NY chicken lover!!!!

[featherz]

I have 4 hens that are broody. I keep throwing them out of the boxes, but they keep going back in. I am SURE they are broody, cuz I turned them over and all their chest feathers are gone. (I was wondering where all the feathers were coming from all over the coop) I am NOT amused. Here I have to come up with 96 eggs in a 2 week window and 4 hens are not laying. And they are not going to get eggs to sit on, cuz I might have 50+ chicks coming back.

I have loooooooooooots of eggs. Come get some LOL. I think I will probably bring 20 dozen to auction tomorrow since I can't keep up. I rehomed a couple of my perpetual broodies - just waiting for my little araucana to get broody. She can only take a few eggs so I won't be tempted to stuff a dozen under her. I hope some of your broodies are the big girls and not the banties. =)

 

[Tough Old Bird]

My daughter called me at work today to say she picked up chicken feed and I asked her to stop at TSC and pick up an LG incubator to use as a hatcher and a bag of chick feed. You know the rest of the story.

So now I have 8 LF chicks and 7 bantams. What was I thinking? 2 white leghorns, 2 amberlinks, 2 buff brahmas, and 2 buff orp LF. The bantams are a mystery and I was looking for some help. 4 look like little chipmunks with the brown coloring and stripes, little pink toes and clean legs. 2 are yellow/buff with fuzzy legs and pink/yellow legs, and 1 is a poor little black silkie with a bum leg that our friend gave my daughter hoping we could save it. Hoping the little yellow ones are cochins; could they be something else? And what does everyone think the little chipmunks are?

Hi Horsekeeper, I took a quick look thru a hatchery catalog at the Bantam chick section. Araucana chicks sure look like little "chipmunks", as do Silver Duckwing bantams and B.B. Reds.

Sounds like you'll be busy for a while!


TOB

 

[SunnysideupstateNY]

I swore I wouldn't get any chicks til late April....I have seven in the spare room.

oops.

 

[rancher hicks]

One of the Marans decided to pop out!

He/she is resting now!

congrats.

 

[rancher hicks]

That seems to be what I've heard / read. I guess they've got to be strong / healthy enough to get out of the egg on their own...

TOB

I have to confess to helping chicks on occasion and not all were crippled or died. Most did however. I think it's an oxygen thing. However if you DO help a chick out and it's not good, then you have to wrestle with what to do with it.

It takes will power not to help.

 

[horsekeeper]

Thanks, TOB. I wanted to do some chick research, but am carpentering like mad trying to finish my double decker brooder that I thought wouldn't be needed until next week.

 

[rancher hicks]

What happens when you have eggs, say, like my D'Uccles, that both ends of the egg look exactly the same size...how do you know which end the air cell will, and what end to place your eggs? I have had my eggs in what I thought was the fat end up, but when I candled the eggs it looks like the air cell is on the opposite end...

You can candle the egg BEFORE setting it and see the air sac. Just put an X on the proper end. I have a few like that.

 

[Cass]

I have loooooooooooots of eggs. Come get some LOL. I think I will probably bring 20 dozen to auction tomorrow since I can't keep up. I rehomed a couple of my perpetual broodies - just waiting for my little araucana to get broody. She can only take a few eggs so I won't be tempted to stuff a dozen under her. I hope some of your broodies are the big girls and not the banties. =)

Half and half. But they are NOT getting eggs. Period. 96 eggs going to grade schools. IF I can't accumulate enough I will come get some from you. Seriously. But I don't think it is going to be a problem....my neighbor wants some of the chicks, so she is going to give me a dozen of her eggs to add to my collection and take the resulting chicks. (PHEW, that's a few of them spoken for)
But believe me, if I can't get enough eggs together I'll let you know and make a run up to buy some from you.

 

[rancher hicks]

I swore I wouldn't get any chicks til late April....I have seven in the spare room.

oops.

I prefer to hatch early and then have hens laying before the winter sets in. I've gotten chicks late and they didn't begin to lay until the next spring. I like the fat and fully feathered before it gets cold. Some of my BR's don't roost because they were in the brooder too long.

 

[miquwid]

This is why I keep my old girls. Ari, a 7? Year old EE lays an occasional egg still. Only they are HUGE! She laid 2 eggs within this past week.



This is the bigger one!

That's awesome