Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Marie2020]

Princess said, get a load of this Bob

 

[Marie2020]

I should be sweeping and mopping right now. Instead every time I hear a peep I go to the incubator to sneak a peek. The Betty chick, it's pip is big enough that I can see the tip of it's beak. It could be a Betty x Mr P which would make it 25% silkie and 75% polish. It could also be a Bert x Betty making it 50/50. Rosie wants a black frizzle to be named Black Betty. Actually she is hoping to get that out of the Betty egg. With my tiny little window into the egg, the beak is black.

Where is this name coming from you might ask?
Goofing off at the barn riding horses with her best friend jamming out to this.

Love this track

 

[Sylvester017]

SHRA correction

Curly and her two McNugget chicks
View attachment 3860981

Who still have no names

If the Black is a Silkie name it after our "Mini" appropriate for boy or girl

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

And we now have 3 pips. I think it is a Poppet egg. Multi-tasking here at it's finest. Sweep a minute, stare at the incubator for 5. Mop the swept spot, stare at the incubator.

 

[bgmathteach]

There is

Yep, chicks & chickens are messy. W/ our last batch of chicks January 2024 we used chick nipple waterers and chick port feeder and never had crumble waste or water spills/drips. We even use nipple waterers and larger port feeders outdoors for the bigger girls. Since we dont plan on acquiring any more new birds (we're getting too old & disabled) we will use the small chick single port feeder for oyster shell now & mount it to the coop side. We even put the small chick nipple waterers outdoors now so there are several feeding/watering stations in the yard.
SINGLE NIPPLE WATERER
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SINGLE PORT FEEDER
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LARGER 4-PORT FEEDER
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OUTDOORS -- A 2-GAL INSULATED RUBBERMAID THERMOS W/ NIPPLE WATERERS -- THIS SILKIE WOULD LET THE WATER DRIBBLE ON HER & TOOK SHOWERS UNDER IT. SADLY THIS NIPPLE ATTACHMENT IS NO LONGER MADE. A NEW CUP VERSION IS NOW SOLD WHICH WE WERE DISAPPOINTED WITH. WE CHERISH THIS LAST MANUFACTURED NIPPLE ATTACHMENT BECAUSE THE THERMOS KEEPS THE WATER ICE COLD DURING HEATWAVES.
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There is a different nipple attachment for that kind of cooler that you can get- I have one. I agree, having a cooler that I can put a big chunk of ice in to keep the water cold in the heat is GREAT!

 

[BY Bob]

Today is my birthday so to hold you over until I get a funny birthday photo from Grandma, here is a photo of Mozzarella plucking the life out of that plant.
View attachment 3861007

Happy Birthday.

 

[notabitail]

Today is my birthday so to hold you over until I get a funny birthday photo from Grandma, here is a photo of Mozzarella plucking the life out of that plant.
View attachment 3861007

Happy Birthday!

 

[BY Bob]

Shew, I can breathe now, turner is out and lockdown has begun.

I set 28 eggs, 14 have made it to lockdown, 8 of them shipped eggs.

Now comes the time that stresses me out the most, hatching. My little silkie nuggets you have came so far, please do not quit on me now.

Going into lockdown we have:
6 Poppet eggs, 1 externally pipped.
1 Betty egg, nice size pip and chirping like mad.
1 Fluffy egg
6 Curly eggs.

It has been a year since I have had chicks, those little chirps are a most welcome sound.

The chickies are coming, the chickies are coming!!!

Nothing beats chicks. The little darlings!

 

[BY Bob]

Mark where air sac is (pencil works). Set in carton (open) pointy end down so air sac can shift towards the fat end. Let it sit overnight, then check again. This is why recommend to sit 24-48 hours before going in incubator with turner active. If it's shifted some, remark and let sit longer. If it hasn't moved, speculating that it's attached where it's at. Basically, you want the air sac attached in one location. If it's drifting about, that's a problem.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate you helping me.

 

[BY Bob]

Hey everyone,
I finally have a moment to sit down and reply.
@BY Bob
Congrats on sourcing eggs. I look forward to following along. If I remember they are coming from 2 different sources but both arrive today right? If it were me, once you have both at home take a flashlight and check for cracks. Then store them pointy side down in your container on your counter for 48 hours without touching them. Normally if you are storing eggs to sit you twist them a little bit every 24 hours until you set them. Skip this step, we want the air sacks to stabilize. After 48 hours mark them. Put a x on 1 side and a y on the other. This way you can peak and make sure the momma's are turning the eggs when you get a chance if you are worried. Give them to the momma's and honestly your job is done as far as the eggs go. Now you take care of your girls and make sure they get off to eat, drink and relieve themselves. The first 48 hours of them having the eggs, do not force them off the eggs if they choose not to get up. It helps reinforce the "I have eggs, I must hatch" desire. Also, do not count the first 24 hours in your 21 days countdown. Those eggs will need time to come up to temperature under the hen. Now, having said that, I did not count the first 24 hours for my shipped eggs. I should have removed the turner yesterday evening. I did not, I was planning on doing it at 5 tonight. I am getting up right now to scramble to remove the turner. I peaked in the incubator, one of the shipped eggs, is pipped. When it comes to nature and hatching, take everything you know and throw it out the window.

Thank you so much! I truly appreciate the shared wisdom.