Illinois...

[cavemanrich]

I can say no more.

 

[NotAFarm]

@Faraday40 I'm sorry to hear about Princess Lay-a and that you had to have a biopsy.
You said you had the incubator going...how many days along are they...one more egg/chick couldn't hurt. Princess Layetta?

 

[Molpet]

Sad news of the day:
I got home from a biopsy (you'd think that would have been the worst part of my day)
and went out to the coop. I found Princess Lay-a inside the coop & she had a touch of blood on her head & beak. I gently picked her up & saw some additional scratches on one side.....and then a large flap of skin/feathers was open to show several fatty bodies, neck muscle & an exposed crop. UGH! Surprisingly over 1/3 of the skin around her hackle area was ripped off and hanging. She was still alive. I know it's very difficult to stitch up such a large area (several inches) and that chicken skin tears easily. Then there's the battle of infection. I looked at it logically. My sweet hen layed like a champ but would be 6 yrs old this summer. She was in shock & I need to take care of myself right now. It was too hard for me to process Princess by myself, so I called my handyman. Princess has always been the top hen, best producer, and an all around good chicken. She foraged well, went broody once a year in June, was a fierce mother or could also be broken easily. She wasn't constantly underfoot like a silkie or in need of constant treats & snuggles like the orps, or overly vocal like the Sebright & Sussex. She did not do tricks, was not the most beautiful nor the center of attention. She was not even a purebred, but she was always part of our flock from the beginning and was a great bird. She liked to greet me for a brief pet to say hello & then went about her day.

As I type this, the egg she laid this morning is sitting on the desk in front of me.
RIP my dear old friend.
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OH NO so sorry do you know who did this to her?

Hopefully a daughter will take her place

 

[Faraday40]

@Faraday40 I'm sorry to hear about Princess Lay-a and that you had to have a biopsy.
You said you had the incubator going...how many days along are they...one more egg/chick couldn't hurt. Princess Layetta?

Perhaps. I think I have one of her eggs already in there and I may add another few eggs once I candle & toss the clears. (I found a cheap Hovabator to refurbish and then of course test... as well as my cooler-bator that's still in storage.) I always put 1-2 white/cream eggs in the incubator(which has always meant Princess eggs). Candling is much easier with the pale eggs, so I use them as a control to compare to all the other eggs.

My problem & why I'm testing fertility is Mr Dummy. In addition to frozen eggs, Dummy's old & last summer Moose & Brick did almost all the mating. I think I'll have less than 50% develop. This week (finally) I saw Mr Wonderful make a few moves. Not sure if he's been successful at mating, but the poor hens have been squatting all the time for weeks. Once Dummy walked through a cloud by the dust bathing area & it caused a sneeze. As his head went down from the sneeze, 3 diff hens squatted. LOL
...But, I'm not sure if they're desperate enough to submit to a young male. Mr Wonderful tends to stay with all the new 2017 pullets and Dummy has all the hens from 2012-2016. Then there's Trouble, whom no rooster has figured out!

 

[Faraday40]

OH NO so sorry do you know who did this to her?

Hopefully a daughter will take her place

Definitely a surprise predator (likely a hawk) because it looked like her head/neck was grabbed. By twisting & ripping her skin off (maybe she even dropped to the ground because of the skin tearing), Princess escaped & managed to run to the safety of the coop. Such a strong survivor but I didn't want to see her go though a lot of pain with such a low chance for a happy ending. I also think hawk because the predator didn't try to walk through the chicken door to follow her.

 

[Molpet]

Perhaps. I think I have one of her eggs already in there and I may add another few eggs once I candle & toss the clears. (I found a cheap Hovabator to refurbish and then of course test... as well as my cooler-bator that's still in storage.) I always put 1-2 white/cream eggs in the incubator(which has always meant Princess eggs). Candling is much easier with the pale eggs, so I use them as a control to compare to all the other eggs.

My problem & why I'm testing fertility is Mr Dummy. In addition to frozen eggs, Dummy's old & last summer Moose & Brick did almost all the mating. I think I'll have less than 50% develop. This week (finally) I saw Mr Wonderful make a few moves. Not sure if he's been successful at mating, but the poor hens have been squatting all the time for weeks. Once Dummy walked through a cloud by the dust bathing area & it caused a sneeze. As his head went down from the sneeze, 3 diff hens squatted. LOL
...But, I'm not sure if they're desperate enough to submit to a young male. Mr Wonderful tends to stay with all the new 2017 pullets and Dummy has all the hens from 2012-2016. Then there's Trouble, whom no rooster has figured out!

Hopefully Mr Dummy will be fertile and Mr wonderful will figure it out.
The son of the one that died last week attempted to mate 2 hens today... they were willing but he missed the mark... I think his chest may be too big.. He hatched last Easter..I'll give him a couple of weeks before I put an uncle in there... the uncles have been breeding in another pen.

 

[Afrank]

Who's shipping fertile hatching eggs?
Lavendar Ameraucana
BBS Show Ameraucana
Black Copper Maran from quality lines
Langshans
Cream Crested Legbar
Isbar
Welsummers
*no hatchery stock please.

I'm new here too...NW IL...Looking to drive to pick up eggs vs shipping! Thanks!!

 

[cavemanrich]

Who's shipping fertile hatching eggs?
Lavendar Ameraucana
BBS Show Ameraucana
Black Copper Maran from quality lines
Langshans
Cream Crested Legbar
Isbar
Welsummers
*no hatchery stock please.

I'm new here too...NW IL...Looking to drive to pick up eggs vs shipping! Thanks!!

I cant help you with eggs but would like to welcome you here.

 

[Molpet]

Who's shipping fertile hatching eggs?
Lavendar Ameraucana
BBS Show Ameraucana
Black Copper Maran from quality lines
Langshans
Cream Crested Legbar
Isbar
Welsummers
*no hatchery stock please.

I'm new here too...NW IL...Looking to drive to pick up eggs vs shipping! Thanks!!

Glad you found the Illinois thread

 

[Afrank]

I cant help you with eggs but would like to welcome you here.

Why thank you very much!!!!