Hatching with 2 broodies

[16 paws]

The Li'l School house is being built!! No more brooding in the house!!

Have I ever mentioned that my husband is amazing?!?! So much other work to be done on the homestead, but he is putting me and this rowdy bunch of chickies first!! It is going to be 4'x4' and about 6' tall in the middle!!! It will be near our barn for electricity access, but will be moved next to the big coop in the future. I am so excited!!

I only have experience with my current Roo, but this bunch of extra cockerels is crazy! They jump, they fly, they attack your hand like little dinosaurs. Leghorns, or whatever, at a week and a half old those combs are growing and turning pink already!!

Quick pic of the flock exploring the orchard.

Have a great weekend

 

[16 paws]

The Li'l School house is being built!! No more brooding in the house!!

Have I ever mentioned that my husband is amazing?!?! So much other work to be done on the homestead, but he is putting me and this rowdy bunch of chickies first!! It is going to be 4'x4' and about 6' tall in the middle!!! It will be near our barn for electricity access, but will be moved next to the big coop in the future. I am so excited!!

I only have experience with my current Roo, but this bunch of extra cockerels is crazy! They jump, they fly, they attack your hand like little dinosaurs. Leghorns, or whatever, at a week and a half old those combs are growing and turning pink already!!

Quick pic of the flock exploring the orchard.

Have a great weekend!!
Pretty picture of your flock and the beautiful orchard. I bet they love that! It is 98 and hot here this week.
Marie

 

[randerson846]

Candled my three duck eggs (day 11 today), and they are all moving so excited now one is moving like crazy, and the other two are moving every now and again i candled a few of my chicken eggs day 4)and im happy to say i have about 5 silkie eggs and of the two i candled they are both growing i didnt candle all 48 eggs, but of the ones i did candle (about 20 )2 or 3 are in fertile one had the ring of death :/ and all the rest are growing so excited

 

[Teila]

Brrrrrr ... chilly; overnight temperatures drastically dropped from 18C last week to 7C (64.5F to 44.5F). Last week we were having maximums of approx 28C and this week they are only 21C or so (82.5F to 70). OK, for you snow bunnies that may be bearable but for this tropical bunny, it's too cold! lol It is windy also, so you can throw a wind chill factor into the mix. Brrrrr.

I was trying to sweep yesterday. Made a nice pile of leaves etc, turned around to get the dustpan and brush and in that split second, the wind blew them all over again. Second attempt, made a nice pile of leaves etc, went to get the dustpan and brush and Cilla and Blondie had found the pile and spread them all over again ... gave up and put the broom in the shed! lol

Lulu is still peeping but yesterday I heard her first attempt at big-chicken noises .. OMG she has the strangest little voice, I can't begin to describe it! To date, I can determine from the house who is talking by their voice, that definitely is not going to change with Lulu's contribution, definitely unique! lol. Now, I just have to wait and see what Blondie comes up with, she is 10.5 weeks old now.

Cilla is definitely scaling back on protection detail and Blondie is tending to explore more on her own; I even saw her and Lulu off together yesterday. Another week or so and I think I will have a nice little family of five; all getting along nicely.

I dug through the compost bin yesterday and picked out a heap of worms and bugs for them. If I go anywhere near the compost bin I immediately have a captive audience!

The FF experiment continues. I think the container I was using to feed them in the run may have been too deep because they were not really eating from it but when I throw the FF in their favourite spot during free range, they gobble it up. This morning I put the FF on an old glass microwave tray that I have, big enough and shallow enough that the feed is pretty much single layer; I will let you know if this helps.

Oh yeah ... Dusty is back to her beautiful self .. she has feathers! Just in time for the cold snap

Good news on the eggs R846, sounds like things are progressing nicely.

Love the piccies TG, MM and IC

CC999 .. Mitch and Madge??

PS. I will try and get some more piccies if I pluck up the courage to step outside!

PPS: Quoting Mother Nature, who I believe has a wicked sense of humour: "I'm bored! What shall I do today? .. Ooh, ooh, I know, I am going to freeze the Aussies and watch them squirm!" lolz

 

[16 paws]

Brrrrrr ... chilly; overnight temperatures drastically dropped from 18C last week to 7C (64.5F to 44.5F). Last week we were having maximums of approx 28C and this week they are only 21C or so (82.5F to 70). OK, for you snow bunnies that may be bearable but for this tropical bunny, it's too cold! lol It is windy also, so you can throw a wind chill factor into the mix. Brrrrr.

