Tis Time for a March 2020 Hatch-a-long!

[CluckNDoodle]

I am running at 50% rate on my Birchen Marans eggs. 2/4 in the first batch due Thursday. The 6 in the second batch have 3 developing, 2 that are light enough to see that they are clear, and one I'm not ready to give up on because it is pretty dark and speckled. I'll candle again in a couple of days.

Fingers crossed for both of us!!

I've had great hatches from her flock in the past. Not sure what's going on with this round unless their hormones just haven't really hit yet. All of my girls are laying here though. Even my elderly hen started laying again today!

 

[LilyD]

I haven't hatched any Partridge Orpingtons but the chipmunk pattern is common in other breeds I've hatched with Partridge coloring. Feathered legs aren't desirable according to English Orpington breeders near me and they wouldn't add that particular bird to their breeding programs but I've heard of it happening before. I believe it was @LilyD that hatched some Orpingtons last year and some had feathered feet.

Yes I hatched out chocolates last year and three had feathers on the legs. I guess it's a common thing and any with feathers shouldn't be bred since they aren't considered show quality if they have feathers on the legs. This year I haven't had any feather legs out of the birds I have thank goodness.

 

[Jules929]

Fingers crossed for both of us!!

I've had great hatches from her flock in the past. Not sure what's going on with this round unless their hormones just haven't really hit yet. All of my girls are laying here though. Even my elderly hen started laying again today!

Yes!

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

Duckling update:still kicking. Yolks absorbed to look like large hernia. Still in shell so we are going well

 

[baby-blue]

Oh boy. Today’s been crazy. On top of getting a new coop, we got two large runs to add onto ours so now our chickens have over 30 feet of run to themselves 24/7 and they free range most days too. Plus my breeding pens. Finally!

When we went to go get the one little gosling, the lady convinced me that I needed not one, but three. Albeit, I was not hard to convince. So now I have three muttley goslings on top of three chinese goslings. The lady with them was also crazy cool - note the word crazy, though. But the best kind of crazy. She hatches everything from silkies to emus and she knows EVERYTHING about everything. I have a feeling that tonight wasn’t the last time I’ll be seeing her.

Back on the topic of incubating! Candled some more of the late-set eggs and we have life! I even peeked at some duck eggs and saw little veins in them. Hoorah! I also discovered that our late Douglette had fertilized eggs that were hiding in the fridge for over two months. I cracked one open for the goslings and saw the blastoderm (sp?) big as life. I have three of her eggs left that are thawing to see if we might just set them in the bator and pop a baby out. Unlikely, I know, but I’m willing to try at least. She was a family favorite and a special chicken.

 

[LilyD]

If I get shrink wrapped babies it's usually when the humidity spikes up really high and then drops again. This last time I had humidity at 35 and the babies that started hatching did fine but after 6 had hatched the humidity spiked up to over 65 and then dropped back down again and the babies started having a much harder time making it out of the egg. They still made it out but you could tell they were having a lot more trouble. I think keeping the humidity lower was a big help though since I had far less need to assist their hatching with it low than with it where they tell you to keep it and that was with shipped eggs too.

I culled the chick with the leg injury today. It seemed to be getting worse rather than better so rather than make him keep hobbling around in pain I made the decision. The others are all hail and hearty and doing well in the outside brooder. The older chicks from the inside one will move out in another week or two. I set it up with a heat lamp on a thermostat set to 90 degrees and it's keeping it nice and toasty in there. The chicks haven't gotten brave enough to venture out of the dog crate yet but with the 50-60 degree weather over Mon and Tues I think they might try it. Starting to see combs in some of them so thinking at least 3 are roosters maybe more. Watching them very carefully to pick out a wingman for Cogburn so maybe he will start breeding better.

In the indoor brooder I now have a producers pride brooder heater and they LOVE it. I got the size that works fine for 30-50 chicks and with only 16 in the brooder they have plenty of room to spread out under it.

My next batch goes in the hatcher on the 15th so I have a week to give the hatcher a good cleaning and let it dry in the sun for a bit. I have 3 more of my own eggs and then some Chocolate Mottled I got locally from the same place I got Cogburn. She has Carolina bred birds as well as one other breeder. I may end up ordering another couple of dozen Brickhouse Mottled birds for the Easter hatch. I really like the looks of their blues and his mottleds are amazing. Or I might just hatch from my birds for the rest of the summer if they pick up on laying. We'll have to wait and see lol.

 

[julskinka]

I haven't hatched any Partridge Orpingtons but the chipmunk pattern is common in other breeds I've hatched with Partridge coloring. Feathered legs aren't desirable according to English Orpington breeders near me and they wouldn't add that particular bird to their breeding programs but I've heard of it happening before. I believe it was @LilyD that hatched some Orpingtons last year and some had feathered feet.

Yes I hatched out chocolates last year and three had feathers on the legs. I guess it's a common thing and any with feathers shouldn't be bred since they aren't considered show quality if they have feathers on the legs. This year I haven't had any feather legs out of the birds I have thank goodness.

Thanks for piping in both of you. Good to know it's likely what it's supposed to be. I don't breed myself, but should I tell the breeder it came from?

 

[gmjarvi]

Broody silkie is still on her eggs, D7. Last time she went broody she gave up about a week and a half in, not sure why. It was November and the weather was turning and the days were getting short, which may have had something to do with it? Hopedully she is more committed this time! I will be keeping a close eye on her this week.

The two babies from the Brinsea are in the brooder now, snuggling under the brooder plate. No external pips in that bator at present, but I did hear someone chirp in there!

Two babies in the Janoel12 are still in there resting, there are two external pips in there that look like they are about to start zipping. But of course, I'm off to bed hoping to wake up to more chicks in the AM!

 

[LilyD]

Thanks for piping in both of you. Good to know it's likely what it's supposed to be. I don't breed myself, but should I tell the breeder it came from?

Likely they already know it tends to happen in around 30-40% of the chicks when you have it in the lines. You just don't breed those that have the feathers and eventually you breed it out of your lines. I think it's a recessive trait so you need two parents that carry it to get it to express.

 

[LilyD]

Have some pretty interesting colors in the newest chicks.