Michigan Hatchers! What'cha got cookin?

[LoveMyChicklets]

Hi. I'm rejoining BYC because I can't get into my old handle.

We are hatching some ancona pekin crosses and its day 29. Only one has an external pip and this is my first hatch.

They were all fertile at lockdown and the temp/humidity has been stable. I added ventilation before the external pip happened.

Hope we see sonething

... again! Goooo duckies go!!!!

 

[LoveMyChicklets]

I received some of my show quality millie/calico cochin bantam eggs today! The rest should arrive tomorrow!

I cant wait to get them hatched out and see what colors and type I get!
The 1dos was very expensive but totally worth it. Now got fingers crossed for a good hatch rate and lots of girls!

Will be getting my broddy hens ready tonight to hatch them out for me!

Since you have so many broody hens maybe if you come over and talk to my girls they will go broody again for me???? Huh, whatcha say??? LOL!!

I wish my sons Silkie and my Standard Cochin would go broody soon!

 

[EnsignIdonia]

  ... again! Goooo duckies go!!!!

Thanks! I'm trying to work outside to keep from staring intothe incubator.

Next week we try hatching some Albertans/ barnyard mutts for hens and meat

 

[gladahmae]

Oh absolutely! I could stare at the incubator ALL DAY LONG on hatch day.


All 3 of my silkies laid eggs today, and I got all of my barred hens moved to a separate pen (for about a week I'm thinking) so I can be SURE that I'm getting the correct eggs. The other 2 varieties are easy to distinguish since their eggs are blue and green and not one of the myriad of light brown eggs. Hoping to have enough to fill the turner in the next 2 days, and then I have to collect for everyone who wanted eggs from me but couldn't meet on Monday (I live 45min from the one cousin that wants eggs!). I have 6 doz in the fridge waiting to get dropped off at my mothers for the cousins to come pick up, and another 4 dozen for co-workers. Thought I would be having a hard time getting RID of all the eggs, and right now I can't keep up!

Now I just have to figure out how to separate all of my crosses once hatch-day comes. Barred sex-links from one cross, and the other cross uses a barred roo so EVERYTHING will be barred in that pen! Maybe I need to borrow my BIL's incubator to use as a hatcher......

 

[aart]

These didn't hatch here, no more hatching for me - thanks for all your support here when I was hatching!

But I got these day old pullets at the mill today, 2 Light Brahma and 2 EE's. I wanted Amberlinks because of the dark eggs, but the hatchery sent SR instead of pullets so I got the LB instead. I have 2 adult LB and I like them so.....




Big Chicks checkin out the bitty chicks

 

[gladahmae]

Awww! They're still cute! Dh brough chicks home for me today. I've got the turner 2/3 full, so almost time to plug in the genesis, and we're getting meaties as soon as he gets paid. Going to be overrun with chicks soon!

 

[EnsignIdonia]

Its been 24 hours since the external pip so I'm a nervous wreck.

Aw! Chicks! Going into tractor supply right now is a test of will with babies 50 percent off. I'll be raising meaties for my mom but the hatchery has limited availability for a few weeks. Seems weird.

I can't give eggs away right now. I gave 10 dz to the food bank to clear the back log.

 

[EnsignIdonia]

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We have a baby working their way around the egg, peeping at last!two others we can see are slightly pipped so I have hopes for the rest.
I was scared I had done something to harm the eggs

 

[aart]

Awww! They're still cute! Dh brough chicks home for me today. I've got the turner 2/3 full, so almost time to plug in the genesis, and we're getting meaties as soon as he gets paid. Going to be overrun with chicks soon!

I know, right?! They are sooo tiny, feel so different after handing my 4-5-6 week olds. ..

.......and I have committed the sin (in my mind) of having more chickens than I really have room for.
Even if I can integrate the various ages, I have one 4 week old rooster chick that I really need to be gone.
I need just one more(haha) pen/coop....to grow out roosters......
......after I put a pop door and run on the partition I did have the foresight to plan for but not fully execute to grow out the youngers for a few months.

Chicken Math strikes even the wary and 'well prepared'...sigh..lol

 

[gladahmae]

I know, right?! They are sooo tiny, feel so different after handing my 4-5-6 week olds. ..

.......and I have committed the sin (in my mind) of having more chickens than I really have room for.


Chicken Math strikes even the wary and 'well prepared'...sigh..lol

Let me tell you a little story. When we moved out of a teeny tiny cabin and into our house (and 10 acres) I asked my husband can we PLEEEEEEASE get chickens? And he was completely against it. No way, no how. About a year later his brother decided to get chickens, but had to order 15 to get the minimum but *he* didn't WANT 15 birds, would we like half of the order? So DH relented and decided that it would be OK, maybe even fun to have some chickens. The hatchery sent one extra, so we each ended up with 8 birds (BOs, BRs, and BSLs.) BUT, in the meantime, I had discovered wyandottes and HAD to have least ONE! So I went on CL and found someone about an hour away who was selling "started pullets" that were about 2-3 weeks older than our chicks and talked him into letting me get just 2. So now were were up to 10 birds. THEN I discovered Marans, and found someone ELSE on CL that was selling them and got 3 (one black copper, one cuckoo, and one splash which died a few weeks later). So now we're up to 13. We now need a newer, bigger coop than the 6x7 coop we had just finished up. New coop goes up. We find someone on CL selling an incubator, 3 turners, and a brooder. Buy that. Get a BUNCH of eggs off ebay and here to try to incubate. Fail miserably (wasn't dry hatching at that point) and only manage about 5 chicks. Find someone giving away FREE CHICKS on CL, go pick up 5. Our dog gets into the older chickens' pen and kills all but 3. It was December at this point, not a great time to find chickens, BUT, find someone about an hour away selling POL pullets. Pick up 8. Get through the winter, hatch more chicks. Sell a few, neighbor's dogs kill 9 (most of which were our 'from a breeder BLRW'). Get angry and order hatchery BLRW and BR to replace the dog-losses. Buy more eggs, hatch more chicks. Find yet another person on CL selling POL pullets, get 6. Find someone selling SILKIES, get 9, rehome 3 which end up being cockerels. BIL hatches out 6 from eggs we swapped with another BYC'er for a lavender orp. rooster. He decides he doesn't want chickens anymore and he gives us the chicks. And that's where we are right now. I think that's how it all went anyway.

At this point I have 12 pullets and 1 cockerel in a coop meant for no more than 8 or 9 birds, 6 silkies in a coop that could hold a FEW more but has too many cockerels right now, my big coop with 1 roooster and I *think* around 18 hens, which is basically at-capacity right now. And I just got 6 chicks and am going to be setting 30-40 eggs this weekend. GO CHICKEN MATH!!

And to think that my husband didn't even WANT chickens to start with.