Is incubation time for eggs the same when they're under a broody hen as when they're in an incubator

[DuckiesGarden]

I candled that double yolker again and it's got veins started on both yolks! I've been looking into twin chicks and it seems that it doesn't happen very often. At least them actually hatching and surviving doesn't happen much. That hen is definitely broody! She hasn't got off that nest since sunday at least, maybe a say or so longer! I'm going to guess the 28th or so for a hatch date. Can you believe it? I went from never having had a broody chicken all these years to having Ginger and Georgie and now Biddy(that's what I call the 3 black stars, the 3 biddies) I'm going to have to learn more about helping an egg to hatch so I can help when the time comes(it seems twins tend to need help hatching out) I'm going to candle the other eggs under her tomorrow and see which ones are fertile. This is so exciting! Again!

 

[annanimal]

I know, i know i havent been on for forever but i work from 10 am-12pm with a two hour break form 6pm-8pm and in that break i feed all the animals and stuff like that but today i asked if i could go at 14:00 because there is not lots of work from 10-13 and they agreed so i am very relieved, anyway, please forgive me for not replying for so long...

A double yolk, how exciting!!
I have some exciting news to, we are going to have a hatch along, two of my hens just went broody and they are sitting on 9 eggs of their own, they are co-hatching just like Ginger and Georgie!
Oh no, his mom came, what about his sister?
Ugh, she sounds like a pain in the butt, the only thing you can do with annoying people like that is ignore them and just smile along...

Yeah, i have tons of fun with my sister, she comes for about a week in the summer and a month at christmas time, her, her husband and their three kids come, the oldest is 6 and he is a boy, then a little girl that is 3 and then a baby girl that is 16 months so 1 year and 4 months, it is lots of fun having kids around here for a change but they left about a week ago so it was really sad, they grow soo much though, it is unbelievable!!!

I havent had time to get my camera set up yet so dont send any more pictures until i do because that will make me do it faster, did the chicks arrive yet?
How many of each are there?
I was just thinking of getting leghorns but since the other ones are good layers too, why not get a couple of those next year as well, i am thinking that by next chick season i will have all the little coops for the hens and their chicks, do you leave your hens and their chicks in the coop with the rest of your flock usually?
I went to check how many cockerels i have and so far i have 8, 3 from the 5 older ones, 3 from the 6 older ones and Midnight and Sunshine are both cockerels too!
One of the cockerels from the 6 older ones is one of the 5 older ones that got out of the coop and joined that family, remember?
And the 2 other cockerels from the 6 older ones are huge, they are bigger than any of the 5 older ones and the five older ones are actually older than them and the 2 cockerels are almost the size of their mom already!!!
The thing that i cant understand is why the mom hasnt left them yet, i mean they are old enough and it is not even like she is just watching out for them, whenever she finds something yummy she calls them over.
Do you think the fact that they free range all day has something to do with it?
I mean they are the only ones that free range and that is only because i caught the hen with the three chicks from the fig tree and i didnt have anywhere to put her and i didnt want her to go back to the fig tree so i took them out of the coop and put her and her chick in, oh and she only has one chick now, i dont know what happened to the other two, maybe some kind of bird got them...

Oh and the mother of the 6 older ones NEVER ever goes even near the road, i really hope she goes broody next year!!!
Twin chicks, that is sooooo cool, have you candled it again?
That is one HUGE egg!!
Ohhh the kittens are sooo cute, do you have them inside your house or in a shed or something?
Anyway, talk to you soon, i hope!!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Wow! Those are some LONG hours to work! What do you do? Is it boring? I'm glad they let you go early tho so we can catch up!

Oh boy a hatch-a-long! This'll be fun!

The double yolker is a no go. I had to take it out, somehow she managed to crack it beyond fixing. Bummer. BUT, she's still sitting on almost a dozen eggs so I still have some hopes for picasso chicks. I was estimating the hatch time for the 28th or 29th, but that was because of that big one, so now, I'm going to guess around the 2nd or 3rd.Maybe a little later. When do you think yours will hatch? They aren't in the fig tree are they?!?!
Yes his mom came and I lucked out cause the sister sister ended up dropping his mom off then going back to indy to stay with one of her Xhusbands(he's like skinny with stringy longish hair and no teeth. UCK!) Anyway his mom stayed about a week then the sister came and got her and took her to stay at the xhusbands. They said they're probably going to just stay with him for awhile instead of the trailer(

)I must have done a good job scaring her off, I'll tell you, she was driving me crazy! anyway, the world is right again! LOL!
I'm glad you had such a good time with your sister and her family! It is sad when NICE company leaves! LOL. christmas will be here before you know it! The kids will have grown a foot! I still wonder at how fast mine have grown! It seems like a month ago they were sweet little babies!
Hahaha, ok, I'll ease up on the pics so you have proper motivation!

