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

[annanimal]

I am glad you liked the pics!
Haha, I do the exact same thing as you but sometimes if I want to make something permanent I will go buy things but no need this time!
She didn't hatch any more chicks, just the one, oh well, I am glad Biddie is still broody!
Oh, I know all my chicks of by heart by know, they all have their own look once you get close and believe it or not, their own little personality, I am so glad that I took the week off, I feel like I am so much closer to all my animals, they all have gotten soooo big and I hadn't even noticed...
I don't have any firewood to put around the cage and I do have rocks, they work quite well, I don't know if you can tell but the ground on the little coops the sand there is very soft so when the mom goes to dig she makes a little hole that the chicks can fit through and I don't want to take the chance with any crows.
I hope Biddies eggs hatch!!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

So sorry I didn't get back like I said the other day! We ended up driving into the big town to go to the store instead of our little town store since we didn't have the kids with us(they did go to my mom's)and we didn't get back til late. Then yesterday I was just to tired after we got back from getting the kids. Plus I was still pretty upset when we got back. I'll go ahead and tell you why now and get the sad news out of the way. Early yesterday morning I woke up cause I heard Rinty barking(the warning bark, not the deer or cats bark) and I looked out the back window with the flashlight to see what had him so riled up and I saw something moving in the little chicks coop, it was still dark so nothing should have been moving around yet. I knew it was bad then, and I yelled to jim that something was getting my babies and ran out to them but I was too late. It was another possum, it had pulled the wire away from both sides of the cage. I reached in there and pulled it out and slammed it on the ground but it ran off to the barn. I was more worried about getting to the chicks. It got 7 of them but it paid for it. After I got the chicks safe I went after it and finished it. I'm tore up over it cause it got my little Rico. I'm upset about the others too believe me but little Rico was special and I almost can't even stand it. I had to go get the girls after that and I wasn't going to tell my mom cause she really liked Rico too but Jim opened his big mouth and got her upset which got me upset all over again and we spent the whole time balling our eyes out. It was just a bad, bad day and that's all I can say about it cause it's got me balling again.
I was glad to get the girls back tho of course, they were gone since Sunday and we were really missing them! I got a lot of stuff done but it was almost too quiet without them around!
I agree with you about going ahead and buying stuff to make permanent spots! I think now that's what I should have done for the chicks and maybe they would have been more secure from predators. I should have been putting them with the others chickens locked in the coop. I think I'm going to go out and get new fence and enclose the chicken yard AND Rinty's yard so he can have access around the whole coop if something else sneaks in. Jim said I should start putting Rinty IN the front room of the coop at night so he's right at their door. I know I'm going to have to figure something out, my heart can't handle anymore unnecessary death!
I'm happy to hear you've had such a good time with your animals! And your right! They do all have their own little personalities! I bet your chickens love that sand for dust baths!
Biddy's got 5 eggs that for sure have chicks in them. One is that green egg (that should be hatching anytime now)and all the others are Ginger and Georgies eggs. I left some of the fresh brown eggs under her hoping one will take and I might get another black chick and I'll feel like my little Rico has come back.
I was going to show you a pic of Misty Dawn so you could see how much she looks like that one of yours...

 

[annanimal]