I was trying to sweep yesterday. Made a nice pile of leaves etc, turned around to get the dustpan and brush and in that split second, the wind blew them all over again. Second attempt, made a nice pile of leaves etc, went to get the dustpan and brush and Cilla and Blondie had found the pile and spread them all over again ... gave up and put the broom in the shed! lol

Lulu is still peeping but yesterday I heard her first attempt at big-chicken noises .. OMG she has the strangest little voice, I can't begin to describe it! To date, I can determine from the house who is talking by their voice, that definitely is not going to change with Lulu's contribution, definitely unique! lol. Now, I just have to wait and see what Blondie comes up with, she is 10.5 weeks old now.

Cilla is definitely scaling back on protection detail and Blondie is tending to explore more on her own; I even saw her and Lulu off together yesterday. Another week or so and I think I will have a nice little family of five; all getting along nicely.

I dug through the compost bin yesterday and picked out a heap of worms and bugs for them. If I go anywhere near the compost bin I immediately have a captive audience!

The FF experiment continues. I think the container I was using to feed them in the run may have been too deep because they were not really eating from it but when I throw the FF in their favourite spot during free range, they gobble it up. This morning I put the FF on an old glass microwave tray that I have, big enough and shallow enough that the feed is pretty much single layer; I will let you know if this helps.

Oh yeah ... Dusty is back to her beautiful self .. she has feathers! Just in time for the cold snap

Good news on the eggs R846, sounds like things are progressing nicely.

Love the piccies TG, MM and IC

CC999 .. Mitch and Madge??

PS. I will try and get some more piccies if I pluck up the courage to step outside!

PPS: Quoting Mother Nature, who I believe has a wicked sense of humour: "I'm bored! What shall I do today? .. Ooh, ooh, I know, I am going to freeze the Aussies and watch them squirm!" lolz

Sorry it is so cold there....we are having a heat spell this week here. 98 to 100
Penny is letting her babies walk around with all the big chickens, if they even make eye contact with her kids she flogs them good. There is a polish roo and 12 hens ranging from about 1 to 2 and a half years old and the babies are not even 2 weeks! She is a good Mom. I guess her size works to her advantage now, instead of breaking eggs she is a great body guard! Lol
Sounds like Blondie and Lulu are going to be bff's. I am glad everyone is getting along well.
The compost bin is popular huh?
May I ask how you keep yours? I have mine in a plastic trash can with holes in it for air but I think everything is a little too wet in there. We put all fruit and veggie scraps in there along with egg shells. I think there were some maggots in there so I am scared to go near it!

Cant wait to see more pix.
Marie

 

[Teila]

16 paws, good to read that Penny is protecting her bubbies from the big chickens and also that they are already integrating with them. This definitely seems the preferable option while they still have their mum to protect them; rather than trying to integrate them when they are older. It sure worked for me with Blondie, she is just part of the family now.

When you said you cant wait to see more pix, I bet it wasn't of a compost bin! lol
Yes, it is very popular with the girls ... it is the bug-house!



This is ours, which we purchased up from our local hardware store. We throw in the egg shells also, along with vegetable scraps, fruit scraps, chicken poop and the straw from the nesting boxes when I clean them out. Plus, brown 'dead' waste, dropped leaves etc.
When I do a water change on the fish pond, I throw a couple of buckets of pond water into the compost.

If it gets too full and we do not have use for it at the time, I simply open the bottom doors and shovel out some dirt, making room for more at the top. The girls love the dirt that comes out full of bugs!

As I treat, I take off the lid and dig around with a small trowel, picking out lavae and throwing it to them.

We have never had maggots and seem to just get tiny little beetle type crawlies plus Black Soldier fly grubs which are what the girls love most and then these huge, very ugly curl grubs (beetle lavae) which are too big and ugly for even the chickens to eat. Having said that, Lulu took one on the other day and proceeded to bash it to pulp!

Outside of the rainy season, I water the compost maybe once a week and during the rainy season I leave the lid off when we are expecting a downpour and then pop it back on after a good soaking.

It doesn't appear to get too wet or smell bad.

Edited to add: I was brave enough to battle the cold to take this picture because the compost bin was not running around the garden playing hard to get! Chicken pictures when it is warmer out there! lol

 

[randerson846]

I dont have a compost bin sounds like a good idea,

 

[16 paws]

16 paws, good to read that Penny is protecting her bubbies from the big chickens and also that they are already integrating with them. This definitely seems the preferable option while they still have their mum to protect them; rather than trying to integrate them when they are older. It sure worked for me with Blondie, she is just part of the family now.