My chicks SHOULD be here tomorrow! They were supposed to be here Monday but they didn't ship til then so I think tomorrow. The hatchery is only 2 states away so I'm guessing 2 days. I think that's what the others took. I got 2 of the Barred Rocks, 2Buff orpingtons, 2 White jersey giants, 3 easter eggers, 3 silver spangled hamburgs (one of those is a roo), and then 4 buff laced polish(one of those is a roo too) plus they always put an extra or two in and a free "mystery" chick.I just can't stand the wait! I'm curious as to what the mystery chick will be too! I'm trying to learn about genetics so I can figure out what kind of chicks I'll have when I get around to breeding the new ones!
I've heard leghorns lay like mad but I've never had any. The easter eggers tho I've had quite a few of and they lay great, even in the winter. Plus they're so pretty! They come in all kinds of colors and the blue and green eggs are fun!
Well, Ginger and Georgie are the first hens I've had except their mom to actually have baby chicks so I'm just going to do like I did with them if Biddy hatches hers. Separate them for a bit then let them get used to everyone. Their mom was so wild that she ran all over creation with those little chicks she came with. I never could keep her contained and it cost everyone in the long run. Ginger and Georgie and Pickles of course are all that's left.
8 roos! Are you going to keep them all? Sunshine and Midnight I'm sure you'll keep! I wonder why those 2 are so much bigger? Maybe they're finding extra to eat? maybe it's just the kind of chicken they are? I bet them free ranging is exactly why they're still with mama! She probably doesn't see any reason to let them go since they're all together all the time anyway. She might just be a very protective mothering bird. Or her chicks could just be lazy! Lettin mama find all the goodies for em! LOL.

Poor little chicks, coming up missing like that! Do you have hawks or something like them there? They'll pick up a little chick in a second flat if they can! At least you got them out of the fig tree! Wasn't that another thing on your list? You can check it off now!
The little kittens are in a pet crate out by the chicken coop, I actually already gave 3 away on Sunday so now there's just 2. I had to put them away from the deck cause the dog kept trying to get them when he went out.
I know I said I wouldn't post any more pics but I might do just a few tomorrow of the new chicks! Talk to you later!

 

[annanimal]

Yeah, those are long hours and i dont even get a day off...
I am a manager at an Italian restraunt and i also meet and greet people.
It is not really boring but at times it does get very boring and by the end of every day i get cranky...
At least i get that break from 6-8 to feed the chickens and dogs again.
I have been working at this restraunt for 2 years now so i just put up with the people and stuff and do my job, it is also really good pay, and since it is only open in the summer like lots of restraunts, i have all winter to get things organized and relax!
I am actually at work right now but it is not busy at all so i dont have to do anything and i am bored!

Oh no, she couldnt step on another egg, silly chicken, oh well, it is very rare that twin chicks survive...
I am not sure how long they have been sitting for so i dont know when their hatch date will be, we 'll see.
NO these ones are not in the fig tree...

Yay, so now you dont have any crazy in-laws!!!
Oh that is so exciting, did they arrive yet?
I think it is more fun when the chicken hatches them because than you dont have to worry about the brooder temperatures or doing something wrong!
16 chicks, plus the mystrery ones, that is sooooooooooo exciting!!!!!!!
I know, eight roos are a lot to handle but i have to keep them all if i want them to live and i really do, even though i am not as atached the them as i am to Midnight and Sunshine i am still really attached to them but i think i am just going to let all the roosters free-range except for one that i am going to have with the hens.
I think you 're right, the chicks are very lazy and the mom doesnt seem to have any problem with them so i am just going to let them free range until she gets bored or them...
NO, we dont have hawks but we do have crows and a lot of them and i have seen them pick up chicks so i bet one of those got them, i feel so guilty though you know?
Well, i had time to reply but i have got to get back to work, talk to you soon!!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Hey that nice! To get all winter off! I guess the long hours make up for a whole winter of free time!
The chicks came yesterday!!! All were alive and well and still doing good! Here's some pics!























I know! I over did it a tad bit but I was just too excited! There's one that I can't figure out! I only got 1 extra and it's the one I can't figure out. It's the one in the top row of pics on the right. The brown chipmunk looking one. It looks like it's going to have a single comb so I know it's not one of the easter eggers. I'm going to post it on one of the forums here and see if anyone recognizes it! You got any guesses? I've been keeping them outside on the deck by the front door in the dog crate. It's so hot here right now that I figured they'd be fine without the brooder light and so far so good!