Oh, no, I am so sorry!!
At least you managed to save the others!
It is not you fault though, I am glad you killed that possum, I didn't know they were a threat to chicks....
Well, I am back at work and it is annoying because I got into a routine for that weak and it was so great but now I have to work again and I am really missing my animals!!
Can you imagine, Rinty sleeping in the coop with the chickens!
Ooh yay, more chickies!!
Are you going to put them in the cage with the other ones?
Oh yeah, she does look a lt like mine!
I have to go, sorry!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Sorry I took so long to reply AGAIN. Evie started back to school Monday and its been hectic!
I'm happy to report that there haven't been anymore incidents thank goodness. I've been locking the coop up tighter than fort knox every nite! I've been putting the little chicks in the roosting room with the others(in their cage, not loose) at night then I've been tying the door shut, then I put a piece of paneling against the windows in the door, then I put a second door (it's one I made for a coop I had built last year out by my garden for extra roos.) up against the wood panel, THEN I put a 2x4 against the door and one of the wall studs like a charlie bar, THEN I roll a heavy stump against all that. Plus I've been putting a piece of plywood over the hole they use to go in and out of the coop to the yard, and a 4x4 wedged against that. It probably sounds like overkill but I'm not going to take any chances anymore! I saw a little window alarm at the store and I'm going to get one next time we're there. It's one of those that you put each half of it on the window or door where it meets together and if the door is opened it separates the magnet in each piece and sets off the alarm. It would be funny to have Rinty sleeping in the chicken coop! That would definitely be a surprise to anything trying to sneak in!
I never thought about a possum being a threat either til I caught that one last year. I thought they were just trash diggers, but I guess that's what I get for thinking!
Back to work! Bummer! It's always rough having to go back to work after having such a good time away from it! I bet your animals miss you too!
That green egg STILL hasn't hatched! I checked it yesterday tho and the air cell is bigger and the chick is taking up all the rest of the egg now. I can't even see the veins anymore, just around where the air cell starts and they've gotten real dark. I checked all the eggs she's got under her and now besides that one green one, 5 of Ginger and Georgies eggs have chicks and a blue egg has one started, and possibly one of the brown ones has one started but I can't quite tell on it yet. I'm going to start marking the date on the eggs so I know for sure when they should hatch! This waiting and not knowing is nerve wracking!
Yeah, I think I'll put any new chicks that hatch in with the other chicks after a day or two. That way I know they aren't going to get left alone on the floor like the last time. And I'm hoping that will make Biddy want to keep sitting not having any babies to take care of. The chick area I made is half in the big run and half on the outside of the run so if she wants to, she can actually go right to them and see em or put her head in thru the chicken wire to check on em. I'll be glad when the brahmas and that buff orpington grow up because they are supposed to be broody AND very good mamas and I can use them as foster mamas for any chicks in the future that hatch out under the hens that aren't so good at being mamas!
How are your new chicks doing? And how's Midnight and Tweetie?

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Biddy hatched out another chick! It's not the one I've been waiting on, I'm starting to think it's not going to. I can't see any movement at all for a few days now so I don't know what to think. I don't know how long I should wait before I give up on it. The one that hatched was one of Ginger and Georgies eggs and it's so cute! I've got every finger and toe crossed that I don't have any more problems and it gets a chance to grow up! I took pics of course. There's 4 others that should hatch close to this one since she slipped these under her about the same time. They all have movement so I'm hopeful they'll come out fine. OK, here's a couple pics, it only popped out an hour or two ago so it's not quite fluffed up yet.







Biddy had gone out int he chicken yard to eat so I went ahead and took some pics. I took some pics of the other batch of chicks and I'm going to post one just because. The polish chicks are starting to get their head feathers and I'm totally loving them. They're turning out to be really sweet little things.

Alright that was more than one but I can never help myself!

The polish one is a mess cause she was taking a dirt bath when I picked her up! That pretty gold one in the other 2 pics is the buff orpington, the black and white speckled one is the silver spangled hamburg, and the brown and tan one is one of the easter egger chicks.
OH! and guess who showed up in our driveway 2 days ago? His mother. Ugh,I should have known them not being around was too good to be true. No phone call or anything just shows up with all her stuff. Whatever.

I told him to leave me out of it all. I won't be rude, but I'm not going out of my way or anything. I must seem like a real you know what but I just can't get past the things her and his sister said and the way they treat people. It's just ridiculous. OK, I'm done griping. Anyway, I've got to get around and get some things done so I'll talk to you soon!

 

[annanimal]

Oh my god, I haven't been on in so long, I am so sorry, work is crazy, I get back at like 5 am and have to be back at 12 am plus I have to feed the chickens and dogs oh and I have to sleep!
Wow, so Evie is at school and Emma is with you so you have to drive Evie,pick her up, watch Emma, feed the chickens and the dogs, clean the house, cook, did I forget nothing?
Oh my goodness you sure are protecting them well, you would think they are gold, just joking, it is good, like they say, it is better safe then sorry!
The new chicks are fantastic though I never get to see them, work stops on September 15th but I am sure it will slow down a bit till then, I am really sorry that I am not on that often, it is August, the busiest time of the year!
The chicks are soooo cute they have grown a lot, I would wait a couple more days for the egg and then do the float test but I don't think it will hatch, did the others hatch, I am sorry but I have to go again, it is hectic here, I don't get my break anymore, ok, bye!

