Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[XxMingirlxX]

Gosh mortie! Hope he didn't get any chooks.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Why the hell did my eggs didn't hatch tell now

it's already the 21th day today and non had come out, only one egg started to move from the noon tell now

I don't have an incubator, but everything I've read says to wait a few more days. If your temperature was slightly low, it could take longer. Got to give them a chance.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

OK. This is the super fun game I started my morning with. Ready? Here we go.

Where's the hawk?

Oh dear! Is that Stephen back again? Perhaps raising a few offspring of his own? You need some jays or crows to chase him away!

Waiting for the story.

 

[mortie]

So I'm laying in bed this morning during the lull between when the boys go to school and when the girl goes. I hear the chickens fussing, which they do a lot. In fact, the other day they were bawking so much, I was really concerned about my neighbor getting mad about it.

This was a little different, though. It sounded like the egg song but usually with the eggsong it's one or maaaybe two doing it. This was several. Otherwise it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

After a minute or so of them screaming their heads off BAWKbawkbawkbawkbawkBAWKBAWKbawkbawkbawkBAWWWWWK I started to mosey downstairs to have a look and shut them up.

I head for the back door and there is a window right next to it that you can't help but look through it as you walk up to the door. That's where I took that picture from. Sitting there there on my fence was a hawk! I figured the girls were in the run screeching at him. I snapped a picture just as he decided to leave, thus the near miss photo with the wing just on the right side. Then I peered out towards the run.

And the door was open.

I went out fully expecting that somewhere in my yard there would be a pile of feathers and a partly eaten chicken. 3 came out from the cedar right next to where the hawk was. The cedar isn't in the picture but it's immediately to the left and the hawk was sitting on the left side of the frame. He was not even 15 feet away from them, hiding under the cedar BAWKING at the tops of their lungs.

A quick once over revealed 2 more in the next and one in the coop waiting her turn in the nest. All chickens accounted for.

Then I started to rack my brains trying to figure out if I forgot to lock them up last night. I was sure I had. A phone call to dh reveals that he looked out this morning and saw them sitting by the run door looking insistent so he let them out. They normally free range all day and I haven't seen a hawk since Steve left last summer (I know they're around). He made a special trip out there juggling his computer and coffee just to let them out.

That happened only 20 min before I went downstairs. They were mortally threatened right off the bat this morning. Poor things.

I know free range comes with risk, even in the city. This was a little too close for comfort!

 

[lindz8504]

Wow! Thank goodness he didn't get breakfast though! I have heard a couple of hawks near our property and usually the crows are right behind them! It is a risk with free range.

 

[Mohamed95]

Give it a bit longer. 21days is the target but I've had chickens hatch sooner and later. Movement in the egg is a good sign.

I woke up today and went straight to check up on her, I spotted 4 eggs moving

I really hope that all of them hatch.. All of my eyes are mixes of pure breeds and I want to see the mixes come alive

 

[mmmyyykkkeee]

my hens are exactly 18 weeks old today and one of them laid a very tiny egg! Will she ever lay bigger eggs?

 

[ronott1]

my hens are exactly 18 weeks old today and one of them laid a very tiny egg! Will she ever lay bigger eggs?

Nice egg!

Yes, they get a lot bigger in cycles over the next couple of months. They often lay bigger eggs after the first molt too.

 

[cheeka]

Quote: hang in there! movement is always good. I've had chicks hatch as early as 19.5 days but my first Silkie hatched on day 25, so...

my hens are exactly 18 weeks old today and one of them laid a very tiny egg! Will she ever lay bigger eggs?

perfect first egg! x2 on what ron said... what breeds do you have?

 

[cheeka]

nighty night!