Illinois...

[ChicagoClucker]

Besides all the chicks, we have monarch butterflies, black swallowtail butterflies, tadpoles, & praying mantises hatching.


Then my preschooler discovered the joy of picking & pitting cherries today. My kitchen is covered in so much red it looks like a horrific crime scene.

Oh well. He's certainly having fun. Looks like a cherry pie will be on the menu tonight. (It's not like I have any other work to do today.)

I use to take my son and daughter to the creek when they were younger to catch tadpoles. They loved watching them sprout legs. I have taken a walk by that same creek, and it isn't very clean anymore. Your children are lucky to have a science teacher as a Mom. Lots of fun stuff going on over there. And congrats on the hatch! If the feed store doesn't have any new chicks (so I can slip one under my broody in about a week), I might see if you have 1 available.

 

[Faraday40]

I'm very upset & heartbroken with Princess today!

She was doing well with her golf balls, so I slipped the only 2 shipped eggs (Dominques) that showed promise under her. (They weren't being used for the experiment b/c of the detached & rolling air cells.) Against all odds, I kept them alive for 19 days, but didn't want to open the hatcher since the rest are on day 21. Princess was a perfect mom last year, but just now I saw her on the other side of the broody box. The eggs were burried in the shavings, cold, & covered in sticky, smelly broody poo. I quickly shoved both eggs under Cookie for now & will candle after dark. Cookie's still sitting tight on that last egg, but all the others hatched yesterday. My daughter really wanted a Dominque, but every time we try to get some, bad luck strikes. If the eggs show signs of life, I may be setting the incubator back up. (Don't want to contaminate the good eggs in the hatcher with all the broody poop.)

 

[Faraday40]

I use to take my son and daughter to the creek when they were younger to catch tadpoles. They loved watching them sprout legs. I have taken a walk by that same creek, and it isn't very clean anymore. Your children are lucky to have a science teacher as a Mom. Lots of fun stuff going on over there. And congrats on the hatch! If the feed store doesn't have any new chicks (so I can slip one under my broody in about a week), I might see if you have 1 available.

Mine are hatching today. If you want a broody to adopt, I think you have to add chicks within the 1st few days of life. Of course, there may be other ways to do it with a week old chick. If you want one of our babies, give me a PM & I'll give you a list of what hatches. (We're up to 11 - combined.)

PS- Most of our tadpoles turn into toads. Not as exciting as the huge bullfrog tadpoles I used to catch as a kid.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Mine are hatching today. If you want a broody to adopt, I think you have to add chicks within the 1st few days of life. Of course, there may be other ways to do it with a week old chick. If you want one of our babies, give me a PM & I'll give you a list of what hatches. (We're up to 11 - combined.)

PS- Most of our tadpoles turn into toads. Not as exciting as the huge bullfrog tadpoles I used to catch as a kid.

This is my favorite pic of my son holding his huge bullfrog and his cousin up at the lake. He is 30 now.


Well tell me what you think, She was sitting and on Day 5 the bowl of water I had by her spilt, so she got off the eggs. She then went over and took over the nest the other girls had laid in that day. So if I count from the first set of eggs, she is on day 13 today. I just would feel horrible letting her sit all this time and doesn't end up with a baby. I thought I could have slipped some of the Orp chicks under her early on, but someone said not to do it too early and now they are too big. Perhaps I should just try and break her, cause I need another chick like a hole in the head. But then I say, what the heck its only 1 more chick, haha.

I hope the Dominique eggs make it for you. Fingers crossed.

 

[Junibutt]

I have been too busy to take any pics lately, however here are couple of pics of my Mauve Orpington. I think its a pullet. She is 3 and a half weeks, so time to name her now since she looks like a keeper.

 

[SixChickFlock]

Thanks for sharing your success story. I wish my broody's timing was a little better. If I wait 2 more weeks, the chicks will be 3 weeks old, they will be too big to slip under her, won't they? And the broody has really thrown off the flocks laying, since she was in the nesting box that everyone uses (I have 5 but they all need to use the same one.). I moved her, but I am only getting 2-3 eggs a day. Hopefully it will pick back up. I guess it doesn't help that the new coop is starting to go up, so a lot going on in the yard might also be stressing them out.

Holiday weekend update:

I was out of town for most of the past week. When I returned before dusk last night the babies looked like they had chosen a new roosting site outside of the coop under some brush. They are very flighty so it was impossible to catch them, and herding didn't work so well. I cut the brush to get rid of their hiding place next to the coop... With a bit of scratch in a jar and my "coop" call they eventually came inside. They found a new place to sleep... On a window ledge between the henhouse and run. I will be adding a better roost up there and extending the roosts where the rest of the flock sleeps. They chicks do come running to me when I call but only because everyone else does. They do not know their names yet.

When I can take the time... I'll be adding 30sqf more protected run space and securing some rat tunnels. In the evenings I plan to make some cuddle time with the babies after dark. Much easier to catch them when they sleep!

Chipmong, my EE, has laid those beautiful blue eggs 6 days in a row now. Astrid (Buff Orpington) is spending less time with the babies and her comb is deepening in color. I expect a full production day of 8 eggs Very soon.

Time for a cup of coffee by the coop with the pellet gun to see it I can get that little rat critter we saw last night out of there.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I have been too busy to take any pics lately, however here are couple of pics of my Mauve Orpington. I think its a pullet. She is 3 and a half weeks, so time to name her now since she looks like a keeper.

She is beautiful. Love the coloring.

 

[Justso]

Hi All!
Glad to be back on BYC after a long hiatus.
Chaos reins at my suburban house, I have acquired six buckeye chicks along with two Arkansas Blue cross pullets. With the Buckeyes, besides the one obvious cockerel and one obvious pullet, I'm waiting to see who will emerge as what in my young flock.
This is an add-on from my existing flock: Fluffy the Very old Australorp (6 yrs and still laying!), Lucy a polish/EE cross blue egg layer, two 1 yr old Swedish Flower hens, Twyla and Rosie.

My goal in life: Drawing in more friends and neighbors into this bad habit!!

 

[Faraday40]

I have been too busy to take any pics lately, however here are couple of pics of my Mauve Orpington. I think its a pullet. She is 3 and a half weeks, so time to name her now since she looks like a keeper.

OOOoooo Very Pretty color! Is she a pet or do you plan on working with (breeding) this color next spring?

 

[Junibutt]

OOOoooo Very Pretty color! Is she a pet or do you plan on working with (breeding) this color next spring?

I have 1 more Mauve, & two that maybe Mauve or Mauve Splash. Have to see what they grow out as. I think she is definitely breeding quality (showing her colors early). So if I do get some good grow outs, I would love to breed her.