Wyandotte, Araucana Chicks at 4 weeks and quail

 

It is four weeks since the latest batch of silverlace wyandottes and lavender araucana chicks hatched.  11 out of 12 fertile eggs hatched, and so far all have survived.   A great result for me and now I am itching to work out if I have a nice mix of male and female.
I hope I have. It will enable me to match up with the earlier hatches and create one or two breeding pairs or trios.

I do need to get into gear with the enclosure as my current pen is full to capacity. 

But I am also itching to get à trio of Welsh harlequin.  I think I have found a good breeder so really it is all down to how quickly I can create space. I can then be collecting duck, hen and quail eggs.  How lucky!

Talking about quail, I have 24 mixed colour courtnix eggs arriving shortly.  
It is a little unplanned, as I was more than comfortable with the group I have.  
With the loss of two of my hens recently I decided it was time to keep egg production at a reasonable level as we have become quite a quail egg obsessive family since they started laying.  If we were to run out of quail eggs I can see there being a revolt in the household from the children.

Introducing new quail to an existing group is very difficult and many say impossible as the established group will pick on the newcomers and can seriously injure them.  So the hatching of a new group has been something I have been thinking carefully about.  I have allowed for the new hatching's o be kept separate permanently, although I believe with careful management I could integrate two larger groups once the younger birds are of a good age.  Say 3-4 months old.     Watch this space.

Thanks for reading. 

  

Broody Bantam!

Croad Langsan Chick

Two days ago I was smiling smugly to myself. The 7 week old chicks were down the allotment, 3 week old chicks were outside under heat, the next batch of chicks are due to hatch in a few days, all five hens were laying, the asparagus starting to show and I was starting to imagine poached eggs on top of asparagus and toast for breakfast.

Today however, I discovered one of the Wyandotte bantam chicks I hatched approximately 6 months ago has gone all maternal on me. Yes, its broody bantam syndrome.

I should have realised sooner as she was spending more time in the coop than usual. When I returned from a night away, eight eggs had been pooled together neatly in the bottom of the coop. A perfect little spot for a bantam to sit.  Today I had to fight to get the two freshly laid eggs. At least she did not peck me, but she did look rather disgusted at being shoved off her nest area.

A final check on the undercarriage area confirmed the broody status, as she was free from feathers, plucked so neatly, I am sure in a past like she had been a beauty therapist.

My Bantam Goldlace Wyandottes

I have a few options I guess. I think any more fertile eggs may result in a divorce just at the moment, so I will try and encourage her to stop as soon as possible by collecting eggs frequently so she can not sit and if need be move her to her own little drafty cool coop/nest box for a few days. Something that has no bedding and lots of ventilation so that it cools her a little.


The other option is dunking her in a cold bucket of water (up to the neck I might add) but that does seem a little harsh as we are still getting some cool mornings.

Would be interesting to hear if anyone has any other ways of bringing a hen out of the broody cycle.

Thanks for reading.

The Chickens Move In!

Chicks now down the allotment

After all that work and effort I have finally moved the first of the chickens down to the allotment.  It was exciting but nerve racking at the same time.  It has taken months of planning, hard work and along the way there have been plenty of questions; can I do this, will it work?

Well in the end I took the "oh bugger it" approach.  By that I mean, you can keep planning and deliberating but until you take that first step, or leap in my case, you just don't know how it will work out.  So I did, and I have jumped a little like a skydiver. 

My allotment April 2013

I say skydiver because there has been some planning, but there has also been a element of excitement and free fall.

It has dawned on me that in five days there are potentially 12 new lives entering the world via my incubator set up in the spare room.  Twelve on top of the 4 chicks that were hatched and purchased 3 weeks ago and the 6 chicks that hatched approximately 7 weeks ago.

That's 22, oh not forgetting the 5 hens I have in the back garden!  Eeek!  That's 27!

I only had 3 hybrids in the back garden back in September 2012.  So if you are looking for proof that chicken keeping is addictive, look no further!

I know it is unlikely that all 12 will hatch, in fact my hatch rate has been quite poor at less than 50%, so I can easily see that only 6-8 will hatch. 