When you said you cant wait to see more pix, I bet it wasn't of a compost bin! lol
Yes, it is very popular with the girls ... it is the bug-house!



This is ours, which we purchased up from our local hardware store. We throw in the egg shells also, along with vegetable scraps, fruit scraps, chicken poop and the straw from the nesting boxes when I clean them out. Plus, brown 'dead' waste, dropped leaves etc.
When I do a water change on the fish pond, I throw a couple of buckets of pond water into the compost.

If it gets too full and we do not have use for it at the time, I simply open the bottom doors and shovel out some dirt, making room for more at the top. The girls love the dirt that comes out full of bugs!

As I treat, I take off the lid and dig around with a small trowel, picking out lavae and throwing it to them.

We have never had maggots and seem to just get tiny little beetle type crawlies plus Black Soldier fly grubs which are what the girls love most and then these huge, very ugly curl grubs (beetle lavae) which are too big and ugly for even the chickens to eat. Having said that, Lulu took one on the other day and proceeded to bash it to pulp!

Outside of the rainy season, I water the compost maybe once a week and during the rainy season I leave the lid off when we are expecting a downpour and then pop it back on after a good soaking.

It doesn't appear to get too wet or smell bad.

Edited to add: I was brave enough to battle the cold to take this picture because the compost bin was not running around the garden playing hard to get! Chicken pictures when it is warmer out there! lol

You are too sweet to brave the weather and take a pix for me. Too funny about it staying still, also wish the babies would.Lol
I am glad I got to see it because I have seen that model being sold at our Home Depot I believe. I like the looks of it, has a lower profile than my trash can. Sounds like it works great also. I think mine got too slimy because I don't add the brown stuff, only green. I also think that my dh added some rotten eggs that Penny had cracked. That is the only time I saw the maggots and now it sounds like it came from that.

WONT DO THAT ANYMORE!

Had to laugh out loud at the thought of little Lulu tearing up that bug, It probably wasn't all that bigger than her!

Have a great day and thanks for all the neat info.
Marie

 

[randerson846]

So i candled all my eggs, and there was one with the ring of death, and 16 that were infertile, or just didn't grow, and that leaves me with 3 duck eggs, and 24 chick eggs although there is one which i cant find ahaha i have it wrote down on a note pad (i numbered them all) and i couldn't see it, but i didn't want to look for it for to long as the eggs were starting to cool down, so i have 27 viable eggs(not including the one i cant find ahah) due to hatch on the 20th of may 15 days to go

 

[Teila]

randerson846, good to hear that the 3 duck eggs are doing well. Sorry to read about the infertile chick ones though. I guess the bigger the hatch, the bigger the number of infertile or nonviable eggs. 48 chicks would have been quite a handful I think

I wonder where that egg went also. It would be very funny if it stays hidden and you end up with 28 chicks from the 27 eggs you can see, lol.

Yep, a compost bin is invaluable I reckon, not only does it give the girls many hours of enjoyment, it also gives me somewhere to put the chicken poop from which, in turn, the garden benefits.

16 paws, I have had that bin going on 4 years now and it is still going strong; definitely worth it. To be honest, I can't remember what I paid for it but it has given that back many times over in the savings from not having to purchase potting mix. The composted soil grows the best tomatoes!

I gave everyone a precautionary worming today. Lulu had been vaccinated for Marek's but I was not sure if/when she had been wormed and it was about time for everyone else also. I like to do it in the cooler weather because the stuff I use is added to their water; so many drops per cup full. If the weather is cooler, I can put out less water and therefore, waste less worming mixture. Granted, in the cooler weather they do not drink as much of it as they would on the hotter days but it is there for 24 hours, so I think they probably get enough.

The FF experiment is going really well. The shallower, larger tray has definitely increased the amount eaten during the day. I only have a small amount of the layer mix I am currently using left over and the girls have never really been that keen on it; even when it was dry. It has pellets or crumbles as well as seed and my girls are definitely seed gals, "you know what you can do with your pellets/crumbles!". The pellets/crumbles also ferment down to mush. The next 20kg of feed is going to be a good mix of seed without pellets/crumbles. I think we will definitely see increased excitement about the FF then.

I am not going to write a small novel this evening but I do have to share the cutest thing I saw yesterday.

While much bigger than Lulu, Tina is, in fact, only 3 months older than Lulu. As you know, Lulu has bonded with Tina and follows her everywhere. Keep in mind, Tina is still to lay her first egg.

Yesterday, while digging through the compost dirt, Tina found a bug, she didn't eat it; she took, took, tooked to Lulu who came running over and Tina gave Lulu the bug! So, so adorable!