Mahonri's 3rd Annual, BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[The Sheriff]

The Warden sold the Cluckawalla Valley State Prison on 1/2 acre and became the Sheriff of the Buck 'n Run Ranch on five acres in the Sierra foothills!

Congrats, Raz! Go chickies, go!

Sheriff, what happened to the Warden?

 

[The Sheriff]

The Warden redid her coops to look like a wild West town. Then she became the Sheriff. Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll post a neat picture.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

I am lending my incubator to my neighbor, she will be hatching some of our Barred Holland eggs -woo hoo! So technically, I will not be hatching along. DH says Thank Gawd! As all 31 of the New Year's Day and Ground Hog's Day chicks are STILL in my house! I even have a sick room in the kitchen ~as it turns out, my culling skills have much to be desired -much like my carpentry skills.

So the reference to MRSA caught my eye, took my 21 yr old to dr today to have a cyst removed. We were worried about MRSA as she'd been exposed.turns out, not a cyst. Now we're testing for Hodgkins. Who would have thought that MRSA would be the better outcome? So now I'm sleepless.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
I think they will be Blue laying Polish mixes... exotic...


Ack!!! That's my plan! The combs are similar (sort of) and since polish lay white eggs they should improve the color of the ameraucana eggs. Ah well, there truly is nothing new under the sun.

 

[java girl 2]

OK, I have been talking with my mom and I may be able to get a cat!!!!!!!!!!

the Reason for the cat is we have been having a bad vole/mice and rat problem. our Fields are being taken care of by an old farmer Friend and the fields were hey fields but the last few years he has been growing corn and leaves the corn in the fields to dry, sometimes he can't harvests it till spring. we never had voles/rats till he started growing corn and the voles are eating everything that we are trying to grow!!!!!!!!!!

we have tried all kinds of traps and nothing in the traps!!!!!!!!!!!! my dad had to start shooting the rats and got them all, but now they are BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tripped over one tonight when I was doing something, not a good site to see !!!!!!!!!!

they are getting bolder and bolder every day now. SO I HAVE A FEW Qs, do any of you have indoor/outdoor cats or barn cats??? how did you get them to NOT go after the poultry??? I am thinking of getting one from a shelter because they have up to date shots and sometimes they are fixed, RIGHT?????? and I know there are a lot of cats that need a a good home at the shelters. have any of you adopted a cat form a shelter?? I need the cat to stay around so what is a good age for a cat ?? male or female ?? if it's an outdoor cat only, how do I keep the cat to stay around and not have the cat take off ?? or does it need to be indoors first?? I really want the cat to be indoor/outdoors but will have to see what my mom says. that is why I am asking the Qs, to know what I need to do. HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kathyinmo]

I was just reading about guineas yesterday, and it said this.....
Quote: http://www.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/Factsheets/Keeping_guinea_fowl.pdf


PS...... I know nothing about cats. Sorry.

 

[Pinx]

Wow I had a lot of catching up to do!

Wouldn't you know it my bator is full and running and my hens start laying.

On the plus side my 23 chicks couldn't be doing better, and my Cayuga ducklings will be in tomorrow

. My lone duck will have some sister-wives and hopefully a drake this time next year. I just hope I don't get all males, that would be a shame. They were all ordered before my hubby suprised me with a bator but I am so nervous about my hatch i'm happy I have chicks to occupy my time. I don't know where I'm going to put my new chicks though (If I get any

), I only have 1 brooder and the chicks I have now will be a month old when these are born.

Since I am doing the hatch-a-long I won't add any more eggs but after I will have to do staggered hatches because I only have 3 hens... and they aren't going to fill up an incubator near soon enough. How do you do lockdown and raising the humidity if you only have 1 incubator? Or do people who do the staggered hatches have 1 incubator for incubating and another for hatching? or Should I just not even bother with the low amount of eggs my hens will give me? lol

Hubby is not going to be happy but the run he just built for my chickens is not near big enough now that I have all these new additions and he bought me a bator. The run is about big enough for 10 bantams comfortably. I have 4 adults, 23 bantam chicks in the brooder, 12 bantam eggs in the bator, I'll hatch out everything I can from my hens... and fully intend on ordering Seramas once I get good at hatching. Oh and don't forget the 6 Cayugas

. I may be sleeping in the coop with them when I break the news to him lol.

