You like this one Melissa?? You like splash?? I love splash..
New Adventure #2... come along
OH I LOVE that one!!
Mel last summer I found one of my girls laying upside down in a dust bath, I thought she was dead at first. I had never seen a bird in that position before. Now seeing one of yours doing that makes me know I'm not crazy. What a great pic. You have been so good at showing your girls to us. Thank you so much. Hay
Look what the new girls gave us today!!
Not real dark, but lots of speckles. :)
Oh Wow! Congratulations Melissa!!! They are beautiful.
I love the speckles. They are like freckles on eggs.
That's what my hubby said Claire... said they matched me. LOL
When I told hubby I was going to eat them he looked at me like I had 3 heads. LOL I think he thought I was going to hatch them.
What are those speckles on eggs?
It's the coloration.. when they lay at their darkest, the whole egg will be as dark as the speckles. Has something to do with the egg in the oviduct...but it is way way above my head!
Good morning Sue! I guess we are the only ones up yet. I hate that you got 2 roos from me. I did suspect the white with dark color might be a roo. I knew the Turken was for sure. The white/black colored chickens where sired by a Egyptian Fayoumis roo. It should make some interesting babies.
Hey Melissa! I just got a pair of Golden Campines. I love the way this chicken is built and the coloration.
The Golden Campines, Egyptian Fayoumis, Big stock cochin and dark Brahma are going to be my big stock breeders and egg producers. Now if I could just quite with the banties! I just love the little ones so much. I used a serama roos and got some really nice small banties from him.
My SO and friends think I'm crazy, but who cares what they think!! LOL
Hope everyone has a great day! It off to work in my little old ladies garden this morning. She is 74 and refuses to give up her home or gardens. I just hope I can be that spry at that age.
George
This is the link to some Golden campines if you have not seen any before.
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=golden+campines&sa=N&start=0&ndsp=20
good evening ! Geo
those are some nice Campines
very pretty
no worries on the roo's i just don't want them fighting ? do you think they will ?
the white one is very aggressive ? but he is the one they all follow when they get out ? i guess i will look and see what happens
I guess i may need more chickens to keep two roo's happy ? LOLLLl
i m confused on the nest boxes ?
any advice on them . they just kick out the straw
I don't know Sue, I'd have to go look at the calendar! Haystack has been keeping track of it for me.
I think your nest boxes will be fine... right now, they don't have eggs to lay, so maybe that is why they aren't using them? They kick the stuff out of the nestboxes all the time anyway here.
Yes, you need some more pullets. I saw on craigslist someone down here is selling 9 wk olds for 5.00 each... 10 different varieties.
George that is a pretty chicken!!! Today was a good day to work outside, if you had the same weather we did. Tomorrow is supposed to be 72 for a high! YAY, the AC is OFF.
72.. for a high.. send that south please! its suppose to be 90 again.
Those are pretty chickens. I really like the black & white one.
I think you're getting what we had last week.
Hi Taynor's: That black and white one looks like a screwed up lakenvelder???
Hi George: I have had the gold campines for a couple years now, they are beautiful and boy can they fly. I have never had a problem with them flying over the fence but I have watched them fly approx 300 ft and never touch the ground. Built like pigeons aren't they!
Hi Melissa!!! The Marans are the only chicken with a built in (paint booth) Not kidding, they paint their eggs as they pass through the oviduct. People think I'm kidding when I tell them that, but if you wash your eggs to briskly you will notice you can wash the speckles right off. Don't do that though or your girls will take offense and quit laying. It's the paint job thats makes them all so individual. Most other eggs you can scrub all you want and what you see is what you get, not so with the marans eggs. I never wash the marans eggs! except to show customers what I mean.
Taynor's the countdown is seven days and counting. Also Taynor's because your nesting boxes are open in the front, you might want to cover at least half of the top. Your girls will love you for it. It will give them some privacy which they love when laying. Hay
This message was edited Jul 1, 2009 7:09 AM
Nice to see you haystack!!
I've read that about the Marans eggs, and the "painting process" is why they typically lay less than other chickens? Am I correct?
Hey Sue! That black and white and the other white/black are chickens are from a Egyptian Fayoumis roo and light Brahma hen. I am always mixing up some different breeds.
