Setting eggs today...20th May...anyone else?

[Alaskan]

They are great!

But, I REALLY want them to grow up already! I want to know for sure their sexes and how their coloring will turn out.

I am a little disappointed that the only olive egg that hatched really does look like a boy. Ah well. I will until he is older and I know for sure, then try to sell him, or just eat him.

I can't remember if I told you'll that I bought two turkeys about a week before my eggs hatched. Anyway, the turkeys are outside in a 10x10 coop. This morning, my son opened the door to go outside and then closed it up again and told me that there was a bear INSIDE my turkey coop! I jumped up, and tried to find a gun, and could only find the twelve billion pellet guns and BB guns that my boys have.

I just knew that bear was currently eating my turkeys, so I finally just grabbed a pellet gun and ran out the door. By the time I got outside, the bear was standing behind the coop looking through the chicken wire into the coop. I ran towards him yelling and waving the gun. He decided to run off, but I had to keep yelling and jumping about before he would go all the way away.

So, my 9 year old, is standing closer to the house, and just standing. He was scared to look in the coop. I went and looked in the coop, and the two turkeys jumped out of their nest area just as fine as could be!!

As far as I could tell, even though the bear opened the coop door and went inside, he didn't eat the turkey's food OR the turkeys!

Couldn't believe it! I wonder if the turkeys actually knew enough to hide in their little nest. It is true that they didn't make any sounds at all, until I went inside the coop and called them. That was why we thought that they were dead, there was no sound from the turkeys while the bear was there.

Anyway, I made a stronger lock for the coop door.

But, that was my excitement for the day.

 

[ashem0]

Holy cow!!!

That sure is some excitement!! The only bears we have over here are cute & cuddly and live high up in the trees.

I would have freaked out! Good thing you have put a stronger lock on the door. Do you think it will come back now it knows the turkeys are there? But surely, if it wanted to eat them it would have done it the first time round? Maybe just curious... not hungry?? What kind of bear? How big? Do they ever come up to the house?

It osund slike your little man is one cool-dude, casually mentioning that there was a BEAR in one of your coops!

He's obviously used to it!

 

[Alaskan]

Actually, that son (#3) is always so calm in a crisis.

I am hoping that since it didn't (I don't think) eat any of the turkey food, and since it didn't eat the turkeys, that it will think the coop does not equal food, and it will not come back. Bears are horrid strong, so if it wanted to get in it could. It was just a black bear, and they are small, so standing up and looking at you, under six feet. And yes, it seems we always have black bears around the house. One left a giant pile of bear poop right by the kids swing set this summer.

I am so happy that my very youngest is now five, so not 'bear snack' size anymore.

My son, (son #3, that saw the bear), actually was driving the go-cart two weeks ago when the engine caught on fire. He just jumped out of the go-cart, and tossed the dirt and gravel from the driveway onto the motor until the fire went out.

A couple of years ago, he had to slide down a snow bank to crawl under my garden bench and reach the reset button for the coop electricity. (Yes, that is oddly set up). As he is sliding down the tall snow bank, head first, he reaches out to reach the reset button. All of a sudden, there is a loud explosion and flame shoots up his arm. He rolled out, pulled off his burning coat, and stuck his arm with the burning sleeve into the snow. After all of the fire was out, he came into the house and told me what had happened. He had reacted so quickly, that none of his skin was burned!

Such an awesome boy! For some reason, I have no idea why, there was a flare under the garden bench, and his coat sleeve had popped the top off and set it off.

 

[ashem0]

Update at my end - lost one to an over-zealous 5yr old helper! It was my best on candling too, so disappointed about that.
The 3 remaining: x1 definite x1 quitter x1 maybe!

My humidity has been stable at 25-28% so I'm feeling more confident about this one. Just a shame it appears to be all for one little chick. I think I will go again after this round with 9 FWM eggs - he has a looong waiting list at the moment though.

I've definitely got the hatching bug!

Alaskan - "Bear-size snack" made me smile. Closest scare we had recently was on a much smaller scale and a little easier to evade: The kids found a Funnel-Web Spider casually strolling across the footpath right next to our gumboots!! Very strange at this time of year, they are the 2nd deadliest spider in the world. Have reminded the kids to shake their boots before putting them on!

 

[Alaskan]

wow! deadly spiders are no fun, lots harder to see than a bear.

I wonder if you will end up with another single chick!

 

[loopy12]

I'm back!

Just catching up. Wow Alaskan...your son is cool as a cucumber in a crisis then. Wonder what he'll be when he's older. A bear?

makes my mink and raccoon run-ins very tame.

Ashem...you're on day 17 now are you?

Ok, I got back Saturday, locked the eggs down that night. I had instructed my housesitter for step by step candling on day 13. She discarded ten of the 25. She cracked them all to be sure and was 100% spot-on - all ten were either infertile or early quitters.
I candled before lockdown and the 15 remaining were all moving.
Today is day 21. So far 5 chicks and a pip One hatched yesterday afternoon - very early!
So far one black orpington, one buff orpington, 2 mille di fiori, and a brahma

 

[loopy12]

Final score: a bakers dozen...
6 mille fiori di lonigo
2 buff orpingtons
1 brahma
3 black orpingtons
And a mystery chick - was labeled black orpington but clearly isn't one...any ideas?




There is a 14th chick but I think I will need to cull it. It hatched with its foot tangled in the membranes coming from its umbilicus, so everytime it tried to push with its foot it pulled on its inseides, and the membranes had cut off circulation in its foot. I got its foot free and its umbilicus has closed up but the foot is curled and it won't pull its leg forward.
Of course we'v been here before with these leg and feet issues, so I've made it a shoe, and a spraddle brace to try and pull it forward, and will give it 24-36 hours to show signs of improvement. Sigh.

On the whole though, very pleased. I know there were 25 eggs to start with, but of the 15 that made it to lockdown only one didn't hatch.
I have a theory on the early quitters too.
I think that because room temp at this time of year is around 85-95 degrees, and because I waited 5 days before setting eggs, some may have started sporadic development of warm days and the stop-start of being at variable room temperature might have been detrimental to their development, thus the early quitting.

Anyway, not a bad outcome.
Any ideas on the mystery chick?

 

[Alaskan]

He could just be a very light black Orpington. Hummmmmm

Need to think about it a bit more.i am super happy you got so many of the Mille fiori to hatch. Gotta live vicariously! . Have pictures of the adults you can post?

 

[loopy12]

These are his adults:


As for mystery chick, I'm sure he's not a black orp. He is very light, and grey and yellow. His black orp hatch mates are jet black heads then gray and white, and the patterning is wrong too. Also he's built more like a buff orpington than a black - if you see what I mean - my buffs always have kind of puffy heads, and he's like that. Can't be a cross-breed either I don't think. When I was there he showed us all his animals and they are kept separate. He'll have peacocks in with hens, but the chicken breeds are apart etc. I think it was a mislabeled egg. But I have looked through the list of breeds he sells eggs from, and its not one of them unless its an olandese (translates as dutch - but I don't know what the equivalent breed name is). Then again he only sells about half the breeds he has right now. I shall email and ask him!
This is mystery chick side by side with a black orp hatchmate - very different.

And here from above...mystery chick is right at the bottom, and the black orps are in the top right corner (along with a millefiori). Very different coloring.

 

[Alaskan]

So, you don't think it is just an odd color Orpington?