Post Your First Egg of 2016!!!

[KsKingBee]

Update: 10 Mar 2016, my greens started today, Central, Texas.



Gerald Barker

Whoopie!!!

I hope you have better fertility than mine so far.

 

[KsKingBee]

Meet Mikey, Rocky & Ninja

Mikey hatched 2/25/16 (this photo is about a week old)



Rocky hatched yesterday afternoon...



Ninja popped out at about 6:45 this morning. You can see Mikey in the background, checking out the wee one...

Next year, I am definitely replacing the heat lamps with a DARKER coop heat source!!! In the meantime, I have to figure out how to integrate two new chicks with a two week older (and much bigger) sibling, or get busy build
ing another hutch so I can move more incubator eggs to the hatcher. The hens have been laying their behinds off.

Wow, you win the kewpie doll!

We are just glad to be getting eggs and you already have babies! Congrats on the cuties!

If you have some extra wire just make a divider in the brooder to protect the chicks.

AND,

!!!

 

[barkerg]

Whoopie!!!     I hope you have better fertility than mine so far.  

X2
Gerald Barker

 

[Garden Peas]

We are just glad to be getting eggs and you already have babies!

That's because the rest of you are too smart to use heat lamps in your peasheds. Mother Nature is assisting you in timing your hatch so that you don't have to experience the joy of house peas. As we all know, peababies are adorable -- but wholly impractical as house pets, particularly when they become pea-teenagers...

 

[KsKingBee]

That's because the rest of you are too smart to use heat lamps in your peasheds. Mother Nature is assisting you in timing your hatch so that you don't have to experience the joy of house peas. As we all know, peababies are adorable -- but wholly impractical as house pets, particularly when they become pea-teenagers...

Yes, I don't heat or light my coop, but I do have a house pea, well a garage pea.



She makes for a good foot warmer when she isn't sleeping.

 

[Birdrain92]

That's because the rest of you are too smart to use heat lamps in your peasheds. Mother Nature is assisting you in timing your hatch so that you don't have to experience the joy of house peas. As we all know, peababies are adorable -- but wholly impractical as house pets, particularly when they become pea-teenagers...

I prefer to work with nature. I know how to throw my birds off but I prefer not to.

 

[thndrdancr]

I use a heat lamp but no eggs yet, am jealous Bill is getting them! My white male has been ready for a month and a half, but my India Blue agrees with the hens. Too early...yawn!


I have to use a light or my birdies won't go in the coop, silly things are afraid of the dark.

 

[Birdrain92]

I use a heat lamp but no eggs yet, am jealous Bill is getting them! My white male has been ready for a month and a half, but my India Blue agrees with the hens. Too early...yawn!

I have to use a light or my birdies won't go in the coop, silly things are afraid of the dark.

How long is their daylight including the heat lamp?

 

[Garden Peas]

I prefer to work with nature. I know how to throw my birds off but I prefer not to.

Yes, @Birdrain92 , that's absolutely the best way -- you and @KsKingBee are smart not to introduce light that artificially lengthens the day light hours. The little (not so little anymore) spalding hen managed all winter with no light and no heat -- quite nerve wracking given that she's a spalding and our nights get pretty cold -- but she only went in her box when the weather was truly awful, spent the rest of the evenings on her carpeted perch outside. No eggs from her.

Unfortunately, because my twisted tibia male cannot cover his feet very well with the bad leg, I feel as though it is not safe for him to be without heat. If that bad leg gets frost-bitten, he's done for. The heat lamps keep the coop just above freezing (or barely below) on our coldest nights, and he does okay with that. He's not looking great this year, but he's managing. He uses a lot more energy just trying to get around every day. Next year I am hoping I will have a better heat source that doesn't also put out light. Even with the red bulbs, I think there is just too much light in the coop at night. Everybody else is in there with him. Both the BS hen and the not-so-little anymore opal SP hen have been laying since just after Christmas.

BTW, I think it is not just hours of daylight -- perhaps part of the trigger is the INCREASING hours of daylight. In other words, there may be something in the rate of change rather than just the straight day length involved. That might explain why we hear about some northern birds laying earlier than some southern ones... the day length varies more dramatically (and more rapidly) up there. It's clearly not just temperature -- I'm not sure if temperature is even a factor. These hens have been laying in January (or even December) here for the last two winters and it was getting down to just about freezing in the coop for many of those nights. But the eggs kept on a comin'. Anyway, I think things will go more traditionally once I have a darker solution, lol.

 

[barkerg]

Yes, @Birdrain92
, that's absolutely the best way -- you and @KsKingBee
are smart not to introduce light that artificially lengthens the day light hours.  The little (not so little anymore) spalding hen managed all winter with no light and no heat -- quite nerve wracking given that she's a spalding and our nights get pretty cold -- but she only went in her box when the weather was truly awful, spent the rest of the evenings on her carpeted perch outside.  No eggs from her.

Unfortunately, because my twisted tibia male cannot cover his feet very well with the bad leg, I feel as though it is not safe for him to be without heat.  If that bad leg gets frost-bitten, he's done for.  The heat lamps keep the coop just above freezing (or barely below) on our coldest nights, and he does okay with that.  He's not looking great this year, but he's managing.  He uses a lot more energy just trying to get around every day.  Next year I am hoping I will have a better heat source that doesn't also put out light.  Even with the red bulbs, I think there is just too much light in the coop at night.  Everybody else is in there with him.  Both the BS hen and the not-so-little anymore opal SP hen have been laying since just after Christmas. 

BTW, I think it is not just hours of daylight -- perhaps part of the trigger is the INCREASING hours of daylight.  In other words, there may be something in the rate of change rather than just the straight day length involved.  That might explain why we hear about some northern birds laying earlier than some southern ones... the day length varies more dramatically (and more rapidly) up there. It's clearly not just temperature -- I'm not sure if temperature is even a factor.  These hens have been laying in January (or even December) here for the last two winters and it was getting down to just about freezing in the coop for many of those nights.  But the eggs kept on a comin'.  Anyway, I think things will go more traditionally once I have a darker solution, lol.

Good read. Great job in caring for your birds.

Thank you,

Gerald Barker