Illinois...

[BReeder!]

Thank you both for sharing. I won't need a lot, but the kids enjoyed the variety. Incubating only light brown orp eggs is slightly boring. Last year's kids really loved the wide variety - silkies, seramas, orps, spitzes, leghorns, and of course the big-eyed poults.


@homeschoolin momma If you have a blue-green egg that would be awesome. Tyrion is 7 yrs, so her laying cycle is growing shorter every year.

If your Cream Crested Legbars are laying, what would the likely offspring be?
Legbar-ington (basically giant Easter Eggers)
or Spitz-bar (imagine the crazy crests!)

@BReeder! I don't mean to leave you out of the fun. If you want to throw in 2-3 ducks eggs in the spring hatch, I know the classes would love them. However, I'm personally not a duck person and would need a home ready to take them about a week after hatch.

I could do that. I'm not certain they're fertile or not, but they very well could be. The ducks were having plenty Animal Channel fun in the Fall. I'm not sure if the drake is at it again, but if they're laying I bet he's playing!

I can keep some to the side. When would you like them so I don't collect to early?

As for a place for them to go should they hatch, I'll be happy to take them back. They'll be a welcome part of the flock this season.

 

[BReeder!]

Speaking of the flock this season, I already know I'm going to end up needing to downsize next Fall/Winter. I'm OK with that idea finally though. I'm going to build some more variety into the flock this Spring and then keep only our favorites (based on personality, looks, egg production, etc.) for the next year.

My cuckoo marans, A'hole, may be one to go sooner than later. She simply stopped producing eggs in late Summer has not laid since while all the others laid well into the Fall and recently started laying well again. I'm going to let her ride the gravy train into the Spring and see if she starts up again. My fear is that something is wrong with her reproductive system. She hasn't showed signs of illness ever and continues to act like her self (aptly named for her personality). I don't believe she's stressed much (perhaps being cooped up and refusing to go outside because there's snow can be stressful, but no more for her than the others). So come April/May, we'll need to make a tough decision. A'hole is an original flock member though. To DW that seems to equate to family member status, so I may forced to let her ride the gravy train well into her glory days with us.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

@Faraday40 I get about 1 blue egg a day. My other legbar was killed a few months ago so I've only got the one now. Looking to get another this spring as well as maybe a chocolate egg layer. I guess the resulting mix of legbar and orpington would be a legginton. Seriously though, its just an EE. I still have one that you gave me over in the spitz coop. Shes all black with a crest, but lays light brown eggs

 

[Faraday40]

I could do that. I'm not certain they're fertile or not, but they very well could be. The ducks were having plenty Animal Channel fun in the Fall. I'm not sure if the drake is at it again, but if they're laying I bet he's playing!

I can keep some to the side. When would you like them so I don't collect to early?

As for a place for them to go should they hatch, I'll be happy to take them back. They'll be a welcome part of the flock this season.

I'll ask to see if this teacher is interested. I know for sure 2 of the later preschools will jump at the chance to hatch ducklings. My 4H Cloverbuds also decided to do incubation for their group project and I agreed. I'm going to try to spread out the hatchings a little more this year. It was crazy when 50+ chicks hatched in 3 days. Even worse when they started coming back here. Thankfully I had a decent wait list for orps, so most of the chicks had homes by the end of the 2nd week.

Did you hatch your ducks last year? I know they incubate for 28 days, so must be started 1 week sooner. Do they need it more humid? I'm always up for the experience of hatching something new. (I'm just not up for raising messy ducklings. LOL) Of course I must admit that ducklings are probably the cutest baby birds ever.

 

[Faraday40]

@Faraday40 I get about 1 blue egg a day. My other legbar was killed a few months ago so I've only got the one now. Looking to get another this spring as well as maybe a chocolate egg layer. I guess the resulting mix of legbar and orpington would be a legginton. Seriously though, its just an EE. I still have one that you gave me over in the spitz coop. Shes all black with a crest, but lays light brown eggs

For this hatch, save me 1-2 blue eggs and 3-5 spitz eggs. If you want to test fertility of any orp eggs, we can mark them, but I'm sure I'll have no problem gathering enough light brown orp eggs to fill up her incubator.

BTW- Do any of your female Spitzes have spurs? Poof Poof's spurs are getting long and I may have to file or cut them. Such a weird hen!

 

[homeschoolin momma]

@Faraday40 will do on the eggs

The only Spitz hen that has spurs is my "fan head" Spitz. She also has a huge comb and pretty big wattles. (Which is why I kept her to maybe improve that feature a little) But her spurs aren't super long, more just noticeable when looking at her comparing her to another.

 

[BReeder!]

I'll ask to see if this teacher is interested. I know for sure 2 of the later preschools will jump at the chance to hatch ducklings. My 4H Cloverbuds also decided to do incubation for their group project and I agreed. I'm going to try to spread out the hatchings a little more this year. It was crazy when 50+ chicks hatched in 3 days. Even worse when they started coming back here. Thankfully I had a decent wait list for orps, so most of the chicks had homes by the end of the 2nd week.

Did you hatch your ducks last year? I know they incubate for 28 days, so must be started 1 week sooner. Do they need it more humid? I'm always up for the experience of hatching something new. (I'm just not up for raising messy ducklings. LOL) Of course I must admit that ducklings are probably the cutest baby birds ever.

We did not hatch them. We purchased 3 of them as chicks at Farm and Fleet and took in the 4th as a rescue from a kid who's mother said, "no more ducks." I know little about incubating duck eggs. I want to try hatching or eggs this year myself, but I will be filling the incubator with quail eggs first.

 

[BReeder!]

This makes me want to go out right now and buy Dawn dish soap.

 

[cavemanrich]

This makes me want to go out right now and buy Dawn dish soap. more duckies

 

[BReeder!]

I'll ask to see if this teacher is interested. I know for sure 2 of the later preschools will jump at the chance to hatch ducklings. My 4H Cloverbuds also decided to do incubation for their group project and I agreed. I'm going to try to spread out the hatchings a little more this year. It was crazy when 50+ chicks hatched in 3 days. Even worse when they started coming back here. Thankfully I had a decent wait list for orps, so most of the chicks had homes by the end of the 2nd week.

Did you hatch your ducks last year? I know they incubate for 28 days, so must be started 1 week sooner. Do they need it more humid? I'm always up for the experience of hatching something new. (I'm just not up for raising messy ducklings. LOL) Of course I must admit that ducklings are probably the cutest baby birds ever.

I did since research on hatching duck eggs. It seems very similar to hatching chicken eggs, just an extra week so they would need to be set earlier. Here's a good article from Cornell: https://www.vet.cornell.edu/animal-health-diagnostic-center/programs/avian-health/hatching-duck-eggs