Maine

[Carrie54452002]

I just hatched out another incubator full of bantam cochins and d'Uccles. fertility seems to be improving since we have moved out of the extreme cold weather. I have four incubators running right now.

Most of the newly hatched chicks are red bantam cochins, which is my focus right now. Also hatched a couple of LF cochin chicks.

So stinkin cute!!! Where are you located and what color d'uccles? I have seen some beautiful ones before and have been contemplating adding a couple....

 

[ashandvine]

We are gone for 9-10 hrs/day during the week. Also with my 3 kiddos mornings are not easy to find time to go out and bring fresh water... might have to start doing that though. Don't want to put the chickens in danger!

If you are sincerely worried about dehydration and ease put a large bowl of snow in their run or pen or coop. They eat it up, stay hydrated and there is not need to bust ice out. Its not as great as them catching water in their beaks in my opinion, but it does work.

I am cleaning up the bator that SO gave up on. One window in and the caulking sealing all those nasty ragged cuts he made so I have a chance in Hades to clean it. I still haven't seen this Orloff cock do his duty. I really wish he would! Normally I am chasing cocks away from the hens so they have a chance to relax but Orloffs are so laid back they are practically couches!

Violet, I do hope your son will look into the many many varieties that are easier to find and raise. Cornish and Games really are not. I thought the Shamo was the tallest, but either way they are very cool, well, creepy really, but cool too. Brahmas are large and fantastic in temperament. Polly C has some nice Buckeyes. Maybe he would like a bird like the Orloff-- they look fierce, hawk or eagle like but they are very gentle. Just a thought.

 

[VioletBlueIvy]

We are gone for 9-10 hrs/day during the week.  Also with my 3 kiddos mornings are not easy to find time to go out and bring fresh water... might have to start doing that though.  Don't want to put the chickens in danger!

If you are sincerely worried about dehydration and ease put a large bowl of snow in their run or pen or coop.  They eat it up, stay hydrated and there is not need to bust ice out.  Its not as great as them catching water in their beaks in my opinion, but it does work.

I am cleaning up the bator that SO gave up on.  One window in and the caulking sealing all those nasty ragged cuts he made so I have a chance in Hades to clean it.  I still haven't seen this Orloff cock do his duty.  I really wish he would!  Normally I am chasing cocks away from the hens so they have a chance to relax but Orloffs are so laid back they are practically couches! 

Violet, I do hope your son will look into the many many varieties that are easier to find and raise.  Cornish and Games really are not.  I thought the Shamo was the tallest, but either way they are very cool, well, creepy really, but cool too.  Brahmas are large and fantastic in temperament.  Polly C has some nice Buckeyes.  Maybe he would like a bird like the Orloff-- they look fierce, hawk or eagle like but they are very gentle.  Just a thought.

They are really something! The Malay especially interested us because they are supposed to be very docile. They described them as gentle giants. Even so, they are just so different from our other birds they would need their own housing. It really struck me when I read about setting the feeders and waterers at their hight lol! I think any of the game breeds would be a whole different ball of wax.I have finally narrowed myself down to two breeds and dont really go that far. I would love to see some in person though, and hear about keeping them from someone local. Not just the Malay but any of the games, or Cornish. I dont think I will find anybody though, but if there was someone, here would be the place to find them right?

Going to a show is a GREAT idea! I hadn't thought of that! We were looking at a magazine of chicken breeds last night and he was again pointing out the cornish, and the cornish rocks, and then he asked what kind of bird Bebe, a little BB Red OEGB hen we had was. He had really liked her, but I gave her away to somone who raised old english games because she never fit in with the others, by her choice. She was just different in so many ways.

Anyway, I said I thought you want something really really big? He says no, he doesn't care how BIG they are, he just wants something fluffy! LOL! By big he meant fluffy and he thinks the games look fluffy?! LOL! Crazy cute kid So all this game stuff may be a moot point anyway but it is fun to muse..I really like Brahmas myself. I saw a picture of some in england online, huge blue birds, they were so awesome.. But I think the best thing to do would be to go to a show and let him pick one out in person. He has a little silkie roo a friend of mine gave him so he is not chickenless


As for the post office scandal,

The same thing happened with my eggs, they sat in scarborough for 3 days. It took 1 day for them to get from PA to Scarborough and I got them 5 DAYS later. All out mail now goes from Hampden to Milo, and then back to is in Lagrange. You have to drive through Lagrange, right by the post office to get to Milo from Hampden...Maybe they are going up 95 to Howland or Lincoln and going to Milo through Medford and over the trestle but I seriously doubt it. Crazy. Good luck with them, I hope they are ok.

