- Feb 22, 2007
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(Two part thread - skip down to view chicks).
Part 1
My story began with my 86 year old mother who was planning to travel 2000 miles to visit our little farmette. In the 50s, my parents had 140 acres so Im not sure that our mere 5 acre parcel compared, but she was thrilled. Since mom raised chickens for years, my sentimental plan was to have an egg hatch while she was here. Not only would this be novel after so many years (at 86, its the little things) but would also give her a chance to candle an egg, a technique shed never heard of. She was arriving on the 15th, leaving on the 22nd.
I had one of those rinky dinky dome incubators. Wed come pretty close to a successful hatch during our practice run in April, so I thought Id give it one more try. (Mom was so excited!)
I knew I had to time this just right, so on the 30th of April I drove a few miles after work to a pick up a couple of eggs from a woman who sold fertiles. (We dont have a roo). Of course Murphys Law kicked in. The mini heat-bulb went on the fritz just enough that the best temp I could get was 80 degrees. 8 hours passed as I fiddled with the bulb and strips of Reynolds wrap! I tried everything. Dejected, I was ready to abandon the project altogether ..but somewhere 2000 miles away, I had an awfully excited mom. So - after work on the 1st, I decided to buy a 'REAL' incubator, and by 5:00pm that evening, I was placing an inexpensive styro-foam model in my car.
Time was running out by now. I NEEDED fertile eggs on the double but where? That first pair of eggs had been enjoying cool temps for about 24 hours. Half baked, I didn't have much hope for them, but was many miles away from the original seller. Insanely, I drove all around the farming valley in my own community, stopping everywhere, breathlessly explaining my story and asking for last minute chicken eggs. I finally found a chicken farm. The kind farmer (amused, to be sure) was willing to give me two more eggs, but she warned that they were only MAYBE fertile. She went on to explain that she had 4 roosters and 300 HENS! I drove home in a hurry, quickly read through the directions and popped all four eggs in the new bator first the by-now-half baked eggs, followed by "the maybe babies", and then crossed my fingers.
On the 15th, mom arrived. To her delight, for the first time after raising hundreds of chickens, together we candled those eggs. Amazingly, all four eggs were fertile and kicking! (Must be some busy roos at that farm!)
I dont know what I did right, (this was my first time) but, right on schedule, 3 of the 4 eggs began hatching on the 21. Mom was overjoyed. We watched and watched those eggs all day. The chicks were healthy and vigorous, in fact, the first little fellow was so rambunctious, he ran around knocking into the other eggs still pipping until we quickly moved him to the brooder!
Incidentally, and for the record, that bator we bought was a Little Giant, no turner, no fan and no hygrometer, just the thermometer that came in the box. While not upscale, it certainly proved to be a reliable enough model to salvage this project, and at the hands of a beginner at that.
...and finally, thanks to all of you who helped with encouragement and advice!
Part 2, Mystery chicks
Here are some pictures of the hatch for those of us who cant get enough chick pics.
Hatching day! The first to hatch was the little yellow/gray, followed by the darker chick. The 3rd chick and final chick was from the farm of 300 hens!
Here they are at two weeks:
The little orange/vanilla sweetheart is from the farm with 300 hens. (This pic shows her a little darker than what her actual color, but she's a creamy orange). The flock of adult hens s are mostly a red or red/tan blotched (and a little scrawny), but not the solid chestnut color of a RIR. My guess is they are some sort of production red (sex link?) which means the vanilla and orange chick could be a throw back to who knows what.
As for the remaining two from a different breeder, (lighter gray/yellow chick and the darker bird), heres what we know.
Dad is a light Brahma. Its the only roo she had. As for hens, she had light brahmas, silver laced wyndottes, and brown Ameraucanas. (I think these are the only type of hens she had). At first I thought the dark chick was from the wyndotte until I saw pics of black Americauna chick on feathersite our chick looks like a dead ringer take a look
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/C...KArauChik.html
But wait! The fertile eggs I bought were both brown! So this would rule out Americauna, right? As for the gray/yellow chick, Im thinking light brahma all the way. Any guesses?
