hatchers hatcherers..... who's expecting peeps on septembre 24th or so... :)

[AmericanMom]

We have 21 chicks out, though I had to help two of them. I don't know if they will make it. They pipped and mostly zipped, then it was like they ran out of steam and couldn't go any further. They took too long and got kinda shrink-wrapped. The humidity was at 75%, so it was just that they are weak. I helped them out and cleaned the shell off of them, got them back in the incubator fast. I've done all I can, now it's up to them. Those weak chicks almost always die, but sometimes one surprises me. At least all the yolk was absorbed and they looked like they were otherwise healthy.

I am going to remove most of them to the brooder in a bit. Mostly red and brown chicks, with one or two black. There are still 9 eggs unhatched, and one of them is chirping, so maybe it's just late. We'll see. I left the 9 eggs under the hens alone; one mama really came at me when I tried to take her eggs, so I said "Ok, ok, you win, even though I'm 100 times your size, literally." I think she's got this one handled.

The little cochin/silkie bantams are the cutest little chicks, with their feathered feet, sometimes with black skin or five toes! Check out this little ham ...

Such a cute chick!! several of mine hatched out with feathered feet too...daddy is Dominque/ cross....I believe he is part silkie but not certian of that, maybe something else... other than the feathered feet I can see no silkie trait in him... Many of our chicks are black but there are a few striped, and one that is my absolute favorite with the coolest color variation around its eyes, when my back is up to it, I'll try and get a pic posted, have a hard time reaching into the brooder box right now

 

[lazypifarm]

Final count from the incubator 23 out of originally 40 eggs, 30 of which developed. Not bad! Plus, this morning an egg under one of the hens hatched. She was NOT HAPPY about me nudging her to look at the baby, so I left her alone. She is sitting on 6 eggs, and the other hen has 5. Maybe they will hatch more this week!

 

[rachmickmurphy]

you ve done great lazypifarm and broodies hatching too you are as busy as. i have been admiring your avatar pic those are lambs arnt they? we have coloured merinos only a few i use their wool for spinning it nearly time for shearing we kept our ram separate this year had to hand rear two lambs last year and just couldnt do it again this year.

 

[lazypifarm]

Ooo, colored merinos are nice! Those guys in my avatar are Shetlands. Doileag, the ewe, is a really great sheep, she twins every year and grows an inch of wool a month! She gets sheared twice a year. I finally got to keep a ewe lamb from her this year, and she looks every bit as great as her mama! Doileag has a nice udder and a lot of milk, but she is a rodeo to handle, no way I can milk her. I am hoping to get a ram some year from a milky line, and get a ewe lamb from that cross to bottle raise. Then maybe I can MILK that sheep! * cackles maniacally *

Ahem. Anyway, on to more chick pictures! The first one shows the variations pretty well. All but that one black are brown, but some are darker, some are cinnamon colored (probably will be more red than brown), some have black skin or 5 toes, and some have a "pompadour" poof on their head. So tiny and cute!

The last 3 hatchers were weak, but they hung on and dried off and now are in the brooder with the rest. There is only one, the last one I had to help, who looks questionable. She is spraddle-legged, so I used a band-aid to bring her legs closer together. She looked so surprised that she could stand up and hobble around! If she makes it, then I think in a week or so she will be perfectly normal. She was just so weak.

Watch, the one with special needs will end up being a rooster. XD

 

[Majd]

Omggggg...... howwwww cuteeee and fuzzy..... and cuddly..... I WANT some silkie crosses soooooo BAD!!!!!!!

 

[lazypifarm]

They really are insanely cute. And now for the ultimate in cuteness - my son with one of the mama hens. Nothing like a boy and his chicken, watching television.

 

[rachmickmurphy]

They really are insanely cute. And now for the ultimate in cuteness - my son with one of the mama hens. Nothing like a boy and his chicken, watching television.

omg what a stunning pic what a priceless memory just gorgeous my girls have picnics and tea parties with ours

 

[Majd]

Cutest picture ever.... handsome son and magnificent girl ..

 

[lazypifarm]

I once realized it was too quiet (always a bad sign) and went in search of my son. I found him in his bed, reading a story to a chicken. He couldn't read then, but he knew that particular book by heart! He is our "chicken whisperer," they come up to him. We recently separated the bantams from the big girls so they could lay and be broody in peace, without getting kicked out of the nests. He was so pleased, he is convinced that the bantams are "his chickens" and that we'd built the pen for HIS benefit, instead of theirs! Life is good for a farm boy!

 

[rachmickmurphy]

chicken whisperer- love it. I showed my girls that pic and they all cracked the sads because they not allowed to bring the bigger birds inside we got the youngst of the chicks inside though. we had bad weather here in the last 72 hours had a tree dropped on the run of the sussex pen a 6metre piece of roof iron flew off shed and the shed i have the large brooder in lost a couple of sheets of the wall. i heard almighty crash at midnight went out to check and found the chaos hubby had to cut our way into pen to get them out in the morning theres two panels and the gateway totally destroyed but everyones ok and everything is fixable. other states are copping it worse poor tazzy is so waterlogged and lots of people without power. we only lost power for a short time it was long enough to harm the last few eggs in bator i heard a cheep today so maybe in the morning the last ones will be out and the bator can be thoroughly cleaned