setting eggs in january....

[johnskoi]

yep, i have lights on for warmth in the peapen again .... swore i wasn't gognna do it, buuuuuuuuuutttttt, i have about half a dozen younger peas in there that i feel could've used the added warmth .... hens started laying in late december --- put the 1st 2 under silkie hens -- both are ng ... had 3 or 4 freeze and crack ..... have 17 that i JUST put in the bator (about half were cold when collected and sweated after bringing them in) been dealing with superlow temps like most of you and i'm really a little suprised that the hens will lay ... a few of my boys have full (or almost full) trains... egg collection seems to be 2 a day with an occcaisional extra... will probably increase if more hens get in the mood...

i'll update as things do or don't progress

happy new years,
john

 

[zazouse]

WOW , does your male is mating this early? mine all have trains but no mating going on, didn't get eggs till late april last year out of my 2 year old hens

Sending good hatching vibes

 

[casportpony]

I can't believe you did it again, lol. Sure hope you get lots of chicks!

-Kathy

 

[BYC-user-174785]

I am also in NY, and it is really cold. My peacocks also are not mating, but they do display. I sure would not want to loose eggs to this cold or chicks. Surprisingly all of my peafowl are fine without heat this winter, including the juveniles.

 

[AugeredIn]

I hope they are fertile for you but I doubt it. Turn on those lights and they lay but the rest of the signals to mate just are not there usually.

Keep us updated.

 

[johnskoi]

6 are definitely fertile, 6 are iffy, and i'm pretty sure 5 are no good .... if the eggs were collected in the morning and they were frozen, i marked them -- the 6 good ones were from pm collections, the 5 duds were all frozen, and the 6 that i'm not sure of are a mix...

i'm really not up to doing the peas the inside again this winter/spring .... i always have broody silkies on hand, so i think i'm gonna slip the eggs under them at 2-3 weeks incubation... i've got about 15 - 20 silkie chicks that hatched during the COOOLLLLDD spell and are thriving with their moms so i feel 'somewhat' okay doing this...

 

[AugeredIn]

Interesting. Let us know how it goes.

 

[casportpony]

Interesting. Let us know how it goes.

X2! I'm already chomping at the bit waiting for more peachicks, so it will be nice to see pictures of yours.

-Kathy

 

[zazouse]

X2! I'm already chomping at the bit waiting for more peachicks, so it will be nice to see pictures of yours.

-Kathy

Are you serious?

 

[casportpony]

Are you serious?

Yes, believe it or not, I am looking forward to getting more eggs, but this time I'll be prepared to sell the babies as they hatch. Was also think about honing my incubating skills by trying to hatch Muscovy eggs. Like pea eggs, Muscovy eggs are proving to be difficult for me.

-Kathy