The 5th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[Happy Chooks]

I lost my Call drake Percy last night.

I am such an idiot. At lock up he didn't want to go in yet so I closed everybody else up and decided I'd go back to pen them up in a little bit,and I forgot. Something was digging around the base to get at him, and as Poppy is on a nest, I'm sure he was fiercely trying to get at whatever it was. I found about 5 feathers outside of the pen. Still not sure how he got out, the digging only left about a 1 inch gap under the fencing. This absolutely sucks! It was so hard to find Calls in the first place, now Poppy is alone. I have a duckling, eggs in the bator, and some in her nest, but they are related!

I'm so sorry.

Woot! Day 19 on my missing in action eggs..as I call them. I have two pips.

Silkie, one is the big white egg..didn't those birds laid such large eggs! And one is from a small brown egg. And they pipped in the right end! That white egg had quite a high air sac too..hope they make it the rest of the way. And more to come!

 

[ShelbyCoral]

internal pip is when the chick breaks into the air cell thru internal membrane but not Shell, External pip where the chick just breaks thru the shell ...zipping it where the chick works it way around the egg to get out..

Oh okay! Thank you so much!

 

[ShelbyCoral]

Keep an eye on her when it's time to hatch.. Ideally, you would give her eggs all at the same time, she would hatch them all within a day or 2 of each other, that way when she takes them out for their first walk showing them how to scratch and where the food and water are, she's not leaving any actively hatching chicks behind.

I didnt put the other eggs under her xD I DONT KNOW HOW THEY GOT THERE!

 

[MontanaDolphin]

What does zipping and Piped mean? I have an idea but I just want to make sure!

Internal pip (step 1):




External pip (step 2):



Zip (Step 3, final step before pushing themselves out of the shell):



FINAL STEP...ESCAPE!!

 

[bantambury]

MY GOODNESS! im so darn mad!

I came down to the coop this morning to find the lid lifted up. thankfully all 9 chickens were still in the coop.....but STILL. that meant there was SOMEONE WE DONT KNOW ON OUR PROPERTY MESSING WITH MY BIRDS! my mom claimed they were just looking at them, but that's what a coop is for right? keep the chickens in and the people out! they should've been messing with MY birds in the first place....I don't care who they are! (not to be mean!)



along with this, the open flap of the coop lured in the hawk. he was sitting on a nearby branch. I had let my 3 older birds along with 7 of the young'uns to free range and forage a bit since they cant in their coop. (we don't free range because of the birds we lost to the hawk) ANYWAYS my mom was helping me clean out the big coop when she suddenly heard Cadbury, my head rooster, make the weirdest noise ever....then she saw a large bird swoop down into a low tree. she suddenly cried "HAWK! HAWK" and my lead went cold. I instantly jumped out of the coop, grabbing my older birds and the young roos and hens my sister @chickED told me to grab the hens before the roos....I grabbed as many birds as I could, and picked one up by her tail....she was screaming and I knew that could make the hawk just swoop down and grab her from my arms. I threw all the birds into one coop.
THANKFULLY no birds were harmed and all are safe.

that was how my morning went. took roughly 2 hours to clean both coops.

this just ruffled my feathers!
anyone else have the coop problem happen before?!?!?

 

[ShelbyCoral]

Internal pip (step 1):




External pip (step 2):



Zip (Step 3, final step before pushing themselves out of the shell):



FINAL STEP...ESCAPE!!

OH MY GOSH! THIS HELPS ME SOOOO MUCH!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH Now that I know. I should be able to handle my first ever hatching egg.... I hope.... xD

 

[Happy Chooks]

MY GOODNESS! im so darn mad!

