Ok, so it starts off so innocent. We get 4 hens and 1 roo given to us. They finally start laying and the eggs are just so good.
So we talk about it and decide (Hey, why don't we get a few more... maybe we can sell a few eggs to cover their food cost.) So, we start searching and find a local guy that sells chicks......no eggs. This is good, no competition.
So, off we go to get some chicks, 20 in total. We get there and I go brain dead trying to pick some out since he has thousands to choose from. We came home with EE's and others. I have always wanted EE's or some that lay colored eggs, like my Aunt had when I was a kid.
We were sitting at the table and discussing how nice it would be to gather some of our grown chickens eggs and incubate them since they are such great little layers. (Old English Game) We had not done any research on them other than to find out what breed they were, this will come into play though. So, off hubby goes to get an incubator and turner.
He gets home and we set 20 eggs that we had been saving, this happened on Feb. 24.
On March 1st he calls me at work to inform me Gracie has gone broody!!!! OMG now what?? He calls his cousin and gets an emergency run on eggs since she only has a couple under her......we add more that same afternoon. She is now on about 15......we wanted to make it worth while. Not sure if she can hatch that many, but she is trying.
(Research time, now we find out game are great for going broody.) Well, hubby brought home more eggs and another bator his cousin had sitting around, cause he figures if we are gonna have some, we may as well really make it worth our while in the endevor. (These eggs are mutts and pure breeds but we have no clue as to what is what since eggs were all put together and not labeled.) Well off I go to the store to get another turner since neither of us has the time to turn all these eggs. We set the second bator on March 4th to full capacity, and the proceded to fill up the excess room in the first one. Ok, so now we have 97 eggs going in bators and under broody. I candled the first batch of eggs soI could toss bad ones yesterday.... well they all have babies in them.
I was some what shocked with this being our first time and all the posts I have read on here I was thinking I would have to throw out some. Nope all are developing nicely.
I will post pics once they start hatching. The first babies are due on St. Patrick's day, then 3 days later batch #2, then 3 days later batch #3. Ummm, the tangled web we weave. I have a feeling we are going to be very busy. But for now we are playing the waiting game
Anyone else due on or around the same time???
So we talk about it and decide (Hey, why don't we get a few more... maybe we can sell a few eggs to cover their food cost.) So, we start searching and find a local guy that sells chicks......no eggs. This is good, no competition.
I will post pics once they start hatching. The first babies are due on St. Patrick's day, then 3 days later batch #2, then 3 days later batch #3. Ummm, the tangled web we weave. I have a feeling we are going to be very busy. But for now we are playing the waiting game
Anyone else due on or around the same time???
