Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[Chaneys Ranch]

Well.... it is -1 with a wind-chill of -22 in North Idaho right now. My DH had an emergency in Montana last night and had to drive over there. I am going to make it a short work day, because I will not leave my poor 12 year old Lab out in the cold. He has arthritis. I hope that the girls do not lay today. The eggs will freeze for sure. I am going to leave the door from the run closed until I get home. At least there is a heat lamp out there. Warm noodles for the girls before I go to work and tons of worry.....

I hope the woodstove doesn't go out.... Stay warm all....

We are getting that cold tonight. I have a fixed heat lamp in my main coop that I turn on if it goes below zero too.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:

yep thats how the pekin eggs usually look!

7 Eggs today and an Adventure Chester Style... I was working with him outside, off the leash... he was being so well behaved:

then he discovered the plowed part of the driveway! dashed down, across the road and into the neighbors field... I had to use the zoom lens... I tried to get him to come back for about 20 minutes, then I called the neighbor and told her he's running around - she said leave him be, he's having a blast, he'll come home when he's ready... okay... cool... and he did.

who's a happy boy?

who's a happy boy with a big bone??

Who likes belly scritches???

big deal... I gotta bone and I'm nice and warm and dry!

I love you Mom. thanks for everything!

Too sweet! He looks like a lot of fun.

ALL MY GIRLS LAID TODAY!!!!!! Even my pullet, who I didn't think was laying yet! I got 15 eggs today! My new pullet lays a blue/green egg, so I wasn't even really aware that she was laying! She was also my mystery pullet that I had no idea what kind she was.... I guess now we know! She'll be considered an EE I guess! On top of all the eggs I also caught the varmit that has been ransacking my feed building! It was a squirrel, and the hubby dispatched it when he got home..... Exciting day around here!

Cheeka, Chester and Ruby look very content! And Chester looks like he is having a blast in the snow, and warming up afterward!
Clindz, Love the chick pictures! Keep them coming!
MC, nope you aren't the only one!
Scrambles, I am thinking about doing curtains when I get my crew into the new building!

Too cool on the new EE! Great to her the varmit is dispatched too

Nap time at the feeder

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Well... aside from the two busted frozen eggs in the chicken run this morning (who knows how long they were there) I got one egg from Penny.

I think I will make curtains for the nest boxes. Maybe a tad bit more privacy might help the girls lay in the nest boxes. I found an old pillow case, so that should work out just fine. I rushed home early from work so that Cody could go out to potty. My poor old lab can't be left outside in this sub zero stuff. I opened the door to the run and out the girls went .... down the trail to the toy hauler. Scratch for the girls... alfalfa sprouts and noodles for a bedtime treat.

yummy!

a lovely pinkish brown one today! Yay - the Barred One is laying!

awwwwwwwwww, those baby chick pictures are so cute!

yay!

Omg I got 6 eggs today! That's the most I've gotten in one day since I have had chickens lol! I've got approx 16 laying age hens. 24 total chickens and 18 chicks in the brooder

woohooooo! that great!

looks like a little piney. My DH calls them tree rats! They are sure tasty fried!

NINE

NINE.....Today We Laid NINE Eggs in a ice storm

Yay girls!

Quote: I relocated the two Delaware roosters because they were brothers to my Delaware hens. Wasn't looking to reproduce Delawares anyway. I kept the RIR rooster to cross with the BR's and Delaware hens to produce red and black sex linked offspring. My Golden Comets are over two years and starting to slow down production wise so any chicks I might get tempted to hatch in the spring would be to replace them. All of the mentioned birds (RIR, Del's and BR's) are supposed to be heritage so it will be interesting to see if I can produce red sex links that will equal the production of the hatchery produced Golden Comets. I have been totally impressed with Golden Comets laying ability. Also I need to get cheeka some Rhode Island Roger eggs/egg so she can be the only one in the eastern United States/World with one of those rare eggs that she can try to hatch. Only six to eight of them a year are produced. And if that don't work and she still wants a headache she can just have Roger
I get black sexlinks from my BR hen and GLWs. mature early, rose comb and super healthy. She is the only hen laying aside from mabel.

@okallthis4eggs I am so evious. I have only 5 eggs in the fridge right now and we need 8 for our weekend breakfasts.... hmmmm... maybe I can talk my DH into taking me out. After all.... it will be my birthday. tee hee......

Then I would opt for steak and eggs!

