Illinois...

[avocadoeggs]

Hi everyone!  Just poking my nose back in here.    I've avoided the site for a long while, it being far too tempting to look through... but we FINALLY have agreement from my husband!  If we can get things straightened out here (planning coop site, for one major example) we'll be getting chicks soon.  

Anyways, just a quick hello, and trying to get back into the swing of research.  We're up in the NW suburbs, and local regs allow 6 hens and 0 roosters.  *sigh*  I'm hoping to build for 6, plan on 4 for this year, which should allow for the inevitable "awwwww, baby chicks!" issue next year. *lol*

Hi! We are in northern CL (so just south of you) and started our little flock this year...glad they changed the ordinance! Just finished our coop and got the littles out of my dining room!

 

[Faraday40]

Hahahaha Faraday. They are all beautiful. I think I have a serious problem. I have a confession, I haven't told anyone except my husband, that I had another moment of weakness a couple of weeks ago and bid on a auction for some silver laced and frizzle bantam cochins. At the moment after I bid, I said why did I do that, then I thought to myself, well Papa Brooder is the other bidder, he will outbid me. Welllll, he was busy putting his children to sleep and guess who won the auction. The silver lace got me. So, I am coming out now, I have 5 eggs that have made it to day 14 and they will be hatching in a week. Plus the project Silver laced blue Orps that went into the incubator today, (which worried me because they began to sweat in the incubator) and the 6 Blue Orps I will be getting from Papa Brooder in a week or 2. All of that on top of the 9 I just hatched and the 4 juveniles in the garage. I am in trouble, I better order some shipping boxes!

Just wondering, is PapaBrooder in CA? Did your hatching eggs from him work with the long shipping?

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Just wondering, is PapaBrooder in CA? Did your hatching eggs from him work with the long shipping?

He is in Cali, but no eggs, he is shipping live chicks! I know eggs would not make the trip from a lesson learned. Remember my Olive eggers, they were from him. And no they didn't fair well, I did end up with one cockerel who is in the garage. I need to find a home for him. He is a cross between maran and legbar. I figured I would keep him to breed with my marans for some dark olive eggers chicks. But I obviously can't do that this year. Or can I? LOL

 

[Faraday40]

I had a very good hatch rate with eggs from NC, but almost none from a KY breeder's eggs. OH eggs were fair - about 30%.. All were wrapped well. I think one of the tricks is to get a breeder willing to drop off package personally @ the PO. Then to request the PO hold for pick up on our end.

 

[Junibutt]

I had a very good hatch rate with eggs from NC, but almost none from a KY breeder's eggs. OH eggs were fair - about 30%.. All were wrapped well. I think one of the tricks is to get a breeder willing to drop off package personally @ the PO. Then to request the PO hold for pick up on our end.

X2

Also, there are some places that have trucking involved all the way. My rule of thumb is that the closer they are coming from, the more likely they will be on a truck than a plane. Also the more rural area they are coming from, the more time they will spend in a truck. Plus its the destination post office as well. If they like to throw stuff around and have not dealt with eggs before, they are more likely to get damaged especially if they are delivered to your home. The least damage I have had is from the last batch of Mauve eggs I received. They were still shaken pretty bad but I think they survived because the seller packed them in really fine compact pine shavings. It seems like a heavy 6 lbs box full of pine shavings but I had to dig out the eggs though.

Also, I heard that sellers who are shipping them in foam used for electronics packaging are having a lot of success.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Well, my Lav Ams and BBMarans came from North Carolina, great hatch. My Bantam Cochins are from Texas,5 going strong. And this last batch of Blue laced Orps are from Arkansas. We shall see. Now my Blue, mauve and Chocolate Orps, that only 1 made it to hatch, was from Cali. They were packed well, but air cells blown.

 

[Silverwind]

Hi! We are in northern CL (so just south of you) and started our little flock this year...glad they changed the ordinance! Just finished our coop and got the littles out of my dining room!

