Kentucky people

[FrChuckW]

Well I think I have figured out what breeds the 7 pullets are that I kept out of my order from Ideal. Looks like I have 3 Barred Rocks, 3 ISA Browns(could be RIR's) and one Australorp. Also I got in the mail today 7 Serema eggs and 15 Silkie eggs. I still have 8 Mille Fluer d'Uccle eggs coming and more Silkie Eggs. The Mille and the second batch of silkie eggs are replacements for the first orders that didn't hatch. We shall see. Now to build myself an egg candler so I can make sure that all is well.

 

[cthrash1]

GOOD NEWS! I got 5 eggs today! 3 lg, 1 med, 1 small

BAD NEWS

A hawk almost had a free meal tonight and I lost my Khaki drake and maybe Laynes Blue drake, he is very weak but no blood other than a touch at the corner of his mouth.
I had to put the Khaki out of his misery as he was really suffering, the hawk had his neck skinned and partly eaten by the time we made it back there. I found the blue one terrified under the pallet hiding and cleaned him up in their pool and set him in the duck house, he can barely walk right now. The girls and the remaining drake were fine inside the doghouse. I new something was up before I even saw the hawk, the guinea was throwing a fit and Raoul had all the chickens and chicks in the big house. Only after they heard me and Layne talking did they come out.
I barracaded the ducks in their house and put food and water in with them. Are those poultry waterers okay for the ducks to drink from? I didn't want them splashing around in their water bowl in their house.

Well, that was our excitement for the ay even if part was sad. Good thing Cortni left to go back to school yesterday.


Cindy

 

[cthrash1]

Quote:
Shoulda stopped in for a quick visit...We are usually home.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
Bummer on the duckies, Cindy. I'm considering putting in an order with cackle for some anconas - I really want those, and I can't find them at any other hatchery yet. Metzers doesn't have them , either, or I'd put in with the geese order for some.

maybe they got the type of ducks that you have, you could put in with us.

meri

 

[cthrash1]

Your hatch rate drops so only maybe half/less of the eggs hatch, but then there can be a great hatch rate too....I have had eggs shipped to me several times and lost a lot of money by it but I will buy some again and again. Just a personal decision of whether you want to take the gamble. Just don't make the mistake I did and start buying eggs to hatch before you've practiced on free or cheap ones so you know what to expect.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

matt y. :

How risky is getting eggs through the mail?

This time of year, pretty risky. It is supposed to turn very cold this week (and probably stay that way for a couple of weeks, if it's anything like last January.)

The problem I had with my buff orp eggs I had shipped is they got cold - which means they developed almost to hatch, then died in the shell without pipping (I looked it up, it is a symptom of them being cold at first.)

You could give it a try, if the ship distance isn't too far, but personally, I'd wait til it warmed up a bit, especially since it is gonna be even colder up north of us - below zero.

Only eggs I'd hatch right now that weren't my own, would be if I went and picked them up myself and kept them in my warm car/truck all the way home.

meri​

 

[cthrash1]

Mojo Chick'n :

Quote:
Bummer on the duckies, Cindy. I'm considering putting in an order with cackle for some anconas - I really want those, and I can't find them at any other hatchery yet. Metzers doesn't have them , either, or I'd put in with the geese order for some.

maybe they got the type of ducks that you have, you could put in with us.

meri

Thanks for the offer to order but the hatcheries I've looked at don't carry Calls. I'll look at cackle though to see. May see if that guy has more Blues and Khakis and buy a couple more pairs. Then both drakes will have two girlys each.
Guess I better get busy this week and build the breeding cages so the hawk doesn't get anymore duck meals.
I'm afraid to let the chickens out tomorrow even but with ALL of them in the big house right now I can't leave them in all day...Too crowded. May have to dig out the net and cover the run.​

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

I am so TIRED!!!!!

omg!!! I started at about 1:00 cleaning that top coop - and I finished right about 5:00 - I took a few breaks, but still, wow!!

I cleaned the thing from top to bottom, I put the chickens out in the run, and just scraped down every surface, perches, nest boxes, hauled I don't know how many loads of bedding out, then Oxined the entire thing and threw in some fresh hay (didn't have pine shavings today).

Then the fun part began.....

I went down to catch Mr. Speckles and his girls, and put them inside the top coop, then caught the chickens I had in the run, and put them in Mr. Speckles' coop. I was gonna swap Jose' and his girls, too, but that'll have to wait til tomorrow (or after it warms up, they are fine where they are for now.)

so I am halfway to having them all where they need to be

I wanted to get the coop done before it got super cold, so I could be swapping chickens and have them be settled and comfy in the nasty weather.

Mr. Speckles LOVES the chicken run - poor guy and his girls have been cooped up since I got them here, and he immediately went out and called the girls to come on out, too.

Then I got to come inside and make dinner

and a Margarita, too - I earned that margarita today.

Now I just need a long hot shower and my lovely pillow.

meri

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
Let me know if ya go with Cackle, and I'll order some Anconas with yours, that way we can split the order and not have to take 15 of them (too many for me).

eta - just looked cackle doesn't have calls, either

eta again - maybe I can talk shelley into going in with me - she wants more cayugas, they have those.

meri

 

[shelleyd2008]

matt y. :

How risky is getting eggs through the mail?

Ok, well as I'm the egg buying idiot right now, I'll tell you what I think

It seems to me that eggs this time of year seem to fare better if they are going either N to S or S to N. That way they don't have to be in extreme temps for very long.
Like Cindy said, a 'good' hatch from shipped eggs is 50%, I have had some that did way better and some that did worse. Most are about right at 50%, give or take a few.
Shorter is usually better, though it really just depends on the handling. My best hatch on shipped eggs came from pop57, who is about 2 hours or so from me. It still took them 2 days to get here, but they were the best hatch so far. 16 out of 21 eggs that survived the trip.
ETA: Always make sure that you check your 'area' for the eggs you want first. I am going to take a 3 hr. roundtrip road trip for some eggs this spring. It would be about the same cost as shipping, but I'm pretty sure I can handle the eggs better!
If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

Did you get your baby yet??​