Mahonri I'll say a prayer for you. I hope you heal quickly. Burns are no fun, I was pouring a boiling hot pan of water and noodles into a caulonder(sp) in the sink and a little bitty splash hit my hand and out of reaction my hand jerked and splashed a little on my hand... but the majority of the splash missed me and went in the floor. Geeze it hurt, but I was mainly shocked at how I had no control over my hand when the first splash hit it. I could have easily poured the whole pot on myself without even meaning to.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
Awww the old softee! How sweet!

My eggs I got in today

I need to know what those pink eggs are? I've never seen eggs so pink! My GDs would love them!


Mahonri a little Silvadene goes a long way but it is seriously fantastic medicine for burns! Neosporin will fight infection but it will not cool the burn or heal it nearly as fast as Silvadene.

Sorry Java Girl! I know very little about cats but am also interested since we have lots of critters in these parts as well that a cat would help to control. I have the added problem of how do I keep the cats from becoming coyote food?

 

[Pinx]

OK, I have been talking with my mom and I may be able to get a cat!!!!!!!!!!

the Reason for the cat is we have been having a bad vole/mice and rat problem. our Fields are being taken care of by an old farmer Friend and the fields were hey fields but the last few years he has been growing corn and leaves the corn in the fields to dry, sometimes he can't harvests it till spring. we never had voles/rats till he started growing corn and the voles are eating everything that we are trying to grow!!!!!!!!!!

we have tried all kinds of traps and nothing in the traps!!!!!!!!!!!! my dad had to start shooting the rats and got them all, but now they are BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tripped over one tonight when I was doing something, not a good site to see !!!!!!!!!!

they are getting bolder and bolder every day now. SO I HAVE A FEW Qs, do any of you have indoor/outdoor cats or barn cats??? how did you get them to NOT go after the poultry??? I am thinking of getting one from a shelter because they have up to date shots and sometimes they are fixed, RIGHT?????? and I know there are a lot of cats that need a a good home at the shelters. have any of you adopted a cat form a shelter?? I need the cat to stay around so what is a good age for a cat ?? male or female ?? if it's an outdoor cat only, how do I keep the cat to stay around and not have the cat take off ?? or does it need to be indoors first?? I really want the cat to be indoor/outdoors but will have to see what my mom says. that is why I am asking the Qs, to know what I need to do. HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have 2 indoor/outdoor cats. They are both very easy, well mannered cats though so they kind of trained themselves lol. They spend most of thier days outside unless its really hot or cold and then they choose to stay inside, when it starts getting dark they find me on the porch smoking and come in with me. If they don't get let in they throw a fit outside wanting in. Both sleep in the bed, one at my feet and the other under the covers. We do have a litter box inside but it isn't used half as much as if they were solid inside cats.

My siamese/manx female is my baby, she is always catching mice outside but has never once killed a chicken. I am very careful around small chicks because they are so small, but its not like she is dieing to get at them... she really could care less. Before we moved we had 2 yards, one was our back yard and the other was the "dog yard" that the dogs didn't go in because I let my chickens "free range" in it, their coop and run was inside that yard. I would go out to pull weeds etc and all the cats would go with me and lay in the grass and nap or watch me. I always had the water hose running for my duck to play in so if one of the younger cats acted like it was going to stalk one I sprayed it with the water hose and they would run off. Really though even when I wasn't there the cats could come and go from that yard as they pleased... and they did... but never messed with the chickens. And at the time my chickens were about 6 months old, so they would have been easy to pick off. The cats were raised around the chickens though, and raised like dogs... they had rules they had to follow like everyone else. If they couldn't get along with everyone then they had to find a new home. Its not worth stressing over animals not getting along when you can easily rehome that animal with someone who doesn't have poultry for example and get a new one and see if it works out. I've never had to get rid of a cat for chasing chickens though, I have on the other hand sold/gave away dogs that didn't get along with the cats/chickens/or other dogs.

