Lockdown

[n8ivetxn]

Day 20 and not a single pip yet......

The wet egg carton helped boost the humidity up to 70-75%, and it might help block any chicks from getting in the cake pan (should've left that raised floor in there!) before I snatch them off to the brooder.

I found a nice, 2 1/2 minute video of chicks cheeping on youtube. I'll put my phone on top of the bator and play it for them a few times today

If these don't hatch, (after I recover from my utter disappointment) I'll be driving down to Redding CA in the spring, to personally pick up some live Araucana (and eggs too!) from Edd Sheppard.

How do you people continuously do this!? This is torture!

 

[mrchicks]

Anything yet?

It is torture, tomorrow starts our lockdown and I am already staring at these darn eggs. Yes, I put them on my desk. Can't be too far away or anything like that.

 

[n8ivetxn]

Anything yet?

It is torture, tomorrow starts our lockdown and I am already staring at these darn eggs. Yes, I put them on my desk. Can't be too far away or anything like that.

LOL!

I know right?! I'm trying to make my own BBQ sauce and can home made apple butter, but I can't stay away from the goofy box of eggs long enough! How many are you staring at?

Is you avitar Polish or Houdan? I can't tell. Love them both

No, I don't see any pips. One looks like it has a thin line, tinged with blood, but it's the wrong end (my beginner's luck!). I candled a few earlier tonight. I know for certain there were about 3-5 that were alive and moving, but I have a sinking feeling in my gut.... I went off today and bought 6 more Araucana eggs on ebay.... I don't know why, they're coming from further away. I should just save my money and go get some in person, in the spring....when you want something, nothing less will do

.

 

[mrchicks]

I'm staring at 17 Welsh Harlequin eggs, lockdown starts at 2:30 this afternoon. Hopefully all make it to lockdown. I'm trying to get my canning and dehydrating done, but the eggs keep interfering. I can hear the turner, which makes me go check on them. I started with 24, they are from my birds, so I didn't have to deal with shipped eggs this time. I have terrible luck hatching, I end up with mostly males. So this batch will probably be 16 drakes and 1 duck.

That's my favorite Polish at 6 weeks, she's a sweetie. A bit spazzy, but cute and funny.

Today I am attempting making mayo, just to kill some time until 2:30.

How are your eggs doing now?

 

[n8ivetxn]

LOL, I think I have wasted more time, since setting those eggs, than I have in the whole year previous! LOL... just staring at them!

It's funny you say you hatched mostly males, I was just joking a couple days ago that I would end up hatching a handful of roosters! LOL

- But, I'll tell you what, if I did, I'd keep every one of those boys!

I'm on a low sugar diet, so I found a great recipe for bbq sauce and I liked it so well, I'm making it from my own tomatoes and canning it..... And, the apple butter too, but I love that stuff so much, by the time it cooks down, I've eaten half of it!

Funny I don't care for store bought apple butter, just home made....

I think my eggs are all duds, LOL... I don't have a pip yet, out of 20 eggs. And, I've already bought some more (Araucana) ebay eggs!

I saw some Polish and some Houdans a couple days ago, it was very tempting!

Good luck with the mayo, sounds yummy!

 

[mrchicks]

Now that mine are in lockdown I find myself staring non stop. Wiggle darn it, wiggle! I'm hopeless.

What day are you on? And what day did you start counting? My first hatch I started counting the day that I set them, rather than 24 hours later. I was a mess thinking I wasn't going to have anything hatch. oops.

 

[n8ivetxn]

Right there with ya! .....I've been staring for so long, now I'm seeing things! They're all wiggling, LOL...

I'm on day 21. I started 24hrs after setting. I didn't know that at first, so I went back and adjusted my calendar... This is really disappointing. I knew the risk involved with shipped eggs, but to have 0 hatch.... well, maybe there's still some time.

Did you get the mayo made?

 

[mrchicks]

Maybe they are just taking their time. I've had late ones, I try not to panic until day 23. By then I'm up sneaking around with a flashlight all hours. DH just sighs, he knows I can't help it.

No, I ended up with a bag of zucchini to tend to. Mayo will have to wait until I'm done with those. I'll be glad to be done with veggies soon. It's fun at first, but if I see one more tomato I might lose my mind. lol

 

[n8ivetxn]

Maybe they are just taking their time. I've had late ones, I try not to panic until day 23. By then I'm up sneaking around with a flashlight all hours. DH just sighs, he knows I can't help it.

I hope you're right

..... My fiance seems surprised that I've been hovering over the bator! I told him last night I couldn't go to bed because I might miss something

... I guess I'm used to waiting up for the ewes to lamb, I'm so afraid something will go wrong without me there to "help!" Not like they haven't been lambing for eons without human intervention

It's fun at first, but if I see one more tomato I might lose my mind. lol

I hear ya! That and apples are the only things got en mass this year.... I already had jars of tomato everything from last year, so I"m boiling them all down to make that bbq sauce - it takes forever! Next year I will not plant so many tomato plants!

 

[mrchicks]

I'm sure our eggs will be fine too. But just in case, I hover. And lurk with a flashlight in the middle of the night.

We haven't started with apples yet. I love canning, but went a bit overboard this year. Apples are an October thing here.

Still peeking, watching for a wiggle.