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

[Alaskan]

Thanks so much for the picture of the Mille fiori, they are chunkier than I thought they would be. They are very pretty though.

 

[loopy12]

Here's a group shot of them all, just for fun:

Ten minutes they were out there, but I swear they all pooped at least once on my garden furniture...just as well they are so cute

 

[loopy12]

I guess he could be a blue or blue splash orpington, but I don't think the breeder has any blues. I have emailed him to ask what it is...

 

[Alaskan]

Wow! Chicks sure are cute.

I don't think he is a blue....but I don't know.

 

[Alaskan]

A mystery chick will make the feathering in time more exciting?

 

[loopy12]

The breeder replied...turns out he was holding out on me and has a blue roo in with the blacks...so mystery chick is a blue orpington...

Hope its a girl...

 

[Alaskan]

I LOVE blue chickens! Congrats!

 

[ashem0]

Wow Loopy you have had a great turn out. And sounds like you have that mystery chickie solved. Congratulations!!

Disco was a mystery until a week ago when the breeder brought some feed round and checked him out... said straight away... "I know who your Daddy is! He's a Silkie!" And sure enough Disco is turning into a rather handsome thing, with a tuft on his head and feathered legs. Looks like my only-lonely French Wheaten is a hen, so hoping for some dark eggs at the end of the year.

My Araucana's are still in the bator... just entered day 22. Not holding out much hope. Thinking I need to get a better bator before cooking for eggs.

Curious to know what you guys use again? Save me trolling through 40 pages of thread....

 

[loopy12]

If they haven't pipped you may as well candle them at this point Ashem.
Hope they are just late though.

I lost one of my Mille chicks last night. He just wouldn't eat or drink. I syringed poultry drench into him but to no avail. He wasn't quite right from the beginning though - would turn his back on the others and stare into space, or walk off and stand in a corner So down to 12 chicks. Beena rough weekend actually - I had to cull the one with the bad leg, this dead mille,one of my full grown hens dropped dead yesterday for no obvious reason, and I also have a hen who has broken her leg/hip. After 3 weeks and no improvement I'm going to have to have her put to sleep to. REally bad weekend for the feathered folk here.

I am designing and making a start on a winter run, closer to the house, which will be more sheltered and less hassle to get to in the snow.

Ashem: I have a Brinsea octagon advance, which is fantastic - fantastic enough that I went away for 2.5 weeks and left it to get on with things....I love the humidity pump because humidity has always been my biggest problem. Expensive though. I had the brinsea octagon eco before and that was pretty good. If you only want to do a few eggs at a time, brinsea do a little incubator, can't remember the name, but have heard good things about it. On the pricey side though. But all the brinsea ones are very cheap to run, if that's a concern.
I also have a hovabator with autoturner- that's what I started out with,and was a cheap option to buy but is less efficient to run and it was pretty good as long as I had a reliable thermometer and hygrometer. I still use it as a hatcher for geese/ducks. Hope that helps.

 

[ashem0]

Oh my, Loopy...that is awful... so sorry to hear your news. May I ask, how the hen got a broken hip/leg? And what you were able to do for her to help?

It seems that sometimes a healthy hatch is just the first hurdle and that we need to get them through the next 2-3 weeks before they are a sure thing. With my first lot of one-dayers I remember a breeder replacing my Australorp 3 times before we got a healthy one! They just kept dying for no apparent reason.

Just googled your Brinsea... certainly is pricey... $700 here. But it sounds reliable. Can't justify spending that amount though.

Thinking of candling again later tonight. But then, I have told myself I don't really want to assist hatching this time round, so don't know what I'd gain from it.