My other cat is a son from the above female and he is a manx as well. He acts just like her. He is only a year old so he is a little more interested in my brooder but just watches them from the chair next to the brooder. Never allowed around the chicks when I'm not there, he would be the one to kill them all just for fun playing.

My run is open top with a 5ft fence, so the cats could easily get in if they wanted, which also gives them access to the coop and if they tried real hard the chicks in the brooder as well. I've seen my female hanging out in the trees in their run but I think she was just using them to get on the coop/shop. I've seen her on a few peoples roofs including ours, that is her thing I guess lol.

I do suggest getting them fixed. Especially the males if you want them to stick around. My male has an appointment to get neutered pretty soon, and he is already starting to wander. Females you want fixed because it is very easy to get a mob of wild cats going under the right conditions... and all it takes is 1 female having a litter of kittens somewhere out of reach or where you can't find them. Those kittens grow up wild and it is a snowball effect from there. If its an outdoor cat only, usually you can keep them around by having somewhere warm for them to sleep like a barn etc... showing them lots of attentiong and feeding them. Just for my own piece of mind I keep my cats in the house the first couple of weeks for them to get used to me and know that I'm the one that feeds them and loves on them and they belong with me, you don't have to though.

"Meow" the female, not a recent pic... but still her, just a smaller version lol.


"Bob" the male.


Sorry... I got a little long winded.

 

[AK Michelle]

Good morning folks!
I think this hatch is done...strangest hatch ever. Usually if the chicks aren't out by day 22, they aint comin---but I have chicks popping (unhealthily) on day 25+. I even had one unzip on day 21, then croak without popping the shell off.
Methinks I am going to have to check my bators.
I would REALLY love to send pictures of these chicks...but my camera is still missing. Has anyone found it yet?

Did you look in the freezer with the moose poop?

How many cameras do you have, Kathy?

Too many to count, That's why SHE can always get great pics of her chicks.

My Emu eggs came in the mail today!!!

Oh My Goodness! The eggs are huge!

The tan egg in the middle is one of the 12 LF Buff Orpington eggs from Hinkjc that came in the mail today also.
That is a Quarter in front of the eggs.

I knew they were big but that really puts them in perspective. Good luck.

I'm home from work and caught-up here, so I'm going out to enjoy the 77 F sunny day we're having! I'll be checking back in with you peeps later!!

We almost hit 30 here today. That's short-sleeve weather in these parts

" I received a box yesterday and a box today. I'm scared to let them sit that long before I set them. "



I got 3 boxes of eggs today and I'm going to set them Saturday. I think it's better if they have more time to sit and unscramble anyway.

I'm drawing a total blank on the name right now but someone posted today about how hens collect eggs for weeks before they start setting. And Ron posted those wonderful instructions about letting shipped eggs rest.

This is SO my DH!

He says that I am "addicted to the internet BYC" and have been ignoring him........plllleeeease...I talk to him constantly.......I tell him everything that is happening ....Kathy's emu...Michelle's moose...SCG's woodchick...CR's broody Phoenie hen that looks alot like my Kleo(patra) Icelandic...Kim's arm...Mahonri's burn....baby goats....ducklings....chicks....calves...pea chicks....turkeys...weather reports from around the country...I mean I just don't know what the problem is........I tell him that I am "absorbed" in the Hatchalong right now but I won't be spending as much time on here once the hatch is over.....

......because I'll be taking care of ALL the chicks I'm going to be hatching!!

Which gets me the

look.......but I love him and he loves me so I have my chickens and he....well, he has me and my chickens!!

I was one of those, but the more I think about it. When my husband was alive we had to let eggs sit for 5 days. One bator at the house at that time and we needed to lockdown. The eggs that sat hatched out at 80%. I was sitting here looking at these eggs and though, geez the trip might have shaken them, maybe sitting longer would be better. I've tossed in a couple of month+ old eggs before from my birds and they hatched, so I'm going to stop stressing. Besides, I'm known to hatch horrible hatches when I do the hatch alongs. Why break tradition? LOL

I think you've used up your bad luck. This is going to be a great hatch

Totally. I listen (and can repeat back) all the ridiciously boring things he chatters on about. He should care what's happening to my internet friends.
In other news, my phone charged enough to take a few pics.
Duck 1.

