The Front Porch Swing

[LindaB220]

Well, my day is winding down. Getting the chicks ready for the storeroom took too long and I've decided to keep them in the incubator again. The oldest will be 2 days old tomorrow morning and they are not interested in water yet. So cute. I ask if they could be sexed by color or feathering. DMRippy said no I have to wait for the comb to grow. A couple of weeks. She is sending me another 18 tomorrow. I should have enough even if half are male. They are a hybrid so the roos will probably be caponized. I hear my babies quietly playing and chirping so I'm going to try the water and maybe some fermented feed. See you tomorrow

 

[jmoeller]

Yup, he is my favorite. The first and last time I saw him was in 2001 at the Fond du Lac County Fair. They keep saying it is because of unforeseen circumstances… makes me wonder if someone forgot to buy a permit. The setting was going to be perfect for us, amphitheater, grassy hill to sit on a blanket. Nothing wild and crazy. I know he was doing some acoustic concerts for a while. It would make my year if I could make it to one of those!

Like Fond du lac Wi?? Do I remember right that you are from wi?

 

[OHhappychicks]

X2 smart thinking Enola!

X3

 

[OHhappychicks]

Well, my day is winding down. Getting the chicks ready for the storeroom took too long and I've decided to keep them in the incubator again. The oldest will be 2 days old tomorrow morning and they are not interested in water yet. So cute. I ask if they could be sexed by color or feathering. DMRippy said no I have to wait for the comb to grow. A couple of weeks. She is sending me another 18 tomorrow. I should have enough even if half are male. They are a hybrid so the roos will probably be caponized. I hear my babies quietly playing and chirping so I'm going to try the water and maybe some fermented feed. See you tomorrow

I have some maran eggs in the bator! I should have candled this evening. Its has been a week. I might have to do that before I go to bed! I actually forgot!

I have buckeye hen that just went broody yesterday. I'm going to let her stay broody and put these under her when they hatch. DH wants me to put the eggs under her, but I've worked to hard for these eggs. Well not me particularly!

But had them in a breeding pen for 5-6 weeks. only got 7 eggs. The broody's egg has had a small hole in one end the last 2 days. I think they fight over the nest box. I don't want to risk losing these eggs. When you start the ff, is it straight layer mash or do you use chick feed? I think Bee just used her layer mash. Is that right?

 

[LBejaran]

I don't know if I told you all, but Mom bought me an incubator! We had a coupon from Tractor Supply and decided to purchase a Little Giant Incubator (and several bags of 24% Chick Starter for all the ducklings/goslings/quail that have/may hatched).

By the way, here is the Tractor Supply coupon code if you decide you want to purchase something from the TSC website. You'll get 10% off your entire purchase, including clearance items! FREEDOM10

A cotton patch gosling just hatched today beneath one of our game hens. Hopefully the other one will as well. If we're lucky, even those Georgia Giant Quail eggs will hatch too, though I'm not totally sure that they will. I also picked up some hatching eggs from a local ranch lady to put in the incubator. I got three Silkie eggs and 4 Class A Silkie Serama eggs. It looks like it is holding the heat pretty steady (I check whenever I pass it by and the temp has stayed at a toasty 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit) and the humidity seems good. I was told to leave the incubator open for 15 minutes once a day (like a hen would do if she were on the eggs), but I'm not sure if that's the appropriate thing to do. What do you all think?

Mom and I were at the Salvation Army today looking for some old dresses to take apart. We want to see if we can improve them and maybe copy the pattern over onto a larger dress. Ultimately, making small investments and learning to work within our budget is going to help us a lot. We bought this beautiful wedding dress that is just a bit outdated, but we fell it'll be modernized if we remove the cap sleeves and add a bit more tool to the skirt. It has an elegant keyhole back that I think could be even more stunning if those sleeves would stop detracting from it.

There was a sour note to the day, though. While at the SA, Mom and I saw these cool old wooden boxes with holes drilled out of the top. I immediately looked at them and thought "BROODER" and started making my way to the front to purchase one. There were four and each one was 50 cents, but I'm not greedy. I just needed one and I could fit only one into the car.

Then some GUY came out of nowhere, called a lady from across the room and demanded that he be allowed to purchase them. Just as we were about to reach the register, he zoomed in front of us. When we told him we were going to get just one of the boxes, he said, "No, I'm buying all four," and he just bought them. It was so rude! We just wanted one, not all of them. Had we been the ones to get them first, I immediately would have just said, "Sure, we don't need that many. Just take one!" It wouldn't have even taken a second thought. I guess some people just feel like they are entitled to whatever they dang well please. He was a real piece of work.

But I digress! I put the eggs in the bator and am excited to see what happens. I'll just build my own brooder box out of the scrap wood Dad has and we'll see what happens. I need something I can keep on the patio (those Silkie Serama chicks are supposed to be a bit delicate) where I know they'll stay nice and toasty, but will still be outside. If I can make a box that looks outdoorsy without being an eyesore, I'll be good to go. It'll be great to have something that won't be disposable after using it once. Making a box with a wire bottom that looks like it is sitting on the floor without the wire actually touching the floor....yes, it's all coming to me!

Oooh! I have a question. Does anyone know what the heck this is? Mom chose it when we went to the feed store about a month ago, but we never found out what breed it was. It's just so cute (even if it is a little fatty that always eats as much as he can, the booger).

 

[MistyMountain]

Like Fond du lac Wi??  Do I remember right that you are from wi?

Originally, yup. Grew up in North Fondy. I moved down to VA after college to be with my now husband. I will admit, I do not miss the winters. We get one or two decent snows a year as a minimum. Two days and it's gone. The 25" we got this past winter was a fluke... But still had fun reliving my childhood a bit. I do miss the lakes, cheese curds, Culvers and A&W though! I have family in FDL, NFDL, and Green Bay. It has been almost a year since we have visited... Maybe this fall!!

 

[KPenley]

@lbejaran, the pics you posted look a lot like Barnevelder babies. Are the legs yellow or dusky yellow? And is the comb straight?

 

[LBejaran]

@lbejaran, the pics you posted look a lot like Barnevelder babies. Are the legs yellow or dusky yellow? And is the comb straight?

The legs looked yellow but around the nails, they looked a bit gray. There isn't much of a comb on the baby (maybe it means pullet?

), but it looks like a straight comb. What I am beginning to grow concerned about is whether or not I'm getting a male or female. Mom made an impulse purchase and though I always love to get new breeds, I don't know that I want to cull any roosters this year, but I guess that'll happen anyway once I realize that half the chicks we've hatched are boys, haha!

I originally thought it was a bantam chick, but I'm beginning to think it was just a comparatively smaller breed to the buff orpington chicks and the blue cochin chick I bought. It's a heavy chick, though, so maybe that weight is a sign of what will come in the future.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
LOL I tried to delete it before any one read it...... I may be wrong. Feel free to

me up if I am wrong.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

I better go to bed before I get myself into trouble....

This weekend starting tomorrow is busy for me I get all the posts through email delivery and will check em occasionally but wont be responding till I get some more work done on my book.

deb