The plan is to keep some and sell others on.  I'm not looking for profits, just really making sure that when the chickens leave, they are going to someone who cares and will look after them.  I always feel that if you offer them for free it suggests they are not worth anything, not in a monetary sense but as a living thing, and this I do not feel comfortable with.  I am prepared for the worse case and not being able to rehome, so the only option then is the pot!  Lets hope it does not get that far.

Why keep chickens?

Well obsession, interest, business, pleasure!?  Perhaps all of the above and more.

When we took on the allotment back in 2006 it was an over grown dump.  The chairman of the association offered us the plot measuring approximately 30 metres by 15 metres as a whole.  It is a corner plot and at the bottom corner of the allotments furthest from the entrance and the water.  It was surrounded by trees, brambles, and housed the remains of a chicken coop, derelict shed, sheets of glass, razor wire and not to mention japanese knotweed and weeds at 4 foot high!

800 grams of Purple Sprouting picked April 2013

We took the plot on as a long term family project, encouraged greatly by Rachel my wife.  We knew there was a section that would never be workable for growing produce and so did the chairman, that is why I think he was pleased we took the whole lot.  It saved him the annual headache of trying to gather enough volunteers to cut back the overgrowth and try and clear any dumped rubbish.

The unproductive area is now where we are keeping chickens, and in the future hopefully a couple of ducks and the odd turkey for Christmas.

F1 Kale Picked April 2013

So I guess chickens on the allotment was the plan form day one, perhaps not so many chickens but I'm sure it will work out, even if there is a little Arthur daily action required in the future to restore the balance.

Thanks for reading and don't forget if you fancy Wyandottes, silver or gold lace let me know by email andrew_homer@rocketmail.com and I will keep you updated with progress as and when they become available.

Hatching AGAIN for breeding!

We're off again! The incubator is running and the first 6 eggs were set on Thursday 4th April. Lavender Araucana eggs in great condition and of great shape kindly provided by Mark at Norfolk Bantams.  I love the look of these birds and they lay blue eggs so I'm excited at hatching and hopefully keeping some hens and maybe cockerels.


On Friday 6 more eggs were added (allowing for a 24 hours settling period after being tossed thought he post by royal mail) this time it was the turn of the silver lace Wyandottes. I am not holding out much hope for these as the eggs that have been sold to me are not of regular shape. 4 out of 6 appear to be elongated. This to me suggests there is limited chance of hatching.

My Wyandotte Silver Lace Bantam 5 weeks old

I'm very disappointed with them and will certainly not be using this supplier again.

Saturday at 11 am 6 further eggs were added, this time goldlace wyandottes. Very good size and condition, so fingers crossed these will hatch a good cockerel to go with the two hens that I hatched under my broody last year.


Ideally I wanted to set all the eggs at the same time but the postal system prevented this and I thought it best to get them in the incubator after 24 hours rest.  The longer I left them, the closer they got to 7 days old, and it is suggested the hatch rate reduces after this period.

So the main hurdle to overcome with this hatch is stopping the auto turning on the incubator.  This should generally be stopped at day 18 for chicken eggs.  As I set my eggs in three batches with around 24 hours between each batch, I'm faced with day 18 being spread over three days.  Not ideal really but the plan is to stop the auto turning on day 18 for the first batch of Araucana's, then manually turn the silver lace and gold lace Wyandotte eggs for the remaining day to two days.  With that sorted I also have to turn attention to the hatching dates, again spread over three days.  I don't have a spare incubator so I will be allowing the chicks to hatch and moving them out the incubator to the brooder as soon as possible (recommended minimum period is 24 hours) to try and prevent any damage or contamination to unhatched eggs.  All fingers and toes are crossed for a good hatch rate so that I can start breeding! 

I will of course let you know how it works out and I'm sure there will be some hens and cockerels available in 10 weeks time if anyone is interested.

Thanks for reading, more updates to follow.

