What did you do with your flock today?

[PopoMyers]

No. We just watched this movie on... Amazon I think and we can get the song out of our heads. Too fun. Also watch a film on Idaho that was stunningly beautiful.

 

[Aliceismad106]

Beautiful! Your quite the photographer. Been missing @FrankieDoodle , his updates and great photos.

Thank you. I actually got into photography working for lifetouch taking school pics

 

[Aliceismad106]

That sounds so sweet! I'm like @Gammas Bearded Babies ...I love to sing but have no faith anyone wants to hear me

Beautiful babies

Thank you

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Yesterday was gorgeous outside yall!!! Got almost 70° with the sun shining beautifully! And not a cloud in sight!
The babies hung out in the yard with me and helped scratch out some weeks from the main garden bed. I put an old dog fence that's about 3' high and folds up around the small bed that has my garlic and newly sowed lettuce seeds since they are craving garlic! They thought I made em a new dust bath when in fact I was just covering the mint to it could keep going....

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Question ya all…I lost a BUNCH of hatching eggs yesterday due to my son (2yrs old) knocking the incubator to the floor. I have a few that are still doing pretty good. I’m getting the Marek’s vaccine today but we ordered more hatching eggs. Can I wait until the new chicks hatch to give them ALL the vaccine so I don’t have to order more and waist that much more? They wouldn’t be outside but inside the brooder.

 

[kurby22]

Question ya all…I lost a BUNCH of hatching eggs yesterday due to my son (2yrs old) knocking the incubator to the floor. I have a few that are still doing pretty good. I’m getting the Marek’s vaccine today but we ordered more hatching eggs. Can I wait until the new chicks hatch to give them ALL the vaccine so I don’t have to order more and waist that much more? They wouldn’t be outside but inside the brooder.

They want you to do it the very day they come out of the egg…but I think as long as you are careful and they don’t go outside you could wait for the second batch. I’m so sad for you!

 

[FBMcrazy8]

They want you to do it the very day they come out of the egg…but I think as long as you are careful and they don’t go outside you could wait for the second batch. I’m so sad for you!

Thank you! We will be putting a deadbolt on our door now. So they kids won’t be able to just walk in anymore mess with the chicks or eggs. The ones hatching and waiting for a vaccine will have to be extra cautious with. I may just buy another vaccine for them but I just hate all the waist

 

[PopoMyers]

Thank you! We will be putting a deadbolt on our door now. So they kids won’t be able to just walk in anymore mess with the chicks or eggs. The ones hatching and waiting for a vaccine will have to be extra cautious with. I may just buy another vaccine for them but I just hate all the waist

You sound like a parent with lots of projects, not including the littles. Wish I still had that kind of energy! So sad about your incubatees. Sounds like your weather is looking up, according to @Gammas Bearded Babies ?

 

[PopoMyers]

Happy Valentine's Day, or Anti-Valentine's Day, whichever camp you are in. All my boys are single. Interesting day, yesterday. I finally felt ok to venture outside, and they needed to be fed. Still not 100% . My son cooked for the second time since I came down with this, and the salmon smelled amazing. Didn't want to chance it. DH wants to take me out for dinner, and we will wait until I feel I can tolerate any other food. Hunger is a good sign, but aversion to anything greasy is a flag. Dungeness crab at Costco was only $4.99/lb, lowest price we have seen in forever. Sorry, rambling.
Got 9 eggs yesterday, 7 day before, 8-9 before that. Happened to be able to butt check my oldest BSL, who just finished her molt, and she is still at a 1, but her comb is red as can be. She may be the one laying the smallest eggs. Pikake is at a solid 2. I have to do this sneakily while Cock E is out of sight, or I will be attacked, as I found out when I tried to butt check Pepper, who was protesting loudly when I grabbed her, and he came to the rescue. Good boy. He's just doing his God given job. Also decided, since they were starving (yeah, they always act that way) actually the food bins were empty, so after filling it, put out a water bowl with Safeguard mixed in. The doses are ambiguous, mg vs ml, so I just put a good splash in the water and stirred. Chickens are creatures of ease, so when they were done eating, they rushed the water bowl. During the course of the afternoon, they either drank it all, or spilled the last part of what was in there, as the bowl was on it's side. They got dosed, easily. Will repeat in 10 days.
The 2 cocks are being crazy. Sometimes, when E is mounting one, R comes and tries to mount her, too. Is this weird? Or are they just trying to get to the finish line first? Should I put them both in bachelor quarters until next year? They are good protectors, though. When R mounts, E will fight him off. What to do?
Spring will be springing soon, lucky @Gammas Bearded Babies for the nice weather break. We won't hit that until maybe June!

 

[ChicksnMore]

I’m not sure she does. She just started too but from what I seen last year she either went through a whole lot more eggs or just had a great hatch rate. None of hers or even mine are show quality either. So I hope that, that will help with the hatching. When you go into lockdown where should the temp and humidity be?

Thank you so much for the advice and tips with helping them hatch if they struggle. I might have to message you again when it gets closer to time. I’m going to be freaking out. I’m nervous about the chickens but I think the ducks worry me a little more. The eggs I have are about the size of my Cochin bantam chickens. Is that pretty normal? I haven’t seen her eggs yet. As soon as mine that I have in now hatch in about 12/13 days I will be going to get some eggs from her. I will be able to see them then. And since…if they are supposed to be that small and it’s all good, they are small, do they still take about 28 days to hatch or do they tend to hatch a little early because of how small the eggs are? I have read that bantams hatch early…is it true for Calls as well?

I get an occasional chick or duckling that hatches a little early but almost all hatch on time, regardless of size. The early hatches come from eggs I left in the nest and collected a large batch at once. Guessing those eggs are having some unseeable development happening even with no hen brooding them....either from the hens warming them as they lay more or from our high temps. When I was using my homemade incubator it was harder to keep the temp exact...with it I got more early hatches from temps running high. Those are the only things I've seen effect time required to hatch.

I can't swear with call ducks because I haven't hatched many yet...but my bantam eggs I can swear...mine take the normal amount of time. So far my duck eggs have also.

I don't change temps or humidity for lockdown. I stick to 99.5 and 55 through out. I have an excellent hatch rate and almost never lose a chick during hatch. I know reading says bump the humidity, but I never will. I tried it in the early days and had worse luck then I do now. I stick to what's working for me.
I worried more about the calls too. I read so much about their hatching problems! Hard not to worry. I'm guessing those pet quality beaks are the difference. So far mine are almost all hatching well on their own. I had one hatch with a deformed beak that needed assistance, one hatched that would spin in circles every so often from the moment it could stand also needed help hatching, and a malposition that I thought would need help but made it out on its own. Since you also have pet quality, I'm betting almost all will hatch well on their own.

Question ya all…I lost a BUNCH of hatching eggs yesterday due to my son (2yrs old) knocking the incubator to the floor. I have a few that are still doing pretty good. I’m getting the Marek’s vaccine today but we ordered more hatching eggs. Can I wait until the new chicks hatch to give them ALL the vaccine so I don’t have to order more and waist that much more? They wouldn’t be outside but inside the brooder.

O that's too bad...I'm so sorry for your loss. I'd time it so the maximum number possible get the vaccine at the correct time.