The Old Folks Home

[NotAFarm]

@Geckolady Welcome!
I see in your signature you have a starter flock

 

[Coffee N Chickens]

@Geckolady Welcome!
I see in your signature you have a starter flock

Yes, and they are lots of fun.

Last September I went to a swap meet. A man offered me a dozen eggs from his flock for free just to get rid of them. I have a bad memory of buying eggs from someone at a swap meet some years ago, only to have dead chicken embryos fall into my pan when I tried to make an omelet. Didn’t eat omelets for a while after that, LOL. But because of that experience, I candled the eggs he gave me. Yup. Some of the eggs were occupied. I came in here in a panic to find out how to hatch them. A few got larger in the shell, but none of them lived to hatch. By that time, I was all set up for chickens and wanted some.

Then there was a poultry show nearby, and I looked through the birds that were for sale. There was a group of 4 that when I looked at them, I just knew they were the ones. The seller is an avid chicken show enthusiast/judge who wanted them out of his flock because their coloring was not what he wanted. A lot of talk about buying a bird from somebody and they should have known it would produce unwanted coloring that I didn’t really listen to because I was cuddling a pullet. Healthy, well-raised chickens were just perfect.

On Sunday I put 10 eggs into the incubator. Yesterday the ends were dark in 9 of them. Now I need another coop.

 

[CapricornFarm]

 

[ronott1]

Yes, and they are lots of fun.

Last September I went to a swap meet. A man offered me a dozen eggs from his flock for free just to get rid of them. I have a bad memory of buying eggs from someone at a swap meet some years ago, only to have dead chicken embryos fall into my pan when I tried to make an omelet. Didn’t eat omelets for a while after that, LOL. But because of that experience, I candled the eggs he gave me. Yup. Some of the eggs were occupied. I came in here in a panic to find out how to hatch them. A few got larger in the shell, but none of them lived to hatch. By that time, I was all set up for chickens and wanted some.

Then there was a poultry show nearby, and I looked through the birds that were for sale. There was a group of 4 that when I looked at them, I just knew they were the ones. The seller is an avid chicken show enthusiast/judge who wanted them out of his flock because their coloring was not what he wanted. A lot of talk about buying a bird from somebody and they should have known it would produce unwanted coloring that I didn’t really listen to because I was cuddling a pullet. Healthy, well-raised chickens were just perfect.

On Sunday I put 10 eggs into the incubator. Yesterday the ends were dark in 9 of them. Now I need another coop.

You should not have eggs with embryos sold at the Farmers Market!

Lucky for you though that they hatched.

Make sure the new coop is much bigger than the old one....Chicken math will increase the flock quickly

 

[CLSranch]

Ditto.
Those people should never sell eggs.

You should not have eggs with embryos sold at the Farmers Market!

 

[ronott1]

Ditto.
Those people should never sell eggs.

Eggs collected each day and stored at normal room temperature will not develop more than a couple of cells. You would not see an embryo. Those with them would have been under a broody for a week!

 

[microchick]

Too bad there is no lawn mower salvage yard around!

HA! You guys haven't seen the Amish small motor repair around the corner from us. He has rows upon rows upon rows of doner mowers sitting in a field across from his shop. All makes, all sizes all kinds. My husband kept telling him that he needed to get a few of his young sons busy stripping down and organizing the mowers so they know what they have and where it is and nope, never happens.

As for the mower, @CSolis. The same thing happened to my old mower. We dealt with it with my husband abandoning the wheel set function, tearing it out, then welding in a plate of metal for the wheel 'axil' to go through then bolted the wheel on from the inside. That mower went over another year for us like that before the gas tank fell off of it. Now there is a REAL challenge to mowing~ ~ without gas you may as well chew the grass off yourself.

I hear you about how your birds can make you feel humbled. I have a little brown hen, mostly bantam BBR who flies up to greet me every day when I enter the coop. I know her main objective is to hop down in the scratch grain pail and get choice goodies before the others have a chance but afterwards, she is happy to cuddle in my arms and be petted. Usually she sits in the crook of my arm and talks to me while I'm petting her. Makes me think that she is giving me a report on how everyone is behaving and who is doing what to whom.

Good morning Oldsters! Rain. Gloom, Chilly. I hate MARCH! The weather is supposed to clear by the weekend though and get warmer. I actually saw 70 degrees being mentioned. I seriously hope that they aren't just toying with us.

I know my chickens don't like being penned up but that is the only solution to keeping the hens from putting a layer of mud on their eggs from them mucking around out in the run and wearing little Missouri Gumbo booties.

 

[microchick]

I'm looking at all that snow and happy that I don't have to shovel something like that. We got snow this week, maybe about an inch, and of course, it melted before noon. Snow usually does. Then we ended up with plenty of mud.

I saw a thread for adults and dropped by to say hello. I'm retired with a part time job to stay busy.

Good luck with getting the car fixed. Sounds like your kids are motivated.

Hi Gecko! Welcome to the Home!

 

[microchick]

Eggs collected each day and stored at normal room temperature will not develop more than a couple of cells. You would not see an embryo. Those with them would have been under a broody for a week!

I am beyond being surprised by what people will do, Ron.

I get grossed out by a blood egg when I get one so cracking an egg with an embryo in it? Yuck!

 

[ronott1]

HA! You guys haven't seen the Amish small motor repair around the corner from us. He has rows upon rows upon rows of doner mowers sitting in a field across from his shop. All makes, all sizes all kinds. My husband kept telling him that he needed to get a few of his young sons busy stripping down and organizing the mowers so they know what they have and where it is and nope, never happens.

As for the mower, @CSolis. The same thing happened to my old mower. We dealt with it with my husband abandoning the wheel set function, tearing it out, then welding in a plate of metal for the wheel 'axil' to go through then bolted the wheel on from the inside. That mower went over another year for us like that before the gas tank fell off of it. Now there is a REAL challenge to mowing~ ~ without gas you may as well chew the grass off yourself.

I hear you about how your birds can make you feel humbled. I have a little brown hen, mostly bantam BBR who flies up to greet me every day when I enter the coop. I know her main objective is to hop down in the scratch grain pail and get choice goodies before the others have a chance but afterwards, she is happy to cuddle in my arms and be petted. Usually she sits in the crook of my arm and talks to me while I'm petting her. Makes me think that she is giving me a report on how everyone is behaving and who is doing what to whom.

Good morning Oldsters! Rain. Gloom, Chilly. I hate MARCH! The weather is supposed to clear by the weekend though and get warmer. I actually saw 70 degrees being mentioned. I seriously hope that they aren't just toying with us.

I know my chickens don't like being penned up but that is the only solution to keeping the hens from putting a layer of mud on their eggs from them mucking around out in the run and wearing little Missouri Gumbo booties.

Growing up there was a guy in the Country that had a bicycle salvage yard. We bought some parts from him every once in a while.