New chicks update 2 weeks on

One of my little friends from the farm

Well, I have been busy over the last few weeks, sowing broad beans and leek seeds, looking after newly hatched chicks, lambing..................yes Lambing.  At Humble by Nature as it happens in the Monmouthshire area.  A lovely farm owned by Kate Humble and her husband Ludo Graham.  Their tenant farmers are Tim and Sarah Stephens and they are all brilliant, lovely people.
If you get opportunity to visit on a course you will not be disappointed.  I will be posting a short review of my experience soon.  In the mean time click on the link about to see what the farm is all about.

With all this going on I feel that I may have neglected the blog and my poultry posts recently, although some of you may be thinking thank goodness for that, he has stopped talking!

7 of my 11 eggs hatched, unfortunately the Salmon Faverolle was not a healthy chick and was suffering so I had to deal with him as humanely as possible.  That's where Andy @chickenstreet and his great blog came in very useful.  Gave me that confidence that I was doing everything right.  Have a read if you get chance.   Chicken Street Blog

Silver Lace Wyandotte Bantam Chick

Croad Lanshan chick

So I have 6 chicks left, all looking healthy, 2 of them being Croad Langshan on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list.  The other 4 are Silver Lace Wyandottes.

I have 4 more eggs in the incubator.  It was a little unexpected and un-planned but I was offered them recently and I could not refuse.
The question is, what next?
I could keep hatching, but it will take a long time before I will be hatching my own eggs, so I am considering buying a trio or two of birds.  But what breed?  So much choice and not enough space.  One that needs careful consideration.  Any ideas would be welcome.
In the mean time I'm going to plough on with my Wyandottes and experiment with colours. 

I am also starting to considering getting some turkeys to rear for Christmas time.  But that's for another entry so come back soon and find out how I will be preparing! :-)

Thanks for reading

The Hatching report and sexing chicks

It is 4 days past the original hatching date, the incubator has been shut down and I have spent tonight dismantling and cleaning it ready for the next batch! Whenever that may be!

After I found just one egg infertile after 7 days, I though I may have ended up with 11 chicks, however as always it is not that straight forward. The final count is 7 chicks out of the 11 fertile hatching eggs.
Hatch
4 Silver Laced Wyandottes
2 Croad Langshan
1 Salmon Faverolle

Not a bad result I think, although I was a little disappointed that the Owl Beard did not hatch.

I liked to try and guess the sex at early stages of my previous hatches, I had no idea previously how to do his so it was total luck and guess work. However I had heard of a way of using the feathers on the wings at one and two days old.
Whether it is possible with my breeds I have no idea so why not try it and find out?
Have a look at the photo I have found on the Internet.  Like I say I don't know if this principal applies to my breed of chicks.

It is quite easy to see the difference.  On this basis I think I have the following:

2 Silver Lace Wyandotte Bantam Cockerels

2 Silver Lace Bantam pullets

2 Croad Langshan Pullets

1 Salmon Faverolle pullet 

Having made a note now I guess I will find out if I am right in 12 or so weeks.  Another waiting game!

Thanks for reading

Next update is on the method I use for integrating new chickens with your existing flock!

The Next Hatch - Poultry

So after the failure of the Silver laced Wyandottes, I have decided to try again.  It didn't take long, in fact I think I was plotting my next batch before the Wyandotte batch had come to an end.  This time I have a mix of breeds and I have doubled the number of eggs in the incubator.  Hope the wife is not reading this!

The incubator was set up on 6th February in the morning.  I will be leaving it for 24 hours before setting the eggs.  This time I am trying the dry incubation method.  Something that Norfolk Bantams on twitter (@norfolkbantams) and several other people have suggested as a good method.

I have to be honest I had never heard of the method and assumed that every hatch needed water.

From what I have been told, this is how it works.
Incubation from day 1 to day 18 there is no water in the incubator.  Humidity levels in the UK are apparently high enough that water is rarely needed.
It will be interesting to see the results.  At day 18, you add some water to increase the humidity.

Recommended relative humidity (RH) levels for chicken eggs in the incubator vary but it appears sensible to run with 30-40%.  During the hatching stage, 18th day onward, it should be around 60- 70%.
The humidity in my house is currently 45%, so very close to the required level.  When the temperature increases in the incubator this RH will drop in theory. My incubator was continually gathering water droplets on my last hatch that failed which suggested humidity was too high.  So I am feeling confident that this hatch will be more successful.  
My newly purchased humidity gauge from the local reptile shop will hopefully help.  At £5.99 I think it is a bit of a bargain and will assist a great deal.

