Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[cheeka]

really cute SBMom! probably EE's rather than true to breed, but they will lay colored eggs, or donate the gene...

2 have hatched for sure! the one from this morning is BR x EE, cream egg, and the newest to hatch is EE all the way, blue egg. still waiting for BSL x EE from a medium brown color speckled egg.



gorgeous broody Mama

second to hatch, tucked under her wing

Mama's back is erupting!

the first to hatch pops up ~ must be missing a party or something up topside!

so sweet, with eyeliner and everything!

 

[BullChick]

really cute SBMom! probably EE's rather than true to breed, but they will lay colored eggs, or donate the gene...

2 have hatched for sure! the one from this morning is BR x EE, cream egg, and the newest to hatch is EE all the way, blue egg. still waiting for BSL x EE from a medium brown color speckled egg.



gorgeous broody Mama

second to hatch, tucked under her wing

Mama's back is erupting!

the first to hatch pops up ~ must be missing a party or something up topside!

so sweet, with eyeliner and everything!

 

[showbarnmom]

Oh yea, def EE coming from ideal. I made sure to ask which hatchery they came from lol. But these look close to true, but ya know how it goes lol. I did get a solid white one, which slate legs and a beard. Lmao!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

5.7 magnitude earthquake in No. CA last night! W4W! I hope y'all didn't feel more than a rumble!!!!! heavy rains and flash flooding here... guess super storms is what we're in for on Earth from now on.

I was catching up on the California- northern thread last night and read about the quake from other posters! We didn't feel anything here, but folks in the north Sierra foothills sure did. The fault lines near us have been pretty quiet for the last 15+ years. Not a good sign to have them just sit there gathering tension.

Growing up I remember my mom saying the weather sure is strange this year. But, she said it practically every year!!

Sun's going into an inactive sunspot phase for a while, so that will cause some changes as will the shift in the wobbling earth's axis (northern hemisphere leaning more away from the sun). Hard to say what the net effect will be, but I don't think I'd want to be living at sea level near the coast.

That's so great your friends will help fix the bachelor pad. You can repay them with eggs. How long is the rain supposed to last?

Sooo sweeet! Mylee will have a ball with the babies.


Peach looks like she's melting here.

She needs a WIDE LOAD sign!!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Ahhhhh!!!! The feed store struck! They were just so cute. And mostly feathered. And...and....I really just wanted more colored egg layers. "amercaunas" from ideal

Oooooh. I was at the feed store just this morning. They had a fresh batch of EEs that took me about 20 minutes of agonizing consideration before I could talk myself out of getting some. I was thinking of getting a couple to put under my skinny broody, but we won't be here for a while next month, and I don't want to depend on our 14 yr old chicken sitter to care for chicks. So I didn't get any.

This has pics of the accepted Ameraucana colors. http://www.ameraucana.org/index.html Anything else that doesn't fit they call an EE. Pure Ams have blue/slate legs (never green/yellow) and should lay blue/turquoise eggs (not green), so your all white EE could potentially be your one candidate for showing as a pure Ameraucana! Showing chickens is unlike other animals in that there are no pedigrees. Either the bird meets the standard or it doesn't. Doesn't matter who or what the parents were, only the result. My EE mutt lays more and larger eggs than the Ameraucanas. Maybe next year I can get skinny broody some EE chicks.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I told you that I had shut the door between the coops last night. This morning, the bottom of the door was shoved in, and there were 3 other girls in there. IDK if they were that determined to lay in there, or the door got like that from the roosters running around, and maybe body slamming it.
I want to have a rooster pen. 2 roosters are together, one is in a pen with his girls, 2 GLW chicks are roosters, and of the 3 BCM I hatched 3 weeks ago, I am pretty sure one is a boy (maybe all 3, but I don't want to jinx it!

)
I need to know if it is safe for the BCM rooster that is separated with his girls. The chicks are too young to fight for dominance, so they just have to endure a little pecking order.
If it helps, here are the ages:
Rocky is 10 mos. Shadow is 11 months. They are together. Shadow is dominant.
BCM that I never named is ... I think 8 months.
The GLW are 7 weeks. I would add them later, maybe 3 months from now.
I hope to be rid of the BCM trio soon.
So, how big would the pen have to be to keep the roosters happy? Will they be okay withing seeing of the hens?
Does it matter if they can hear the hens? Will BCM be okay?
I am doing this because the girls need a break. Too much mating going on! I plan on having an area where I can let planned mating happen (Planned Parenthood here I come!). Otherwise, I may just sell the roosters to be meat. I don't like that idea.

I think bachelor pens are best if there are no tempting hens nearby, but I've never dealt with it. You could put up a tarp to block their view. Probably have to do what Cheeka did and see if they all get along together. Most roos won't go after young chicks, but all bets are off when the cockerel hormones kick in.

 

[cheeka]

MC, you can try lots of options, but I've had no difficulty with keeping the girls within eyesight of the boys. the only time they seem bothered by it is when the girls are free ranging and they are not. so they pace. back and forth, back and forth... to the point where they have worn paths.

rooster pens are moved into the little woods! took 2 hours to move and put back together... but it's great! it was awful... 41* and pouring rain.

the last chick is here! I couldn't get a picture before Peach spanked it and made it get back under her... but it's a chipmunk pattern! BSL x EE.... sooooo cool! will try again in a little while

 

[cheeka]

#3!
Edited. this is not #3. this is #2 dried and fluffy. have to go back out in the rain again. bummer

 

[cheeka]

I'm losing my mind... Olive laid today, I have her egg. she does lay very near Peach's crate, if not in it... I have an open cream colored egg. but there is still a cream colored egg under Peach. there are no cream colored egg layers in that pen. Olive must have laid a colorless semi-soft shell egg and they ate it??? but it looked just like a zipped open egg. can't be tho'... so the little black one has to be from the zipped open brown speckled egg. the red chipmunk is from the blue egg, and the cream egg hasn't opened yet. this is a real life shell game!

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Congratulations cheeka and everybody with new chicks.

As promised a picture of the two Rogers who have been going to bed a hour and a half before everybody else to reserve the best spot on the roost pole.