July Hatch-a-Long (including 4th of July hatch-a-long)

[kelseyk]

Got the Silverudd (Isbar) auction! They are supposed to lay beautiful green and green speckled eggs.

 

[kelseyk]

I have an early crower! Lol! I was out walking through the chicken pen and heard this weird screetching noise coming from the coop. I thought maybe my silkie who was laying was freaking out about something so went to investigate. It was not her...but actually one of the 6 week old Goldneck d'Uccles.

ETA: Still trying to figure out if the other d'Uccle (you can see at the end of the video) is Male or Female. It's comb has been just a hair smaller and a little lighter for a couple weeks now...but seems pretty big for a female to me.

 

[CindyinSD]

I haven’t posted in a while....but somehow 6 of my 12 shipped eggs have made it to lockdown....4 lavender Orpington and two Ameraucana. I’m shocked. I was pulling blood ring after blood ring around day 12.....but these 6 just kept going. I’ve got 5 silkie eggs in with them but aren’t due to hatch until later in july....I need to make a divider so that they don’t get bumped around when the others hatch. Praying these 6 shipped ones make it!

You can pull out the hatchlings as they hatch if you like. They'll fluff just as fast or faster under a brooder panel or a lamp.

 

[CindyinSD]

Also...never doing eBay eggs again. If I ever do shipped eggs in future, it’ll be from somewhere more reputable. The eBay egg experience was

I've gotten decent results from ebay eggs. It's a roll of the dice I guess, but this year seems to have been particularly chancy due to USPS deficiencies. I ordered my ebay eggs before the Covid broke & received them shortly after (on time).

 

[CindyinSD]

Gave the quailies a dirt box today and they LOVE it LOL so cute

Also.... Jack’s begun attacking me.

I’m gonna give him another chance though because right now it’s only bluff attacks (today was only a charge) and only twice. He still runs when I confront him so hopefully I can remind him of his manners.

He still jumps the hens though instead of trying to win them over the proper way with dancing, tidbitting, etc. and poor Peach (his favorite) looks awful so between that and the sneak attacks, I’m about over it!

If he doesn’t shape up soon, he’s going to be stew!!!

Which would suck because he’s so pretty.

I've got a gorgeous boy like that. It's always the pretty-boys, ain't it?

They all seem to be a bit, erm, forceful with the girls early in their budding roosterhood. As long as there are enough females and as long as no one gets scalped , that's not too worrisome. They do usually settle down after a while.

This one attacks me though--him and my Buckeye roo. They'll both go into the stewpot eventually although neither is especially hard on the girls. I hear Icelandics are more likely to dance & tidbit.

If you want to keep your hens/pullets backs from getting worn bare, you can buy aprons from @OneMountainAcres . She has loads of cute prints--very nice products.

 

[CindyinSD]

Ordered some more BCM eggs. LOL! The same seller I purchased my first batch from listed again! I have loved those chicks and would love more from that group......and a friend of mine would like some BCM's, so I will have a place to go with some extras. There are some really nice green eggs for sale on ebay too that I have been debating on. Have been holding out on buying much more as we are getting to the time frame where hatch would be pretty close to when we usually take vacation (but DH keeps saying it doesn't look like we will be able to take vacation where the crops are so late and we are looking at a possible early weaning with our calves....it is soooooo dry here! The pastures are almost all brown already. And the grasshoppers are eating anything left that is green. They are even starting to eat leaves on some of the trees.) Still want some isbars, but thinking I would like some splash ones and not really any listed right now. Also need to get my son some more d'Uccles.

We just got around an inch of rain yesterday evening... with hail. Nasty hail. I'm glad for the moisture, but it punched a bunch of holes in my greenhouse plastic, beat the out of our vehicles, broke a couple of windshields, pocked up the siding, deck, etc. I was asking for rain. Now DH says (jokingly) that this is my fault. We reroofed everything that's not metal last year because of a hailstorm the year before. Hopefully those are okay, being new... All things considered though, I'm still very relieved and grateful for the rain.

 

[CindyinSD]

Have promised no less than 3 people pullets in autumn. I'm also concerned some of the 6 w/o pullets I just sold are in fact male I promised to change them out for pullets free of charge if that's the case. Embarrassing... All in all I need MORE chicks! Fast!

Got 15 that's been cooking for 8 days, gonna add another 13 when the hens have delivered today's eggs. Lots of Silverrudd's Blue this time, that's gonna be popular with the green eggs.

I've been tempted to make an offer like that, but I just gave the lady extras and emphasized that I'm not sure what sex they are.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I've got a gorgeous boy like that. It's always the pretty-boys, ain't it?

View attachment 2218398

They all seem to be a bit, erm, forceful with the girls early in their budding roosterhood. As long as there are enough females and as long as no one gets scalped , that's not too worrisome. They do usually settle down after a while.

This one attacks me though--him and my Buckeye roo. They'll both go into the stewpot eventually although neither is especially hard on the girls. I hear Icelandics are more likely to dance & tidbit.

If you want to keep your hens/pullets backs from getting worn bare, you can buy aprons from @OneMountainAcres . She has loads of cute prints--very nice products.

He’s gorgeous!!! Always the pretty boys! Lol my Welsummer was a jerk too and he started mating (and producing fertile eggs) at like 4 months old and was a lot more confident than Jack lol

That’s good to know he’s normal though. I think he’s just a late bloomer he didn’t start mating and crowing till like a month ago lol he’s like 7 months old now I think? Maybe slightly older? He hatched like right around Thanksgiving in November haha

I think part of Jack’s problem too is he’s just so big!!! He’s gotta be like at least 10 pounds.

HUGE Lavender Orpington.

So that plus him jumping and ripping feathers out doesn’t help!

I’m hoping Jack doesn’t decide to attack for real. If he does, he will be stew as well and I have a nice bantam Cochin cockerel to replace him

I have 8 females for Jack right now (had 11 but lost a few a couple months ago) so maybe that’s part of the problem? I have 4 more that will be added too. Possibly 8. Haven’t decided if I want to integrate the bantams or keep them separate. Probably separate but I know Cochins are bigger than most bantams.

I might have to order one of those saddles for Peach though. She is so torn up.

 

[ShrekDawg]

And Icelandics sound super nice!!

 

[FortCluck]

I’ll be able to hatch quail in July that come from my aviary!

First quail egg ever!