Duck 2

Runner ducks dont need WATER-water, Right? Like a kiddie pool or a big trough might be enough to splash around in?

Them R Ducks!

I think we're going to have a big TURKEY hatchalong right after this one! I know of at least 4 who are willing to join, and I'm hoping there will be more! I'll get some from you for that, so think of me around Easter for turkey eggs!!

Your ON!

If she hasn't found it by tomorrow, I'll be buying her one! It will be a Wal-mart special and will have a large card.

Then she can be your staff photographer

LEARN FROM ME. All it would have taken is 2 minutes for me to WAIT for it to cool down and I wouldn't have gotten the severe burns that I got.

Good advice, thank you, But next time you don't have to go to such extremes to teach us a lesson.

AKMichelle, what kind of turkey eggs you got? I am definitely in on the apres Paques dindon eclore (prolly put those in the wrong order, high school French was YEARS ago

) I would love to get another heritage breed.

I have blue slates. But I think I might want to try some Naragansetts or even some Burbon Reds. Now I'm off to go Google a french translator

I keep telling my husband that he needs to join and star a thread along the lines of, "Support group for spouses of poultry addicts"
I can just see the posts... DW has left me for Mahonri again... Or we're spending our date night on the Oklahoma thread.... Or my favorite... My wife just put something kind of like a kiwi in the bator... Anyone know what that is?

Thanks. I have found that! Blue Ameraucanas (8) and black, blue and white Silkies. I didn't know I was getting so many eggs! One breeder gave me an extra dozen! So I just seen this contest and I see it says to set on the 17th. Since mine came in today I guess I can't set on the 17th right? I'm new to this. Been depending on my dad for help lol.

Sure you can. Those shipped eggs need to rest anyway. They will be just fine till Saturday. Find them a cool place to hang out till it's time to set them.

OK, I have been talking with my mom and I may be able to get a cat!!!!!!!!!!

the Reason for the cat is we have been having a bad vole/mice and rat problem. our Fields are being taken care of by an old farmer Friend and the fields were hey fields but the last few years he has been growing corn and leaves the corn in the fields to dry, sometimes he can't harvests it till spring. we never had voles/rats till he started growing corn and the voles are eating everything that we are trying to grow!!!!!!!!!!

we have tried all kinds of traps and nothing in the traps!!!!!!!!!!!! my dad had to start shooting the rats and got them all, but now they are BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tripped over one tonight when I was doing something, not a good site to see !!!!!!!!!!

they are getting bolder and bolder every day now. SO I HAVE A FEW Qs, do any of you have indoor/outdoor cats or barn cats??? how did you get them to NOT go after the poultry??? I am thinking of getting one from a shelter because they have up to date shots and sometimes they are fixed, RIGHT?????? and I know there are a lot of cats that need a a good home at the shelters. have any of you adopted a cat form a shelter?? I need the cat to stay around so what is a good age for a cat ?? male or female ?? if it's an outdoor cat only, how do I keep the cat to stay around and not have the cat take off ?? or does it need to be indoors first?? I really want the cat to be indoor/outdoors but will have to see what my mom says. that is why I am asking the Qs, to know what I need to do. HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have 2 cats that I got from the shelter. They are chicken guardians. When I hatch, I hold the chicks down for the cats to smell. They learn the chicks are MINE. When they are out in the yard they kill wild birds that try to get chicken feed. I think they use the chickens as decoys

They bring in voles by the dozens! They sleep in the house but they love to be outside hunting and exploring or just watching chicken tv. I've never seen them make any aggresive gestures at my chickens.

Mahonri a little Silvadene goes a long way but it is seriously fantastic medicine for burns! Neosporin will fight infection but it will not cool the burn or heal it nearly as fast as Silvadene.

I got some when I laid my hand on a hot exhaust manifold. scorched the whole palm right off in less than a second. Yowie! But the doc gave me Silvadene, I was almost back to normal in just a couple days. No pain, fast healing. How can you put a price tag on that. THAT would be an excellent example for the kids. DON'T SUFFER IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO.