July Hatch-A-Long

[KendyF]

Awww, poor girl, I am glad she made it! I love that name! Yet another reminder, not to count your chickens before they hatch!

 

[Raiquee]

Hoping to set 15+ lemon cuckoo orps this coming week. Waiting to hear back from farmerboy. Been offline for awhile :/. My first time incubating chicken eggs, I've done reptile eggs in the past. So excited!

 

[darkbluespace]

Update on my broody hen hatching project. The hen has never done this before, and neither has her person! On day 23 one chick hatched. Beautiful, healthy perfect baby. We ended needing to move broody due to chicken harassment. Our goal was to move the chick and the eggs to attract "Broody" to stay in the new spot. Then once it looked like she was staying to pull the 'bad' eggs out. I gently moved the chick and the eggs, while hubby held the nearly dangerous hen. When he set her down she charged into the new spot so frantically, she broke an egg. The chick inside was alive.. had broken the membrane but not externally pipped, but not through the shell Where the chick hit the egg the break was at the yoke sack. Lots of blood, goop, and yoke. The chick shuttered a couple of times and left us both miserable when it quit moving and passed. Now Broody is taking care of Genesis, the new chick, as well as back to sitting on the eggs, these are dark shelled eggs and difficult to candle. Plus Broody get very upset when disrupted. The egg disaster happened about 5 hours ago, on day 25... I have heard now so many stories of eggs hatching much later then expected. I thought I would give those eggs through the night hours tonight and tomorrow day. If you think this is a bad plan please tell me. By the way she is a great mom, even while sitting on eggs, she is directing, teaching and ensuring the safety of her beautiful little chick.

Ahh, sorry you lost that chick.... I am doing the first time broody thing too but my friends who have tons o chickens let the mamas sit on all their eggs and they never remove the eggs till the mama has fully given up on them... sometimes a bad one will break but not usually till all the chicks have hatched. So I don't think you need to worry about getting them out... if there is food and water nearby for the chick then they won't have to leave the rest of the eggs.

 

[darkbluespace]

Day 27 I am sure I heard peeping, it started last night while I was singing loudly to the eggs ; )

Something exciting... my new Serama Trio have started laying eggs... my first homegrown fertile eggs ever and I see how this will fuel the hatching craze! I really can't get over how crazy adorable these little eggs are. I want to collect some to try in the incubator and then see if they will sit on some themselves this Summer.

 

[KendyF]

Ahh, sorry you lost that chick.... I am doing the first time broody thing too but my friends who have tons o chickens let the mamas sit on all their eggs and they never remove the eggs till the mama has fully given up on them... sometimes a bad one will break but not usually till all the chicks have hatched. So I don't think you need to worry about getting them out... if there is food and water nearby for the chick then they won't have to leave the rest of the eggs.

Thanks for the advice, I keep wanting to remove the other eggs, and something in me says.. Leave them alone, I have them in a Dog Crate right now with food and water and the door open so they can join the flock when ready. She is doing a good job of attending to herself and the chick while sitting on the eggs! Appears nature gave her good Mommy Instinct.

 

[Deb B]

Or maybe Harry Pecker! EDIT: Oh god never mind, that sounds wrong...so very, very wrong. ._.

Now that had me ROFL!

 

[boyswillbeboys]

Thanks for the advice, I keep wanting to remove the other eggs, and something in me says.. Leave them alone, I have them in a Dog Crate right now with food and water and the door open so they can join the flock when ready. She is doing a good job of attending to herself and the chick while sitting on the eggs! Appears nature gave her good Mommy Instinct.

the chicks themselves can be pretty awesome too. I brought 2 day old chicks from the June hatch along into the coop, and put them in a brooder box, after a week I moved them down to a wire cage on the floor, and they have been little houdinis, both are doing well going in and out of the cage, and the other chickens are leaving them alone. warm enough here they haven't needed the brooder light in a few days, everyone is panting, and they are active little chicks too.

hoping this month's chicks are as well recieved

 

[KendyF]

the chicks themselves can be pretty awesome too. I brought 2 day old chicks from the June hatch along into the coop, and put them in a brooder box, after a week I moved them down to a wire cage on the floor, and they have been little houdinis, both are doing well going in and out of the cage, and the other chickens are leaving them alone. warm enough here they haven't needed the brooder light in a few days, everyone is panting, and they are active little chicks too.

hoping this month's chicks are as well recieved

I hope so too! The only issue in my flock are my immature roosters, they are little cocks! Likely the only time in my life I will feel like I can say that word! LOL.

 

[JenBoughtHens]

Oh no.. the mail came.. no eggs! The tracking number hasnt even updated since July 2. Now I am worried.

 

[darkbluespace]

Oh no.. the mail came.. no eggs! The tracking number hasnt even updated since July 2. Now I am worried.

If you call about your package, they can usually locate it and get it delivered pretty quickly... hope they come soon : )