.
I think when I feel overwhelmed, it's my body telling me I need to get some rest, so I make a point of making no decisions till I've had a good night's sleep or two.
Just take time to assess what you really, really want and dump the parts you really don't want.

 

[Katy]

I'm kind of struggling with some things right now too. I love my call ducks, but I'm going to part with some of them so that I can use one of their pens for some of my chickens. Ducks are just more work than chickens are. I'm getting burned out on carrying water to them all winter when the hoses are frozen up....and ducks go through way more water than chickens do. I still enjoy them and want to keep some, but only what I can comfortably fit in one pen.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Well, I'm thinking about maybe not bringing in chicks anymore. I don't make that much money on them. I could make that much in 6 weeks selling eggs if I filled that coop with red sexlinks. It's just a lot of work watching those little boogers when it's chilly outside.

 

[speckledhen]

I think you may have a point there, Deniece. Sell eggs, not chicks. If you raise the right birds, you can sell hatching eggs and eating eggs all day long and twice on Sunday.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Well, I just did some figuring. I can make as much money on eating eggs with that same coop I use for brooding and make as much money on them in 6 wks as I do in 7 weeks. Plus I don't have to work nearly as hard. If I want to have fuzzy butts around, I can alway hatch them myself. That's spending lots less on feed as well.

It's decided what are the best to breed too. Right now I'm planning on Blue Jerseys and Blue orps, but maybe I need to do something that less people are doing.

 

[tazcat70]

I think the dark egg layers will always have a place. And so will anything BLUE!

 

[speckledhen]

See? Already, you're on your way to working smarter, not harder! I'll help you however I can from long distance. I have a plan myself, but it took doing several different things to figure out what I really loved and what I really wanted. No wrong turns, just scenic drives, LOL.

 

[lannabun]

either way .. lol good luck on your hatch .. im sure youll fine homes for them .