Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[hendricks115]

No matter how many times we do it, I'm still as excited as my 5 year old when chicks hatch! Today is the day! 2 hatched overnight and are dry and in the brooder and 17 more have pipped. Waiting anxiously for some sign from 12 more. Pictures to follow!

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

..well, if you have some extra hands and time..you can come on over and help me get it started ....My shovel welding activities are on hold until further notice at this time...and i absolutely hate it! ....and a bit of.. ...but i can watch the girls enjoy the yard for a while...the weather did a complete turn around this afternoon!! so happy, it really is the little things that can lift you up ad make you smile.. how about a trap..live trap...then you could relocate..maybe they are going to be beautiful, now you only have 15 months till they mature.. ..i know, that is fun part, to watch

It did turn out to be a lovely day yesterday, today is proving to be the same! Shovel welding? You're doing metal now? Or did you mean weilding? It's always a pleasure to watch the chickens. Yesterday someone made a comment to me that I may not have chickens one day. Yeah right!

Hello everyone! I'm from hookstown pa. (Near Pittsburgh. But closer to west Virginia and ohio). I just started my first flock. 2 Columbian rock crosses and 4 Deklab amberlinks. Anyone near me? Lol and does anyone know some info on these breeds?

Welcome to the party!

No matter how many times we do it, I'm still as excited as my 5 year old when chicks hatch! Today is the day! 2 hatched overnight and are dry and in the brooder and 17 more have pipped. Waiting anxiously for some sign from 12 more. Pictures to follow!

We want pics! I would be so excited too! So nice out today. It's very hard to sit in work here with the door open, I may run out before 2:00 p.m. It's going to be a sore night though, I worked out yesterday and I want to get out there and garden a plenty today and that involved throwing bags of soil.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Has anyone ever used the Wall o Waters for their plants? Do you like them? I just ordered my first set this year and I got my tomato plants in yesterday, so I will set them up today. Excited!

 

[OneMountainAcres]

5 out so far and 4 more pipped! Feeling good about this hatch. I'll put up good, cute pics once they're all out and fluffy

 

[chippysmom327]

Guys, don't let anyone tell you that eggs over 10 days won't be viable. I set some 16 day old eggs that I didn't turn (I feel like the whole "turning hatching eggs" is a myth), and they're developing embryos. Just thought I'd post it for future reference.

 

[SilkieSensation]

AND I stopped paying attention for a couple hours to go do some spring cleaning in the coops and I come back to 4 pips lol

A watched egg never pips

Finally caught up from Easter break... so much cuteness!!!

I am so tired of the mud, even the grassy lawn is soggy and gross. The poor chicken run is a mud pit and it stinks so I opened up the fence to let them free range in the grass. it always makes me nervous because we don't have a fenced yard so three's nothing stopping them from visiting the neighbors or going out in the road.

Had a scary moment today with the rooster... normally really sweet and showing no aggression towards us at all, but this afternoon he went after my 3yo. I think she scared him because she was running down the hill near the chickens (which were out in the yard again) and calling to her big sister. I was across the yard and carrying the baby so I couldn't get there before he jumped up at her twice. She wasn't hurt, just scared and now she's afraid to walk near him. I think they need more social time with us after a long winter of basically being out there alone. I had Evie give them some scratch grains. Anything else I can do (or help the kids do) to get him to chill out? He'll be in a stew pot and I'll lose my chance to expand our flock naturally if he doesn't calm down. DH will not stand for any aggressive birds.

So Romeo has been pretty rough on the hens lately too... we only have 4 girls and I'm thinking he needs some more ladies. I had noticed some roughed up feathers on the hens backs a while ago, but today one of the BAs was rearranging her wings and I saw she actually has some bare skin under there. Someone here bought saddles or something for their girls a while back... where do you get them? are they hard to put on/keep on?

One last question for Wing or anyone else who breeds rabbits... we bred ours for the first time a few weeks ago so se should be due today/tomorrow. I put a nest box filled with straw in her cage 2 days ago. She hasn't done anything to indicate she's getting a nest ready... and she pooped in the nest box despite me putting in in the corner opposite her normal poop spot. I'm worried we screwed up and he's either not pregnant (they were together for 2 days because she wouldn't let me pick her up to put her back in her cage), I did th nest box wrong (nest box from TSC, just stuffed with straw), or I have this (probably irrational) fear that we got the bunnies mixed up and the nest box is actually in with the male. I tried to feel their bellies yesterday when I was giving them snacks but I couldn't distinguish anything... should I be able to feel anything obvious if the doe is pregnant? 

A pregnant doe typically develops a roll of extra fur under her neck, which she then pulls out for her nest. I always watch for the neck roll. A first time momma develops it in the last week or so before birthing. A doe who has had a litter before will have a small roll until that last week, then it will get noticably bigger.

Hello everyone! I'm from hookstown pa. (Near Pittsburgh. But closer to west Virginia and ohio). I just started my first flock. 2 Columbian rock crosses and 4 Deklab amberlinks. Anyone near me? Lol and does anyone know some info on these breeds?

I'm over in Ohio, about 45 minutes from the PA border just off of 40. I get over around Wheeling on occasion.

Guys, don't let anyone tell you that eggs over 10 days won't be viable. I set some 16 day old eggs that I didn't turn (I feel like the whole "turning hatching eggs" is a myth), and they're developing embryos. Just thought I'd post it for future reference.

I've set unturned eggs, a month old, that had been in the fridge the last week before going in the bator...and had over 50% hatch rate. Yep, they will still hatch.

 

[18angovem]

It did turn out to be a lovely day yesterday, today is proving to be the same!

Whats the temp there? Here it is sunny off and on and cold. Only like 40. I mean that is warmer than it was last tuesday..... I have been digging all day. I have a fox problem and I am afraid he will dig under the fences because my fences arent buried. So far all but one coop have now have a trench around them! The ducks are afraid to step over the trench. lol. They just stand there and squack at it. So today is a free range day for everyone because the fences are down and they are loving it! (Especially the worms they get out of the loose dirt)

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Whats the temp there? Here it is sunny off and on and cold. Only like 40. I mean that is warmer than it was last tuesday..... I have been digging all day. I have a fox problem and I am afraid he will dig under the fences because my fences arent buried. So far all but one coop have now have a trench around them! The ducks are afraid to step over the trench. lol. They just stand there and squack at it. So today is a free range day for everyone because the fences are down and they are loving it! (Especially the worms they get out of the loose dirt)

60 and sunny. Tomorrow is supposed to be 68!

 

[18angovem]

60 and sunny. Tomorrow is supposed to be 68!

Oh wow! I think it is weird I have 50 degrees today but we have the same weather tomorrow....

 

[LisaYolkUm]

I wonder how many of us will be cleaning out the coops this weekend? !

I just did............at least most of it............

I will be doing a bit more thorough version soon...........but for now...........the winter deep litter method is now in the compost pile!

taking my babies out for their first day on the grass and sun.............

I did put in a shovel of dirt and grass in their brooder so they could learn about it and get used to it!

now for the real deal.

I feel they cant be out really long because its not that warm.........and they are between 3-4 weeks so they still have the heat lamp.

I am thinking a short outdoor romp must be okay though!