Great to hear! Yeah, it's been fun this week - we had our four out for playtime this morning, in shifts - they're just near a week, now, and already getting so big.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Ok, had lots of eggs so made pepper and eggs for dinner tonite as per husbands request and egg salad as per my sisters request. As, I am cracking the eggs, I noticed all the Cream Legbar eggs are fertile. This is where it gets strange! I have a Buff Orp Hen that has been laying for about 9 months. The rooster has been gone for at least 12 weeks now. But I am still getting fertile eggs from the CCLs! Here is the STRANGE PART. Since about 6 weeks after the rooster left, my Buff has been acting like a rooster and mounting the the CCLs. My husband saw it first and I didn't believe him. But since then, I have seen it multiple times myself. So my question is, How Am I Still getting Fertile Eggs? Now the pullets that just began laying about 6-8 weeks ago are giving me fertile eggs. Could they have stored it even if they weren't laying at the time or can my Buff be both Hen and Roo and still lay eggs? I think I am going to throw a couple of the eggs into the incubator and see if they develop. So I will be able to tell who the parents are, if they hatch. But, I need more chicks like a hole in the head. I also did some searching on the site and found some threads, that infact state, though very rare, there are chickens that are of both sexes. Does anyone else have any info on this?

 

[Junibutt]

Ok, had lots of eggs so made pepper and eggs for dinner tonite as per husbands request and egg salad as per my sisters request. As, I am cracking the eggs, I noticed all the Cream Legbar eggs are fertile. This is where it gets strange! I have a Buff Orp Hen that has been laying for about 9 months. The rooster has been gone for at least 12 weeks now. But I am still getting fertile eggs from the CCLs! Here is the STRANGE PART. Since about 6 weeks after the rooster left, my Buff has been acting like a rooster and mounting the the CCLs. My husband saw it first and I didn't believe him. But since then, I have seen it multiple times myself. So my question is, How Am I Still getting Fertile Eggs? Now the pullets that just began laying about 6-8 weeks ago are giving me fertile eggs. Could they have stored it even if they weren't laying at the time or can my Buff be both Hen and Roo and still lay eggs? I think I am going to throw a couple of the eggs into the incubator and see if they develop. So I will be able to tell who the parents are, if they hatch. But, I need more chicks like a hole in the head. I also did some searching on the site and found some threads, that infact state, though very rare, there are chickens that are of both sexes. Does anyone else have any info on this?

My RIR did that for some time last year before my CL rooster grow up. Alpha hens can temporary dominant behaviour in the absence of roosters. However in some instances they can actually change sex and become roosters. In those cases though:

a) Their ovaries get damaged for some reason and they don't lay anymore (yours is still laying)
b) They develop 2ndry sex characteristics like bigger comb and wattles and sometimes crow as well. (yours is not)

I have not read of any case where there is a laying rooster. So I suspect that your hens have a capability of storing sperms for a long time but as you said ultimate proof would be in the pudding "by hatching some eggs"

 

[Junibutt]

Hahahaha Faraday. They are all beautiful. I think I have a serious problem. I have a confession, I haven't told anyone except my husband, that I had another moment of weakness a couple of weeks ago and bid on a auction for some silver laced and frizzle bantam cochins. At the moment after I bid, I said why did I do that, then I thought to myself, well Papa Brooder is the other bidder, he will outbid me. Welllll, he was busy putting his children to sleep and guess who won the auction. The silver lace got me. So, I am coming out now, I have 5 eggs that have made it to day 14 and they will be hatching in a week. Plus the project Silver laced blue Orps that went into the incubator today, (which worried me because they began to sweat in the incubator) and the 6 Blue Orps I will be getting from Papa Brooder in a week or 2. All of that on top of the 9 I just hatched and the 4 juveniles in the garage. I am in trouble, I better order some shipping boxes!

I have a serious problem as well. Just like you I bid on an auction, thinking I will not win but I did. So now I am the owner of 8+ Chocolate Cuckoo and Chocolate Orpington chicks of EWE Crazy and the Fancychick lines. That is wonderful but I will be in serious trouble when they arrive. I have 25 eggs in my incubator. I know that I will be able to rehome all 13 Legbars but I will still have the 11 Mauve+ 2 BBS chicks to handle. I don't know what I will do. Will be really tough to decide which ones to keep and which ones to sell/let go. Plus DW just found out and is going crazy!