Illinois...

[homeschoolin momma]

@Faraday40
Look at what was in my inky this morning!

A double white recessive? Maybe??? I guess we'll see once it fluffs up more! So exciting!

 

[Faraday40]

@Faraday40
Look at what was in my inky this morning! View attachment 1823448 View attachment 1823449
A double white recessive? Maybe??? I guess we'll see once it fluffs up more! So exciting!

Very cute!

In a week you'll know. If its feathers come in all white, then yes, it's Jewel's grandchild and a recessive white. It could also be a lighter laced orp. They also have a smokey look as chicks. Hope it's a female for you!

What was the hatch day? It seems like your hatch has been spread out this time. I wonder if the crazy cool/wet weather has something to do with it.

Over here, I've been dealing with low egg fertility. Teddy & Mr Wonderful are doing OK but each roo has a hen that won't give fertile eggs. My lav was OK earlier in the year when confined to a few hens, but he's got the whole flock now & simply unable to fertilize all of them.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

This one hatched last night. The whole hatch was spread out from Thursday night through now. Most arrived on friday as expected. Ive just got the one spitz left. I've zipped all the way around leaving most the membrane intact. Wrapped it in several wet papertowels and keeping an eye on it. The inner membrane has several blood vessels running through it, so now we just wait.

The other orp that hatched last night came from Ebony, my biggest black girl. Its still ragged looking, but is either black or blue.

 

[BReeder!]

Updates on our little patch:

We built the duck area in coop. The doors slide on a bypass rail kit. I'll put a pop door in later to give the ducks access to their run/pond once they are big enough. Right now the turkeys are in there since the ducks are in the dog crate brooder. I need to waterproof the floor before the ducks move in.

Our ducks are 3 weeks old (I believe). They love their water! A clean garbage can lid made a great mini pond. It catches all the water the ducks splash out of the waterer until it's full of water for them to play in.

Another pic of the ducks and their chicken cellmate. This is our youngest chicken - about 6 weeks old. It was lonely, so we put the ducks in with it when we got them. Now the chicken is protective of the ducks and acts like their momma (or daddy - not quite certain).

This is the cell.

 

[Faraday40]

Ducks look pretty messy. I remember having Pekin ducks when I worked at a preschool in college. Only 2 hatched & I brought them home over the weekends. Eventually, they just stayed out back in a dog house by my rabbit hutches when I was not around. I walked them 2 blocks each day for a little swim in the neighborhood pond by my parents' house. (There I went walking down the street with my 2 white duckies following behind. They also walked with me up to the mailbox & ran out to greet my car when I pulled into the driveway. They were a fun summer/spring pet but we decided to give them away before winter came along. (Between freezing waterers and a hard class load, I knew I wouldn't be able to care for them properly. Not to mention the pond would freeze.) I felt horrible when I left our friends' farm and my duckies were panicking trying to follow me back to my car. I was basically their mom & they imprinted on me. They had a few very rough days but I knew it was for the best.

If I ever get my mini farm with a pond, I'd try ducks again, but for now, we're loaded up with too many chickens (and sometimes other random poultry - like quail or turkeys..... )

@BReeder!
BTW- How are your quail doing? Are you continuing to hatch & harvest every few weeks?

 

[BReeder!]

Ducks look pretty messy. I remember having Pekin ducks when I worked at a preschool in college. Only 2 hatched & I brought them home over the weekends. Eventually, they just stayed out back in a dog house by my rabbit hutches when I was not around. I walked them 2 blocks each day for a little swim in the neighborhood pond by my parents' house. (There I went walking down the street with my 2 white duckies following behind. They also walked with me up to the mailbox & ran out to greet my car when I pulled into the driveway. They were a fun summer/spring pet but we decided to give them away before winter came along. (Between freezing waterers and a hard class load, I knew I wouldn't be able to care for them properly. Not to mention the pond would freeze.) I felt horrible when I left our friends' farm and my duckies were panicking trying to follow me back to my car. I was basically their mom & they imprinted on me. They had a few very rough days but I knew it was for the best.

If I ever get my mini farm with a pond, I'd try ducks again, but for now, we're loaded up with too many chickens (and sometimes other random poultry - like quail or turkeys..... )

@BReeder!
BTW- How are your quail doing? Are you continuing to hatch & harvest every few weeks?

We MEANT to hatch and harvest every 10 weeks. However, the quail haven't worked with us. They just started laying 2 days ago. We got 2 eggs and then 4 eggs yesterday. We also went down to 14 quail. 12 are jumbo brown hens, 2 are jumbo brown cocks, and 1 is a smaller coturnix cock who was a rescue. I see mating activity. We may collect a dozen or two soon and try a hatch. I really want to control the breeding with breeder cages of 3 hens and 1 cock to try to breed larger, faster growing and faster maturing birds.

 

[BReeder!]

Anybody have success selling eggs? I have excess chicken and quail eggs. I could be selling a 4-6 dozen chicken eggs per month and 4 dozen quail eggs per week. I just don't have buyers. We give them away at times to a neighbor or my parents, but not at a sufficient enough rate and I refuse their money. I just created a post on Facebook Marketplace. Anybody have luck with selling eggs through there? Or any other way of selling them?

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Anybody have success selling eggs? I have excess chicken and quail eggs. I could be selling a 4-6 dozen chicken eggs per month and 4 dozen quail eggs per week. I just don't have buyers. We give them away at times to a neighbor or my parents, but not at a sufficient enough rate and I refuse their money. I just created a post on Facebook Marketplace. Anybody have luck with selling eggs through there? Or any other way of selling them?

Facebook marketplace might be the best way. Maybe craigslist. You might find a buyer in your area.

I had steady buyers while school was in. I'd just take them to work and they would get snapped up. But now school is out, its harder. I'm going to make a sign for out by the front of my house here soon for people in my area. See if I can drum up some customers.

 

[BReeder!]

Facebook marketplace might be the best way. Maybe craigslist. You might find a buyer in your area.

I had steady buyers while school was in. I'd just take them to work and they would get snapped up. But now school is out, its harder. I'm going to make a sign for out by the front of my house here soon for people in my area. See if I can drum up some customers.

I thought about a sign. I fear my neighbors will really think we are crazy then. Some don't mind at all, some enjoy the sounds of the birds and their eggs, and then there's the neighbors who are polite but obviously think we are crazy bird people.
Just today a chicken managed to open one of the sliding doors for the area we have the turkey poults in. The poults got out and went into the run. One slipped through the fence into my neighbor's yard behind us. After some failed coaxing the poult wandered through another fence into the yard next to my rear neighbor's and then through yet another fence to end up in the of my next door neighbor. He happens to be the polite one who thinks we are crazy... Now I had gone around the block and was in the yard my rear neighbor's next door neighbor (following that?), so DW went to our next door neighbor and asked to enter his yard to fetch a "chick that escaped". He let her into his yard and joined in the "chick" hunt. When he saw the poult though he said, "what kind of bird is that?" It was clear he knew it wasn't a chicken, but "chick" is unanimous for baby bird to most people so I didn't feel like we lied. I had to fess up though and say, "It's a turkey somebody gave us." The odd smile on his face most certainly expressed "oh, now you are definitely crazy." I didn't tell him that the kind person who gave us the turkey included 3 more turkeys in their gift.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Now I had gone around the block and was in the yard my rear neighbor's next door neighbor (following that?)

Actually, I did strangely...

I didn't tell him that the kind person who gave us the turkey included 3 more turkeys in their gift

He'll find out soon enough!
Gobble, gobble!