 

[annanimal]

Oh no, his mother came, bummer poor you, ok, have to go!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

You poor thing! Your probably just dead on your feet! I used to work two and a few times three jobs at a time so I know exactly how tiring it can be! I hope it slows down for you soon!
You got it about right with my day! Except Evie gets to ride the bus back and forth to scholl-thank goodness!- her bus driver is our 2nd neighbor down the road so we lucked out there! Plus I went and rebuilt the chicken coop(did I already tell you that?) Ok, i looked, I don't think I did so I'll tell you what I did...Earlier this week I went out to let the chickens out for the day and I found one of my Rhode Island Reds half ate IN the coop that I thought I had so secure! I was so mad! I figure whatever got it squeezed under one of the walls or something so I said, that's it! I tore down the whole inside of the coop and started over from scratch. I built a smaller roosting room at the back and I nailed hardware mesh around where the floor and the walls met, and over the door to the new room where it was missing a pane of glass. I didn't cut the sharp edges off either, I turned them outward so if anything tries to pry it up it'll cut them up. And, I built the new room to be two story, so the bottom is the new nesting/maternity ward and the top is the nesting/roosting area for everyone else. I can block the bottom area from the others so they can't get in and peck at the new babies or trample them or eat their food, and there's room for me to put the month old chicks in there in their cage. When I get some more wood, I'm going to build some square nest boxes for the top floor and the bottom floor. Until then I put the box that Biddy's been in in the bottom room of course and I put two of those big dog crates in the top area for the others to use. It's been hot here the last week and I was so sweaty and dirty and bloody from that sharp wire for the three days it took me to build all that but it was worth it! I'm real happy with how it turned out and I can sleep good at night now knowing everyone's safe!
One more chick hatched too! Just this morning! I'll take some pics when it's all dry and fluffy! It's another one of Ginger and Georgies eggs. I'm happy to report that Biddy is doing MUCH better at being a mama! I think she got upset when I took that new chick out(someone had pecked it in the head and it was bleeding so I took it out til it healed over a bit) anyway, she has been very protective of it since I gave it back to her! And she's still been sitting on the eggs with a few exceptions when she takes the little chick out to eat and drink and such. I hope she takes care of the little one that hatched this morning just as well!
Yeah, his mom came, stayed for a few days then left again. She like a yo yo. It's so annoying. All she does is sit around watching tv or sits on the deck smoking like a chimney. And gossip about anyone and everyone. So annoying!
I ended up having to take out three of the eggs that should have hatched by now. I just couldn't open them and look but I candled them and they definitely weren't going to hatch so I took them out. Poor things.
Don't worry about not getting on here so often! Like I said, I know it is to be so busy with work!
Here's some pics of the new room in the coop. I reused all the old wood so it probably doesn't look too different but it's definitely much better! There's a little hallway leading to the door now. I hadn't took all the extra wood out when I took the pics so it looks a bit cluttered. It was too dark inside the room so those pics didn't turn out. I want to put a light in it but haven't figured out how yet.

 

[annanimal]

Thanks, I feel SO terrible that I am not on more often by I promise, once it slows down I will be on like I used to!
THREE jobs, wow, I guess I can't complain...
Oh yeah, you had told me about the bus driver being your neighbor!
Ohh, that is so good, I am so happy for you, I have to do a couple of changes with my coop for the winter, for starters I have to CLEAN it but who has time, I can't really tear it all down, though I would like to like you did, it is all concrete, the walls, everything, which might sound good but it isn't, there are lots of little cracks every where, oh well, like I said I have to fix it...
Oh my goodness, we judged Biddy to soon didn't we, I am so happy, yay, I would love to see pics of the new chick,if you get time!
Oh, inlaws I couldn't deal with that...
Well the cruise ships start slowing down tomorrow so hopefully so does work... But yesterday I got a huge tip 50€ which is about 56 dollars but the thing is, no one ever tips here its not like %15 percent it's more like %0 so I was very happy and we get to keep our tips!
The coop is awesome!
I have to go, hope I will be on soon!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Wow!what an awesome tip to get! Especially since you get to keep all of it!
I took some pics of the newest chick that hatched. It's so cute, it looks like a tiny penguin!

I got a new camera and havent quite figured it out but I'll get it and take some pics of the others too. I gotta go for now, sorry this was so short! Ill have more next time!