I'm never gonna get an egg!!!

[WVduckchick]

Not alot but a couple peeps, the ones last year were making noises before lockdown too. These are the only breed I've hatched get noisy so early. Its muffled but its definitely peeping. That's why I was considering lockdown at the beginning of tomorrow instead of the end just in case. The last thing I want is for someone to get squished in the turner.

If you hear peeping, then they have internally pipped and humidity should be raised immediately. Once they break that membrane, it can dry out quickly. I'd go ahead and lock down, no matter what the calendar says. I'd also candle and verify. jmho
Good luck!

Two serama chicks from my latest broody's hatch.

 

[Chickassan]

Cute! I'll go ahead and take a looksee and get them set up to break out they might be a little ahead of schedule since its been warm here, won't hurt them either way if anything it will give them a little bit of extra time to position.

If you hear peeping, then they have internally pipped and humidity should be raised immediately. Once they break that membrane, it can dry out quickly. I'd go ahead and lock down, no matter what the calendar says. I'd also candle and verify. jmho
Good luck!

Two serama chicks from my latest broody's hatch.
View attachment 1304170 View attachment 1304171

 

[Chickassan]

@WVduckchick you were right, definitely a need for early lockdown. Don't know if it was the heat or small egg size but we are ahead of schedule.

 

[WVduckchick]

@WVduckchick you were right, definitely a need for early lockdown. Don't know if it was the heat or small egg size but we are ahead of schedule.

Oh good. I was afraid I sounded rude about it, but I'm sure glad you checked!
Could be a combination of both heat and egg size. What are they?

 

[Chickassan]

Oh gosh no, I appreciate input and if you offend me you've done the impossible. They are faverolles eggs, in all actuality they aren't much bigger than a bantam's egg,

Oh good. I was afraid I sounded rude about it, but I'm sure glad you checked!
Could be a combination of both heat and egg size. What are they?

yep I'd describe them as a large bantam egg.

 

[Crooked Chicken]

Eve is so pretty, she reminds me of the girls we had here when I was little. @Crooked Chicken , a couple more days and my little group should be three stronger they go on lockdown Thursday but I'll probably do it tomorrow because they're already talking every now and then.

Thank you -- I will tell her that. I think she may have laid an egg today, but not in the nest. I found a small medium brown egg laying on the straw just below the edge of one of the roosts. Could be should was trying to stay away from the boys. Hopefully I can catch her in the act to know for sure.

Excited for your cheephing eggs

If you hear peeping, then they have internally pipped and humidity should be raised immediately. Once they break that membrane, it can dry out quickly. I'd go ahead and lock down, no matter what the calendar says. I'd also candle and verify. jmho
Good luck!

Two serama chicks from my latest broody's hatch.
View attachment 1304170 View attachment 1304171

Little cuties

My eggs all have a very tough inner membrane. This is probably why my chicks had trouble breaking out. I kept the humidity higher the 2nd go round. Do you know what the best method is for eggs with tough membranes?

 

[CapricornFarm]

Oh my.... you really have gone crazy! Those little silvery yellow chicks are the cutest!

Whatcha going to do with all those birds/eggs? Good for you on selling some! I know it's not everyone's plan, but I'll be eating some of mine. But in the meantime I'm going to just keep loving them. I've been having a week-long laziness spell....

I honestly loved hatching out the chicks, but that integrating stuff is for the birds! They still stay mostly separated when I let them out. It's been stressful for me and the chicks.

I am still giving a lot of eggs away, but keep running out of cartons. I've got to go look at the recycling center for more. The cost of buying egg cartons and all the extra feed doesn't feel very justified when I just give the goods away, lol.




I don't think it will hide there very well unless Mr. Capricorn has his own bathroom! But since you have lost some of yours, it would be a good way to build your flock.

I just got one of those styrofoam jobbies from the feed store. It worked fine as long as I kept a close watch on temp and humidity and propping the top a bit when needed.

Yes, hubby has his bathroom and i have mine. I have that and my BR up in the loft.

 

[CapricornFarm]

I've thought about the 'put a clear bin over some grass seeds & let to be a green house' thing, but I feel like my PITA chickens would flip it over. I don't feel safe doing the grate idea b/c w/ my luck someone would lose a toe.


My mom's dog does that. Then when all the snow thaws you have a giant pile of dog crap. Now that everything's mud it's hard to tell what's poop and what's mud. Then there's all the chicken poop ALLLLLL over the place. If poop had a cash value we'd all be millionaires.


Oh, I'm certain of this. Mine swarm the door as soon as I open it. They sit on the poop board by the door and watch for me coming then wait. I have one (appropriately named Nibbler) who's been giving me little pecks lately. I squatted down and someone when for my butt. I think they're sizing me up so they can see how long my body would last if they offed me.


Wow, he's a feisty one. Did you put a big X on his back so you know which one to rehome first? I was thinking about tossing some gravel into the one corner of their run later this spring. That way they have some grit & it'll help with the mud situation, but I might have to steal the wood chip idea... provided I can find some. All the leaves that I threw in there in Nov have become a big wet pile. I was hoping they'd dig around in there to get some bugs, but they haven't messed with them since they got wet. The ground is so muddy that my fence posts are moving, even the long rebar posts are shifting. I'm going to have to do some remodeling this summer. The chicken wire covering I added is too heavy and the weight of it is pulling the sides in.


Wow, they're so big! Are either of them starting to show signs of being ready to lay?