I came down to the coop this morning to find the lid lifted up. thankfully all 9 chickens were still in the coop.....but STILL. that meant there was SOMEONE WE DONT KNOW ON OUR PROPERTY MESSING WITH MY BIRDS! my mom claimed they were just looking at them, but that's what a coop is for right? keep the chickens in and the people out! they should've been messing with MY birds in the first place....I don't care who they are! (not to be mean!)



along with this, the open flap of the coop lured in the hawk. he was sitting on a nearby branch. I had let my 3 older birds along with 7 of the young'uns to free range and forage a bit since they cant in their coop. (we don't free range because of the birds we lost to the hawk) ANYWAYS my mom was helping me clean out the big coop when she suddenly heard Cadbury, my head rooster, make the weirdest noise ever....then she saw a large bird swoop down into a low tree. she suddenly cried "HAWK! HAWK" and my lead went cold. I instantly jumped out of the coop, grabbing my older birds and the young roos and hens my sister @chickED told me to grab the hens before the roos....I grabbed as many birds as I could, and picked one up by her tail....she was screaming and I knew that could make the hawk just swoop down and grab her from my arms. I threw all the birds into one coop.
THANKFULLY no birds were harmed and all are safe.

that was how my morning went. took roughly 2 hours to clean both coops.

this just ruffled my feathers!
anyone else have the coop problem happen before?!?!?

Oh, I'd be so mad! Yes, there are people that have had their birds stolen from human predators.

 

[ShelbyCoral]

MY GOODNESS! im so darn mad!

I came down to the coop this morning to find the lid lifted up. thankfully all 9 chickens were still in the coop.....but STILL. that meant there was SOMEONE WE DONT KNOW ON OUR PROPERTY MESSING WITH MY BIRDS! my mom claimed they were just looking at them, but that's what a coop is for right? keep the chickens in and the people out! they should've been messing with MY birds in the first place....I don't care who they are! (not to be mean!)



along with this, the open flap of the coop lured in the hawk. he was sitting on a nearby branch. I had let my 3 older birds along with 7 of the young'uns to free range and forage a bit since they cant in their coop. (we don't free range because of the birds we lost to the hawk) ANYWAYS my mom was helping me clean out the big coop when she suddenly heard Cadbury, my head rooster, make the weirdest noise ever....then she saw a large bird swoop down into a low tree. she suddenly cried "HAWK! HAWK" and my lead went cold. I instantly jumped out of the coop, grabbing my older birds and the young roos and hens my sister @chickED told me to grab the hens before the roos....I grabbed as many birds as I could, and picked one up by her tail....she was screaming and I knew that could make the hawk just swoop down and grab her from my arms. I threw all the birds into one coop.
THANKFULLY no birds were harmed and all are safe.

that was how my morning went. took roughly 2 hours to clean both coops.

this just ruffled my feathers!
anyone else have the coop problem happen before?!?!?

I had tons! But now they are all in a huge barn... But I never had a bad problem with hawks and I free ranged my bird for for first year, and then all of a sudden a cat killed 3 of them, and then coyotes killed the rest. We found one in the morning still alive.... Then now WE HAVE HAWK PROBLEMS! UGH!? They will swoop down and take them if theyre in ur hands to.

 

[bantambury]

Oh, I'd be so mad! Yes, there are people that have had their birds stolen from human predators.

STOLEN?!?!?!??! OMG!!!!

and to add to my post.......MY COOP IS NOT A ZOO!

 

[ShelbyCoral]

My sumatra lays nice big eggs. You should get a black chick from the white egg. A small medium brown egg, long & pointy, would be from the buff orp. She lays the smallest egg of all of my large fowl except for 1 polish pullet. If it's a bigger brownish/pinkish egg then it's from 1 of the wyandotte hens.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Blarneyeggs

I still have no chick count for this HAL, my broody Momma whose hatch date was Monday is still sitting tight, I've heard some peeps under there, but not even a glimpse of a chick....I dunno if she ate them or what! I don't want to check under her as I don't want to move her when chicks could be actively hatching under there. That, and I value my fingers too much -yup, she's a meanie..

Go out tonight with a flashlight & grab her in the dark while she sleeps, then shine the light into the nest & count the fuzzies before plopping her back on the nest & running for your life in the dark.

This is too funny. I love broodys.