The 8th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!!!!

[Cynthia12]

I remembered this year! yay!
will be joining, not sure what or how many I will be incubating, but I'm hoping for silkies and modern game bantams, if I can find sellers who will ship to me at the right time.
Thankfully I just looked at the calendar and the eggs I have in the incubator should be all hatched by the time this hatch's set date begins so thankfully that worked out

 

[Cynthia12]

Funny story time:

My husband and myself just bought a place with 20 acres using an FHA 203k remodel loan (as the house needs painting and has no carpet or other floor covering). We are staying in a camper while the contractor fixes the house. So, we moved our chickens to the barn the evening before yesterday. They were in a closed room the first night, listening to the pigeons on the roof above them (two roofs, one wooden one that ends at the rafters and the edge of the rooms, and the main one, so there's a gap where pigeons have been living in the barn) Let them out in the morning, and came back after dark. Found almost all of my adult chickens roosting in various parts of the barn. I also found the body of a pigeon; I assume the rooster took care of it. I didn't hear any other pigeons. Solves that problem (and saves me the trouble of using a pellet gun on the things; pet pigeons are fine, but I don't want wild ones in my barn).

Counted birds after removing the pigeon carcass; I was missing a few younger birds and one pullet. I was worried, but I told myself they probably bedded down elsewhere and went to bed. I found them this morning. They were roosting on the pipes and axles under the camper. Guess they wanted to be closer to Mommy? (now you know why I told you about staying in the camper.)

Will need to build chicken pens in the near future, but at least the majority are safe in the barn.

Glad you don't have to take care of the pigeons yourself! I wonder if they could .. maybe...belong to someone. But then again..they wouldn't roost away from home would they? Don't know that much about them.
We have had a huge population ..explosion.. of one type of dove around here. No one knows where they came from. They are thinking someone let some out. Man, just in a few yrs. it has gotten ridiculous.

 

[ronott1]

Glad you don't have to take care of the pigeons yourself! I wonder if they could .. maybe...belong to someone. But then again..they wouldn't roost away from home would they? Don't know that much about them.
We have had a huge population ..explosion.. of one type of dove around here. No one knows where they came from. They are thinking someone let some out. Man, just in a few yrs. it has gotten ridiculous.

They are likely Eurasian Collard doves. We have them here too. In their native country, they are more for meat. They are bigger than our Doves but smaller than a pigeon.



Article about them:

https://projectfeederwatch.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/eurasian-collared-doves-conquering-america/

 

[chiknrangr]

there's the parents on top, and two poults

Gorgeous birds!! Do you sell fertile eggs or poults? I'd love to have a couple of them gobbling around our place. Let me know. Thanks.

 

[Cynthia12]

That looks like the one ron. We see them nesting in the taller trees. Saw a crow going after either the eggs or the small babies last yr. I don't care for so many being around, but that was sad to watch. Mother Nature. Takes care of things.

 

[chiknrangr]

They are likely Eurasian Collard doves. We have them here too. In their native country, they are more for meat. They are bigger than our Doves but smaller than a pigeon. Article about them: https://projectfeederwatch.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/eurasian-collared-doves-conquering-america/

I think that they are considered an invasive species in Washington state. I read something about them in the hunting guidelines a couple years ago.

 

[ronott1]

I think that they are considered an invasive species in Washington state. I read something about them in the hunting guidelines a couple years ago.

Yes! They are invasive and are spreading from Florida to Alaska. Click on the link I posted and watch them spread from 2002 to 2011. They will have claimed much more territory now too.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Count me in. I'll hatch svart hona and Swedish flowers. If anyone else needs eggs for that date I can help them out

Welcome!

Hi everyone! Hopefully my peahens will start laying and I can set some of their eggs. If not, I guess a can set some Muscovy eggs. 

Hi Kathy
on the peahens laying.

I would like to join in if possible.

Welcome!