 

[annanimal]

I think the rare chick might be a speckled sussex or an ameraucana if you look at pictures of them they look very similar!
Anyway, have two new little orphan bunnies to take care of because my pregnant bunny didn't make a nest for them or anything, she just had them in the corner, when I finally noticed that she had had them three where already dead, so now I am bottle feeding the remaining two that have bite marks on them! :/
Well,I don't get all winter off, I have a job in the winter to, just not such long hours.
Anything new and exciting happening over their?
I know I have delayed the pics and I am really sorry about that! :/

 

[Brandi Leigh]

Cute chicks!!!!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

AWWW! Baby Bunnies!! How sweet!

I'm glad you found them when you did! Mama bunnies are notorious for eating their babies. ick.

I raised some wild bunnies over the summer. My cats had got the mama and a few babies so I took in the 4 that were left. Only one made it but 1 is better than nothing! Good luck with yours! Keep in mind that baby bunnies need to eat the mama's poo(I know gross) to get good bacteria that they need in their guts. I ordered some online since I didn't have the mama, but you have her so you can collect her poo that she drops at night and feed it to the babies. You might have already known that but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case, they can't digest their food without that bacteria and they could die.What kind of bunnies do you have?
Don't worry about the pics! I know you'll get to em when you get a chance!

My second post didn't post! So I'll do it again!

I think only 1 of Biddies eggs is going to hatch. I keep candling them and only 1 seems to have a chick in it. The chick is pretty good size already too, it might hatch sooner than I expected! It's one of the brown eggs so who knows what kind of chick will come out! I've been leaving the other eggs under her just in case I've missed something. And I definitely agree with you about it being more exciting to let the chicken do th hatching! It kind of eliminates all the headache part and leaves the fun part!
And I'm glad your going to keep all your roos!

I never even thought about crows getting chicks! We have them by the hundreds here, and I hadn't considered them as predators! That could explain a few dissapearances!
I figured out the mystery chick! I posted on here and someone had a pic of the same chicks from the same hatchery! It's a Partridge Plymouth Rock. I was thinking the ameracauna too til I saw it had a single comb instead of the pea comb. I even looked at my pics of my speckled sussex when they were chicks but the leg color was off on those. I was pretty stumped til I saw that pic! I actually hope it's a roo, I looked at pics of partridge rocks and the roos are SO handsome. It reminded me of that pic you showed me of your roo that was so pretty in the sun!
And I'll tell you what, I've done this batch of chicks a little differently from the "normal" way of doing it and I'm very happy I have! I already told you I skipped the brooder since it's so warm here and I think it's been good for them! They're growing up more like they would if they were with the mama. I made em a little house to sleep in at night so they're staying warm just cuddling up with each other. I've kept them outside except the when it rained twice I brought them in. I've skipped the chick starter too and hasve been feeding them eggs, oats, cornmeal, bugs and worms(thank you Emma May for being such a dedicated bug girl! LOL), peanut butter mixed with whole wheat flour and some evaporated milk, fruit and bread, clumps of dandelions and clover and stuff with the dirt still on it...Anyway, more of a diet they'd be eating if they were with the mama again. And you know what? I haven't lost one single chick! They actually seem to be doing very well! A lot better than the last batch of chicks. I'm sure a lot of chicken people would frown on me for it but I'm glad I've done it this way and I think I'll keep it up with any more I get. I think it's making them more hardy than they would have been otherwise. And none have gotten pasty butt either.
Ok, I've gone on long enough! I've got to get around and get busy! Bye for now! Just 2 pics! One of the chicks and one of last nights sunset over the backyard!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Cute chicks!!!!

Thanks!!!

 

[annanimal]

Sadly the baby bunnies died when i was at work, it was really sad, i burried them beside little Oliver and put a pretty rock on them, i didnt name them so i couldnt write anything on the rock...

Cool, i didnt know that they had to eat the mamas poo, kind of gross but cool!

I dont know what kind of bunnies they are, like always i got them from one of my friends, on my birthday, i have a male, that is black and white and a female that is all white.
I have the pictures on the computer, i took them today but i am going to go to the beach now so i have to make this post kind of short but i will take a picture of the beach !

Oh, only one, oh well, i want to candle mine too to see which ones are fertile, one of the two broodys changed nests, i guess it was to squishy in the one nest, she also stole a couple of eggs from the other broody!

Do you think Biddie is going to be a good mother??
Oh, i looked at the partridge rock, it looks exactly like it, and it does look very similar to my roosters.

That is a very cool way of raising them, i want to try it if i get the incubator next year!!
I will try some of those foods for Midnight and Sunshine, you want to send me some of those grubs that Emma May finds?
Bye for now, i will be on in a while and post some pictures!