I didn't know straw did that... but now it makes sense b/c my chickens dug through the straw I got from the guy up the road like it was a treasure hunt. Unfortunately they didn't have their wagon out anymore so the last bale I got was a compressed bale from TSC. Cost twice as much, but I don't have anywhere to store straw, except the trunk of my car.

They make really big storage bins now. Or do like i did, put my hay in a big yard sized garbage bag.

 

[apryl29]

Hi everyone. Just checking in to see if there's anything new.

I think Eve might be getting to lay -- she made a little nest the other day. She's 5 months old now. All of her brothers have been mating her :/ so she spends most of her time hiding from them.
View attachment 1303300
Soot on the left (4 months) and Eve on the right (5 months)

The boys have gotten big and a few are trying to crow. Coal (BSL) is an outcast -- nobody seems to like him. He's very rambunctious.
View attachment 1303308
Coal
View attachment 1303309
Split
View attachment 1303310
Kebbie and Ginger - 4 months. Both of these girls were hanging out with their papa yesterday -- following him, pecking him and he'd do his little dance around them.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am ready for warmer weather. That coop is disgusting and I want to give it a good cleaning.

So pretty! Poor Eve.. is she your oldest girl & that's why the boys are all after her or do you have other older girls, but she's just the favorite?
My coop needs cleaned too. I tossed a huge pile of poop & straw from Odin's space this weekend. It was packed in there. I cannot wait for warmer weather to get this thing cleared out, but that probably won't be until May.

Beautiful flock @Crooked Chicken!
Eve does look close! I bet it won't be long

I'm getting more eggs than I know what to do with now. A couple dozen a day! I can't even sell or hatch this many!! Lol

Been crazy around here. I've done 2 hatches this year, and my second broody hatched at least 2 of her 3 today, I think I felt a pip in the final egg so I didn't bother her anymore.

My 2 incubator hatches have been 100%. 10 bantam cochins and 4 OEGBs in the first set, and 17 black copper Marans (shipped!) and 3 lav orps. I sold the first 14, some of the BCMs are for me. I was shocked they all hatched, especially being shipped.

All of my incubators are full now, Call ducks, more cochins, cream legbars, royal palm turkeys, seramas. I'm a certifiable nutcase. Oh and I have a broody Call duck. I'm letting her sit to add to my flock.

This past weekends hatch
View attachment 1303358

Lexi, my Grey call duck, wants to be a momma.
View attachment 1303359

They're all so cute! That's a lot of babies! So great that they all made it.

Oh my.... you really have gone crazy! Those little silvery yellow chicks are the cutest!

Whatcha going to do with all those birds/eggs? Good for you on selling some! I know it's not everyone's plan, but I'll be eating some of mine. But in the meantime I'm going to just keep loving them. I've been having a week-long laziness spell....

I honestly loved hatching out the chicks, but that integrating stuff is for the birds! They still stay mostly separated when I let them out. It's been stressful for me and the chicks.

I am still giving a lot of eggs away, but keep running out of cartons. I've got to go look at the recycling center for more. The cost of buying egg cartons and all the extra feed doesn't feel very justified when I just give the goods away, lol.




I don't think it will hide there very well unless Mr. Capricorn has his own bathroom! But since you have lost some of yours, it would be a good way to build your flock.

I just got one of those styrofoam jobbies from the feed store. It worked fine as long as I kept a close watch on temp and humidity and propping the top a bit when needed.

I ask the people I sell eggs to if they can get the cartons back to me, most of them have been. Unfortunately they're all on the same cycle of needing eggs so I'll have a week where no one wants any, then I'll have 4 people ask for some. Yesterday I sold 4 dz. I have some in my fridge from a month ago, but I don't feel comfortable selling them, so they'll be chicken feed after I boil them. When my girls first started laying I never understood people feeding their chickens eggs, but now I totally get it. One can only eat so many eggs.

They make really big storage bins now. Or do like i did, put my hay in a big yard sized garbage bag.

I might consider a storage bin next winter. I'm somewhat concerned that a mouse will get into a bag.. though I'm consider building a storage box off the side of my coop to keep straw and feed in so they have more floor space in the coop.

Ash (my sebright) stopped laying again. I'm going to blame the cold. I'm seeing a butt load of feathers all over the place so I've got some more molters. My zombie chicken has filled out, but still looks disheveled and my sex links appear to be molting a bit too. I checked Odin for mites the other day and he was fine so that's good. Jackie is laying better and I'm seeing fewer soft shell eggs from her. And after blocking in the sides of 2 floor boxes I've been having them lay in both nests instead of fighting over the same one.

 

[Killer Tomato]

Hello All,
Another check in from me too! For some reason, I stopped getting notifications that there was any action on this thread. Weird! Glad to see that we're all surviving the winter, and longing for sunny weather. You've got me wondering if I'm going to try incubating eggs next year -- it looks really fun.

I broke down and got 4 more chicks last week. (happy dance!) 2 Leghorns, 1 Cuckoo Marans, 1 Welsummer. There were no signs about chicks minimums or anything at the store, and the chick bins were spotlessly clean.

Egg carton rant: I just CANNOT stand it when people return the cartons to me, and they are a "crack the egg and put the gooey shell back in the carton before throwing it away" person. Why? Why? and why would I want THAT carton back? It's filthy! Did I give it to you looking like that? Ugg. I actually charge them $.75 more for their dozen, and I tell them why I'm doing it. New cartons are $.50, and my label is about .25. I've got tidy people clamoring for my eggs each week that I can sell to, and they return clean cartons to me. Grrrrrr....... Of course, it's family members that do this the most. "No soup for you!"