Iowa Blues - Breed thread and discussion

[WVDan44]

Weather coming tomorrow in the form of a foot of snow. Winter is not ready to give it up. Guess I can shovel one more time before mowing and weeding takes its place. We've had spring-like weather most of this week. Chickens are up and down like a yoyo. Looking forward to longer days and fertile eggs...and chicks!

Dan

 

[Hurley]

Yes, looking forward too to the glacier moving out so I can move chicks out of the house... These things will be laying before winter decides to move on, at the rate it's going!

 

[WVDan44]

Actually, that's not too far fetched! I kept my last batch of IB chicks in the garage through out the winter because I had no place prepared and couldn't get it done for the ice and snow and frozen ground. By the time I got them out of there, a couple of the pullets had started laying! They sure had it made, living in their little penthouse in the garage. LOL

 

[karimw]

I'm looking into shipping chicks once I become NPIP, and from what I see I think I'll probably go with SpeeDee. Kari, Eric, I know you both use this service. What are your minimum orders for shipped LF chicks? How old are your chicka before you ship them?
Where is the cheapest place to get boxes?

I'm afraid I'm not an expert since I've only shipped once. SpeeDee doesn't go everywhere, but it works in the region for the most part. It will have to be the USPS for the rest. They have to be shipped as day olds or less at minimum number of 20 - 25 so there is enough of them to keep each other warm. They can survive without food and water for a couple days at that age. I did send older chicks to Eric because I was fairly confident they would make it overnight. I gave them food and apples for the journey, but I'd consider that a high stress trip.

 

[Candy442]

Lockdown day Sunday night, this is day 20 and we have 2 pips!!! Both Iowa Blues

One has the beak out and facing down toward the bottom of the incubator. That is the egg that rolled about three inches last night to the corner of the incubator (already named it "Rollo" ). I can take a pen through the vent hole and move it so the pip is up, should I or just leave it?? (I left it alone and it hatched just fine)

I am too excited!!!! Kari, you are right Iowa's seem to hatch early! The others I can't see any cracks yet, but it's early still

Update: Day 21, of the seven Iowa's three have hatched. Three have pipped, can't see if the other has pipped yet or not (getting knocked around by Flappy and Rollo).

Flappy is Black (this was the top pip, 1st to hatch)
Rollo is Smokey (2nd to hatch)
and ? (no name yet ) is Smokey

I know for sure that we had one SP egg in there of the group and that one has pipped as of this am.
I guess my Birchen gals have the smokey gene

Update:

6 of the Iowa's hatched. Flappy is turning a dark cocoa brown, no black. Rollo is yellow like smokey. The third and fourth is turning more gray brown chipmunk, there is another yellow smokey that hatched and another black birchen color. Last one shows no pips that we can see, it is still day 21 until 7pm EST. All but 3 of the 15 eggs have hatched so far.

 

[karimw]

Sounds like you have a nice variety, Candy, Good Job!

 

[Candy442]

I will post pics to get every ones professional opinion of each coloring. Curt thought the birds I got from Jake came from your Rex as sire, Kari.

Also, is it often to get smokies in your hatches? Right now, they all look a bit yellow, but the other two are birchen. I do not see any now that I look at them that resemble a "chipmunk" per se which makes me wonder if Gandalf is considered a silver. I thought I would only get silvers from him and Sweetie?

I have to say that it is VERY DIFFICULT to tell the DellaBlues from the Smokies at this point, I am wondering if their leg color will separate them being that the Delawares have yellow legs?

 

[iamfivewire]

Heres a group picture :

 

[Candy442]

Here is a pic I just took.

These are 11 of the 13 that hatched so far. The newest hatched are in the incubator with the two unpipped eggs. Day 22



The two top left, first dark one is an EE. The second cream one is the RSL/Iowa Cross.

In the group in the middle, I believe that the one dead center and the one second up from the water dish are the Della Blues. They seem to have the same markings, but only have gray in the middle of the back stripes. The rest are my Iowas. Do any of them appear to be "silver" at this point? They seem more yellow than the photos on the Club site?

The birchens have very little other coloring on them, they are mainly dark/brown black tone.

UPDATE: 3/22
The last two eggs DIS.
Here are the final 13

 

[mrandmrschicken]

It appears the ice age has moved back in to Northwest Iowa. When will this end???!!!!