Hatching with 2 broodies

[lizgarf]

Come on Aussie broodies!!
My team Oaktown broodies don't seem interested in taking breaks anymore. I brought them some yogurt and scratch this morning, which they seemed to appreciate. Frida, who started all of this and is my shyest bird, looked me in the eye for a good long time. They were less interested in the water.
4 more days??

 

[tommysgirl]

Goooood Morning Team Broody!
Yep, I am in a good mood .. nope, no news this morning!
Tommysgirl, when the breeder handed over the eggs she said to mark 20 days on the calendar; today is Day 19 and I am getting very excited!
Liz, Yeah, I won't be making any rash decision about pulling eggs .. these guys are going to get every opportunity .. can you imagine pulling them early! Aaaargh
Had a quick peek under her this morning before work but really only to ensure no broken eggs - lift, look, drop
Cilla had some chick-start and a drink of water ... another long day at work I reckon.
Typing as I am thinking ... I'm considering if, after the extreme deadline has passed and maybe no babies, trying to get my hands on one or two day old bantams that I could slip under her at night .. she really deserves a reward after all her hard work ... Ah, well, still plenty of time; but it is a thought.

Gooooo Cilla!!!!

Come on Aussie broodies!!
My team Oaktown broodies don't seem interested in taking breaks anymore. I brought them some yogurt and scratch this morning, which they seemed to appreciate. Frida, who started all of this and is my shyest bird, looked me in the eye for a good long time. They were less interested in the water.
4 more days??

Doesn't it seem to go quickly. Mine are two weeks from hatching and it seems like I just gave them to her.

Candled yesterday and something is going on in 8 of the 12, sorta going on in 2 others and probably not in the other 2. So it is looking good. I am getting better at candling. Pretty sure that one of the eggs is not fertile at all but I am leaving them there for another week. Will candle again and pull the clears and then leave her alone. Way different than when I used a bator last spring...I was obsessed and probably messed up eggs because of it. If I can leave the hatching to the method God created it makes me way less crazy!

 

[lizgarf]

Gooooo Cilla!!!!
Doesn't it seem to go quickly. Mine are two weeks from hatching and it seems like I just gave them to her.

Not for me! It's been the longest 17 days I can remember in a long time! Of course, I have a work deadline on the same day the chicks are due, and I've been a total flake on it.

Glad to hear the candling went well! Not to scare you, but all 4 of my blues looked great during my early candles, and now I'm down to one I'm pretty confident on (1 cracked, 1 crushed, and 1 doesn't have veins anymore). I think there are plenty of things that can go wrong in nature too, unfortunately, but at least we're not the ones causing those problems!

 

[tommysgirl]

I think there are plenty of things that can go wrong in nature too, unfortunately, but at least we're not the ones causing those problems!

That's the thing! I am not in charge so no guilt when things go badly.

 

[lizgarf]

Actually, the broodies wound up taking a good break today. Frida was up and about when I checked on them, so I lifted up Rousseau to check on the eggs, and she took a break too. When I got back from my bike ride, Frida was back on all of the eggs, and Rousseau was standing there awkwardly. Frida is definitely the primary mom in the couple.

The eggs aren't doing anything special yet. One of the blues had gotten dirty, somehow, and might have started to smell a bit, but I don't want to risk losing any more of the blues at this point, so, I left it there and it's back to wait and see.

Teila, is the Les Mis soundtrack stuck in your head all day? One day more . . .

 

[Teila]

lolz Liz
Gees Coops, that's not good :-(
Hello MzPlacidHippie; nice to meet you.
I am so desperate for bubby chickens I think I am grabbing at anything that might be an indication of hatching or a positive sign .. of course, I will deny all apprehension and stress when/if they hatch successfully
OK, today is Day 20. Being the morning peek and not enough time to really check for movement or listen for sounds, I did have time to note that Cilla was really perky/jumpy/fidgety; lifted her up slightly and could see a couple of the eggs but nothing peeked back at me! lol
Very excited now .. who knows, there could bubbies when I get home! Wow .. count down commences

 

[lizgarf]

Come on bubbies!! Love it.

 

[lizgarf]

Argh, I just checked on the broodies before turning in for the night, and the one likely good blue egg was lying just outside of them! I gave it a quick candle check and it still looked ok and put it back under them. I checked the other blue egg while I was at it, and it doesn't look like there's a chick in the dark area, and if there is, the air cell is huge. Actually, the air cell is pretty big on the good blue egg too. I left the browns alone. Frida kept pecking at me, but she wasn't exactly doing her job with that one egg, so I don't know why she's getting mad at me for messing with the eggs!
Aw man, still 4 days left to find out if any of this worked . . . .

 

[Teila]

I agree Liz, aaaaargh! Still got everything crossed for you.
I got home from work, no bubbies but there is a big BUT while I could not hear anything, there is definitely an egg which has been 'pushed out' from the inside ever so slightly.
Tomorrow is Day 21!
Even though I am positive what I was seeing I still so much want to hear them to know that they are definitely alive .. even better, see one!!
If it is tomorrow, Cilla has been such a good girl waiting for her Mum not to be at work! lol
Any advice on how to stop myself from sleeping next to the coop? lol

 

[lizgarf]

So, remember how I said a local feed store had baby chicks and I was lamenting on the timing because I might try to sub in chicks if my eggs don't hatch? Well, someone I know tried it with these chicks and her broody hen killed them. So sad!! I really hope this goes ok . . .
Teila, any news? Any sleep?