Illinois...

[homeschoolin momma]

I gave Phoenix 4 eggs of hers that is had. She moved 1 of them and didnt seem to want to sit on any.

Soooo.....since I was done running around for the day i decided to let Phoenix out and keep an eye on her. I left for two minutes to grab the key for the lawnmower and she disappeared again!!!! So I was disappointed and while i was running the mower over the pasture, I thought think like a chicken. I have these huge daylilies in the front of my house. Sure enough, i lifted the foliage at one end and saw a brown fluffy butt. She softly screached at me and I lifted her to find exactly 4 eggs. She's been off them since 6 this morning. But this still would have only been day 1. So the question is, do I just leave her there, or try to locate her and her eggs to the box in the garage? DH and my dad seem to think leave her. She's well enough hidden. The other thought was to put a carrier on the front porch and relocate her there and just lock up the carrier at dark.
Opinions?

 

[Faraday40]

I havent got the pictures of the lavs yet, but here's micro.
View attachment 1846841 View attachment 1846842 View attachment 1846843 View attachment 1846844

Your micro is adorable and also looks girl-ish. How old?

I guess it couldn't hurt to give Phoenix an egg or 2. (If you don't mind having a broody and can spare the egg production.) OR You could be like me and set a bunch of eggs in the incubator at the same time. That way when the one egg under Phoenix hatches, you can slip all the incubator chicks under her. I find putting a tiny broody mama in the brooder is far easier than trying raise them without one. She can do all your work for you, and the brooder contains all the chicks for her.

 

[Faraday40]

I think I was writing (got distracted) & we crossed messages.

Yes, sounds like your Phoenix is pre-broody. Collecting eggs & "nesting." Although the nest is hidden, a critter may still sniff her out. Because she's a valued pet, I'd probably try to relocate. She may not be actively sitting yet, so don't worry too much about her 4 eggs. Mine tend to lay daily for a while & just spend a little longer in the nest each day. They get grumpy.... but not all out "full banshee" screaming.

When I've moved hens, I do it after dark & put them in a carrier/cage (or whatever I'm going to use as a broody apartment.) I put her & eggs into the new cage at dark & cover it with a blanket. Keep the blanket in place for 24 hrs and remove it the next night. When sun comes up the next morning, she'll think she's been in there all along. Check eggs after a week & see if they're developing. (If you decide to set more eggs in the incubator, do it now. If the orig eggs don't develop, you can always swap them out with incubator eggs.... or even toss the eggs and start over with new ones. A hen will set for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 weeks and simply wait for her eggs to hatch. It's not like she has a calendar and auto stops on day 21.

 

[BReeder!]

Just a thought,,,,,,,, Keep one hen and one drake. See how things go keeping ducks. You will see that keeping that pond clean can become a chore/challenge. Especially when full grown. I do see that you have a koi swimming around in there.
You will need to change out a quantity of water every so often. I do not know the frequency.
This is what I would do.
Have a full size barrel of water that gets to de-chlorinate naturally always on standby. (I assume you get chlorinated city water, if you have own well, then disregard what I'm writing) Pump out same quantity of water out of pond, and water your garden with it. Replenish pond with standby water. Refill barrel with city water and let de- chlorinate again.
If you think you are ready for more ducks, then hatch out your own duck eggs.
I do understand why you want 2 hens. You don't want one hen to be over-exercised.

I might stop a rain barrel for just that purpose.
I also plan to add a DIY biomechanical filter soon to. The pond was chaplain clear all this year so fast with 6x 6-8" koi 1x 10" goldfish and 1x 10" shubunkin. The ducks will be a heavier bioload, but I am hoping the new filter takes care of it. Right now we just fillet through a rock bed in the bottom of the pond with a pvc grid connected to a decent sized pump (it is frankly overkill ).

 

[Faraday40]

Having a "sad hatch." I set 18 eggs, 12 looked OK (or were ?) at day 7, but only 10 looked good on day 18.

Four were serama eggs & only one serama hatched. (Rest are still in incubator, but normally the seramas hatch 1st.) I wonder if they were trying to hatch before I increased humidity and got trapped.

The main goal of this hatch was to get chicks from a particular orp pullet - to make another unrelated line of blue silver laced orps. Well, she's a pullet, so her eggs are not as strong. Only 2 of her eggs made it to lock down (rest were clears). The first one out is wearing orthodics. (The toes didn't look straight, so I decided to start sooner than later.) On the bright side, the chick looks to be the exact color I was trying for. The 2nd one died during zipping.

Three other laced orps hatched, so my grand total was only 5. Then I slipped one of the laced orps under the broody Blizzard. It's her 1st time, so I checked on her an hour later & the chick was smooshed.

Now I'm down to only 4 chicks. I put them in a brooder with a mama heating pad tonight. Not sure if I'm going to risk trying it again with Blizzard.

Two orp eggs & 3 serama eggs are still in the incubator.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Having a "sad hatch."

So sorry to hear this. Holding out hope that maybe a few seramas will make their appearance.

 

[Molpet]

Having a "sad hatch." I set 18 eggs, 12 looked OK (or were ?) at day 7, but only 10 looked good on day 18.

Four were serama eggs & only one serama hatched. (Rest are still in incubator, but normally the seramas hatch 1st.) I wonder if they were trying to hatch before I increased humidity and got trapped.

The main goal of this hatch was to get chicks from a particular orp pullet - to make another unrelated line of blue silver laced orps. Well, she's a pullet, so her eggs are not as strong. Only 2 of her eggs made it to lock down (rest were clears). The first one out is wearing orthodics. (The toes didn't look straight, so I decided to start sooner than later.) On the bright side, the chick looks to be the exact color I was trying for. The 2nd one died during zipping.

Three other laced orps hatched, so my grand total was only 5. Then I slipped one of the laced orps under the broody Blizzard. It's her 1st time, so I checked on her an hour later & the chick was smooshed.

Now I'm down to only 4 chicks. I put them in a brooder with a mama heating pad tonight. Not sure if I'm going to risk trying it again with Blizzard.

Two orp eggs & 3 serama eggs are still in the incubator.

I was thinking they died and then got smoshed when I find them like that

 

[Molpet]

Found a stiff hen dead when I opened the main coop at 5 am. She was a BLK hatched 2017. Looked like Egg yolk coming out of her vent. She hadn't been acting sick.
I have been waiting to find the isa browns from 2016. One doesn't lay and isn't feeling well... the other lays disassembled eggs. I should put them in the soup pot, but they are friendly. The one that isn't feeling well runs up to me when the boys are after her. She eats and everything normal, just doesn't act well.

 

[cavemanrich]

isa browns from 2016

The Isa Browns are nearing the end of their journey naturally. I can see how you can get attached to them when they act affectionately to you.

 

[BReeder!]

The Isa Browns are nearing the end of their journey naturally. I can see how you can get attached to them when they act affectionately to you.

Do ISAs have a short lifespan? I thought chickens would live longer than 3 years. Am I wrong? Perhaps I need to adjust my expectations for our flock...