"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[luvmychicken]

Thanks kuntrygrl. I just didn't want to take any chances. My flock is healthy and I want to keep it that way

 

[PrimroseMom1]

As if today wasn't a weird enough day, one of our girls laid their first egg... In the middle of the yard. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

It's a little smallish but I guess that's because it's her first. I was really surprised, they're not quite 6mo yet. Guessing it was the Wellsummer or one of the golden sexlinks maybe? Those lay brown eggs right?

Whatever the case, DH better get his butt in gear and finish that new coop. :| I don't feel like rooting around their current one or the rest of the yard trying to figure out where they hid them.

I hope your run is okay, kuntrygirl! I don't know how many inches we got here but it's taking forever for the water to go down.

My Black Sex Link laid our first egg. She was not quite 6 months old. She still isn't a year old and lays daily. And, her eggs are huge! Yes, they got bigger. My RIR eggs are smaller. My RIR is a good layer, but she can't touch the Black Sex Links. They are POWER layers.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Ok. Here ya go. After 12 inches of rain today, this is what the sand run looked like. There were 2 spots that looked damp but no puddles of water anywhere. I stepped in the damp spots with my steel toe boots to see how much water was in there. I would not even have been able to scoop up a tablespoon of water. There was ZERO water in the uncovered sand run after 12 inches of rain. I was sold before on a sand run but now even more so.

Hi, Julie! That is so impressive. I'll be looking at sand. I used River Rock around the coop, it's a medium sized rock that is very rounded, so it's easy to walk on. Just before the rain, I put in a catch basin in front of the coop surrounded by River Rock and that really has been amazing for draining the water and keeping the area dry. But the other area that I plan to put in River Rock is a muddy, gooey, slop mess. The girls have a large free range area that did okay because there's a big oak in the middle of it and the leaves were heavy there, like heavy mulch, so not so sloppy. They don't have a run unless you count a small run I have (3 X 8) I put them in like a play pen in the yard when I'm digging or landscaping in the chicken yard and the girls won't let me alone.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Ok, here is the update on the refrigerated eggs.

ALL OF THEM HATCHED !!!!!!!!! When I got home, the one that was trying to get out was not out, so I helped him out and put him back in the incubator to dry off. I was getting nervous and decided to gently open the other eggs. Because the eggs were refrigerated, I was thinking that maybe they were too weak to break out and they were dieing in the eggs, so this is why I helped them out. WRONG DECISION!!!!

I cracked them open and they were still moving around but I could tell that they needed another day or two before they were ready. I will usually leave eggs in even if they are late hatching (just in case) but I didn't do it this time and I should have. It was a mess. Some of the eggs were bleeding a bit and I just knew that I had killed them. So, in an fast attempt to save them, I cut out a few pieces of a towel and wet it with warm water and wrapped the piece of towel around them and placed them back in the incubator. I added more water in the trays to bump up the humidity. I took out the new baby and put him with the others and let him dry in the brooder. I was constantly checking the eggs with no signs of anything. I accepted the fact that I messed up and they died. I cried and layed the guilt trip on myself for being STUPID and jumping the gun.

Well, lo and behold, I woke up the next morning and 1 of them had hatched.

Throughout the day the rest of them hatched. So, I had a perfect hatch of 10 poults. The 6 refrigerated turkey eggs all hatched perfect with no problems. There are no beak issues, no leg issues, no toe issues as of now.

Here is a pic of 6 of them. 4 from the freshly picked turkey egg group and 2 from the refrigerated egg group of 6.

That is WAY COOL! What a great story!

 

[TeePants]

None of the girls have laid since that I can find - one of them even managed to knock over the extra nestbox I put in with them. :/ I guess they start off a little sporadic or something? I don't think any of them have eaten any eggs as we searched pretty diligently for broken eggshells and the like.

Oh wow, grats on your turkeys!

 

[TerriLaChicks]

None of the girls have laid since that I can find - one of them even managed to knock over the extra nestbox I put in with them. :/ I guess they start off a little sporadic or something? I don't think any of them have eaten any eggs as we searched pretty diligently for broken eggshells and the like.

Oh wow, grats on your turkeys!

Mine started off sporadically too. It's like they have to get into the hang of it or something.

It's raining again here.

We were going to try & get the pea pen addition finished this weekend so we could move them but guess that will be delayed another week.
Think I'll make some jalapeno poppers and play with the new Marans chicks today.

 

[chickenbelle]

Mine started off sporadically too. It's like they have to get into the hang of it or something.

It's raining again here.

We were going to try & get the pea pen addition finished this weekend so we could move them but guess that will be delayed another week.
Think I'll make some jalapeno poppers and play with the new Marans chicks today.

Jalapeno poppers? What time? LOL My favorite snack!

Of the 38 eggs I put in the incubator, 28 are doing their dance! That's a decent rate considering 8 eggs were lost in the mail for 9 days. The kids have been so excited to candle them! I will have some new blood for my own flock and a couple of new breeds in about a week--we are on day 12 in one incubator and day 10 in another. I have shipments of more eggs coming after that--I am sooooooooooooo totally addicted!

That just means poor DH needs to get out in the rain to finish the other coops I'll need. A lil rain never hurt anyone, huh? LOL

 

[luvmychicken]

Good morning all. Well it's another weekend and I am working. Need time to do things to the coop but no time. Y'all have a great day

 

[PrimroseMom1]

My Black Sex Link laid our first egg. She was not quite 6 months old. She still isn't a year old and lays daily. And, her eggs are huge! Yes, they got bigger. My RIR eggs are smaller. My RIR is a good layer, but she can't touch the Black Sex Links. They are POWER layers.

PS I got the Black Sex Links at a feed store in Baker

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Jalapeno poppers? What time? LOL My favorite snack!

Of the 38 eggs I put in the incubator, 28 are doing their dance! That's a decent rate considering 8 eggs were lost in the mail for 9 days. The kids have been so excited to candle them! I will have some new blood for my own flock and a couple of new breeds in about a week--we are on day 12 in one incubator and day 10 in another. I have shipments of more eggs coming after that--I am sooooooooooooo totally addicted!

That just means poor DH needs to get out in the rain to finish the other coops I'll need. A lil rain never hurt anyone, huh? LOL

lol - this evening about 6! I've never made jalapeno poppers before but when I saw the price on them decided it's time to learn. It can't be that hard!
Congratulations on the eggs!

Just sent my DH to Lowe's to pick up some cinder blocks for the new brooder. Yes, it's very addictive!!!