George
they are so pretty i think :) thank you
ok good to know Haystack i was thinking of giving a little roof over the nest boxes.
well today i was digging up ants for my chickens . I found a colony of them in some old wood logs. SO i dug it up and wow larvae and ants all over the place.
i took the wood log and dumped it in the coop and they went crazy ! ( the chickens not the ants )
then dug up some dirt , put in a bucket and dumped in the coop. The were again ... going nuts !
chickens are in hog heaven today.
ok good to know on the count down. i will be sitting up and waiting for them ...... still waiting......
George I raised a trio year before last and sold them at about 6 months old to a young family.
The man told me they did very well and him and his family really loved them and would never sell them.
Fast forward to last summer and i saw him at our local grocery i said how are the campines he said the roo was getting aggressive and he showed me a cut on his arm.
Then last fall i saw him again at the auction and he said he had bad news they sold the campines the roo had attacked him and he showed me a long cut on his leg.
Seems the roo had begun to attack him every time he entered the coop area and his wife was afraid of him.
I don't know if this is a characteristic of these or not but that roo was really mean
Hi Mel!!! You are so totally right about the egg production of the marans. Also after the first year the eggs will begin to lighten up little by little, that is why you most keep your stock up if you want the real dark eggs. Counting down with you Mel and wishing you all the great success you so deserve. Hay
Melissa?? Checking in here... Hello???
Aren't we getting close?
I need to look at the calendar!
OK, I put them in the incubator june 17. So, do I count June 18 as day 1 or June 17 as day 1?
I've only tried to candle once, and couldn't see anything....
here Sue the first one would be worth the drive @ 4.00 each.
http://dayton.craigslist.org/grd/1235380189.html
http://dayton.craigslist.org/grd/1225141718.html
Sue, check this one out too
http://dayton.craigslist.org/grd/1249703480.html
Okay.. Here is how I do it now.. Eggs set Wed. June 17th.. The next Wed is 7 days.. The next Wed. is 14 days.. The next Wed is 21 days.. then back track to day 18 and that's when they go in the hatcher..(not Seramas or some bantams.. I put those in on day 16 or 17)
So yours would go to the hatcher (stop turning.. temp 100 and up the Rh) on Sunday July 5th..
That is my program.. and it has been working best for me.. I don't candle on certain days.. I candle on day 3 and then when ever I need to add water.. I never take them out to candle.. I just use a mag light while they are in the turner.
I use a Hova bator for my hatcher.. no turner in it.. and I can get the Rh really high.. by putting the heavy duty paper towels down on the wire and wetting them with a turkey baster.
Ok, sunday I'll take the turner out and put them in cartons. I think I will do the paper towels down this time, it was a stinky mess the last time. :) Maybe the paper towels will help with that some.
I'm really not as excited about this hatch... if I don't get a decent number, I'll probably wait til I have my own to hatch any more, and I'll order some dark egg layers from the hatchery to have until I get a flock built up.
Good Girl!!! Keep that attitude.. Yeah.. don't bother with em.. Just stick em in the cartons and forget it.. :)
You will see why I say that come Thursday..
The paper towels do help with the mess.. but don't completely cover the bottom.. Just one folded towel on each end of the bator.. It's good for the chicks to get some wire, it helps with traction.. AND the towels dry out.. so I open it a crack.. and use the baster to wet them without getting eggs wet..
Also.. if you are using styrofoam cartons.. cut a hole in the bottom of each compartment just in case something drips, or you get water in it..
Melissa i know all about the hatching and it's aggravating i have stopped using a incu and went back to using broodys .
I generally always get 99 to 100% under a broody when i averaged only 85 to 90% in and incu and at times less than that. Good Luck with this hatch {:~)
They're in the cartons, and the humidity is in the 90's. Condensation on the glass. When I moved the eggs from the turner to the cartons there were probably 8-10 that felt heavy still..... but even a couple of the Welsummer eggs felt substantially lighter. I will be in total and complete shock if any of the Welsummers hatch at all.
If I can get it totally quiet in here tonight, I'll listen for cheeping eggs. :)
Got my fingers crossed for Ya {:~)
Sorry Mel: some people just talk to much, I'm here silently praying and listening with ya. Can you hear how lightly I'm typing this out? Betcha can't even hear it can you. LOL i'm here tho. Hay
Talk to much this is a forum not a funeral Ha~Ha~Ha~Ha~Ha~Ha ;~)