Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[Germaine_11.20]

Yes it is your bedtime! And I was wondering the same thing. I sure hope everything is going good for them and the mountains don't cause any snow trouble for them. Moving is so stressful. But... she is going to be so much closer to you.

 

[kathyinmo]

CountryChickenGirl .... Congrats on your upcoming little chick! You got a bunch of roos, too? I know the feeling, girl! I got 8 out of 10. That's okay by me, this time though, cuz I like a larger group to choose my best breeder from! My group three lot of 22 is still too young to know what I have yet. I am so excited to have them, though!

I dunno, Cyn, but I think at least one of my roos in group one is coming along a bit better than expected. I am gonna keep one of them anyway, just to have a roo until group two is older. Of course my favorite, Mr. Funky Feathers, is not any better in markings .... I gotta tell ya though, he watches over them all, like a good Alpha roo should! Today they were all busy pecking at the dirt, except Mr. FF .... he was on watch duty! I notice that group 2 is maturing quicker than group 1 did. Is that weird? I did do an experiment with them though. I fed Game Bird Starter 30% feed the first 6 weeks. Could that be it? I have done some reading on hatching times .... certain dates are said to be better than others, I dunno ... I think it has something to do with the solar system ??? Do you think that is true?

Cyn, you mentioned that when you get alot of rain and put your chicks out on the ground, they are more prone to cocci. Well, what symptoms do you see? I have one new layer that I had moved to another pen, and she started acting lethargic and uninterested a couple days ago. I thought maybe she got into some of the compost pile, so I did do an Epsom Salts flush. She does seem better today, but it made me think when you said that. Could it be cocci?

 

[jeremy]

Good news first... Today is LOCKDOWN for me my Dell friends! I did some candling tonight to see who had continued to develop, it looks like I'll have 14 Delaware babies by Thursday if all goes well, here are some pictures of the remaining eggs in the incubator.

14 out of 19 isn't bad right Cyn?

Not as good news now... Out of the 8 BBS Orp eggs that Cyn sent me, I set 6 of them. 3 of Dusty's and 3 of Smoky's. Out of the 6 eggs 5 were clear.

I only got to put 1 in with the other babies, it looked a little iffy too. All of the Dells (and the BW Ameraucanas from pips&peeps) were basically black when I candled them, with no visible room left in the egg. They were heavy too, I think I'm gonna have some big chicks! But they BBS Orp egg still showed some clear space, I'm not sure what that means, but I set it in with the others anyway. I want it to hatch so bad! Come on Suede and Smoky baby!!

 

[joletabey]

CountryChickenGirl- congratulations on your own little peep!!!!! Woohoo! When is the little one supposed to hatch? Keep us posted! And I was pleased to read, after I picked Norbit and Blue, that everyone else did, too. I wish I could see a more upright picture of Norbit, if you get time. . . . .

Kathy- I liked one of those roos in your first bunch, but I can't remember which one it was- and maybe the higher protein makes a difference. I think I probably go overboard on extra protein treats - I wonder if that had anything to do with some of my kids maturing so early?

Cyn, thanks for reposting about your girl's eggs - my memory is not what is used to be......are the speckles little tiny white dots- almost like a frosted look?

Jeremy- I am sorry the BBS eggs look clear- I know nothing about it, all I can do is cheer you on and wait for pictures!

Bassleg, I don't know anything about incubators, either.

More good thoughts for Cetawin today-

Rwoman- good morning- your avatar always makes me feel good- I always meant to tell you that- it makes me want to go outside and greet the day! I can't wait to see your Del girls!

 

[speckledhen]

Kathy, the first signs are chicks that seem a bit cold, hunched up a little, then some hamburgery-looking poop. Not all are affected the same way, but if one has signs, then you treat them all. Every chick that was brooder-raised, as opposed to broody-raised, gets cocci about a week or two after they are going outside. They are all on amprolium-laced feed because no one here sells non-medicated, but I haven't found it to make a difference. I need to use hydrated lime as opposed to pulverized limestone to coat that pen and change the soil pH, but I cant do that with all those chicks in there now. Usually, by the time they are adults, they are already immune to the oocycts in the soil they were raised on, but there are 9 types of those and they can be immune to most, but not all, especially if soil comes into the area that wasn't there before.

I don't know why they developed faster. Could be the time of year and amount of sunlight. I've seen evidence that chicks who get natural sunlight seem to grow faster.

 

[joletabey]

HOLD THE PRESSES!!!!! I have four eggs this morning. All relatively the same size, one slightly rounder than the others, and one slightly darker. No little almost white one and no speckled one. Mayhap I have 6 girls laying????? I checked nest boxes last night when I put them up, so I know these are from today. My beautiful girls!!!!!

edited to add: Cynthia, on this cocci business- how do you tell if your soil is full of it? I put my kids out much later than most people do, due to the weather, etc. I have not noticed any weird poo or sickness.

one more edit- Cora is on a nest now- that would be my 5th egg of the day!!!! (9:35 am)

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

MORNING ALL.....I'm back!! Lots to do but wanted to say hello to everyone.

Sugar, my almost "blonde" Dellie girl gave me a present when I returned. She was the first of my young group to lay an egg and we got one both Saturday and Sunday. BEST thing is that she is laying in the nesting box, unlike Lil Bit and Sasha.

Trying to find somewhere that I can download all my pix and send you a link so that you can see them all. TOOOOO many to post here. If anyone has an idea please let me know.

Hope everyone is well

Talk to you soon

Scott

 

[joletabey]

SCOTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WELCOME HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[speckledhen]

There's the missing member of our entourage! Scott, now you can bite your nails along with us till Ladyhawk is on our side of the country! She should be on the road now.


Beth, my Ellie's eggs are sometimes speckled and sometimes not, so she doesn't lay exactly that type every time.

 

[jeremy]

Welcome back Scott, have you tried Picasa, by Google? It's a free download and pretty cool program for pictures.

joletabey, I don't know why I had such poor luck with the BBS bunch either?

I understand that shipping can be hard, I lost 1 of the Ameraucana eggs to rough handling, so I'm surprised that so many of them were developed. Also, we ordered hatchery chicks this year and lost 2 little babies after they got home. They just seemed too shook up to do anything. I am hoping that the baby in the egg hatches out blue!