Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[ozexpat]

We are up to 16!

OGM: your hairs are all black so far. The early one has dries with a full head of fluff - much more than the lake elsinore guys. It came from one of the cream color eggs. What mixes are they. I forget what you said. Perhaps you polish mix roo did the job
Either way its a cutie!

The first from the haughty purebred bator has hatched. Its a Australorp. There is a pipped wyandotte but otherwise that bator is boring. The mutt bator had 15 of 34 drying. Woohoo!!

 

[Rockashelle]

Wow... It's Showtime! Congrats! I can't wait to hear about your adventures after the hatch is done.

 

[EPetrilli]

That is awesome!! Can't wait for pictures I think I have it on good word (Sally Sunshine) that it didn't happen without pictures?!?! LOL!

Only kidding as I know how hard it is for you to post so I am happy with just the updates But I will admit I am excited for when you can post a fuzzy!!

 

[ozexpat]

I am leaving for kabankalan in about 45 minutes so I should have pics up in an hour and a half.

18 chicks and going strong!!

 

[hillfloweranch]

I am leaving for kabankalan in about 45 minutes so I should have pics up in an hour and a half.

18 chicks and going strong!!

great job Oz!!!

you're a mean lean chick hatching machine!! or somthin like that..lol

 

[ozexpat]

I am leaving for kabankalan in about 45 minutes so I should have pics up in an hour and a half.

18 chicks and going strong!!

 

[ozexpat]

The eggs are hatching up a storm. The mutts are over half way with 18 out. I delayed adding humidity for 24 hours just to give them more of a chance. The lowest the humidity went during the entire first 19 days was 49%. I added water just now to bring it up to 80. I did not bring my scale from the USA so I am just going visual on the air sacks.
Type

Original count

Into Lockdown

Percentage
Lake Elsinore Mutts

18

14

78
OGM Mutts

30

20

67
Black Copper Maran

8

5

62
Blue Laced Red Wyandottes

8

8

100
Australorps

9

6

67
Total

73

53

73

The “fanciest” breed did the best so far with the control group of Lake Elsinore mutts above average. OGM warned me that some of hers eggs were over a week old when I picked them up but even some of those seemed to do OK. It such a shame I had the car trouble during the great December chicken run. I really wanted some barred rocks. Still, if I was crazy enough to try and get there, I would have missed the plane. As it was, my late arrival at LAX cause my luggage to miss the plane when it was held up by TSA for secondary screening. The trailer wheels, voltage converter and rat poison would all cause TSA to pull the boxes off the conveyer belt and implement a manual inspection. They all had notes from TSA to say they had been opened by them. The 48 mutt eggs that went in the hard sided golf bag, along with the frozen ham automatically had a manual inspection as the golf bag’s dimensions cause issues on the conveyer system. This was the reason I placed the eggs in it – I knew it would circumvent the xray process.

If any of you lurkers out there are from SoCal and want to participate in the Spring “Getting the Flock Out of Here” event, PM me. I am looking for monster chicken breeds: Buff or Brittish Orps, Rhode Island Reds, Giant Jerseys, Plymouth Rocks. I also would like some Polish, Frizzle and Silkies as well. I will pay fair price

My best buddy here has recently got into ducks. It was funny when we met up. He was all excited to tell me about ducks while had my chickens to talk about. I have a request from him for duck eggs to hatch and cross breed with his locals to increase size.

Now it’s a waiting game. I hate this part. Still I have my “honey do” list to chip at. One of our ceiling fans needs replacing as the salt air has caused it to short out. The same applies to a couple of closet hinges. Man versus nature is a constant battle man will never win.




The view of fish farms and Bais Bay

om

A potty break on the way home from Dumaguete



The coop is coming along



The thatch roof from the inside





Our pregnant nanny goat



The buck

"

Hector



The kids having a break from blocks



How to ant proof bators island style





The bators view



chickens!!!





looks part polish? waddayathink?



The lake elsinore mutts

 

[ozexpat]

BTW

I had a blow out on the way to town. The adventure continues

 

[Concrete101]

Its 2:30 am but i could not stop reading. Thank you gor letting me tag along on your adventure.

 

[ozexpat]

Its 2:30 am but i could not stop reading. Thank you gor letting me tag along on your adventure.

Glad to have you along for the ride.

Dusk is very short in the equatorial region of the world. Being less than 10 degrees from the equator we have essentially 12 hour days and 12 hour nights. With 30 minutes of twilight at each end.

Most days here a beautiful. Today was more beautiful than most though. There was just enough cloud to make the sky pretty and the ocean was as blue as the postcards you see of the french riviera.

As the kids have there outside shower returning from their evening swim, there is massive storm brewing in the north east. It will roll in with rain that can only be experienced in the tropics. I may have a cold rain shower as the water rolls off our corrugated roof. Sometimes its fun to be a kid - even when you are 50!!

Of the 34 mutt eggs there are 28 chicks with 2 pips. If just those two manage to bust out of there calcium covered prisons, I will be very happy.

The snob purebreds are still not doing much. Two wyandottes have pipped. I can hear chirping from a couple of marans and Australorps. The lone aussie that hatched is patiently waiting some mates to play with.

Tomorrow I will put all dry chicks in the brooder. The following day I have to fly to Manila to attend s court hearing on our kids adoption. We will be back Sat morning for 30 hours before I return to Manila and back to Los Angeles, leaving my precious wife and kids to fend for themselves for a few months.

The storm will be here in ten minutes. Lets hope we keep power or atleast enough phone signal to post this.

..... after 20 hits of the send button, it did not go through. Pretty typical of the internet here in the evenings.

Dinner is ready. Sweet and sour pompano fish with local veggies and steamed rice. I will try again in 30 mins. The rain arrived.


Its about an hour later. 7 pm. Another OGM chick has hatched. 3 more to go on that side with 2 on the lake elsinore side. One OGM has pipped. I will candle the last 4 mutt eggs tonight.

During the first 18 days I had mixed the eggs in the bators. There were lake elsinore eggs in both. I did this to quality control the devices. So far I have good hatch rates from both so the delay is not caused by a difference in bator temps. Still its strange that the mutts and one aussie hatched up to 24 hours ago. The only difference between the eggs since I have had them in my possession is that the snobs traveled business class while the mutts were in the bowels of the 747.

Its only 7 hours into day 21 so there is no concern for worry yet. Maybe they know where they are hatching and were told that its custom for the elite to be late to a party.....but jeeeeeez