Meet Jackpot

OMG, I wish I had seen that sooner! I would've gone out to meet her for a coffee or something! Shoooot! I could have sent back a whole whack of chickies with her! Or even just a few special ones! Oh poo. Give me more warning next time!!!

That is like, less than 20 minutes from my place!!

Crias are both baby llamas and baby alpacas. We have no alpacas, but we have 2 suspected pregnant llamas.

One who got that way last night - see pic below. That would be Cabernet...

WARNING.....gratuitous barnyard picture, don't look if you don't like to see these things!

ROFLMBO... CMoxin, I can see the lurker in the corner, only his eyes show up.... TOOOO FUNNY

Have you mentioned how long it takes these guys to complete THE ACT?
There's a reason they are known as trickle breeders. LOL

MissJestr - the corner lurker is Valentino, our angora buck goat. I think he's getting pointers!! LOL!!!

THE ACT takes about 30 to 45 minutes, and is very loud and energetic. Apparently llamas do not cycle. The female llama only ovulates because of the act, so I think that's why it's so different from the goats and sheep. They cycle naturally and the male can tell, and he's done really fast. But with the llamas, he's got to get her into the ovulation mode so that it works and all.

They are strange creatures. Their tongue cannot go past their teeth so they just wait for their babies to dry off in the sun....most crias are born on sunny days and not at night. They can't lick them at all.

This is old news.. I saw this on Dirty Jobs already.. LOL I don't think it's a dirty job.. but Mike Rowe had some dirty doodiez to do... LMBO

A new cheese has emerged!!

It is still wet, but I believe it to be a roo. It has a larger comb than the first one (even at this stage!) and it has a lighter colored chest. I will take pics in a bit when it has dried a bit.

I had no idea about the tongue bit... the film clips they showed us in vet tech school didn't have a sound track, so I thought THE ACT was very quiet. And of course they didn't show the whole 45 min. I guess they didn't want anyone flouncing out of the room. =0)

Bucks don't need pointers... they need restraint! And bathes. Eeew.

Can't wait to see the new cheese... and the cria... how long do we have to wait?

Cheese - probably an hour or so.

Cria - 343 to 350 days.

Regarding the noise, I will be uploading a video to YouTube soon with sound....probably this weekend.

Yep.. it's so easy to tell a roo... Congrats on the pair. :)

Even though I may be bragging a little.. Beaureguard, our Barnevelder rooster is the perfect example of a good roo. He is quiet, gentle, observant, protective, and even mingles with the babiez if I'd let him. Everyone who sees him raves how beautiful he is.. He has never once come at me in a defensive/aggressive manner..

The other day when I saw him letting the babiez pick at his comb.. it was a real gentle moment.. I just love him.

Okay.. enough about Beau.. by now, you're probably convinced to keep the lil roo... LOL

edited for spelling..

This message was edited Mar 20, 2009 3:04 PM

You can tell a roo... but you can't tell him much. Harharhonk.

That's a fellow who's so secure in his identity he could wear pink. LOL Gorgeous boy, ZZ. =0)

Here is Jackpot today..

Here is Jackpot's Brother

Here is my lil EE/Barnevelder cross.. Miracle Blue

wooohooo! Another slice! Congrats!!

They are so scared they are petrified.. they don't move an inch... even if they are not standing right.. LOL

Jackpot is colored different! Neat! Great birds ZZ, for being brothers they look nothing alike. hehehe

Neato!

Wow, Jackpot is really getting some fun colouring! Love her! Miracle is adorable!!

Here is the new cheese. I would be thrilled with a roo like Beau!

Ah yes! The white bib and complacent posture of the Barnevelder roo. They really are the most mellow of breeds...and stunning to look at.

Yup.. that's a roo.. Son of Beau, Son of Molly.. Congratulations.. I am thrilled for you!!! Look at those darling feet.. snuggly wut wut baby

It is very clear, now, that the first bird is a pullet. I am anxious for the next one...

