My first shipped eggs! An incubation adventure

[PrairieChickens]

That's my thought. We did have a lot of wet weather in the states recently, and I know I'm not the only one that got soaked. Like I said, I'm not going to write it off just yet.

 

[ochochicas]

I've enjoyed reading your thread. Good luck with your legbar eggs. I just set 8 in my incubator today. I've only hatched with a broody in the past so I'm not expecting great success with my incubator "experiment". They lady who owned the CCL hens told me she put 20 eggs in her incubator and only hatched out 4 of them. Of those, only one is a pullet. I supposed I can't have much worse luck than that. LOL Keep us posted on your next hatch.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Things aren't looking very promising on the legbar eggs. It looks like at least two of the eggs tried to develop but have most likely quit very early. I can't see anything in the other two. About what I figured. I'll wait and see how things look in a week or so before I give up on them, though.

The eggs I added midway through the last incubation are getting ready to hatch. One banty egg has pipped with more on the way. Updates as they occur.

 

[Talonstorm]

What an interesting thread. I am setting some shipped eggs tonight, hoping for them to do well. I can't wait to see your OEGB X JG chicks!

 

[Aphrael]

Things aren't looking very promising on the legbar eggs. It looks like at least two of the eggs tried to develop but have most likely quit very early. I can't see anything in the other two. About what I figured. I'll wait and see how things look in a week or so before I give up on them, though.

The eggs I added midway through the last incubation are getting ready to hatch. One banty egg has pipped with more on the way. Updates as they occur.

Sorry to hear your legbars don't look too good.

But yay on the bantam eggs!

 

[ochochicas]

I'm going to candle my Legbar eggs tomorrow. I'll let you know if I find anything. I only have one hen laying since the rest are molting, so I believe all my eggs came from her. I've never seen the rooster doing anything with her. Maybe he is just shy.

 

[PrairieChickens]

So far I haven't seen any development in the JG eggs, but it's still early on those. It's possible Zip didn't manage to get any action with the JG, but that's alright. If I can't get a JG/OEGB cross, it won't be the end of the world.

Meanwhile, it turns out BOTH of the Ameraucana roosters I bought are actually hens, so since I won't be able to breed purebred Ameraucanas or BCM's this year, I went ahead and put my lovely mutt Gru in with them. If I can't have pure-bred chicks, at least I'll have pretty ones. As for Zip, he's been moved to the Junior run since he likes to pick on Gru. While Gru could probably take him, he's too good-natured to fight back, and I didn't want Zip pulling any more of those pretty feathers out. Better that Zip hang out with the kiddos for a while until I'm able to introduce him to his future girlfriend, Pip.


On top of that, my super-broody Anna is at it again. She's just over a year and a half old, and this will be the fourth time she's gone broody. Instead of sticking eggs under her this time, I may just go ahead and give her the chicks that hatch from the eggs of hers I've already put in the incubator. It will be her first time raising her own chicks, despite having hatched out three other broods.


Anna, Hen at Work

 

[Aphrael]

Gru is GORGEOUS!!

And Anna looks so cute all fluffed out on her nest.

 

[ochochicas]

I just candled a couple of eggs from each hen (day 6). Half of the legbars are growing! The ones that were 12 days old when I set them look like duds. The easter eggers are growing as well as the Australorps. The Marans eggs are just too dark and I can't see a thing. I don't think they are fertile. Unfortunately none of the Rhodebar eggs are fertile. I've seen the rooster servicing her a lot so I'm not sure what is going on there. Oh well, I really don't have room for ALL of them to hatch anyway.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Congrazzles! I hope at least one of my legbars hatch, but I don't have high expectations for them, poor things.

Gru is a black australorp/EE mix. His parents are the only two chickens I have ever seen fall in love. Gryffindor, his father, is the alpha rooster of the flock, and while he could easily roost with the other chickens on the main roosts, he chooses to roost with Mrs. Hughes on a shelf away from the others. I've also caught them canoodling in the coop, rolling against each other and rubbing their faces on each others' feathers while making weird, cooing/purring noises. It's a behavior I haven't seen before or since in any other chickens. Not surprisingly, all of Mrs. Hughes' eggs that I have hatched out have been born with cheek puffs. XD

Gru has a brother that looks just like him, and a sister that is indistinguishable from a black Ameraucana except for her eyes (she has the dark, australorp eyes of their mother). I am seriously considering seeing if I can start a new breed from them, since they're so pretty. I know enough about genetics to know the finished product won't look exactly like Gru, but maybe it would be close enough?