Well, my lil baby died. I was so heartbroken, I really thought she was on the uphill side. She'd come so far. I found her dead in her cup this morning and I flat out bawled. But I had a 93% hatch rate, 1% better then last time. Here's to 100% for Easter!

I'm going out of town tomorrow, so I'll be back Sunday, bit probably won't come back to BYC till Monday.

I'm sorry to hear this
Have a safe trip.

I'm in!

Funny story time:

My husband and myself just bought a place with 20 acres using an FHA 203k remodel loan (as the house needs painting and has no carpet or other floor covering).  We are staying in a camper while the contractor fixes the house.  So, we moved our chickens to the barn the evening before yesterday.  They were in a closed room the first night, listening to the pigeons on the roof above them (two roofs, one wooden one that ends at the rafters and the edge of the rooms, and the main one, so there's a gap where pigeons have been living in the barn)   Let them out in the morning, and came back after dark.  Found almost all of my adult chickens roosting in various parts of the barn.  I also found the body of a pigeon; I assume the rooster took care of it.  I didn't hear any other pigeons.  Solves that problem (and saves me the trouble of using a pellet gun on the things; pet pigeons are fine, but I don't want wild ones in my barn). 

Counted birds after removing the pigeon carcass; I was missing a few younger birds and one pullet.  I was worried, but I told myself they probably bedded down elsewhere and went to bed.  I found them this morning.  They were roosting on the pipes and axles under the camper.  Guess they wanted to be closer to Mommy? (now you know why I told you about staying in the camper.)

Will need to build chicken pens in the near future, but at least the majority are safe in the barn.

They sure did want to be closer

I remembered this year! yay!

 will be joining, not sure what or how many I will be incubating, but I'm hoping for silkies and modern game bantams, if I can find sellers who will ship to me at the right time.

Thankfully I just looked at the calendar and the eggs I have in the incubator should be all hatched by the time this hatch's set date begins so thankfully that worked out  

Welcome to the thread

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

They are likely Eurasian Collard doves. We have them here too. In their native country, they are more for meat. They are bigger than our Doves but smaller than a pigeon. Article about them: https://projectfeederwatch.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/eurasian-collared-doves-conquering-america/

We have those over here. The wood pigeons over here do a lot of damage to the farmers crops.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Funny story time:

My husband and myself just bought a place with 20 acres using an FHA 203k remodel loan (as the house needs painting and has no carpet or other floor covering). We are staying in a camper while the contractor fixes the house. So, we moved our chickens to the barn the evening before yesterday. They were in a closed room the first night, listening to the pigeons on the roof above them (two roofs, one wooden one that ends at the rafters and the edge of the rooms, and the main one, so there's a gap where pigeons have been living in the barn) Let them out in the morning, and came back after dark. Found almost all of my adult chickens roosting in various parts of the barn. I also found the body of a pigeon; I assume the rooster took care of it. I didn't hear any other pigeons. Solves that problem (and saves me the trouble of using a pellet gun on the things; pet pigeons are fine, but I don't want wild ones in my barn).

Counted birds after removing the pigeon carcass; I was missing a few younger birds and one pullet. I was worried, but I told myself they probably bedded down elsewhere and went to bed. I found them this morning. They were roosting on the pipes and axles under the camper. Guess they wanted to be closer to Mommy? (now you know why I told you about staying in the camper.)

Will need to build chicken pens in the near future, but at least the majority are safe in the barn.

If you are sure they are pigeons, then get rid of them ASAP. (or block their access into the barn) Pigeons carry canker, and it can transmit it to your chickens via feed and water. They also transfer it to hawks when the hawk feeds on the bird. I did a lot of research on it when I had a male that looked like he had canker. I sent him off for necropsy, and luckily for me, it was just embedded plant material that was rotting his jaw.

They are likely Eurasian Collard doves. We have them here too. In their native country, they are more for meat. They are bigger than our Doves but smaller than a pigeon.



Article about them:

https://projectfeederwatch.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/eurasian-collared-doves-conquering-america/

I love doves. They are my favorite wild bird. I love their cooing sound.