Who is with me?

[riqui1]

You know, it's funny, but I never would have thought of a turkey as a good pet...but it seems that there are quite a few people out there with them, so they must not be too awful bad! lol

I just got done candling my eggs, as I am on day 4, and if I am correct, the main thing that I should be looking for is red lines, which implies veins. I found these in 10 of my 14 eggs. The other 4 just showed the yolk with no other apparent formations. I figure that I very well could have missed them in the other 4, they could be a bit behind because of my low temps to start or maybe I just have 4 eggs that weren't fertilized. lol They are all safely back in the incubator now. That was pretty neat; the boys and I enjoyed it. We will be doing it again on day 6 or 7. The eggs are so small, I cannot get the flashlight completely covered while tucking it into my hand, so I am unable to take any pictures!

My temps seem to be stable, with my fake egg running at a temp of just above 100. And I know it isn't "faking" this time as I take it out once a day, when I roll eggs, and check it with a digital. I'm not falling for that one again! lol

I think that I may need to get a sponge in there when it is time to get the humidity up, at the end, as i am lucky to keep it much above 50 right now!!

Do any of you know a breed of chicken that would have a pure black rooster with very long tail feathers? My husband has the picture of the rooster he wants stuck in his head, as he saw one somewhere, but I am beginning to think it was on a cartoon! I am not finding one that meets his criteria!

Again, thank you guys for all of your help through this!

 

[walkswithdog]

Many of the orientals have long tails, including some breeds called..wait for it... long tails...

Let me go grab some names for ya. BRB


PS if you candled at day four, let em rest til day 10. Give the kids the idea that candling too often is a good thing and you can disturb the vein development of very young eggs...

Patience grasshopper...

 

[chickie_mama]

Quote:
What about a Sumatra Roo? Those tail feathers get pretty long.

 

[walkswithdog]

Okay many Japanese LONGTAILS - are black and longtailed. So are Black Rosecombs. Best because they're silly are the longtailed longcrowers. Until you've heard a long crower crow you have not laughed.

The White Faced Black Spanish has a fairly long tail...

Even Shamo's could be said to have longtails...but they're part dinosaur.

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGK/Longtail/BRKLongtail.html

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGK/Long/BRKLongCrow.html

The Phoenix has a very long tail...

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Phoen/BRKPhoenix.html

 

[countrybum]

riqui1, I have to agree with WWD, about the candling. Wait until the 10th day to check them again. At that time you should see the eye movement more clearly and be able to till which eggs are not fertile and can remove them.

I have been so busy around here sometimes I forget what I was getting ready to do, but it is nice to get a break. As for you Chickiemama, I am going out now to get pictures of the little ones and just hope the older chicks did not smash any. I have to get them moved out to the main coop.

I am tryign to choose which chicks to take to the auction this weekend and it is a pretty hard decision to make. I have hatched and raised them and just do not know, but I do know that some have to go.

The good news for me is that my Moms 2 horses may be sold and that will be a huge burden and feed expense that I am free of.

 

[riqui1]

Thank you for those links! I think I found one on there that will fit what he is looking for in a rooster. Of course, they are probably not winter-hardy beasts or friendly! That will be my luck! lol Those Black Sumatras are nice looking too. Maybe I will look into those... I really don't want anything other than my silkies...maybe I will just see if I can get him attached to a black silkie roo - that would be the smartest idea, in my opinion!

I will let them sit and not candle until next week then. I was under the impression that it was safe, and even recommended by some, to do so every 2-3 days. I really didn't think that there would be that much change that quickly, but am interested to see if there is any development in the 4 eggs that I couldn't see anything in right now.

Hope you all are having a great Thursday! If the weather would clear up here, it would make a world of difference!!

 

[countrybum]

Quote:
Did you mark the 4 that you were not sure of? If so you can check them in a couple days if you want, or it would not hurt to check all of them.

Use the website and your better judgement. When I first tried candling, I checked mine every 3 days and still had great hatches. It takes a lot of candling to get it right and the darker eggs still stump me at times. They are so hard to see through even if the room is dark. So they pretty much sit until I start smelling something stinky in the incubator.

 

[riqui1]

I didn't mark them, but I did separate them from the rest in the incubator. I will keep them separated until they begin to look like they are doing something productive. I don't have any intentions on taking them out unless I have to. I figure that there's no way I won't make a mistake, so I would rather be safe than sorry!

 

[countrybum]

If you do not see any progress within 7 to 10 days, usually sooner, but I am going by my first time, then pitch them. Trust me, I have never had one explode, but my friend has and it is an awful smell and hard to get out of your incubator.

So go to the chart and learn what to look for, it really helped me.

By the way, I have 2 ducklings starting to hatch, they should be pipped come morning. I have them marked for the 23, but Mom had been sitting on them so that was just a guesstimate.

I heard chirping and was shocked so I checked and it is them. I quickly got my humidity between 70 and 80 and squeezed the other eggs into the first incubator (2 rows in it until these guys hatch) I did not want the humidity to cause problems for the others. I have others (ducks and chicks) due on the 25th, 26th and the 28th, so the stress starts now (AGAIN). This should and probably will be my last hatches of the year. I truly have to sell some of these chicks, so if anyone wants me to ship them some eggs, I will do so COD and for shipping only. I have 1 dozen left to go and I can ship them before 10AM on Saturday.

As for shipping it runs about $16.00.

 

[riqui1]

AAAHHH! They'll explode?!

(this face was the closest that I could get to a nauseated looking one! lol) I was hoping that, as long as there weren't any cracks or anything, I wouldn't have to worry about them. While I am very concerned about making a mistake and "discarding" a chick, I would think that I should be able to tell as we get further along. I guess that I need to remember that I am human and that making mistakes is how we learn...just in case!

I used that sight that was listed, that showed all of the pictures of candled eggs, but on some of them I had a hard time discerning why some of the egg pictures were in an area marked "what to watch out for" when, to me, they looked just like the ones that were good under "what to look for." lol Again, I guess this is all just part of the learning process.

Wow - having all of those different hatch dates does seem like it would be a bit stressful!! And definitely NOT for a beginner to keep straight! I would lose my mind, I think. lol

I told my 9 year-old that I would get him duck eggs to hatch at the end of next winter, that way it is warmer when it is time for them to go outside. We are getting ready to transition our two little Mallard ducks down to the pond. I don't know how they'll take it - they are such spoiled house ducks!! You can't walk out of the room without them chasing you down, "crying" the whole time. They are precious, but when my boys go outside to play and leave them in the house...oh my!!

What kind of ducks are you hatching? I don't know whether I would rather have Mallards or Pekins. I like the fact that the Pekins don't fly, making it so I don't have a depressed child when it comes migration time, but I was also led to believe that some Mallards will return the following season, so...

You can hear them chirping before they hatch? How neat is that!?