Valentine's day hatch -a-long

[pineapple416]

I want a pure lav for breeding & this guy has some gold leakage. He's a gentle giant like all of our orps. He'll be of good size and DD wants to keep him for an Isabel Orpington project. I have not fully decided his fate.

Craziest hatch ever! I hatched 16 lavender chicks September 22 & randomly sold 8 in 24 hrs. I don't know how to vent sex, so I just sold them straight run. I needed to keep a male to breed in spring, so I took down my ad and grew out the remaining 8. I sold 6 as soon as I could confirm they were females. I was sure that the one with the gold leakage was male, but I was really hoping to keep the other lav as my future roo..... until I finally determined at 17 weeks old that she's not a cockerel! So, I wanted a male and ended up with 7 females out of 8!

I still have the great grandpa around (a black/lav split who is more of a pet these days) and we also hatched another black/lav split male in Dec. He's OK but I was hoping for a pure lav.

I swear "Dinner" looks like he's got a mullet.
Besides his 1980s hair, I like his wing & saddle feathers lacing. (gold edges on lavender feathers) It's very pretty and why he's not currently in the freezer.
View attachment 1249125

That makes sense. I have always loved lavendar Orpingtons.

 

[Faraday40]

Did anyone candle yet???

I tried to check last night but saw nothing....too early to see through brown eggs.

 

[Faraday40]

Sad news of the day:
I got home from a biopsy (you'd think that would have been the worst part of my day)
and went out to the coop. I found Princess Lay-a inside the coop & she had a touch of blood on her head & beak. I gently picked her up & saw some additional scratches on one side.....and then a large flap of skin/feathers was open to show several fatty bodies, neck muscle & an exposed crop. UGH! Surprisingly over 1/3 of the skin around her hackle area was ripped off and hanging. She was still alive. I know it's very difficult to stitch up such a large area (several inches) and that chicken skin tears easily. Then there's the battle of infection. I looked at it logically. My sweet hen layed like a champ but would be 6 yrs old this summer. She was in shock & I need to take care of myself right now. It was too hard for me to process Princess by myself, so I called my handyman.

Princess has always been the top hen, best producer, and an all around good chicken. She foraged well, went broody once a year in June, was a fierce mother or could also be broken easily. She wasn't constantly underfoot like a silkie or in need of constant treats & snuggles like the orps, or overly vocal like the Sebright & Sussex. She did not do tricks, was not the most beautiful nor the center of attention. She was not even a purebred, but she was always part of our flock from the beginning and was a great bird. She liked to greet me for a brief pet to say hello & then went about her day.

As I type this, the egg she laid this morning is sitting on the desk in front of me.
RIP my dear old friend.

 

[chonsey]

My eggs are of various sizes and shapes and my rcom is not rotating them properly - looks like I'm momma hen & I'll be rotating them as much as possible. Candling tonight.

 

[17 chickens]

I have 56 in the incubator they are set to hatch on Valentines Day, Going to candle tonight!

 

[Faraday40]

My eggs are of various sizes and shapes and my rcom is not rotating them properly - looks like I'm momma hen & I'll be rotating them as much as possible. Candling tonight.

I have 56 in the incubator they are set to hatch on Valentines Day, Going to candle tonight!

Good luck. May you find lots of veining & dancing shadows.



(Old pic, but you get the idea!)

 

[17 chickens]

Good luck. May you find lots of veining & dancing shadows.


View attachment 1253757


(Old pic, but you get the idea!)

Nice Pic and that little dancer sure has some great moves!
So out of my 56 eggs I had to toss out 18, Some had the ring of death and the other not fertile.... This was my first time ordering from Meyer Hatchery...

 

[17 chickens]

Sad news of the day:
I got home from a biopsy (you'd think that would have been the worst part of my day)
and went out to the coop. I found Princess Lay-a inside the coop & she had a touch of blood on her head & beak. I gently picked her up & saw some additional scratches on one side.....and then a large flap of skin/feathers was open to show several fatty bodies, neck muscle & an exposed crop. UGH! Surprisingly over 1/3 of the skin around her hackle area was ripped off and hanging. She was still alive. I know it's very difficult to stitch up such a large area (several inches) and that chicken skin tears easily. Then there's the battle of infection. I looked at it logically. My sweet hen layed like a champ but would be 6 yrs old this summer. She was in shock & I need to take care of myself right now. It was too hard for me to process Princess by myself, so I called my handyman.

Princess has always been the top hen, best producer, and an all around good chicken. She foraged well, went broody once a year in June, was a fierce mother or could also be broken easily. She wasn't constantly underfoot like a silkie or in need of constant treats & snuggles like the orps, or overly vocal like the Sebright & Sussex. She did not do tricks, was not the most beautiful nor the center of attention. She was not even a purebred, but she was always part of our flock from the beginning and was a great bird. She liked to greet me for a brief pet to say hello & then went about her day.

As I type this, the egg she laid this morning is sitting on the desk in front of me.
RIP my dear old friend.

OMG! I just love that pretty Hens name!!

 

[chonsey]

I have a dozen progressing. Just sprayed hatch right on the other 11. I will be turning them at least a couple of times a day, in case the r-com isn't rolling them properly.

 

[chonsey]

Sad news of the day:
I got home from a biopsy (you'd think that would have been the worst part of my day)
and went out to the coop. I found Princess Lay-a inside the coop & she had a touch of blood on her head & beak. I gently picked her up & saw some additional scratches on one side.....and then a large flap of skin/feathers was open to show several fatty bodies, neck muscle & an exposed crop. UGH! Surprisingly over 1/3 of the skin around her hackle area was ripped off and hanging. She was still alive. I know it's very difficult to stitch up such a large area (several inches) and that chicken skin tears easily. Then there's the battle of infection. I looked at it logically. My sweet hen layed like a champ but would be 6 yrs old this summer. She was in shock & I need to take care of myself right now. It was too hard for me to process Princess by myself, so I called my handyman.

Princess has always been the top hen, best producer, and an all around good chicken. She foraged well, went broody once a year in June, was a fierce mother or could also be broken easily. She wasn't constantly underfoot like a silkie or in need of constant treats & snuggles like the orps, or overly vocal like the Sebright & Sussex. She did not do tricks, was not the most beautiful nor the center of attention. She was not even a purebred, but she was always part of our flock from the beginning and was a great bird. She liked to greet me for a brief pet to say hello & then went about her day.

As I type this, the egg she laid this morning is sitting on the desk in front of me.
RIP my dear old friend.

So sorry for your loss, love her name! Looks like she was a good momma hen, too.