Scary sight in my hatcher!

[Mrs MIA]

I think I may have the only one in Alaska... or at least on the Peninsula.

I like him/her because s/he is unique... like my one polish.

Any ideas if this is a male or female? I think it's a male, but the hens keep pecking the tail feathers making it difficult to tell. It's 6 months old now.
Funny story on how it got its name... I was told very late in the hatch that there might be a NN in the set of eggs I was shipped. I had two chicks hatch from that set, and the first one was a creamsicle... orange and white. But when this...

... tumbled out of the egg, I just chuckled, took a picture with my cell phone and forwarded it to hubby. His reply was one word... "D.a.m.i.t."
So that's its name.

We've tried to call it other names, but it never sticks. Then it fluffed out, and it started to grow on me.

These were taken at 22 weeks...

Any thoughts on male or female? The comb doesn't look very big, but the green sheen and I think I see pointed hackle feathers might give it away... no crowing or egg laying yet.
Help? (sorry to hijack... )

 

[shelleyd2008]

Now that wet baby pic is a cutie! It looks like it literally 'tumbled' out of that egg! I have no idea on the sex btw.

 

[sara]

I don't know if I should say congrats or I'm sorry. You've got quite the little chick there.

 

[mainchick]

i love the little baby dinosaurs!!

 

[monarc23]

I showed your chick to my mom to see her reaction...it was priceless.... stunned silience

 

[Mrs MIA]

They DO look rather prehistoric, don't they!

But they grow on you, and though he's a scaredy cat, there's something sort of regal about his manner.

 

[halo]

Um....well, they are different, for sure.....and I guess thats why theres sooo many different breeds of chickens, different strokes for different folks.

Lisa, its funny you got that early hatch, I wonder if it isnt a bit genetic. My blue/barreds always hatch early. Ive hatched so many now, that I get concerned if the hatch isnt done by day 20. I used to think maybe my bator was just a tad too hot, but I now have buff orps in the hatcher from Ugly Ducky, and they are starting to pip now at day 20, just like they are supposed to. I was watching the bator yesterday at day 19, wondering why I wasnt seeing any pips. I got so used to seeing early hatches, I forgot they were EARLY.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

You mean I've been counting wrong all this time?
What happened to "Set on Monday, Hatch on Monday"?

They are kind of scary / homely just out of the shell, but all chicks are before they dry and fluffy.

I'm not offended, but

When I run into a new mother with a new baby that is....ummm.....not so easy on the eyes I tell them...."how precious".

because it would be really rude to just say "I think that's an ugly baby!".

I think the 'only Naked Neck on the Peninsula' is a boy. It's so cute he has a beard as a chick but lost it. Looks like he's going to be a big guy!

I'd have to go back and look at the calender to see when your blue / barred chicks hatched here.

Lisa​

 

[Mrs MIA]

Thanks Dipsy!

That's what I thought. He is pretty big already... very hefty.

I wonder about the earliness of your hatch... what kind of incubator are you using? I've noticed that the incubators with the more stable settings usually are a little early on the hatches. I've been caught by surprise with pips the day after I move them to the hatcher after using my Hovabator as opposed to my homemade. Might be the breed, but I think it might be the incubation process, too. If your temps are high by even a degree for the whole duration, that can make a difference. As for counting, if you set at 8am Monday, then 8am Tuesday is day 1 (24 hours done) and technically they should hatch around 8am Monday three weeks from the set date. So yes, the Monday-Monday scenario should hold true.

 

[pbjmaker]

Whenever I have hatched any of Dipsey's eggs they have been early also - makes me wonder if it's genetic?