Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Chickielady]

I have PEEPS! Arbuckle (Eng Orp) my broodie finally hatched at least one. So cute and adorable peeping out from under MOM!
Will wait, maybe take a full count tomorrow and take pics.

You have been a very busy Mommie lately !!!!!!!!!!

 

[Duck Drover]

Oh cool Is your husband building coops for hire? I really want to have a new setup. I can get all the materials needed but when it comes to the construction I'm building doors wrong and everything is a foreign language.

I am sure he would be willing to build a coop. He is a finish carpenter but he has done all kinds of building and he has a rolling toolbox that will load in our truck. He is working on our nest boxes today.

 

[Chickielady]

I'm alive, busy, not yet ready for the number of chicks I've set myself up for (although my hypothesis is that the hinky incubator is likely to work better full, for temperature stability reasons: we'll see how it works out in practice?) although I have a plan for how it's going to work.

Just in to have a glass of water, back from checking that last cow and moving the sheep into shade in the orchard. Filled a feeder on the way out and a waterer on the way in, of course, never walk by the chickens that there's not some little thing to do, of course.

Our mutual GF Andrea, finally has 1 hen laying & trying to save eggs but then the hen stopped laying.................

Poor girl !
If you have too many purebreds, maybe give her a call ???????????

 

[Chickielady]

Thank you to whomever it was that suggested I turn off the turner for another couple days for my shipped eggs. I did let them rest before I put them in but obviously not long enough. turner has been off past three days or so and recandled a few since I was in there anyway, still some weird shapes and bigger than expected on some but no more jiggly air cell.

Second batch of shipped eggs will be ready to candle Friday and they haven't been turned yet so I will report on them then.

I have done that with shipped eggs that I candle before setting them to check for loose air cells.
With the little LED flashlight, I turn the egg end over to see if the air cells slide.
If so, I write a big X on it.
Then set them all in the incubator, turner turned off for a day of 2 only.
At lockdown, instead of laying the X eggs (if they have made it thus far to lockdown) down on their sides, I set them air cell up in a paper egg carton.
This is believed to help the babies deal with the loose air cell.
So far, it has worked.
************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Funny thing now...2 of the muskovy duck eggs (were hand delivered to me) and they have air cells right in the middle of the egg.
Never have I seen that !
has anyone seen that before ?
It is not due to injury, but was laid that way.....weird, huh ?
The embryos are developed, and pip is the next 3 days, so hopefully the little boogers find their air !

 

[Duck Drover]

If you are just wanting pets you can use the White boy, the next gen will have more Silkied feathers but he will throw a wonky comb to his kids. Your four girls are good enough if you got a different roo you could actually breed to show quality(may take several gens but it can be done). If you want to just use them as incubators and buy fertile eggs they will be a great flock. This is my suggestion if you want to breed. Pair your Black/Blue and Splash under a Blue rooster. Put the Partridge and Buff under a Buff, Porcelain, or Partridge rooster. You could also just put all four under a Blue boy and will get some interesting Partridge colors from the PT and Buff girls. There is no telling what colors you will get if you use the White boy as White hides other colors, so it'll be a crap shoot on outcomes. There are lots of great Silkie breeders in WA. Catdance Silkies, KMHunter, Jennifer Vidmar(Utasol), Sheryl Buttler. If you are serious about breeding to Standard, I would get a Blue boy from one of them. I know many that have show and pet quality adults that throw great birds for offspring. It is work but worth it. You have a good base to start. I hope this helps. PM me if you need contact info.

If I am going to hatch eggs I would like to breed to show quality as much as possible. It sounds like if I were to run just one rooster with the girls blue would be the best color choice. I would like to buy a high quality rooster but my bank account is negative $30 today (fortunately I sold some ducklings last night, I am tutoring today, and my husband got his unemployment check today so I can fix that before the bank charges me $35 for being poor). I am glad to know the hens have potential. I have purchased hatching eggs to hatch in my incubators and I was hoping the silkies would brood them even though they did not sit on the eggs. I have a divider up and a heat lamp in my coop but my chicks are probably feathered enough they will not need heat anymore.

 

[Chickielady]

I had a successful hatch

so I have a dozen extra 100% English import orpington chicks, if anyone is needing some let me know. $10 per chick or all 12 for $100


keeping this one as she is out of my oldest hen, but you get what they will be

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ! So cute !!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chickielady]

The next time you wanna say no to $75 for a rooster, please give that person my handle, email address, or phone #!! If I could get $10 for mine I'd be a happy camper. I just butchered up 15 and put them in the freezer because I'll eat the potlickers before I give them away.

God Bless,

X2 !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chickielady]

Cowboy, our 3 yr old going great under saddle

My new mare, Freckles doing great. This was her second ride in almost one year.

Very nice !
Makes me want more horses but DH would kill me for sure !
That and I have such a bad case of kneesels !
RedReiner has some awesome horseflesh too...asking nice, maybe she will show us some pics ??????????????

 

[Chickielady]

Back to work......................insulation & sheetrock today...yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (not)

 

[BGMatt]

I have done that with shipped eggs that I candle before setting them to check for loose air cells.
With the little LED flashlight, I turn the egg end over to see if the air cells slide.
If so, I write a big X on it.
Then set them all in the incubator, turner turned off for a day of 2 only.
At lockdown, instead of laying the X eggs (if they have made it thus far to lockdown) down on their sides, I set them air cell up in a paper egg carton.
This is believed to help the babies deal with the loose air cell.

I have heard that as well, so will definitely be trying that this year. I have some local eggs that should be hatching this week (Silver Pencilled Plymouth Rocks) and I will be splitting them between an egg carton and on their side in hatcher as kind of a test. They along with around 100 OEGB eggs on loan from a friend are the "control" group for the new incubator and hatcher. Week after this is when the real fun starts, shipped in Langshans and Partridge Chantecler eggs.