 

[SullyD]

Hi Everyone! It took me two days to catch up on all of the posts. You have been very busy. So my hatch didn't go so well either. I put up 12 eggs, I only ended up with 6 that hatched. I too had two fully developed chicks not hatch. Out of the 6 that hatched, the two CL chicks both had splayed legs and one of them died three days later. I did do the bandaid thing for the legs and the remaining CL chick is walking around like nothing was wrong. So, now the fun part of growing them out and figuring how many roos I got! I wish I had OK's luck with the pullets! I seem to only be able to hatch roos. Whoops, I started with the same bator and had great success with it. Did you fill the little cup in the center and keep it full?? Keep trying, you will get the right mix of eggs, and humidity, and cooling, etc. I did have one batch of eggs (that I paid a lot of money for) that was almost a total failure, but I used my bigger bator for that hatch. When I did the eggtopsies, the yolks were all scrambled, so someone was not so gentle in the handling of that package. This last batch was my own eggs. I will try again for some more blue eggs, but I will wait a little longer to try again. I am not sure why they didn't develop. I check for fertility every time I open an egg for breakfast and every one has been fertile. So, who knows why they sometimes don't hatch.

So, these babies are all from the black AM roo, I know one is from a CL, I am not sure if two are from the BR or OE, (pink eggs, yes my OE lays pink eggs), and the other two could be from the buckeye or the NH red, or the delaware, (brown eggs). I hope some of them are pullets, I would love to see what they lay!

Sorry, pictures are really bad. I will take some tomorrow in the sunlight!

As far as eggs go, I have been getting about 15 a day, but I have 20 that should be laying. I can't figure out where they are laying them, other than the hay pile, or the nest box I had to put on top of the cabinet in the grain room, or in the dirt next to the little coop. It is like an easter egg hunt, daily.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Hi Everyone! It took me two days to catch up on all of the posts. You have been very busy. So my hatch didn't go so well either. I put up 12 eggs, I only ended up with 6 that hatched. I too had two fully developed chicks not hatch. Out of the 6 that hatched, the two CL chicks both had splayed legs and one of them died three days later. I did do the bandaid thing for the legs and the remaining CL chick is walking around like nothing was wrong. So, now the fun part of growing them out and figuring how many roos I got! I wish I had OK's luck with the pullets! I seem to only be able to hatch roos. Whoops, I started with the same bator and had great success with it. Did you fill the little cup in the center and keep it full?? Keep trying, you will get the right mix of eggs, and humidity, and cooling, etc. I did have one batch of eggs (that I paid a lot of money for) that was almost a total failure, but I used my bigger bator for that hatch. When I did the eggtopsies, the yolks were all scrambled, so someone was not so gentle in the handling of that package. This last batch was my own eggs. I will try again for some more blue eggs, but I will wait a little longer to try again. I am not sure why they didn't develop. I check for fertility every time I open an egg for breakfast and every one has been fertile. So, who knows why they sometimes don't hatch.

So, these babies are all from the black AM roo, I know one is from a CL, I am not sure if two are from the BR or OE, (pink eggs, yes my OE lays pink eggs), and the other two could be from the buckeye or the NH red, or the delaware, (brown eggs). I hope some of them are pullets, I would love to see what they lay!

Sorry, pictures are really bad. I will take some tomorrow in the sunlight!

As far as eggs go, I have been getting about 15 a day, but I have 20 that should be laying. I can't figure out where they are laying them, other than the hay pile, or the nest box I had to put on top of the cabinet in the grain room, or in the dirt next to the little coop. It is like an easter egg hunt, daily.

I am so sorry.
This time of year fertility is pretty low, daylight and warmth affects it too.
I have the bators full and am getting my sportsman in a week or 2.
have 1 silkie, 2 oegb and 2 australorp in the brooder right now.

 

[cheeka]

OK, I love Roger, I want her offspring... I know it would be seriously difficult to convince her to breed with that horrible rooster... and to lay the offending fertile egg... but keep trying!

I so need to call in sick today, but haven't had any luck in finding coverage for my route. so I guess I will be sucking it up and heading in.

 

[chickenlindz]

Sully - I just love the egg in the hay pile. Looks like a comfy place to lay to me!

Cheeka - Take care!

 

[Scrambles55]

It is -7 at my place with a windchill of -20. I gave the girls some alfalfa sprouts and warm noodles. I am taking Cody to work with me. It is too dang cold out and he can not be left in the house without a potty break. Hoping for eggs....

 

[chickenlindz]

So here's a thought I had... I want to hatch eggs in the worst way but I don't have any room to add more chickens at the moment... And since I have 2 silkies I'll probably want to let them hatch if they go broody.

So I was thinking... My husband wants guinea hens... I was thinking maybe about hatching the guineas that way we both win.

 

[lindz8504]

Clindz, You could always hatch them and drop them off to me when you come to NC to pick up your puppy!

Although... I really didn't want to brood any... Hmmm....