steelnut

And don't get them wet or feed them after midnight.
Wait. Wrong species.

Thanks for posting and I find myself looking forward to the next posts.  I find these timeline posts interesting and educational.

I'm working on an idea to get them out to fresh grass every day possible without them running loose.  It should be fun interacting with the girls to make it work.

I love just hanging out with the chickens at the end of the day. They are just happy creatures, without a care in the world. They don't require a ton of room, either. Free ranging is nice, but with just a few birds and no rooster you are just feeding the local wildlife. A 10x10 dog kennel would be more than enough room for 8-10 birds. I usually shoot for 10 square feet/bird in a permanent pen, but most of my pens are closer to 20. I will let them out sometimes in the afternoon if I am home, but they are perfectly content in their pens

18? Wow! That's awesome!
I'm so glad I sent the eggs from the young girls. I rarely see the chickens during the week, so I wasn't sure if that rooster was getting the job done yet, but I'm seeing good fertility in my set as well. I did get to spend some time with them this weekend, and it was like Caligula in that pen
I'm surprised the big eggs are the ones not developing, but maybe they were more susceptible to disruption during shipping. Maybe those smaller, compact eggs kept the yolks from getting shaken up too much.
I really hope you have a good hatch rate. With that many developing, you should at least get the  number of girls you wanted for yourself. If you have room to grow the roosters until they are big enough to take to that butcher, BCM are some of the best eating chickens around.
The other good news with those younger eggs developing is that rooster is the best I have. He has a great body type, his color is fantastic, and the girls with him have a nice green sheen to their black feathers. You will have Bev Davis show chickens as your backyard layers
 
ETE: When you add water, is it warm? That will help bring the temperature back up quickly, especially in Styrofoam. I may be telling you something you already know, just trying to pass along a trick or two

I think it would be a lot of fun for everyone. I'm hatching every few weeks, but hatch day is always exciting. I think people will learn a lot from your documentary

Kind of. More like shining a flashlight through one end, but all the light has to be directed into the egg, if light escapes around the sides, you can't see. A candler has a rubber cup to set the egg in. A good, cheap, homemade way is to use a toilet paper roll and flashlight

Say all you want about how slow the south is, but I planted my tomatoes 2 weeks before Easter

I know, I already shut the furnace down, cleaned the vents, and sealed them up for the summer.

As promised, here are the two flocks Petee's eggs came from:

I've debated that for a few. The roosters definitely have their favorites, but usually a few extra girls will give them... options
If I can keep 8-10 girls per pen, that usually spreads them around without hurting fertility.
I have a Brinsea candler, but not the HI. I need to get one. Like I said, usually by day 10 you can at least see a developing air sack. I don't have a lot of hope for those medium eggs, but my fingers are crossed. Those two roosters are the same age, but the hens in the blue pen were trained to submit by another rooster. He kicked me one too many times, and I have a smoker

I have 5 big roosters that have varying lengths of deep crows. I have one silkie rooster that weighs about 4 pounds that can outdo every one of them. It's a higher pitched crow, he drags it out, and the sound carries for about a mile

I know Petee is probably gone for a while, so for you guys keeping track, if she set this morning they will be due on May 18. The hatch usually lasts 18-32 hours, so they could start hatching around the evening of the 17th, and it could stretch into the 19th or 20th

I have six roosters, and I love hearing them in the mornings. What amazes me is the multitude of sounds roosters use to communicate. My favorite is when they find a particularly tasty morsel. They have a trill to call the girls, and they won't eat until the girls eat. They screech when a hawk flies over, or a cat walks into the yard. After 7 years I have a Pavlovian response to the screech, I automatically look up. Roosters can teach you a lot about being a man

Awesome!!!
I hope the box was in good shape and none cracked

My husband just popped in the door to tell me that the eggs are here!  I just have time to settle them in the incubator before I leave for the day.  Hooray.  Start counting.

Those are beautiful birds! Does anyone else LOVE to hear a rooster crow in the morning?

Those are beautiful birds! Does anyone else LOVE to hear a rooster crow in the morning?

They do, but the harmonizing on California Dreaming is horrendous

I don't have recent pictures of them, but here are the mamas and the papas back in January. They are much bigger and more colored now. I'll try and get some new pics by the weekend
 




 
 

I should have asked whether they understand English above the Mason Dixon Line.......oh well, they will be bilingual!

And dance. Some of my roosters have got Travolta like moves

We were at Tractor Supply last week and I spent most of the time admiring the chicks. I sooo want a chicken condo and raise some of them when I get the time!

I grew up on a farm and miss that life. We do live in the country and have a barn. We're just so crazy with work. But, soon I hope (crossed fingers) I'll have some extra time.

I grew up on a farm and miss that life. We do live in the country and have a barn. We're just so crazy with work. But, soon I hope (crossed fingers) I'll have some extra time.