Hope everybody had a nice Mother's Day!
Nice birds AmyLou-- looks like you may have a couple of Easter-eggers there? not sure about the white one.
I had a good Mother's Day hatch! Out of 18 eggs, pitched 2 clears & hatched 15 out the remaining 16.
10 are 100% Ameracaunas, 9 out of my two black hens Georgette & Gracie crossed on my wheaton roo Eagle, & 1 100% wheaton Ameracauna out of my wheaton pullet Falcon crossed on Eagle. My own 2nd generation of the largest & bluest eggs I collected.
The remaining five are 3 "Chippettes" out of my EE hen Chippie who lays XL green eggs X Eagle, and 2 from Carmen, my black Andaluasian hen who lays a white egg X Eagle -- from this cross I hope to get a light blue egg layer who is heat tolerant like the Andalusians - Carmen will lay on 100 degree days when the rest are panting in the shade.
VERY VERY healthy chicks! - came ripping out the shell NO crossed beaks, NO crooked toes -- I didnt' even have to coax them to eat & drink- they hit the brooder running! There is all the difference in the world between hatching shipped eggs versus hatching your own stock.
The one who pipped & didn't hatch -- I thought long & hard on conversations we've had here about helping them out & I decided to wait 24 hours, after which time I knew it hadn't made it & something was wrong w/it, as I had eggs hatching both before & after it pipped. I have helped chicks out who made it just fine & I also have helped chicks out that I ultimately had to put down because something was wrong w/them. My feelings are still out about whether or not I did the right thing. At the time, I made my decision based on the fact the hatch was going well & I did not want to risk the remaining eggs by going into the 'bator. As you all know, I had multiple issues this hatch -- my auto-turner broke on Day 2, so I've been hand turning these eggs & fighting the humidity every day -- but for a cheap old styrofoam bator, it did good in the long run!
OK rambling too much here - time to get to work! had our first green beans & expect first yellow squash today or tomorrow. Yum let summer begin!
Hope everybody south does not have to evacuate due to the levees flooding. keeping ya'll in our prayers here.
