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[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi Kim

Thanks for the candling link.

Hope you and the family are feeling a little less sad today and you have had a good ride on Harry and blown away a few cobwebs. Thanks for the photo of Kipper. She looks like she was a real character judging by that cheeky face and clearly spoilt, lying there on the sofa like she owned it!

The tolbunts are looking gorgeous and growing so quickly! Do you have any more recent photos of the pekins and black tails? I see that Waitrose sell the black tail eggs as a speciality range. I need a good marketing ploy for my bantam eggs! I'm starting to get seriously overrun with eggs at the moment..... I have too many chickens of course... but sadly one less today (see above post to MandS) and Henrietta and Anna, my RIR and Blue Haze are under the weather with a respiratory infection, which keeps niggling at my flock every now and then. I'm concerned about Henrietta as she isn't eating, whereas (Scranner) Anna is still tucking in and had a dust up with one of the young leghorns that thought they might take advantage of her feeling poorly to take her pecking order place, but she sharp sorted that out. I'm going to try a little eucalyptus oil and their beaks tonight to see if that will help. 

Had a good ride yesterday with Jo and Helen and riding tomorrow morning with my young friend, Lauren and possibly riding with Helen on Monday, so I'm on a roll although I'm getting seriously behind with my chores as a result. This time of year is always so hectic, especially when the weather is fine.

Anyway, must go now as I have evening stables to do.

Take care

Barbara

Hi Barabara

Oh I've been very emotional today, tears and snot. Everything reminds me of her right now and it just feels wrong her not being here. I know it's grief but I was not expecting this at all. Just not like me. Mac our other dog is lost without her, he's morbid on his bed or mooching round looking for her. I feel so sorry for him right now, he's never been on his own so it's all new for him too. He's not a happy bunny ~

I didn't get out riding today, I went and got him turned and mucked out this morning first thing and that was it. I've been sat in my chair most of the day with Kipppers blanket moping. I'm going to kick my self up the arse tomorrow though and get out. I can't go around wasting time doing nothing.

Here are the little Pekin from today, I tried uploading the pic earlier but it was not having any of it ~

The darker one at the back has a lot more leg feather than the one in the front of the pic. They are coming on well though. I will get some of the black tails tomorrow as I moved them to a coop and run with an eco glow. They were too big to have with tolbunts when they hatched.

Sorry to hear you lost the Sussex, she sounds like she was put to good use though. Sounds like she was well over weight with all the fat :/

How about a sign and little table to sell you eggs?

"Barbara's Banty eggs!"

Henrietta and Anna are in the mend soon. I've found that herbal supplement called revitaliser works well. Use it quite often if something looks sickly.

Good going on the riding, you know what they say "make hay while the sun shines" your chores will still be ther when you get back. Save them for a rainy day.

Have a lovely evening Barabara.

Catch you soon

Kim xxx

 

[mrmotherhen]

@mrmotherhen


Hi and welcome to the crazy and addictive world of chickens. How exciting to be starting off with eggs in an incubator. Hope it's just on loan, otherwise you will soon be battling with a very serious disorder called chicken maths. It's difficult enough controlling the numbers when you are just relying on broody hens, but incubators give you too much free rein to be feed the addiction, unless you are very disciplined.

Yes, do tell what flavour eggs you have cooking? Do you have a plan for the excess cockerels that unfortunately are an unavoidable drawback of the whole process? I rear them to eat but it's not an easy path and the meat is quite different to supermarket chicken as well as not being nearly so much of it for the effort to process them.

Anyway, enough of the drawbacks, lets look forward to seeing some photos of your first fluff balls soon.

Best wishes for a successful hatch and more pullets than cockerels.

Regards

Barbara  .

