Well, I moved Miss Piggy and babies (and eggs, cause she had a hissy fit if I didn't) into the brooder bin in the coop under a heat lamp. She didn't want to go at first, kept hopping back into the nest box and complaining to me, but then she saw the whole mess was in the brooder box with fresh hay, and she jumped right in.
I don't think any of those eggs will hatch any more, but I figured she could keep them another day or so, to get her happy in the brooder box before I take the eggs, too. When I take them, I'll bring them inside and candle them, and put the moving ones in the incubator - ya never know, maybe they just need a bit longer. It is cold out there, though, and I hate to leave them too long in case she abandons the eggs and moves her babies to the other end of the brooder box.
When I came home everyone but Cinn was in the coop - no idea what happened while I was gone (or maybe they just got smart and figured out it was warm in there) but they were all in there hanging out. Of course, now that I am home, they all left again and went out into the yard to scratch. Toby was out back of the house running in circles like a squirrel, so maybe he did chase something off.
The new hens are doing ok - not happy, but doing ok. They were full time free range at the Amish place, slept in the barn with a couple of roosters and some banties (pretty roos - no idea what kind, but they were buff colored and HUGE - had nice tails, too).
I asked him what he sells his eggs for (he has a huge flock of golden comets for egg selling) and he said 1.50 - which is what I was figuring to charge once I get the supply up a bit. I'll still sell to Jamie for a buck, since he is my neighbor, and he has gotten me more business (and given me many many empty egg cartons). If I had to buy the egg cartons it would be about 35 cents more per dozen, anyway, so I'll charge him the lesser price. He has more egg cartons over there, too, so I may score another bunch of them. He was saving them to soundproof his music room, never got around to it, and the music room became a computer room, so he has all these cleaned egg cartons in his garage. (he's already brought me at least 60 of em)
Well, Adam, goes back saturday. Then next week I'm gonna be swapping coops, so I can put the dual purpose in the main coop (more room, they're bigger) and the banties down in the lower coop. I hope Jose' and Mr. Speckles get along ok with the extra room to move away from each other. They've got about 12 girls between them, now, so maybe it'll work. I put the new girls in with Jose' so they both have a few to flirt with in the meantime. I'll have more to add into the flock later, too.
I'm gonna put the bantam cochins into the pen with the babies I got out there and the other banties into Mr. Speckles' old coop cell. The babies are about the same size as the bantam cochins are, right now, and with Hoss and Rudy in there, Chickaboom ought to be kept in his place. (he has WAY too much testosterone for being so young - can't wait to butcher the little meanie.) The colors/patterns coming out on him seem to indicate he is a mix of Light Brahma and White Rock - all I know is that he's BIG.
wow it is REALLY getting windy out there again.