(hope the length of this post didnt break any rules!)
Part 1
My story began with my 86 year old mother who was planning to travel 2000 miles to visit our little farmette. In the 50s, my parents had 140 acres so Im not sure that our mere 5 acre parcel compared, but she was thrilled. Since mom raised chickens for years, my sentimental plan was to have an egg hatch while she was here. Not only would this be novel after so many years (at 86, its the little things) but would also give her a chance to candle an egg, a technique shed never heard of. She was arriving on the 15th, leaving on the 22nd.
I had one of those rinky dinky dome incubators. Wed come pretty close to a successful hatch during our practice run in April, so I thought Id give it one more try. (Mom was so excited!)
I knew I had to time this just right, so on the 30th of April I drove a few miles after work to a pick up a couple of eggs from a woman who sold fertiles. (We dont have a roo). Of course Murphys Law kicked in. The mini heat-bulb went on the fritz just enough that the best temp I could get was 80 degrees. 8 hours passed as I fiddled with the bulb and strips of Reynolds wrap! I tried everything. Dejected, I was ready to abandon the project altogether ..but somewhere 2000 miles away, I had an awfully excited mom. So - after work on the 1st, I decided to buy a 'REAL' incubator, and by 5:00pm that evening, I was placing an inexpensive styro-foam model in my car.
Time was running out by now. I NEEDED fertile eggs on the double but where? That first pair of eggs had been enjoying cool temps for about 24 hours. Half baked, I didn't have much hope for them, but was many miles away from the original seller. Insanely, I drove all around the farming valley in my own community, stopping everywhere, breathlessly explaining my story and asking for last minute chicken eggs. I finally found a chicken farm. The kind farmer (amused, to be sure) was willing to give me two more eggs, but she warned that they were only MAYBE fertile. She went on to explain that she had 4 roosters and 300 HENS! I drove home in a hurry, quickly read through the directions and popped all four eggs in the new bator first the by-now-half baked eggs, followed by "the maybe babies", and then crossed my fingers.
On the 15th, mom arrived. To her delight, for the first time after raising hundreds of chickens, together we candled those eggs. Amazingly, all four eggs were fertile and kicking! (Must be some busy roos at that farm!)
I dont know what I did right, (this was my first time) but, right on schedule, 3 of the 4 eggs began hatching on the 21. Mom was overjoyed. We watched and watched those eggs all day. The chicks were healthy and vigorous, in fact, the first little fellow was so rambunctious, he ran around knocking into the other eggs still pipping until we quickly moved him to the brooder!
Incidentally, and for the record, that bator we bought was a Little Giant, no turner, no fan and no hygrometer, just the thermometer that came in the box. While not upscale, it certainly proved to be a reliable enough model to salvage this project, and at the hands of a beginner at that.
...and finally, thanks to all of you who helped with encouragement and advice!
Part 2, Mystery chicks
Here are some pictures of the hatch for those of us who cant get enough chick pics.
Hatching day! The first to hatch was the little yellow/gray, followed by the darker chick. The 3rd chick and final chick was from the farm of 300 hens!
Here they are at two weeks:
The little orange/vanilla sweetheart is from the farm with 300 hens. (This pic shows her a little darker than what her actual color, but she's a creamy orange). The flock of adult hens s are mostly a red or red/tan blotched (and a little scrawny), but not the solid chestnut color of a RIR. My guess is they are some sort of production red (sex link?) which means the vanilla and orange chick could be a throw back to who knows what.
As for the remaining two from a different breeder, (lighter gray/yellow chick and the darker bird), heres what we know.
Dad is a light Brahma. Its the only roo she had. As for hens, she had light brahmas, silver laced wyndottes, and brown Ameraucanas. (I think these are the only type of hens she had). At first I thought the dark chick was from the wyndotte until I saw pics of black Americauna chick on feathersite our chick looks like a dead ringer take a look
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/C...KArauChik.html
But wait! The fertile eggs I bought were both brown! So this would rule out Americauna, right? As for the gray/yellow chick, Im thinking light brahma all the way. Any guesses?
(hope the length of this post didnt break any rules!)
