NY chicken lover!!!!

[Nuttyfrom6kids]

I am so excited I just candled my eggs and I can see little chicks moving around in the one bator and the other you can see bigger chicks that one is on day 11 I think only one egg is looking like it didn't make it. Oh I can't wait to get the other incubators going kids think I am nuts. I am wanting to get some different Marans and eventually hatch the eggs the problem is finding Marans especially Splash, Black and Blue Copper ones. Anyone have a source to get some Marans?

 

[JLaw]

CONGRATS NUTTY!!! I cant wait to try incubating wife thinks i'm crazy. Then again she don't want chickens so I think she's crazy. I don't know if tab has any more but I got 3 marans today from her and hubby. Cant remember what kinds they have though. Mainly I was looking for different colored eggs when I was buying mine. I have light brown wanted some darker eggs. Next year I want to have a nice rainbow of eggs white blue green brown and dark brown.

jlaw

 

[Nuttyfrom6kids]

CONGRATS NUTTY!!! I cant wait to try incubating wife thinks i'm crazy. Then again she don't want chickens so I think she's crazy. I don't know if tab has any more but I got 3 marans today from her and hubby. Cant remember what kinds they have though. Mainly I was looking for different colored eggs when I was buying mine. I have light brown wanted some darker eggs. Next year I want to have a nice rainbow of eggs white blue green brown and dark brown.

jlaw

The incubating is so fun don't feel bad my kids think I am crazy to get so excited about eggs with movement in them hubby is used to me so he don't say anything other than to go along with what I want and I am going to Tabs this Friday so will see what she has I do have a couple Marans I got from Tab but I want more.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Ok, I am ready, no more than ready, for this rain to STOP ALREADY. My soil has a LOT of clay in it so my yard is a swimming pool right now. Last time I fell and got a HUGE bruise on my leg. It is just nicely healed up and last night I put on my boots, as to not repeat the mistake causing my first fall of sneakers in this rain, and went down to "do the chickens". I FELL AGAIN. This time I hit the front of my leg full on (instead of a glancing blow like last time). It swelled as big as a baseball. It hurt so much I went to the ER/ED to see if I had chipped the bone. (I knew it wasn't broken because I could walk on it, drive even, cuz that' s how I got to the hospital) It is so swollen that it is making my toes tingle when my leg is down. Was I smart enough to hold off going to ER until after I went to work today so I could get worker's comp? No. I played it straight and went when my toes started to be involved in a leg injury.

3 ducks hatched. The last one was a late quitter....cracked the egg and it was fully formed but yolk sac wasn't absorbed. Poor baby. The momma was eating out of my hand to show them how to do it. Man, she has an evil pinch when she grabs food out of my hand. I quickly remembered why I don't hand feed my chickens.

I do think that the ducks will fit in very nicely with my flock. The chickens haven't even slowed down their foraging due to rain. They go in the coop each night looking like drown rats. The 3 medium size chicks were playing chase through the largest puddle they could find. I am hoping the extra water causes them to grow faster. Their momma is showing signs of wanting her freedom sooner than her sister did. I fear for these 3, cuz they just aren't growing as fast as I think they should. Maybe I should throw some chick feed into the woods where she takes them every morning so they get more nutrition than bugs contain. They are only a week younger than the first hatch and they have almost no feathers. The first hatch is fully feathered and roosting up high with momma already.

Remind me again why I am raising chickens? Is it for the eggs? I haven't had over 18 hens lay more than 3 eggs any day this week. I am not amused. I am going to worm them this weekend. If they aren't laying anyway, why not worm them, right? No worry about "egg withdrawal" that way.

You are raising chickens coz you like them ! Eggs are a bonus ...Did you switch brands of feed like I did ? Mine were eating too much of everything but Layer .
Sorry to hear you fell again ...Are you able to stay home & put it up ?

 

[Lynzi777]

Morning Everyone,
Locked down my eggs this morning!!!! I must have had a dream last night that they were cheeping already cuz I woke up in a panic thinking OMG are they hatching already!?!?!

I really hope this works and nothing happens from today until Saturday. Only two eggs in there and I'm hoping I don't get stuck with a lonely chick. But then again this Saturday will be "lockdown" day for Stella's eggs. So if there is only one I could always try placing it with her and the rest of the eggs. That should work out perfect. If they hatch and are all dried out by Sunday/Monday Stella's eggs will be hatching Tuesday/Wednesday.

