INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

Here's my Lonely Only serama. SHE is 2 weeks old today. Still a very tiny thing. Silkied feathering. I felt the orp chicks were simply too big for her, so she hangs out with her quail siblings..... but they're now also bigger than she is.

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OMG How cute. You are excellent taking pictures of your chickens.
 
Gardening question. Any tomato/pepper experts please shout out! I usually have good germination, start plenty early on a heat mat. This year my 1st planting early march FAILED :(. I use good led lights and set the mat at 75 degrees. So I replanted same seed packets and they did fine. Same with my pepper plants... thoughts?
Baby chicks and ducklings are going strong. Even as chicks I really adore the Barred Rocks. As soon as they see my hand in the brooder they all come running. Most of the Ameraucana will also. Maran seem more timid.
They are 10 days old now, next week I'll introduce chick grit and start them with a few meal worms every day. I restarted my meal worm farm in January when DH bought me a Bearded Dragon, Lizzy for Christmas. She isn't a fan of them, or Dubia roaches either. She does like crickets, and wax worms are her favorite! So the excess bug farms are for the chickens too.
I didn't do too well germinating peppers this year either. I was only able to germinate 4 plants out of 15. I have noticed that the heat mat dries out the soil too quick and I have to make sure the soil is wet. Unfortunately when I am gone working 10 hours a day does not help keeping up my soil wet so I blame to that. For my tomatoes I found a trick on you tube that really helps.
When you plant your tomatoes seeds, make sure the soil is not dry, then wet a paper and place it on top of the soil and put the container inside a dark plastic bag and put it in a dark place for 5 days. After 5 days when you open the bag you will see for sure seedlings.
I have tested planting my tomatoes seeds using the heat mat and the method I mentioned above and the heating mat method didn't do near as well as the other method.
 
One thing that I dont like when it rains is the mud in the chicken run and the stench. I have been putting pine shave bedding and it helps absorbing the water some but its still a mess. What you all do to prevent the mud and specially the stench?
 
I got a question.. specially for those of you selling your eggs. One of my coworkers who usually buy my eggs, told me that when she cracked open one of the eggs she noticed a tiny baby chick dead inside, she said the chick was very tiny but you could tell it was a fertilized egg. 😳😲 Has this ever happened to any of you? I always collect my eggs daily and put them in a basket in the kitchen counter. I though a fertilized egg needs to be warm in order for the chick to develop?I do remember one time that I found a couple eggs hidden in the nest under the hay. Could it be possible that I missed that egg and with this hot weather and being under the hay could be enough heat for the baby chick to start developing? I am sooo traumatized now that I double check the nest thoroughly every day and also candle the eggs before selling them. Do I need to start refrigerating the eggs after collect them? I don't wash my eggs until sale day.

Thanks
 
I got a question.. specially for those of you selling your eggs. One of my coworkers who usually buy my eggs, told me that when she cracked open one of the eggs she noticed a tiny baby chick dead inside, she said the chick was very tiny but you could tell it was a fertilized egg. 😳😲 Has this ever happened to any of you? I always collect my eggs daily and put them in a basket in the kitchen counter. I though a fertilized egg needs to be warm in order for the chick to develop?I do remember one time that I found a couple eggs hidden in the nest under the hay. Could it be possible that I missed that egg and with this hot weather and being under the hay could be enough heat for the baby chick to start developing? I am sooo traumatized now that I double check the nest thoroughly every day and also candle the eggs before selling them. Do I need to start refrigerating the eggs after collect them? I don't wash my eggs until sale day.

Thanks
Yes an egg needs to be both fertile & incubated in order to develop an embryo.

Could it have been a meat spot? (blood clot or tiny bit of reproductive tract that got enclosed inside the egg as it traveled though the oviduct) It can happen & those eggs are safe to eat. I prefer to just pick it out before cooking.
* This may be what happened. (my opinion anyway)

If the egg had a hairline crack and grew bacterial or fungal contamination, the egg would be discolored and probably smell.... along with possible black or green spots. That would not be safe to eat & I'm sure your coworker would have mentioned the color/odor.

If there really were a tiny chick inside the egg, it would have been surrounded by all sorts of veins/blood vessels. Your co-worker would describe that it looked like a spider. (tiny red blob with lots of veins coming from it) An egg would have to be at about 100'F for a few days in order to start developing. If you missed an egg for a few days AND had a hen sitting on it, then yes if could start to develop. However if you're collecting daily, it's doubtful. Whenever you find a hidden nest, I wouldn't sell those eggs. You can't tell how old the eggs are. (Crack open and feed eggs back to chickens - as long as not spoiled)

If your co-worker is close & understanding, you could explain about the meatspots and how they can sometimes happen. Give them a free doz eggs to make them feel good and move on. Some people don't want to be wrong and will insist it was a chick. If this is the case, there's really nothing you can do. (It's kind of like how some people INSIST that you must have a rooster in order for a hen to produce eggs. :idunno )
 
I got a question.. specially for those of you selling your eggs. One of my coworkers who usually buy my eggs, told me that when she cracked open one of the eggs she noticed a tiny baby chick dead inside, she said the chick was very tiny but you could tell it was a fertilized egg. 😳😲 Has this ever happened to any of you? I always collect my eggs daily and put them in a basket in the kitchen counter. I though a fertilized egg needs to be warm in order for the chick to develop?I do remember one time that I found a couple eggs hidden in the nest under the hay. Could it be possible that I missed that egg and with this hot weather and being under the hay could be enough heat for the baby chick to start developing? I am sooo traumatized now that I double check the nest thoroughly every day and also candle the eggs before selling them. Do I need to start refrigerating the eggs after collect them? I don't wash my eggs until sale day.

Thanks
It really doesn't look like a chick for quite awhile https://images.app.goo.gl/EAWUPE9ZQcfuQHeq6
 
Yes an egg needs to be both fertile & incubated in order to develop an embryo.

Could it have been a meat spot? (blood clot or tiny bit of reproductive tract that got enclosed inside the egg as it traveled though the oviduct) It can happen & those eggs are safe to eat. I prefer to just pick it out before cooking.
* This may be what happened. (my opinion anyway)

If the egg had a hairline crack and grew bacterial or fungal contamination, the egg would be discolored and probably smell.... along with possible black or green spots. That would not be safe to eat & I'm sure your coworker would have mentioned the color/odor.

If there really were a tiny chick inside the egg, it would have been surrounded by all sorts of veins/blood vessels. Your co-worker would describe that it looked like a spider. (tiny red blob with lots of veins coming from it) An egg would have to be at about 100'F for a few days in order to start developing. If you missed an egg for a few days AND had a hen sitting on it, then yes if could start to develop. However if you're collecting daily, it's doubtful. Whenever you find a hidden nest, I wouldn't sell those eggs. You can't tell how old the eggs are. (Crack open and feed eggs back to chickens - as long as not spoiled)

If your co-worker is close & understanding, you could explain about the meatspots and how they can sometimes happen. Give them a free doz eggs to make them feel good and move on. Some people don't want to be wrong and will insist it was a chick. If this is the case, there's really nothing you can do. (It's kind of like how some people INSIST that you must have a rooster in order for a hen to produce eggs. :idunno )
I actually asked her why she didn't took a picture and show it to me and she just told me I wouldn't want to see that, so I can't really tell what she saw. Actually, after this incident she still asked for chicken eggs and even before I knew about this incident I gave her some free ducks eggs. I am just a little traumatized about this so I am double checking the nest when I collect my eggs daily .
 

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