Serama Hatch-A-Long!!

[darkbluespace]

Do you have a serama hen you might consider selling? Just thought I'd ask, as I have a young serama roo who is in sore need of a mate, as he's decided he's in love with my hubby's hand and that hand has about reached its limit with the loving.

We have two other roosters who are happily partnered, so I'm not eager to hatch more to grow another hen for the solo rooster at this point. I'm trying to find a mellow young or grown gal who will pair up with this unusual guy; we hand raised him from a very crushed egg, so although he now resides with the flock, he still thinks he's part human.

And...I too am obsessed with these birds! As part of my daily meditation, I sit with them as they graze. It's the most joy-filled thing I do with my life.

Where do you live?

 

[janicew1290]

I live in Aptos, California, about an hour and a half south of San Francisco on the coast.

 

[darkbluespace]

I live in Aptos, California, about an hour and a half south of San Francisco on the coast.

I'm in Portland so that doesn't help... not sure if you posted on the main Serama thread, they might be able to help.

 

[darkbluespace]

Sorry for the long pause in conversation! I figured I would continue once I had something relevant to share again, My eggs have arrived, though the small egg plate for the mini advance was supposed to arrive today too as well and didn't show up.. fingers crossed they come monday. My sweet cochin hen went broody, so I gave her 6 of the eggs today. Broody vs Brinsea, who will hatch the best % of shipped serama eggs?! It will be fun to see (and saves me having to boot up my failed home-made 'bator!)

Here is my spreadsheet. It doesn't have all the information most people's do, but I feel this is all I need, and want hatching to be fun.. not homework. Sadly as you can see, the majority of the eggs I was sent are porous to some degree. Many have a very pointed end. I am giving them the benefit of a doubt and hoping for the best! I will be photographing each egg at each candling and weighing. I can't mark air cells because I honestly can't see them.

We have an outdoor porch that was originally built probably 20 years back, from all signs it looks like it was used to protect some hardier plants from rare poor weather (like getting cactus out of the snow) and starting seedlings in spring. I'm going to be fixing it up in to a greenhouse porch come spring, though not for vegetables - I'll be putting in tropical fish ponds, as well as the 300 gallon tub for my pet common snapping turtle Gamera (who is a dollface) and as an overwinter/inclement weather home for my red footed tortoise, Mary. After someone stole my ranchu goldfish from my pond this year, I will be glad of a locked door between intruders and my ponds. I hear you on the hatching eggs fever! Serama are the only breed I want to work with in earnest before we buy land, but someday I also want to work with more breeds and emu, selling hatching eggs alongside aquarium shrimp, exotic reptiles, feeder insects and artwork related goods. I'm going to call it Cockatrice Farms, because of the chickens and the snakes. One can dream as big as one wants, I guess!

I hope your egg turner comes soon! I guess you could hand turn them till it arrives. Awesome timing on the broody too! I started my 7 shipped Seramas on the 11th and I took a peak today and I could hardly believe that 5 or 6 have development!! Sadly, my now 14 Silkie eggs don't look very good... I am hoping there is something going on that I can't see yet.

I love to hear all your plans! Is is wonderful to dream and be moving life in the direction of those dreams.

My son and I went and picked up our turkeys today! 4 adult Bourbon Red Heritage Turkeys! I am excited to see them tomorrow in their new enclosure that I have been working hard on. I also have about 80+ quail to hatch next week. I will be seriously overrun soon : )

 

[janicew1290]

Thanks, I did not know it existed. However, I'm making progress, and have found a fellow who raises seramas in Chico, several hours away. We are in dialogue.

Janice

 

[Skink]

I hope your egg turner comes soon! I guess you could hand turn them till it arrives. Awesome timing on the broody too! I started my 7 shipped Seramas on the 11th and I took a peak today and I could hardly believe that 5 or 6 have development!! Sadly, my now 14 Silkie eggs don't look very good... I am hoping there is something going on that I can't see yet.

I love to hear all your plans! Is is wonderful to dream and be moving life in the direction of those dreams.

My son and I went and picked up our turkeys today! 4 adult Bourbon Red Heritage Turkeys! I am excited to see them tomorrow in their new enclosure that I have been working hard on. I also have about 80+ quail to hatch next week. I will be seriously overrun soon : )

I handed them off to my broody yesterday, and will be taking certain ones out from under her once the small egg plate arrives. She won't be happy about me lifting her off the nest since she already did her run around for food and to stretch her legs, but she'll get over it. She's stuck to that nest like glue... if I don't MAKE her get up, she WON'T. Sat for more than 24 hours on that nest, was smacking her beak she was so thirsty but I still had to forcefully lift her up and set her by her water to get her to drink.

