Looks like another $35 chick

[insiderart]

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Not a problem here with the showchins, don't fret. They weren't expensive and were just for fun. I did ask OTS to check fertility and she did, the eggs were packed well, and all appeared fine, I even sprung for the cool pack. That's why I said I thought they might have been xrayed. I've always read that when you get development on 1 or 2 but nothing else they were most likely xrayed.

It was just unfortunate that they were sandwiched in between 2 expensive sets of silkie eggs. One set with 0 development, and then this set where I did get development but for some reason only one chick made it to hatch.

 

[jenjscott]

Crazy Chicken Fever, you have to remember that a clear egg doesn't mean an infertile egg. Fertile eggs that are handled too rough in shipping or get hot and chilled several times may never develop.

Probably the best shipped egg incubation I got was from Buckeye dave. The eggs were really fresh and arrived quickly. Right now I have four out of two dozen that I thought would never hatch. The air cells were huge when they got here. (I always candle before I set eggs) Which to me means old eggs. I have had shipped eggs with loose air inside from shipping, but these had stable air cells that looked the size of 14th day incubated eggs! The ones that hatched look like they had it rough. One had a hernia, one with crooked feet.

So I am going to drive 800 miles in November and go to the Ohio National and spend a lot of money on some brood stock to get started and maybe that will work for me.

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

The chick I had to help will have to be culled due to a deformity. Back to $35 for one!

 

[osukrazykate]

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Sort of like chicken gambling everytime you set eggs. I feel your pain. I ordered for some black sumatra eggs....they were either infertile or developed and died. $34 down the pipe. Win some and lose some...and all that

Chickens still come out cheaper than a lot of my hobbies. Coral aquarium grumble...grumble....stupid thing...grumble.....

Actual conversation:

Me: I want to setup my coral tank again.

Husband: Can't I just buy you some more chickens...or ask Mrs. Shirley for some eggs?

Me: Oh, come on! I already have the rocks, tank, refugium equipment, (list goes on for a while)....it won't be so bad. I just need the salt mix and some live rock and I can add to it over time.

Husband: I'm bringing home more chickens...

Oh I loved this conversation. DH's aren't they great! Although I broke down the other day, after loosing 13 chickens to dogs while I was out of town and my husband watched over them for me, and bought some new baby chicks to replace my dead. Well, I bought 30 chicks, only intended to get 15, but hey to ease the pain about 2 for each dead sounds good to me. At first, I hid them fearing what my DH would say. He asked me when I came in the from checking on them the evening I had gotten them and asked what I was doing. I of course said checking on my chickens, he knew better. Apparently, he already knew I had gotten the chicks and didn't say anything to me about knowing for 3 days, hehehehe. Oh well, he didn't get mad and I am happy with my new babies.

 

[usschicago1]

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That's it. I'm getting a coral aquarium. No matter the cost, hearing the words "I'm bringing home more chickens..." from my husband's lips would be worth every penny.

 

[insiderart]

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That's it. I'm getting a coral aquarium. No matter the cost, hearing the words "I'm bringing home more chickens..." from my husband's lips would be worth every penny.

Hey! I wonder if that works for seahorses! I used to breed seahorses, I wonder what DH would think if I started mentioning them again???

 

[LittleFeat]

I don't hatch eggs but when I figure the cost of building the coop, buying supplies, chicks, shipping and on and on and on....I'll someday have quite the expensive eggs! I'm guessing somewhere around $50 per dozen! I think the grocery will have me beat!

But it's still a LOT cheaper than going to dog agility trials all year!!

 

[insiderart]

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Awww

. Well your $35 chick and my $45 chick can be friends! Who btw has gotten herself named "Buffie". Ugh. DD and her names.

 

[Xero]

LOL! Too much to quote but you guys are too funny. My DH tends to be the practical one when it comes to critters. We tend to have a balancing relationship...he always wants to throw money into machinery that we don't need but he wants..I'm always trying to add to our "petting zoo" (critters we don't need but I want). He enjoys the chickens though because out of all of our critters they are the easiest to take care of and the rooster is a never ending source of entertainment. Not to mention they took care of our HORRIBLE tick problem and insect problem in the garden and they clean up the grain the goats leave behind so there is less waste.

Our first saltwater setup cost us about 5k that year. Was doing fine for 7 months then a whole bunch of stuff went wrong at once killing off a lot of it. The survivors were sold off.

 

[silkieluver_07]

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I am sure these are Lolaks siblings. I am now up to 3 total. One of mine (the only one I had to throw in that day) and two from shipped eggs. There were 5 I opened this morning. 3 partially developed quitters, 1 died before breaking into the air cell and the other one was alive, just stuck. So now I have 2 chicks at $17.50 a piece! Twice as nice.

Most likely, Lola has three brothers/sisters that came from Jen. I think I have two boys and a girl out of three.