Hi Barbara

Well, day 20.. Nothing happening... Day 21.... Oh some little pips on a couple of eggs! Over night.. One of the Aracunanas hatched and another egg has popped! So out of 10, 3 pipped and one hatched so far.. On to day 22!. Kids are so excited, the 2 older girls slept in the kitchen where the incubator is so they could see one hatching.. They were asleep and the one that hatched totally cault them by surprise!. Have taken some pictures but it's hard to make it out through the incunator, but very very cute

[/IMG]

 

[mrmotherhen]

Hi Barbara

Well, day 20.. Nothing happening... Day 21.... Oh some little pips on a couple of eggs! Over night.. One of the Aracunanas hatched and another egg has popped! So out of 10, 3 pipped and one hatched so far.. On to day 22!. Kids are so excited, the 2 older girls slept in the kitchen where the incubator is so they could see one hatching.. They were asleep and the one that hatched totally cault them by surprise!. Have taken some pictures but it's hard to make it out through the incunator, but very very cute

[/IMG]

Another picture...

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi Barbara

Well, day 20.. Nothing happening... Day 21.... Oh some little pips on a couple of eggs! Over night.. One of the Aracunanas hatched and another egg has popped! So out of 10, 3 pipped and one hatched so far.. On to day 22!. Kids are so excited, the 2 older girls slept in the kitchen where the incubator is so they could see one hatching.. They were asleep and the one that hatched totally cault them by surprise!. Have taken some pictures but it's hard to make it out through the incunator, but very very cute

[/IMG]

Another picture...

Congratulations

Good luck with the rest of your eggs

 

[mrmotherhen]

Congratulations

Good luck with the rest of your eggs

Thank you

I'm very relieved that they are hatching, being its our first hatch I was so worried that I might have messed up the humidity or temperature, that air sacks were to small etc!

Fingers crossed for the rest.. Thanks again.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Thank you

I'm very relieved that they are hatching, being its our first hatch I was so worried that I might have messed up the humidity or temperature, that air sacks were to small etc!

Fingers crossed for the rest.. Thanks again.

Your most welcome

Hatching is a whole bunch of emotions all rolled into one!! Now you have one hatched that should encourage your others to get a move on. It all sounds good so you have done a good job for your first time, now you will want to hatch more & more & more & more...............

 

[Rudies Roost]

@rebrascora

Just giving you an update on my Speckeldy hen......this morning she decided to stand! Her dropped wing is back in it's correct position and although very wobbly she is standing and moving around. We can't believe it. Not sure whether it was the Hypericum, the fact that she is vaccinated or just that she is one plucky hen, either way, we're thrilled. She's eating and drinking fairly well and generally brighter. Thanks again for all your advice, it's been a huge help. She's out of the sling now thank goodness, the last few days she's being doing backflips out of it, we realise now that she was trying to stand! Fingers crossed, she'll continue with her recovery...

 

[rebrascora]

@Rudies Roost

That's absolutely great news. I've been wondering about her but hardly dared ask. I've had one or two that have made a similarly miraculous recovery and they have been unvaccinated birds and I was pretty sure it was the combination of having the will to live and fight it together with getting out on some grass with a bit of sunshine and other chickens around. There is something healing in spring grass. In the equine world they call it Dr Grass as it has such a positive effect on health. No reason why chickens shouldn't be the same, although I've got the opposite problem at the moment with some new bantams gorging themselves on it.... I think perhaps they haven't had access to grass before judging by their reaction!. I've had to keep them in today on soil and sand to give their crops a chance to empty!.... just like anything I suppose.... too much of a good thing can be bad!

So very pleased that I was able to make some suggestions that helped. Many thanks for the update and I hope that she continues to improve as mine did.

Regards

Barbara

 

[MandS]

Hi

Oh how sad for your chicken. Knowing what you know now about the state of her health, would draining have worked? (I'm not sure what this involves)

Thanks for identifying the girls. I was told by the man who sold them that we have an araucana but that she isn't a pure breed. My daughter who chose her decided that if she was Spanish, that her name should be Spanish. Antonella is one of the top ten names so we shortened this to Nella as the whole thing is a bit long for a chicken.

We deliberately chose chickens that would give different coloured eggs, though so far they have not started laying.

I fact because we are only able to eat the eggs from one of the comet chickens (the other one is still inside at the moment) and I had to do some batch baking for a cake sale, I actually had to go and buy eggs from the supermarket.

One of my daughters said, "it's ridiculous mum, we have five chickens and you are buying eggs!"

Anyway patience, patience..

 

[Rudies Roost]

@rebrascora

Here she is.....still amazed! I know she might not look the best but she's 100% better than she was...

My little miracle!!