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- #11
- Mar 25, 2009
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We're hatch-date buddies, CTChickenMom -- my exact date is the 12th as well.
I guess unlike everyone else I do have something that's helping me wait -- I couldn't do much earlier! I have to land their 8 week birthday neatly between the middle of May and the end of June. See, at 8 weeks they'll be going to my friend's to be tractored (with the exception of the two that I will keep as layers for my flock). They can't be in the tractor before the May date due to timing conflicts at my friend's and they can't still be at my place in June due to a weekend convention! So April 12th was actually perfect for me, since it puts 8 weeks neatly in mid-June and gives use a little wiggle room either way depending on whether they're feathering fast or slow.
I think April is a good compromise time anyway. It's not so early that brooding in the garage becomes exceptionally risky and it's not so late that the girls will be running into winter before they lay. I got my first batch June 2nd of this year, and wow, I thought they'd never all lay (And I'm still not sure one of them isn't going to wait until June of this year
)!
I guess unlike everyone else I do have something that's helping me wait -- I couldn't do much earlier! I have to land their 8 week birthday neatly between the middle of May and the end of June. See, at 8 weeks they'll be going to my friend's to be tractored (with the exception of the two that I will keep as layers for my flock). They can't be in the tractor before the May date due to timing conflicts at my friend's and they can't still be at my place in June due to a weekend convention! So April 12th was actually perfect for me, since it puts 8 weeks neatly in mid-June and gives use a little wiggle room either way depending on whether they're feathering fast or slow.
I think April is a good compromise time anyway. It's not so early that brooding in the garage becomes exceptionally risky and it's not so late that the girls will be running into winter before they lay. I got my first batch June 2nd of this year, and wow, I thought they'd never all lay (And I'm still not sure one of them isn't going to wait until June of this year