I wish you the best of luck finding the perfect big bird.  I hear there's a really neat one on Sesame Street?

Too funny! I'll have to run that one by him...lol
Ash, they are pretty freaky lol! Games are just different, we need something that will fit in. I think whats going on is he saw his sister show her silkies in 4H and win ribbons, and money and attention. She will be getting her own little coop this spring. Now he wants to too. They take alot of pride in helping out at the fair and he is getting older and wanting more responsibility, and the attention he'd get from doing a good job. I want to encourage that, but, we need to find something more practical, Unless someone comes along to tell me how wrong I am about keeping tropical game birds in Maine...
It's not a big deal, I just threw it out there to see what others think about it, and what their experiences with the breeds have been like. Thats why I come to this forum, to hear other peoples opinions and experiences, you can learn so much! Keep the ideas coming!
Well, I'm off to 'follow that bird'
Wink wink!

 

[CoopChick719]

I just hatched out another incubator full of bantam cochins and d'Uccles. fertility seems to be improving since we have moved out of the extreme cold weather. I have four incubators running right now.

Most of the newly hatched chicks are red bantam cochins, which is my focus right now. Also hatched a couple of LF cochin chicks.

This little one is awfully cute!!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Well in her defense, I did not tell the postal clerk what the package was. But they will have no way of knowing what's in there, so I'm not sure they will call.

Two years ago, they DID call and I picked it up in Fairfield. So today I went to the Fairfield post office to inquire, and they said, no, it will be in Waterville. It was the Waterville woman who said they do not call people. Tomorrow DH will be home, so if they neither call nor deliver it, I'll check the post office again before heading home from work.

SCG, I was looking at photos of your chicks and they appear to be on an incontinence pad. I imagine you have access to them at work, but do you think I can you get those in the grocery store (near diapers or something?) Or do I need to go to a drugstore? Luckily, I haven't been in the market for them. I can always do layers of paper towels, but that looks like a good set up!

Now, my experience with Waterville PO was amazing. My chicks were in and they called me Sunday morning to pick them up! I stopped in, knocked at the loading dock and they were nicer than nice.

The pads are leftovers from the ducks. The ducks made such a mess I moved to "chux" pads (also known as bed pads or abdominal pads) which have the plastic backing so it doesn't leak through and ruin the shavings. I had 3 left over sitting in the basement and figured I'd use them on the chicks. Even though they're very wasteful, I think they are better than paper towels, function wise. Anyway, you can find them in the incontinence aisle. They are cheaper than puppy pads and come in small and large. Large fits great in my brooder. I got these at walmart. I do not recommend the RiteAid brand. They were very thin and not absorbable.

My eggs are here!!! DH just forwarded me this photo (I haven't seen the eggs). one is cracked, I'll have to see how badly.
18 variety of Marans, 1 barnevelder, 2 BLR Wayndotte (but 1 is cracked), 5 Ameraucana, and 4 olive eggers.
Hooray!

 

[hoppy]

fyi, barred rocks- a boy and the 2 others are girls (check out the legs)

The next clue to the sex is to take a look at there legs. The males have a lighter coloured leg and the females have darker coloured legs. Now the good bit Cockerels have double chromosomes so the coloring is muted in the legs, they have yellow to gray on the front of the leg. The Females have darker black colored legs.

The Chicks are 13 days old--1 EE & 3 BR's from top left--Chipmunk, Pitch, Flacco & Spot. Mom Janice in the background.


This is Spot, the BR.


Dinner time!


Bedtime

 

[hoppy]

tomorrow and sunday are hatch day for me, one pip so far on an ameraucana egg.

 

[Paulajon]

tomorrow and sunday are hatch day for me, one pip so far on an ameraucana egg.

Good luck with the hatch .

 

[dowgirl71]

This morning, I had a fox in the backyard checking out my girls. I was pretty creeped out by it, but they didn't seem too concerned. They are used to having dogs around. This fox lives in our neighborhood and looks quite healthy, but is rather tame. So, it took alot to get him to run away. My chickens outdoor run is a dog kennel, and I never let them free range, because we live in the city. I'm thinking that I need to learn how to shoot a gun (a quieter one that wouldn't have the BPD on my doorsteps).

 

[hoppy]

paint ball gun, works well for the neighborhood dogs too.

This morning, I had a fox in the backyard checking out my girls. I was pretty creeped out by it, but they didn't seem too concerned. They are used to having dogs around. This fox lives in our neighborhood and looks quite healthy, but is rather tame. So, it took alot to get him to run away. My chickens outdoor run is a dog kennel, and I never let them free range, because we live in the city. I'm thinking that I need to learn how to shoot a gun (a quieter one that wouldn't have the BPD on my doorsteps).