Laree's "I CAN'T STOP MYSELF FROM HATCHING!!!" Hatch-a-long

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Have you done a test candle? I hope they made it OK!

2 of my broodies hatched a total of 11 this weekend IaB/Am crosses and pure IaB. The Cochin hatched 8 but squished 4
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The Wellie is doing better with her 3, but they are really naughty children and don't stay with her very well
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I had to get her out of the nest box because one kept jumping out! I caught it the fist time under the roost and returned it and it immediately jumped back down
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I'm amazed none of the flock bothered it.

It is chaos in the coop right now since I just released the Spring chick hatch to run with the big flock. They are so excited to have free run of the place! I just love watching them
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Good morning all!

Sorry I have been out---I would LOVE to say I went on a vacay for Memorial Day weekend, but I didn't.

I spent the weekend cleaning, and the house is still a mess.
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CHICKENSTORY #1: I had a batch of chicks due the 30th, but they started pipping on the 27th. Then....nothing. So I checked, and 15 eggs were pipped, and shrinkwrapped. 10ish were still alive. Same deal with my broody with eggs on the 30th. It has been SOOOOOO dry and hot, I have had all the doors and windows open. Unfortunately, the bator is between front and back doors, where the cross-wind blows. (wind not breeze. hello, Phoenix!)

Long story short, I spent all of Saturday pipping, de-shelling, re-wrapping in warm wet paper towels, putting back in bator, waiting for the chicks to pull the blood in from the membrane, and subsequently sqeezing them out of the inner membrane.

After all was said and done, I think I had 8 chicks make it. AND THEY ARE ALL THE WRONG COLOR! THey were ordered eggs (for my breeding priject), and apparently the lady doesnt have what she thinks she has, because now my broody has all 8 teeny weeny adorable babies. She's happy, at least.

CHICKENSTORY #2:
It got hot-hot, I usually lose birds (any birds that will die of heatstrole) to heatstroke once it hits 100 degrees. That was Friday. 2 of my Easter hatch NNs got stuck where there was no shade or water. One was the only NN hen *sniff*.

CHICKENSTORY #3:
The chicks I ordered in December from the feed store finally showed up, even though they were supposedly cancelled (too hot to ship). Broody #2 got surprise Orloffs, so she is a happy camper.
 
So.....The other egg did not hatch and is very quiet.
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It never pipped. I am sad but am happy we got at least 1 out of the three we had. I have left the egg in there and will probably take it out this afternoon when I get home from work. The one chick that did make it is doing great. She was taught how to eat and drink yesterday by mom which was the sweetest thing to watch. She is totally not afraid of me and will run right up to me. She also has some sort of fascination with pecking Betty in the eye.
 
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Kind of reminds me of my little OEGB hen last year. She hatched 4 or 5 chicks herself but raised 18
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https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/15806_hpqscan0001.jpg
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/qq337/shelleyd2008/chickens/OEGB/PICT0053.jpg

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Her chicks are almost as big as she is!

My banty hatched 3 chicks earlier this year, early April I'd think. She gave them up pretty quickly when they started to get as big as her, they weren't fully feathered yet but they did fine outside when she abandoned them, I think they were 3 weeks old? Wonder if it's because they got so big, she thought they were old enough to be on their own? But now I see yours kept with it...


And I'd like to say that it's a truth universally acknowledged that a single chicken coop is in want of a broody hen. I cleaned out the coop broodies yesterday and last night had TWO more broodies on eggs, one was the nasty piece of work buff orphingon who I took her chicks yesterday, so I understand that one, but the other was my phoenix, who had broodied earlier this year but didn't protect her chick from the big girls in the coop and unfortunately lost it. I put their fuzzy butts right back up on the roost last night! I am done hatching!

I still haven't sold a single chick out of the 12 that hatched last week, and it's not for lack of trying! I got an email last night "I don't know what you're trying to sell, I've never heard of an olive egger. Do they lay white or brown eggs?"

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I ended up taking her chicks from her when they were about 10 weeks old. She mourned them all winter
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So now I don't take chicks away from the mamas unless they are in danger. I just can't see a mama so sad. She wouldn't come off the roosts for anything but to eat and drink then she'd be right back up on the roost. I felt so bad
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I had a total of 3 hatch from all mine...one died this morning due to a ruputured unabsorbed yolk sac. It was doing really well, then last night it started clicking when breathing and went downhill from there.
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OK I set 115 last night. Moved the goose eggs to the Sportsman. Oh man can I do some damage with that thing.

I have some eggs that I was shipping out. Hi meepitqueenie
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, but my car is in the shop and the PO is like 6 miles from here. So I'm setting those with the Jap eggs I got from meepitqueenie this morning. She gets eggs when my wheels are spinning around.

So total in the Sportsman right now is 130. I need to find some more egg cartons, because a lot of the ggs aren't setting right to me. I need some bigger ones.

I saw a goose egg rack made out of wire online and I thought "hey, I can do that. I used hardware cloth and bent V's and then I used wire and made little S fasteners. I had a bunch of big rubberband, so I had to double them (big and thin) and criss crossed them to hold the eggs in place.

I think after this I'll be ready got Emus!!!!!
 
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