Virginia

[MistyMountain]

Well, after watching my white EE sit on wooden eggs for a week with only a daily break for food water and dust bath, I gave her some eggs to try to hatch. I slapped together this little "efficiency apartment" for her. Pics are before food, water, or hen were added. We shall see if this actually works out. She is one of my first chickens, born last August. Totally did not expect this. I set 6 EE, 2 NH, and 2 Brown or White leghorn eggs all mixed with my SLW roo. Fertility is unknown, her skill as a momma is unknown. All a little leap of faith. So, that said, let me show just how green I am in all this. I set the eggs yesterday afternoon. When do I start counting days? Yesterday? Or today?

 

[ki4got]

Well, after watching my white EE sit on wooden eggs for a week with only a daily break for food water and dust bath, I gave her some eggs to try to hatch. I slapped together this little "efficiency apartment" for her. Pics are before food, water, or hen were added. We shall see if this actually works out. She is one of my first chickens, born last August. Totally did not expect this. I set 6 EE, 2 NH, and 2 Brown or White leghorn eggs all mixed with my SLW roo. Fertility is unknown, her skill as a momma is unknown. All a little leap of faith. So, that said, let me show just how green I am in all this. I set the eggs yesterday afternoon. When do I start counting days? Yesterday? Or today?

I would suggest moving her at night, with her wooden eggs, and wait for her to settle in before giving her real eggs.

oh. just noticed you said yo set them yesterday, so she's staying broody on the eggs in her cozy home?

if you set them yesterday (the 1st) then they'll hatch around the 22nd.

 

[MistyMountain]

I would suggest moving her at night, with her wooden eggs, and wait for her to settle in before giving her real eggs.

oh. just noticed you said yo set them yesterday, so she's staying broody on the eggs in her cozy home?

if you set them yesterday (the 1st) then they'll hatch around the 22nd.

Yup. She is in and settled. After she went out, stretched, hit up the "Under the Shed Day Spa" for a dust bath, ate and drank she was looking for a place to sit back down. I herded her in the door and once she saw the eggs she climbed right in, did some rearranging and puffed right up. We built this nice cozy brooding/grow out coop just for this purpose… problem being that it is full of 6 week old youngsters right now. I didn't plan on this (who does, right?) but thought I would give it a shot. The eggs are barnyard mixes from my flock, so whether they hatch or don't hatch I am not out much (just 10 eggs that never made it to my frying pan). The good thing is that the wooden crate is her preferred nesting box, so I simply made the little cage to slip on the end. She is still in the coop with the rest of the flock, but has her own quarters. This is kinda exciting! Do I really need more chickens… no… but hey, why not test her out?

 

[pysankigirl]

Is there any interest in a couple of hatchery quality female American Buff geese in the Charlottesville area? They backordered them when I ordered my ducks earlier this spring. And now they have them but they want to send a minimum of 4 and I only want 2.

$20 each

 

[vahomesteaders]

How is everybodies gardens and animals fairing with so little rain? Its dry as a bone here in the mountains of Shenandoah valley. My grass is starting to turn. Infact for the first time ever I have about 450 ft of hose running through our woods to a field with a second garden and something came by and bit holes all in it to get the water out. Ive never seen that before. I sure hope we get some thunder storms today.

 

[cubalaya]

no shortage of rain here. we have had so much rain here that the creeks are just getting back in there banks. chickens and garden doing good here in central va. last summer the rain seemed like everyday and was a challenge to even grow vegetables.

 

[vahomesteaders]

no shortage of rain here. we have had so much rain here that the creeks are just getting back in there banks. chickens and garden doing good here in central va. last summer the rain seemed like everyday and was a challenge to even grow vegetables.

Yeah we had 5 inches a couple of weeks ago but nothing since and it has dried up quick. We are stuck between 4 mountain sytems and the rain breaks up over us alot then reforms over central and eastern va. Kinda stinks. lol

 

[ki4got]

of 12 shipped ccl eggs, 6 hatched... normally that would be good... but only 1 was a pullet!

what am I going to do with all those extra cockerels???

tony, need any extra boys? got any extra girls?

 

[khawks]

I'm in Warsaw! Any people close by?

 

[HaplessRunner]

of 12 shipped ccl eggs, 6 hatched... normally that would be good... but only 1 was a pullet!

what am I going to do with all those extra cockerels???

tony, need any extra boys? got any extra girls?

@ki4got

Karen,

On May 24, I took a chance on a Greenfire Farms auction on RareBreedAuctions.com. I was surprised that I won the auction for a very reasonable price. The auction was for 12 cream legbar chicks with a guarantee of at least 5 pullets. I got quite a surprised when I opened the box. There were 16 cream legbar chicks inside, 8 pullets and 8 cockerels! These chicks are from the three lines they have (not the Rees line) so I am looking forward to seeing how they grow out.

Other than these chicks, I have 8 pullets 6 cockerels that were hatched in the February 28 - April 5 time frame. I did some NPIP testing near Berryville, VA for a remarkable woman there who gave me a pure cream cockerel (my first!). So I think that I am good on cockerels. In fact, I am looking at selling some of the cockerels who will not be retained for breeding. If they do not sell, then caponizing is in their future.

I may have one or two pullets available that I am not going to keep for breeding in the older set. The newbies are just too young to know at this time.

Tony