 

[vmdanielsen]

.My run is a mud pit at the moment, and it's pretty, um, fragrant.

I'm going to throw down some shavings and compressed pine pellets tomorrow just to see if I can cut down on the smell and harden up the surface a bit. This rain is ridiculous! We're going to put down concrete in part of the run and just keep litter over it, because it'll be easier to clean, but future plans don't help much right now.

I have my spraddle-legged "special needs" poult Gobbles sleeping in my shirt at the moment, because it's very cute, is happy and contented when held, and I'm getting attached to it. It looks like the leg may have been malpositioned in the egg or something happened to it during hatching. The hock on that side is bigger than on the good side (dislocated or malformed? can't tell), the foot is not fully responsive, and the leg is still wonky even with hobbling, although it's slowly improving. I'm going to keep hobbling it to see if it helps. The little thing is in no pain, and is learning to get around pretty well, as of course it hasn't known anything else. I will of course do the humane thing if it ever comes down to it, but I'd really rather not, as this is turning out to be a pretty cool little bird.

But will you be able to eat it?

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Morning all! A nice cool day today and I am hoping for some sun. We are supposed to get lots more rain tomorrow night which means the pump will be going pumping out the back yard. We are saturated and sit on clay so there is no place for the water to go.

I use the pine mulch from the tree branches we had chipped up two years ago in the runs. It gets the cheeps up off the ground a little bit and the poop gets mixed into it as they dig. When the sun is out it drys it out and there is no smell. I just remove some every now and then and replace it with new. In the fall I use the leaves and pine needles I rake up around the yard. I love free stuff.

Cass--take care of that leg. You need to find a minion to help you out!

Pyxis--.5ml/cc per large fowl and I have never stopped eating the eggs. I think, if I remember correctly, that there is no egg withdrawel with this med but dont quote me on that. I think thats why I chose this med over the others.

Jlaw---lots of good advice on the dog. Patience and time may reward you with a loyal and loving companion. Good luck with your hatching. We all learn by doing. I am still learning!

Tab---hope you are feeling good.

Rancher---I hope all this rain isnt killing your garden.

Stony--nice pic. Does your wife know you put that up? hehehe

Off to the pharm. Heres hoping for a non-drive through, fill everything, call my doctor, I;ll be back in 5 min for my 20 scripts kind of day!

 

[Cass]

In my experience putting sand over a mud pit makes quick sand. I didn't do it on purpose, believe me. I threw the sand out of the small side to get it ready for the ducklings. I planned to scoop it up and move it. The chickens spread it out for me however. So I left it. Now that wet spot is like walking in quick sand. The chickens hate to walk on it and it sucks my boots off my feet if I am not careful. So if you are going to put sand somewhere, it might be best to put a layer of stones down first so the water has someplace to go, instead of just making soggy wet sand on top of soggy wet non-draining soil.

My huge bruise is starting to itch. Of course it HURTS when I scratch it, but it is healing. I'm sick of being injured. I might have to start paying attention to what I am doing before I do it, in the near future, if I want to stay uninjured.

Sunny and a nice swift breeze out there today. I hope it keeps up so the strawberries dry out. I need to pick them today, before the rain resumes. I got enough Sunday for shortcake for 3 people. Maybe today I can get enough to make a small batch of jam. Ray claims he wants to do that. (We'll see who winds up making it, since he has never done it before. LOL)

ml = cc? WOW, the things you learn around here. Now I won't feel stupid when I say ml's for dosage. There is no egg withdrawal with Epernex (sp). At least that's what they all say, since there is no time for withdrawal of meat for butchering if you use it for cows, like it is intended. Somewhere I read that they use that stuff on humans in third world countries. Not that that is the litmus test for safety....they still put iodine on cuts in third world countries and we all know that isn't the safest thing in the world to do.

 

[AQHAchick22]

Quote:
Don't be shocked if they start hatching tomorrow! I locked mine down the morning of day 18 and the morning of day 19 I woke up to a chick already hatched! So careful, maybe it wont be a dream if you hear peeping.

 

[Lynzi777]

Don't be shocked if they start hatching tomorrow! I locked mine down the morning of day 18 and the morning of day 19 I woke up to a chick already hatched! So careful, maybe it wont be a dream if you hear peeping.

I'm telling ya, with how much they've grown and how little space was left in the eggs when I candled yesterday, I don't know how much longer they can go in those eggs. I was getting worried last week when I saw how full those eggs were! Keeping my fingers crossed!!!