Bourbon reds are gorgeous!! I'm going to start with midget whites, but I want to have bourbon reds and royal palms someday. I love some of the more wild patterned turkeys, but I could see them getting stolen and shot for sport by the trigger happy types around here if they don't stick out like a sore thumb, as it is something I've been warned about multiple times here. Makes me sad that is something to even consider. How many tomsns did you get? 1:3?

For the heck of it, here's a video of some royal palm toms bullying a soccer ball

 

[darkbluespace]

I handed them off to my broody yesterday, and will be taking certain ones out from under her once the small egg plate arrives. She won't be happy about me lifting her off the nest since she already did her run around for food and to stretch her legs, but she'll get over it. She's stuck to that nest like glue... if I don't MAKE her get up, she WON'T. Sat for more than 24 hours on that nest, was smacking her beak she was so thirsty but I still had to forcefully lift her up and set her by her water to get her to drink.

Bourbon reds are gorgeous!! I'm going to start with midget whites, but I want to have bourbon reds and royal palms someday. I love some of the more wild patterned turkeys, but I could see them getting stolen and shot for sport by the trigger happy types around here if they don't stick out like a sore thumb, as it is something I've been warned about multiple times here. Makes me sad that is something to even consider. How many tomsns did you get? 1:3?

For the heck of it, here's a video of some royal palm toms bullying a soccer ball

I hope the Serama eggs are doing well!! That video is hilarious! I don't know what my turkeys would do if I threw a ball in there??!! We got one tom and three hens. Apparently last year the 3 hens laid over 300 eggs! We want to sell the eggs and sell some poults. I am a little worried about them right now because they just are sitting out in the rain. They have a coop but are just roosting out in the pen on a roost I put up so they won't roost on the fence. I am contemplating how I can keep them dry but I can't do anything about it tonight. I am used to ducks being out in the rain but mostly I like to know my birds are warm and cozy... this whole turkey thing is new.

I was at a holiday party today and someone told me "Happy eggs!" They know what I love!! I am really excited my shipped Seramas from Kentucky are doing amazingly well! I got 7 eggs and had 2 quitters and the other 5 are developing wonderfully on day 9 today! I also just set another 12 shipped Seramas last night and 4 more from my newly laying hen... it looks like the last 2 of hers I put in the incubator are fertile!

And... my poor shipped Silkie eggs that turned out to be totally scrambled... I didn't even have any start developing... are going to be replaced so I am so grateful for that! I want to get some better coops built... maybe some chicken tractors so I can move them around on the grass. With all this rain I just like everyone to be warm and dry!

 

[darkbluespace]

Also, the 80+ quail should be hatching in the next few days... I hope they all hatch and hope I can sell them all : )

 

[Skink]

I have read that turkeys take longer to learn to return to their house. Most suggestions I've seen involve cooping them up for an extended period, sometimes even two weeks, then only letting half of them stray far for a few days before letting them all out. They're so much better at roosting in trees or on roofs than chickens I'm not surprised they take longer to learn what home is. I'm sorry they are worrying you! If it is any consolation I've seen people commending their turkeys for staying in trees through snowstorms with no trouble.

I am candling the eggs tomorrow! I will post pictures when I do them. Some are on day 10 right now, but I decided to candle them all on the later day for simplicity's sake. Yikes!! Sorry about the total wash on your silkie eggs! I bet it can be attributed to the time of year. Postal staff are under a TON of stress.. my fiance's dad works as a delivery man for UPS, this time of year and a little past new year's he never gets home before 8 o'clock. He is functionally a mail zombie - come home, sleep, get up early to go right back to work. I bet it inspires additional carelessness. I hope any of my eggs at all are developing.

Congrats on your laying hen giving you some good eggs!!!

 

[darkbluespace]

Thanks, I am sure they are okay, I might just find a way to put some rain protection over the outside roost, just to make myself feel better. I notice that I can't really relax when I feel like someone is out in the rain. I know they are going into the coop because I see fresh poop in there, they just don't want to sleep in there.

Let us know how the eggs are tomorrow... so exciting!! I knocked the wires out of my thermostat so I had an accidental cool down tonight... oops!