The Old Folks Home

Only me. Only me, I swear. This could ONLY happen to me.

There I am at the Pub, secure in the knowledge I will be picking up some chicken breed eggs tomorrow I don't have in my flock. One of the other regular Pub customers is a beekeeper and a regular handyman who has, in the past, raised chickens, ducklings and doves, even says he has an old incubator in storage... We frequently chat about silkies being broody, how much easier it is when hens hatch eggs, etc.. He isn't present; this is just the backstory to this tale. He knows I am setting eggs under a silkie hen for an Easter HAL.

One of the owners of the Pub - Ian - lives next to my Thistle Dew Ranch property. The beekeeper lives on Ian's property in a fifth wheel trailer. Another regular arrives, announcing Ian has hit and killed a wild turkey on the road, Ian and the beekeeper are considering cleaning the wild turkey carcass to cook it. A third regular hears this news and decides he will go get his knives from home and go over there to assist them (so the process is handled "right"). Laughing, he departs.

A short time later, the phone rings; the server answers it, listens, says,"Yes, she's here," then brings the phone to me. It is Ian.

The deceased turkey is a Jenny and she had an egg inside her. The beekeeper has told Ian it is hard-shelled enough to be a viable hatching candidate and urges him to ask ME to come rescue it, because I have a broody silkie.

Ian feels this is an opportune time to have me visit his property, have a glass of wine with the three of them, and salvage the turkey egg so his tenant doesn't get his tender heart broken. (I am paraphrasing much of what these three men said in this tale...)

The Jenny carcass is destined for a version of Coq au Vin. The guy with the knives opined frying would be the most appropriate cooking method. Ian and I, plus his lady friend who happened to call during the evisceration process agreed Coq Au Vin would be best. Ian will bring a small portion for me on Sunday evening, the Pub's Trivia Night (which I seldom miss).

Meanwhile, the not-laid egg was being kept warm inside the beekeeper's jacket next to his body; he put the precious thing in an empty coffee can half full of turkey down before handing it over to me.

And Sparkle has accepted the wild turkey egg. I may move it to a different broody hen when the planned-for Easter Hatch BCM eggs begin to hatch in three weeks....

It is going to be a long 4 weeks waiting to hear the outcome of this little adventure!
 
Quote: I agree!!!I love a good rescue story!!!
love.gif

Only one question. Since you are really just the surrogate mother, who has final custody of the offspring????
 
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~~Finally heard from my daughter. She spent a couple days in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. She said it was beautiful. She spent a day caving. She went to one she said was literally called 'Dark Cave' where the only light was your headlamp. She had a mudbath in there covered head to toe and then swam to wash the mud off all in the dark. She said it was really scary.































Now she's on a 2 day journey on her motorbike up the Ho Chi Minh trail to Hanoi. She's riding alongside a guy from Holland named Joost. She said he's kind of annoying but it's much less stressful than riding alone. I asked her if she's had to ride in the rain yet. She said, "no but she has a raincoat and rain pants just in case".

Her latest quote.
~"You can't be sad when you get to drive your motorbike through a gorgeous national park, take mud baths, swim in caves and high five the kids herding their cattle as you go by.. — at Phong Nha Kẽ Bàng."
 
I posted this over on the hatching forum but am not getting any responses maybe you guys can help. I have a batch of shipped SFH eggs due to hatch last night/today and one has a problem. Several have saddle shaped cells but are stable and look OK. The problem is there is one that has the air cell is still completely detached and free rolling. I candled when I was adding water to the incubator and noticed. I can hear him tapping and see him moving. I've never had one develop this far with a loose air cell.Is there anything I can/should do for this chick?

Thanks
 
I posted this over on the hatching forum but am not getting any responses maybe you guys can help. I have a batch of shipped SFH eggs due to hatch last night/today and one has a problem. Several have saddle shaped cells but are stable and look OK. The problem is there is one that has the air cell is still completely detached and free rolling. I candled when I was adding water to the incubator and noticed. I can hear him tapping and see him moving. I've never had one develop this far with a loose air cell.Is there anything I can/should do for this chick?

Thanks
If the air cell is still that "free" then I don't feel enough moisture has come out of the shell. What is your average moisture % during incubation? (if you don't know then a brief description on how you control moisture during incubation will be necessary). For the air cell to still be moving I'm afraid when the chick breaks the membrane it will drown. What can you do at this point (day 21) -- nothing..
 
I like your pub adventures Gryeyes.
You probably didn't need to keep it warm, it may have been better to let it cool but probably doesn't matter.
Yes, I know.... And I did let it cool down, after reassuring the beekeeper it was fine to do so. Otherwise he might have kept it in his coat and followed me home to see Sparkle take the egg. :lol:

It really is a cool sight to see a broody hen check out an egg placed in front of her, then tuck it under her body. :love
 
If the air cell is still that "free" then I don't feel enough moisture has come out of the shell. What is your average moisture % during incubation? (if you don't know then a brief description on how you control moisture during incubation will be necessary). For the air cell to still be moving I'm afraid when the chick breaks the membrane it will drown. What can you do at this point (day 21) -- nothing..

Humidity was between 15-20% until day 18 then I bumped it to 70%+ for lock down. The SFH thread recommended dry incubation for this breed.Thanks for answering.. at least I know I tried. I guess I'll wait and see.
 
Humidity was between 15-20% until day 18 then I bumped it to 70%+ for lock down. The SFH thread recommended dry incubation for this breed.Thanks for answering.. at least I know I tried. I guess I'll wait and see.

15% is too low. Too low of humidity causes problems. 25% is the lowest that is safe normally.

Dry incubation is defined as lower than traditional humidity--55%. Some places have enough humidity to not add water to keep it above 25%. I do not live in such a place and have to add a small amount of water when I Dry Hatch.

If you ask, those that told you to not add water likely live in a place with more humidity than you.

For this guy, he has to be hatched in a carton or plastic tray. Some incubators have rails too. The egg needs to be set big end up and tilted slightly so the the big end of the air cell is up.

Like this:

 

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