Hello, just a Yankee from Alabama!

[Airyaman]

Here's one of my Jersey Giants at 11 days who snuck in with the Bielefelder eggs. Fyi, the seller is going to send out some new eggs free of charge since all I have is 1 male Bielefelder!

 

[Love Donkeys]

From one Yankee to another a "big back at you" from NE Alabama! Grew up in Rhode Island came to Alabama 2001. Hope you enjoy your time at BYC!

 

[Airyaman]

Update on my current flock:

9 chicks in one brooder which consists of two 45" octagonal portable pet playpens connected. All around the 3 week mark. Two Jersey Giants (not planned), 5 Cream Legbars, 1 Bielefelder (planned), and 1 Speckled Sussex.

Luck of the Ebay/USPS draw!

But now I have another 45" playpen with 6 1-week old chicks. 2 BCMs, 2 Barnevelders, and 2 Welsummers.

Once more, darn that luck! All Ebay/USPS hatches. I've got about a 23% hatch rate, and I think you can see that the Cream Legbar won that contest so far. Could be poor fertility, poor treatment by USPS (all but one shipment was several days late), or just noob mistakes.

Plans with current flock: not sure. I'm actually warming to the mistaken breed, JG. My favorite chicks right now are the 2 JGs and the SS (my very first hatched chick). But one Cream Legbar cockerel is vying for my attention by perching on my hand whenever I present an open palm (hope he has the right blue egg genes).

All of my birds appear to get along well so far. I see what I believe to be cockerels challenging one another from time to time with charges and open wings but it never amounts to much. Seems like more play at this point that serious authority establishment.

The JG cockerel (not sure about the other, hope it is a hen!) scares me when he feeds. His crop looks like a golf ball on his chest and it is so unexpected. But next morning it greatly shrinks. I have them only on starter feed right now but I have provided occasional grit for those times they think aspen shavings are food.

I moved the week old chicks today. The two BCMs had their own space with a mirror for a couple more days than the Welsummers and Barnevelders. As expected, the chicks probably ate more aspen shavings than is good for them but they also took in some grit, and that worked for my original 9 so here's to hoping it all works out.

 

[Airyaman]

My 15 chick army just grew by 9 today and yesterday.

All Black Australorps. At least that is what the Ebay seller describes it. All from in AL (I got them in a day).

I got 12. Incubated 12. One did not develop, 11 others appeared to. 9 hatched, most of them on day 20. One of the 2 that did not hatch stalled shortly into the zip. It was gasping for air (opening and closing it's beak) for awhile, which seems to be normal as they absorbing the yolk (according to past posts here). I did not try to assist it because it was only 6-8 hours into the process after external pip. I have decided after two failed attempts at helping chicks hatch that I would not assist. I think there is a reason they fail on their own.

The other has not pipped (externally) or zipped yet.

My 23% just got better on mailed eggs but there are too many variables to endorse this method.

1) Date of mailing and delivery was greatly shortened due to in state order.
2) We never know the actual fertility rate of Ebay sellers.
3) I changed my method of incubating. The incubator I used for this hatch is the Maticoopx 30. I modified (using plastic straws) the egg trays to hold the eggs up at approximately 75 degrees, "fat end" up.

Regardless, I'm happy with the results. 9/12 is 75%.

 

[Debbie292d]

My 15 chick army just grew by 9 today and yesterday.

All Black Australorps. At least that is what the Ebay seller describes it. All from in AL (I got them in a day).

I got 12. Incubated 12. One did not develop, 11 others appeared to. 9 hatched, most of them on day 20. One of the 2 that did not hatch stalled shortly into the zip. It was gasping for air (opening and closing it's beak) for awhile, which seems to be normal as they absorbing the yolk (according to past posts here). I did not try to assist it because it was only 6-8 hours into the process after external pip. I have decided after two failed attempts at helping chicks hatch that I would not assist. I think there is a reason they fail on their own.

The other has not pipped (externally) or zipped yet.

My 23% just got better on mailed eggs but there are too many variables to endorse this method.

1) Date of mailing and delivery was greatly shortened due to in state order.
2) We never know the actual fertility rate of Ebay sellers.
3) I changed my method of incubating. The incubator I used for this hatch is the Maticoopx 30. I modified (using plastic straws) the egg trays to hold the eggs up at approximately 75 degrees, "fat end" up.

Regardless, I'm happy with the results. 9/12 is 75%.

75% is great for shipped eggs!

A lady was just here buying silkie chicks to eventually breed and told me she had bought a cabinet incubator and was tickled she was getting 80% on her own eggs. She said that was a huge improvement. I was quiet.

 

[Airyaman]

75% is great for shipped eggs!

A lady was just here buying silkie chicks to eventually breed and told me she had bought a cabinet incubator and was tickled she was getting 80% on her own eggs. She said that was a huge improvement. I was quiet.

If that one chick had survived the pip/zip it would have been 83%!

I tried helping two chicks hatch during a previous cycle (both Cream Legbars, which had the highest rate prior to this), and both had to be euthanized. Both had problems with the yolk sacs being fully absorbed (among other issues). So I decided to let this one go on his own and he didn't make it.

 

[Airyaman]

My flock army is currently 24. Out of those 24, I've only given out two names: Trojan and now today, Scratch. Trojan is a BJG who was supposed to be a Bielefelder, but eggs got mixed up by seller. So Trojan is named after "trojan horse", sneaking in like that in a light brown egg. He's "king" of subflock #1 which consists of 5 Cream Legbars, 2 BJG, 1 Speckled Sussex, and 1 Bielefelder.

In my subflock #2, I have 2 BCMs, 2 Welsummers, and 2 Barnevelders. Scratch is a BCM chick, sex unknown. All I know is that s/he loves to scratch. S/He'll eat a few pecks then his legs will scratch like crazy. Rinse, repeat. It's comical and why s/he got the name.

Subflock #3 consists of 9 black Australorps. No standouts yet in that group.

 

[Airyaman]

Man those Bielefelder eggs are fighting setback after setback. First they were a full week late in arriving and shipped all around the US (well, sorta), now at 13 days in my power goes out during a storm. An hour went by so I started brainstorming what to do...luckily I remembered I had an inverter with clamp on leads I bought a very long time ago but never used. But it works! Got two incubators hooked up to a 12v lawn mower battery, will be interesting to see how long it can run them!

 

[Airyaman]

Well that worked out well! Not sure how much of the battery's charge was used but I was able to restore power to 2 incubators (Kebbonix and Maticoopx 30) for 1.5 hours.