Maine

[Widget]

Just put the incubator into lockdown. Out of 20 eggs I think I have 16 that developed. Hard to tell with the darker shells. There are also 4 developing duck eggs in there. It will be a staggered hatch but I put the duck eggs in there since I had them and just wanted to see if they would hatch. I know the mother is a Saxony but the father is either Saxony, Pekin or Rouen.

 

[hoppy]

I just set my final (yes final)- I know I said that before, but truely is my last set of eggs then I turn off the incubator. had 7 sizzles eggs and 4 paints, couldn't bare to eat them or sell them so I set them but they are my last set. I've hatched some really beautiful chicks but now I just need to grow them out.

 

[kinsey228]

Candled my 13 BBS Orpington and 12 Marans eggs. 11 of the Orp eggs are developing (the 2 that weren't were very porous) and I hope all of the Marans are. I can't see through the shells to be sure. Hopefully on the 22nd and 23rd I'll see 25 little fuzzy butts ! I can't wait to see the colors they will be. What I can't find room for, I'll be bringing to the swaps. (At least 3/4 of the Orpingtons, and a few Marans.)

 

[buckabucka]

Good luck with your hatching, everyone!

Thanks for the tomato plant offer SCG, but I have a ton of seed and it's not too late.

Today we dusted all 26 hens. Some were clean, some had mites, and some were just crawling with lice! We just tried to catch the rooster this evening, but failed. He is totally freaked out. We'll go back when it is darker. It seems crazy to have to do this dusting on a regular basis, but DH is still adamant about not using chemicals. I supposed there is no harm in trying, as we can resort to chemicals later, if necessary. We did buy a spray for the coop, at least.

Our sick hen isn't dead yet. We fed her some yogurt with a syringe, but she really has lost interest in food.
I am dreading going back out after that rooster.

 

[kinsey228]

Superchemicalgirl, this is for you :


Emu Chicks for sale. Pricing is as follows. 1 to 2 Week Old Chicks are $75 Each. We also have older chicks that are 2+ Weeks Old;





Winterport, ME
emu chicks born March 10-13



Bethel, ME
Price
$75

 

[TayFray!]

So is anyone going to the swap tommorrow in wilton? I am bringing a pair of californian meat rabbits, 2 bantam cochin hens, a bantam columbian wyandotte rooster, a polish americauna cross, and a silver spangled hamburg rooster! and some more accessories and supplies!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Superchemicalgirl, this is for you :


Emu Chicks for sale. Pricing is as follows. 1 to 2 Week Old Chicks are $75 Each. We also have older chicks that are 2+ Weeks Old;





Winterport, ME
emu chicks born March 10-13



Bethel, ME
Price
$75

I read the ad to boyfriend. To say he was uninterested would be an understatement.

 

[mckenney]

Oh no! I'm new to raising chickens and while I was checking on them tonight, I noticed my 4 week old easter egger has developed a crossed beak. I was hoping there would be some way I could manipulate it back to center, but from what I've read so far, the only thing that helps is to file the beak down, give it deep dishes, and a mash/water mix? Has anyone ever heard of a more permanent solution? For now, I'm just going to watch him/her closely to make sure it's getting enough.

 

[buckabucka]

Oh no! I'm new to raising chickens and while I was checking on them tonight, I noticed my 4 week old easter egger has developed a crossed beak. I was hoping there would be some way I could manipulate it back to center, but from what I've read so far, the only thing that helps is to file the beak down, give it deep dishes, and a mash/water mix? Has anyone ever heard of a more permanent solution? For now, I'm just going to watch him/her closely to make sure it's getting enough.

Hi mckenney, This seems to be common with Easter Eggers. My cross-beak EE is 2 years old now, and while she doesn't lay as much as the others, she still lays eggs. How you deal with this will depend a lot on your philosophy. I am very busy and pretty much go with a sink-or-swim approach. I did provide moistened food for a while. The others would go out free-ranging and she would stand right in the dish and eat. Now, she just eats dry food like the others. I only trimmed her beak once, just a tiny bit, but she managed to eat anyway. We were thinking about trimming again this spring, as the upper beak got very long, but she somehow managed to break it off on her own. She does spend a lot of time at the feeder. Not all cross-beaks will make it if left to their own devices. I had a dark Cornish that made it 10 weeks, hardly grew much, and died. My EE cross-beak rooster did fine, but we got rid of him. You should not breed your cross-beak, as the trait is passed on. Some people tube feed theirs, but that is not for me. Good luck with her! Ours is a real hoot, and we're glad to have her.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Hi mckenney,
This seems to be common with Easter Eggers. My cross-beak EE is 2 years old now, and while she doesn't lay as much as the others, she still lays eggs. How you deal with this will depend a lot on your philosophy.
I am very busy and pretty much go with a sink-or-swim approach. I did provide moistened food for a while. The others would go out free-ranging and she would stand right in the dish and eat. Now, she just eats dry food like the others.
I only trimmed her beak once, just a tiny bit, but she managed to eat anyway. We were thinking about trimming again this spring, as the upper beak got very long, but she somehow managed to break it off on her own. She does spend a lot of time at the feeder.
Not all cross-beaks will make it if left to their own devices. I had a dark Cornish that made it 10 weeks, hardly grew much, and died. My EE cross-beak rooster did fine, but we got rid of him. You should not breed your cross-beak, as the trait is passed on.
Some people tube feed theirs, but that is not for me. Good luck with her! Ours is a real hoot, and we're glad to have her.

I have a cross beak EE too that's about 9 weeks old. She can't pick up anything off the ground and hasn't discovered the feeder yet. She just went outside with the other biddies on Friday so she's still getting hazed a bit. I took her inside last night and gave her mash which she ate with gusto, and subsequently decorated my walls with it in her messy eating fashion.
I don't plan to tube feed her, that's insane in my mind, but I will give her a bit of TLC every evening or so for a bit until she discovers the feeder. If she can't eat from the feeder, I'm probably going to cull her unless I can work out a better situation for her. I do put out mash every morning for the big birds, but this one's not high enough on the pecking order to get in it, yet. And I don't really have time to be pulling her out of the coop nightly for her own dinner every single night.
I did clip her beak a bit, but the quick is pretty far down and I was only able to get off 2 mm at the most. I kinda wish I could de-beak her like the hatcheries and factories do because I think that'll help her eat but that's cruel too. I'm just trying to figure out which option is the least cruel.