Nankin Bantams

[MROO]

Evie is doing really well. She has a new best friend - a four-inch, handmade pom pom. It lives just at the edge of the brooder and she snuggles up against it from whatever side she needs - warm or cool. I picked up an Eco20 brooder at TSC for half price a few months ago. I've never used one before ... but I'll never go back to a heat lamp again! Evie darts in and out from under the brooder just like she would with a real Mama hen - and we haven't had to deal with pasty-butt even once. I'm sold!

 

[MROO]

Oh - and as of tomorrow (Thursday,) we are officially on chick-watch. We'll be firing up the incubator, Friday morning, just in case. That's Pepper's official day, but the eggs she swiped from Beauty and Miss Piggy are a few days behind hers and may hatch later. We want to be prepared, just in case she abandons her "borrowed" eggs too early.

 

[cobra3073]

Sounds as though Evie is a REALLY smart chick, but she is a NANKIN!

On that Eco20, did you have any difficulty fitting the panel to the side panel slots? I had read a review somewhere that the tabs on the heat panel have a tendency to snap off during assembly.

That having been said, half price sounds like a very good score.

I can hardly wait to learn what Peppers brings forward. I can imagine what you are going through!

BT

 

[MROO]

Yup, the side panels were (are) a pain, but we're all Scouts, and we got creative ... a couple of shims and it's working just fine!
As far as Pepper goes, I only really saw four viable eggs when I candled, and there's no guarantee that any of them made it the last 8 days. So, I'm trying very hard not to get too excited ... It's not working ...

 

[MROO]

WE HAVE BABIES!
Pepper is a Mama! When I went out just now to freshen up her water, I noticed that she was setting "funny." She had one wing out an inch or so from her body and was sitting rather awkwardly. Looking more closely, I saw the lump of "feathers" under her wing move ... and a tiny little eye looking back at me! I quietly called my daughter in to see, and by the time she got there, there were two curious little puffballs looking at us. I gave Pepper fresh water and moved her food closer ... and out popped a third! Since only about half of Pepper's eggs looked viable when I candled, I am thrilled to get even two chicks.
Pepper is a good Mama, so far, She won't venture far from her little stockpile, so we're hopeful that there may be one or two more babies on the way. There are still six unhatched eggs in the nest, so there may be more, but we're absolutely over the moon, right now! We'll give Pepper another day or two, then candle again, if she'll let us. But hey, even if she stops here, we're happy. Counting little Evie in the house brooder, that makes four more Nannykins in the world.
Welcome Little Ones!

 

[cobra3073]

Very nice, indeed!

You know I was wondering about the black spot on the head as there has been at least one thread I viewed that asked whether or not this might be a sex link attribute. I never saw anything definitive that really answered the question.

I had told myself that as I started to have chicks, I would band any with the black spot to see what sex they turned out to be...just a thought.

BT

 

[MROO]

Sorry, but Nope. They've ALL got the black spot. But here's another thought I'll be checking out. Some of Pepper's peeps have one spot, some have two, one has a spot and a small stripe. I remember the same patterns from when the grups (Star Trek for Grownups!) were babies. I'm gonna track these ... all FOUR - NOT including Evie - of them!
Happy, Happy at our house tonight!

 

[BirdGal]

Thanks so much for sharing ! Now I know I need to find live Nankins instead of eggs shipped in !

 

[MROO]

If you're anywhere near Maryland, I can set you up with a young rooster. Hens are generally pretty hard to come by, as most breeders are hanging on to them at the moment. You'll likely have better luck looking for straight run chicks or breeding pairs.
Good Luck!

 

[artsyrobin]

That seems to be a perennial problem with Nankins. No matter how safely they're packaged, they don't ship well at all. I think it has something to do with the size and shape of the eggs, themselves. Because they are so small and rounded, any sloshing at all can disturb the embryo, breaking any veining that's begun to form. No veins, no development, no chicks.
Then there's incubating. Most eggs get a better hatch rate in an incubator, but not Nankins. They seem to need Mama talking to and turning them. The one exception I've heard to that is from a lady who used to pull her own eggs, put them directly into position in her own incubator, then start it as soon as it was full enough and before the first eggs were very old. From what I understand, her bator was in the people-part of her coop, with only a wire wall separating it from the chickens. Maybe they heard enough chicken-speak that way! She claimed a 95% hatch rate ... but that was years ago and she never responded back for me to ask more about it.

All that said, Hello Artsyrobin! Where are you located? I'm in Maryland.

well i lost the last one right before lockdown, should have given it my bnatam cochin, so i broke down and ordered hatchery chicks, will be here thursday, a friend is driving them up from texas, I am in Oklahoma, too hot for shipping babies- i hope in the fall to order from a breeder for better quality. I love the new babies you have!! Love the pics, need more pics though