TeaChick's Chicks

[TeaChick]

If the cochins don't work out as mamas - get yourself the top of the line  - go for some silkie-bators. 

Thanks for the advice, Diva. I'll do that. I hear silkies are super friendly, and if course uber broody. I'd have to get all different colors. I get depressed when all my chickens are the same color. lol

 

[TeaChick]

I go in the NH coop every morning to collect the eggs and say good morning to the brooodies. The past three mornings, there's a hen in one of the nest boxes, so I haven't been able to mark eggs or pull old ones or anything in that nest box. Of course, the easy answer is "go later on" b/c I know she's not in there during the day. Mostly, I forget. Or, I remember when I'm doing something more important like right now, complaining about it on BYC. lol Well, I guess I should just get up off my lazy butt and do it, huh? I'll let you all know what I find.

In other chicken news, there's a hen in the box at the other end of the line that has been collecting a clutch. She's got 15 eggs as of this morning. I wonder if/when she'll decide to go broody.
I'm terrible. I'm so afraid of breaking their brood that I won't even go and see if any eggs have been laid in my broodies' boxes. I'll just have to toss the eggs that they leave. I hate not having an incubator. I'll have to get some Silkies like @drumstick diva said.

These two hens and two more have been laying in the coop since I started putting eggs in the nest boxes in there, instead of in the boxes on the porch where I only put two eggs in each box every morning (after collecting all the eggs in the evenings, of course).

Oh, and my broodies are acting like they've been brooding for ever, so I guess they should at least start hatching by next weekend. Interestingly, the hen who went broody back in May isn't broody this time. IDK why. Maybe she decided brooding wasn't for her after all. Maybe she's the one who's in the box in the mornings. Who knows? They all look the same. Oh, well, such is life.

 

[TeaChick]

We have a baby chick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is Sapphire and her little chick:

The little one hatched out sometime, I'm guessing around noon. The hen is obviously giving me the broody stink eye. I got as close as I dared and zoomed in all the way with my phone.

 

[TeaChick]

Well, things change daily, and I'm on daily, but things don't always get posted here daily.
Sapphire had two chicks as of the afternoon that I last posted that she had one. Yesterday, she was off the nest all afternoon, so I went in and retrieved the remainder of the eggs. Three of them cheeped at me, so I put them in my bra to keep warm. Of the other four, two had obviously already quit, and two more ended up quitting by this morning. On the bright side, by the time I got the eggs in the house and a box set up w/ my heating pad, one of the eggs had an external pip!!! That egg hatched between 5-6 this morning. =) But Sapphire rejected it this morning, so it's back in the box thinking that me and/or the heating pad are its mother.
This afternoon, there was some kind of thing in the coop this afternoon and one of the chicks was found w/ its neck and eye pecked to a bloody mess; it was dying quickly, but suffering badly, so we put it down. DH had DD move Sapphire and Peep (as DS named one of the chicks yesterday) to a small brooder on the back porch.
My plan tonight is to put both chicks in the box and turn the heating pad back on every two hours (like last night) and put Sapphire back in the coop. Then tomorrow morning, I'll put the chicks in the small brooder and set up a heating lamp for them for at night. It's hot enough for them during the day, I think, especially being together.

Green is still brooding her batch, plus the two other internal pips I slipped under her this morning. She pecked my hand like she was gonna kill it, tried to take off my middle finger, shaking it and growling the whole time. lol I'll keep an eye on her and see if she's better able to protect her chicks than Sapphire was. :\

 

[TeaChick]

Green has at least five chicks. She's keeping them all in the nest box. I'm almost positive that the first one hatched out yesterday morning so I think we might see them tomorrow or the next day.

The two from Sapphire are doing well. She slept in one of the nest boxes last night. Then she got off this morning. I collected those eggs and put fewer eggs in there, b/c someone else has been laying in that box. This afternoon, she was back in it. If she's in there tonight, I'll take her out. IDK whether to let her brood (again) or try to break her. I might have to just remove all the eggs, which I really don't want to do. Ugh! Advice, please?!?!?!?

 

[1ChicChick]

It's a long post here Tea Chick. But the start of your flock is beautiful. I will have to skim through and see what else you have

 

[1ChicChick]

Thanks for the advice, Diva. I'll do that. I hear silkies are super friendly, and if course uber broody. I'd have to get all different colors. I get depressed when all my chickens are the same color. lol

I completely understand @teachick I hate my hens all the same color. I tried for variety and ended up with ones that are close to the same

 

[1ChicChick]

[COLOR=008080]Green has at least five chicks.  She's keeping them all in the nest box.  I'm almost positive that the first one hatched out yesterday morning so I think we might see them tomorrow or the next day.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=008080]The two from Sapphire are doing well.  She slept in one of the nest boxes last night.  Then she got off this morning.  I collected those eggs and put fewer eggs in there, b/c someone else has been laying in that box.  This afternoon, she was back in it.  If she's in there tonight, I'll take her out.  IDK whether to let her brood (again) or try to break her.  I might have to just remove all the eggs, which I really don't want to do.  Ugh!  Advice, please?!?!?!?[/COLOR]

I wish I lived in the country. I want baby chicks. But we have limits on chickens in town

 

[TeaChick]

It's a long post here Tea Chick. But the start of your flock is beautiful. I will have to skim through and see what else you have

Thanks!

I completely understand @teachick I hate my hens all the same color. I tried for variety and ended up with ones that are close to the same

I'm getting some blue and black to mix in next week. I miss having baby chicks. lol
I'm a sad case, huh?
What kinds/colors do you think you'd get if you could get anything you wanted?

I wish I lived in the country. I want baby chicks. But we have limits on chickens in town

You could sell the extras to neighbors, family, co-workers, etc. If you live in town a roosters out, I guess; that means buying hatching eggs and that can get expensive.
Hopefully one day you'll be able to live in the country.

 

[1ChicChick]

Thanks! .
I'm getting some blue and black to mix in next week. I miss having baby chicks. lol
I'm a sad case, huh?
What kinds/colors do you think you'd get if you could get anything you wanted?
You could sell the extras to neighbors, family, co-workers, etc. If you live in town a roosters out, I guess; that means buying hatching eggs and that can get expensive.
Hopefully one day you'll be able to live in the country.

YW! Blues and blacks sound nice. I would get a big variety if I could. IDK if any of my neighbors want chickens, and I highly doubt I will ever move out into the country ever. No matter how much I WANT TO.