Illinois...

[cavemanrich]

Time for me to brag a little.

Or is it just keeping up with the Jones.

They are still inside the house in my makeshift brooder. (large dog cage)
I don't take great pictures. Might have to enroll in some of the photo classes that Faraday and Chicago Clucker completed.

My DD surprised me with 3 Polish Girls. Each a different color, and came pre-named already.

I hope they are all girls, otherwise I will be offering them up for adoption. About 3 weeks old now, and are the LF variety, not bantam. The breeder was assuring that they were pullets. I have been reading threads that state it is not very easy to sex them as chicks. We will see who is correct. When they are older, the males have dreads, and the females have neat fros. That may be 10 weeks away..
On a sad note, I lost one of my RIR twins.

.. One morning, she was fine, then a while later she became lethargic. That evening she went to the other side. All the other chickens are fine. Whatever it was, did not affect the others. She was just over 2 years old.

 

[Faraday40]

Time for me to brag a little.

Or is it just keeping up with the Jones.

They are still inside the house in my makeshift brooder. (large dog cage)
I don't take great pictures. Might have to enroll in some of the photo classes that Faraday and Chicago Clucker completed.

My DD surprised me with 3 Polish Girls. Each a different color, and came pre-named already.

I hope they are all girls, otherwise I will be offering them up for adoption. About 3 weeks old now, and are the LF variety, not bantam. The breeder was assuring that they were pullets. I have been reading threads that state it is not very easy to sex them as chicks. We will see who is correct. When they are older, the males have dreads, and the females have neat fros. That may be 10 weeks away..
On a sad note, I lost one of my RIR twins.

.. One morning, she was fine, then a while later she became lethargic. That evening she went to the other side. All the other chickens are fine. Whatever it was, did not affect the others. She was just over 2 years old.

Sorry about the loss of your RIR. I hope the new chicks help keep your mind occupied. I read a while back that the dome shape of the skull at hatch help identify genders.
http://www.swpoultry.com/CindySite/Sexing_Polish.html

 

[Faraday40]

BTW I never tested this theory about Polish chicks. I only hatched 3 & they were done as a favor for someone else, so it didn't matter.

I couldn't resist taking pics while they were here. I borrowed "Barbie's" guitar & had some fun!


DD's current test is to see if egg shape can determine gender. So far....it doesn't. I think she'd get more accurate results from flipping a coin. LOL Last trial will hatch on Wed. Can't wait!

 

[cavemanrich]

I read a while back that the dome shape of the skull at hatch help identify genders.
http://www.swpoultry.com/CindySite/Sexing_Polish.html

Thanks for the link. I went there and all seem to point to pullets. The person DD got them from most likely is experienced and knowledgeable in Polish and Houdans. So at a 94% accuracy rate, my Chicken Math tells me I have 3 girls. I'm feeelin lucky.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Time for me to brag a little.

Or is it just keeping up with the Jones.

They are still inside the house in my makeshift brooder. (large dog cage)
I don't take great pictures. Might have to enroll in some of the photo classes that Faraday and Chicago Clucker completed.

My DD surprised me with 3 Polish Girls. Each a different color, and came pre-named already.

I hope they are all girls, otherwise I will be offering them up for adoption. About 3 weeks old now, and are the LF variety, not bantam. The breeder was assuring that they were pullets. I have been reading threads that state it is not very easy to sex them as chicks. We will see who is correct. When they are older, the males have dreads, and the females have neat fros. That may be 10 weeks away..
On a sad note, I lost one of my RIR twins.

.. One morning, she was fine, then a while later she became lethargic. That evening she went to the other side. All the other chickens are fine. Whatever it was, did not affect the others. She was just over 2 years old.

OMG, they are ADORABLE!!!! What a good daughter you have. They are going to be beauties.

Sorry about your RIR.

 

[Faraday40]

Here's Godiva & her 2 boys. They still do everything together.




When I 1st saw the above pic, I had this song running through my head:

I apologize if it's now stuck in your head.

 

[Faraday40]

Tried to get a pic of Trouble up in a tree, then she flew down to my arm. I did get an interesting mid flight pic. instead.

 

[Faraday40]

ChicagoClucker-
Funny you should mention our compost tumblers. This isn't the prettiest part of the yard, but it is an important one. We use what we can, and our neighbors get free compost for all their gardens. We have a 3rd simple compost that requires a shovel because we can't empty & refill at equal rates. (Junk mail, coffee grounds, kitchen scraps, yard waste, etc also go in) I wanted to buy another pair, but DH said we should just reduce the number of chickens. Oh well. They were purchased at Costco 2 years ago. It was cheaper to pay for the membership plus composters than to buy the same item at Home Depot.

 

[Faraday40]

I keep checking for pips. Nothing yet. Chicks are not due until Wed. I keep walking by the incubator & peeking through the window. The brooder was cleaned out a few days ago, so it's almost boring without chicks around.

DD needed to get her 3rd trial hatch done & sexed in time to finish her project before the fair. When eggs are hatching, we tend to spend too much time in front of the incubator, and things like chores & sleep get pushed aside. Hatching never gets old & still holds so much excitement. The timing is a bit off, though. Tomorrow is our 19th anniversary. If some hatch early, perhaps I should name the 1st male chick after DH. LOL

 

[ChicagoClucker]

ChicagoClucker-
Funny you should mention our compost tumblers. This isn't the prettiest part of the yard, but it is an important one. We use what we can, and our neighbors get free compost for all their gardens. We have a 3rd simple compost that requires a shovel because we can't empty & refill at equal rates. (Junk mail, coffee grounds, kitchen scraps, yard waste, etc also go in) I wanted to buy another pair, but DH said we should just reduce the number of chickens. Oh well. They were purchased at Costco 2 years ago. It was cheaper to pay for the membership plus composters than to buy the same item at Home Depot.

I agree they aren't the prettiest part of my yard either, but very necessary in my book. Like yours a lot, I have one that is similar to yours, and then another that is shaped like a oval and large. Once filled it is too heavy to turn. I have to rock it back and forth to build up speed and rhythm, just to turn it 1 time. Its quite the work out. I did fill my 1 composter with mainly the pine shavings and poop from the poop trays in the coop. I did add some grass clippings and woody minimally. But I have to say, I used that compost for my veggie garden and some of my flower pots, and they took off this year better than any other year. I also did a coffee can in the center of my large pots with my cukes, tomatoes, and green peppers. I punched holes in the can about half way up the can, and sunk the can almost to soil level. Filled that with compost and add water to can once a week for an added compost tea for the roots of the plants. This has worked out nicely this year and will definitely be implemented again next year. But I need to get rid of the 1 composter and purchase another. Otherwise I might end up with shoulder injury

I keep checking for pips. Nothing yet. Chicks are not due until Wed. I keep walking by the incubator & peeking through the window. The brooder was cleaned out a few days ago, so it's almost boring without chicks around.

DD needed to get her 3rd trial hatch done & sexed in time to finish her project before the fair. When eggs are hatching, we tend to spend too much time in front of the incubator, and things like chores & sleep get pushed aside. Hatching never gets old & still holds so much excitement. The timing is a bit off, though. Tomorrow is our 19th anniversary. If some hatch early, perhaps I should name the 1st male chick after DH. LOL

Happy Anniversary a day early and what are you hatching? Now that I sold the 13 I am feeling a bit of relief. I have 3 bantam broody's in 1 box, SL bantam in another, Silver lace orp in another and my chocolate orp as of today in another. They are killing me

I am so done hatching for a while!