I now see what you are looking at. He is much lighter!! Now you have a pair! yeah! Can you breed two from the same batch? Just curious!!

Sewin - you probably could breed from that same batch, but it wouldn't be advisable to keep re-breeding back their kids, etc.

So, here is cheese # 3, who is another boy!

And cheese #4, whom I suspect to be a pullet. She has grey at her neck.

Oh, the remaining cheese modules are now pipped.

Here is another pic of cheese #4, different light.

So it looks to me like I have 2 pairs! Wow! Talk about the perfect odds!

And cheese #5.....

oh wait, that's not cheese! That's our baby donkey born yesterday! Awwww....

His name is now officially Onyx.

I'll see you a pair, and raise you 2 pair! That is so cool.. Fantastic hatch for 6 shipped eggs.. You are the best chicken mom ever! The Hatching Queen.. Oh yeah!

Onyx is absolutely darling!

Onyx! What a great name! =0) Welcome to the world, little fuzz butt.

Another boy.....out and about! We're waiting for the last cheese module now. If it's a girl, that'll be 3 of each. How cool is that?! You sure can pick the eggs out! Did you do the needle test first?!

Now way! 100% ???????? You rock!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!! Congrats Claire! That is awesome. 100% hatch. wooohooo for fertile eggs!

Thank ZZ and her super Barnevelder duo! They just keep crankin' them out! Plus ZZ did a great shipping job.

Also, my Brinsea incubator rocks. It's totally worth the investment if you're going to hatch a good number of eggs over time.

CMoxon, Which Brinsea incubator do you have? I'm thinking about buying an incu and don't like the looks of those styrofoam ones. Becky

I totally agree about the incubator.. I never dreamed I'd spend so much and be so heartbroken for the ones that didn't make it.

Hind sight is 20/20

I'm so thrilled you got such a good hatch! Just thrilled.. You will love them.. they are a great breed to have... can you see my big grin? :D

Beclu727, I have a Brinsea Octagon 40 and an R-Com20. I had heard that Brinsea wasn't selling the R-Com20 any more, but that could be wrong. I like both of them a LOT. The R-Com has a little reservoir for water that you fill every 2-3 days, and otherwise the temp is rock solid. You don't have to open the lid to fill the reservoir. The Octagon 40 is also very temperature stable, and it has reservoirs on both sides, but you need to open the lid to fill the reservoir. They both do the turning for you as well. They both work well as hatchers and are easy to clean.

I have a styrofoam one that I got second hand as a backup. I've used it, occasionally, and not had good hatches.

ZZ, they ALL look wonderful. I'm amazed too, that I had 100% hatch on them. Well, the last one isn't out yet, but I'm sure it will be soon! It's still pipped and moving.

Oh dear me, I just ordered the Octagon 20 ECO with a turner. It was on sale. Oh my, Oh my. What have I done......

You have taken the first step on the slippery slope of egg obsession.

Awesome Beclu! You will be very happy with it, I am sure! The octagons are really nicely made and work extremely well. I haven't had a single problem. Now, it will be there soon, so you need to get some eggs for it. I can offer you only barnyard mixes because I don't have separate breeding pens. But, you have a plethora of choices on eggbid.com!

I'm still trying to decide what breed(s) I want. With this incu, I can get 2 or more I guess. I've been looking at eggs on ebay and eggbid. The thread on breeds has been very helpful in narrowing it down, but you guys keep posting pics and I keep changing my mind. LOL. I want standard size and probably brown egg layers. Lot of territory there. I have to get DH to build a coop. (He's aware of my chicken wants already and is OK with it.)

Sorry ZZ for hyjacking Jackpot's thread. Sure is a pretty chick.

I say go with Speckled Sussex and Buff Orpingtons, or maybe Marans if you can swing it.

Excellent training of your DH. You are to be commended. You could teach classes in that!