INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[bradselig]

I have about a half dozen bantam buff barred cochin eggs available if anyone is interested. Buyer is having incubator issues so I told her I'd postpone shipping. Local pickup or shipping available.

 

[raisinemright]

29 chicks out!!

 

[Indyshent]

(This was photoshopped & from our March hatch. Still no Easter chicks or even pips yet.)

Had one more duckling hatch--as I was candling its overdue egg, no less! Had the poor, wet thing stuck in my shirt to keep him warm since his/her mommy wasn't wanting to take care of them as well as I'd hoped. Found too of the ducklings drowned in their water dish (right next to the nest

) and another splay legged, freezing and stuck between the nest and the back wall of the coop. Mom wasn't helping her babies or making sure they were fed at all, so I took the survivors inside to teh brooder. I hate taking her babies away from her, but I don't want them dying either.

Right now, we've got five duckies, split between Easter and the day before Easter. First hatch ever here, so I'm thrilled

They're Pekin over Black Swedish, but are taking emphatically after mom.

 

[Dish chickens]

So I have to show off my new brooder box. I am lucky enough to work in research and the doctors are always getting shiny new equipment that comes in wonderful crates. Being a scavenger I take these crates home and make stuff out of them. My current chickenk coop is 80% recycled plywood from shipping crates. Any way, I needed a new brooder box and the day before the chicks show up this appears on the dock.


So I cart it home and cut a hole in one side then zip tie a heat lamp to the edge, done in 20 minutes.

Good idea and very nice job
That looks like it would make a nice incubator too.

 

[raisinemright]

Took a few of the fuzz butts out of the incubator and into a brooder. It was getting a little crowded in the bator.

 

[kabhyper1]

Took a few of the fuzz butts out of the incubator and into a brooder. It was getting a little crowded in the bator.

So whats hatched since we left?

 

[Faraday40]

Hatch Update:
So worried when this morning when we had no pips. (Day 21-22)
Now we have 5 out of 6 eggs pipped. They'll be officially late, but I can deal with that much better than 0 hatching. (Especially when I couldn't think of what went wrong.) My best guess is that my broody was sitting on these eggs when the temps dipped down to the teens at night. I remember her water freezing solid many nights, so perhaps the initial incubation temps were lower than normal & delayed the hatch.

The eggs were placed in our incubator & new replacement (science project) eggs under the broody. I was so worried about the incubator being "off." We now have my daughter's fancy eggs in there for her 4H science project. I would feel horrible if we killed those eggs. Tomorrow she'll candle for her experiment, but they looked good last week. AND the broody is continuing to sit on the eggs.

Just look at that determined little face!
Our Queen Cookie is enjoying breakfast in bed. Both water & food have been moved within stretching reach, so she never has to leave the nest. She also learned that we remove her waste right away, so when we go out to check on her, she makes a special poop just for us. (Always right on cue.)

 

[raisinemright]

So whats hatched since we left? 

All but 6 eggs. Every Silkie hatched.

 

[kabhyper1]

All but 6 eggs. Every Silkie hatched.

I bet the rest will, they may just be late hatchers. What color are the other silkies?

 

[barb s]

https://www.booster.com/inbyc2015tanktop

Tank top fund raiser ends in 5 days. Get a great looking tank top in 4 different colors and help support "Chickenfest 2015". Order your tank tops today so you don't miss out on them.