After 3 hours the incubator is showing 49% humidity without water.  Amazing I think, but then with all the rain we have had in Wales recently I should not be surprised.

What am I attempting to hatch?
A really great  selection and very exciting.  I have another 6 Silver Lace Wyandotte eggs and thanks to Andrew at Slate House Farm (www.slatehousefarm.co.uk) I have the following :

Two Salmon Faverolle, Two Croad Langsham, One Ownbeard and one Cream Legbar.

Photo from Brockabye.com
Salmon Faverolle

Photo from Omlet.co.uk
Croad Langsham

Photo from Slatehousefarm.co.uk
Owlbeard

Photo from Slatehousefarm.co.uk
Cream Legbar

Thanks for reading.

Quail & hatching update

I have been working on a website for my little poultry adventure.  I would love some feed back on the temporary site at www.andrewspurebreedpoultry.co.uk  There will of course be more information in the full site but at least there is a basis to work from.

If you have read my blog before you will probably know I am little obsessed with chickens and have been keeping them in my back garden for four years.  I have recently ventured into the world of quail keeping.  The Japanese quail arrived on Sunday 3rd February.  9 females and 2 male.

They seem to have settled well into their coop/ aviary.  Although I am surprised how startled they are when I walk up to them.  As explained in the books I have read, they fly directly upwards when scared and usually smack their head off the ceiling of the coop.  Fortunately it is a plastic tray about their head, so I hope it will cause little damage to them.  It does however concern me they do it so frequently, and I think it would be useful if someone could design or breed into the quail some form of helmet device!

They are lovely little birds and have produced 8 eggs already in less than 2 days, however temperatures have dropped and the winds have picked up, so I expect egg production to be limited in the next few days.

My recent attempt at hatching silver laced Wyandottes was a failure.  2 of the eggs were fertile but died at around 16-18 days I think.  I think the humidity may have been too high.  Something I will be keeping a close eye on when I set my next batch of eggs in the next week or so.

Keep tuned in to find out what I will be hatching next using a dry incubating method. ;-)

Thanks for reading

Day 24 of hatching and a review of incubating

It's day 24 of the silver Wyandotte incubation period.  Despite checking three or four times a day, there is no change.  Not that it will make any difference how often I check.

I am starting to think that the remaining two eggs are not going to hatch. It could be a variety of reasons, so i thought it may be useful to write about some of the factors that can affect a hatch in an incubator.

• Time of year - hens will not naturally sit or go broody at the moment, spring is on its way, so hopefully a later attempt in middle of February will be more successful.  There is of course the possibility that the cockerel is not quite firing on all four cylinders, he may of course still be in hibernation mode.
• Quality of eggs - there is no doubt in my mind that quality at this time of year will not be as good.  The shells can be quite porous due to the feed being eaten being used by the hens for heat and new feather growth rather than producing eggs.
• Temperature of incubator and position - I have been told and read that even half a degree can result in late hatching and it could even result in a failed hatching.  It is also important to consider the location of the incubator.  If kept in a drafty position or somewhere that temperatures and humidity can fluctuate it can put strain on the incubator and even though they are designed to keep a constant temperature, it could result in subtle drops in temperate for short periods inside.
• Calibration of the thermometer - this is something I have not checked.  One way of checking you thermometer is working is removing from the incubator, and putting it in a bucket of ice.  This way you can check if it is reading 0 degrees.  If not, you can adjust your setting to reflect this.  The only problem with this method is that my incubator does not have a full thermometer in it so it would not work in my case.  I will just work on the basis it is set correctly.
• Humidity - in the UK it is certainty more critical in the last 3-4 days to get this correct.  I have recently heard of dry incubating, where the eggs are set without the use of water as we have high humidity in the UK.  Water is only used in the last 3-4 days when he increase in humidity is required.  I used water all the way through my incubation.
• Frequency of turning - I have an auto turning incubator, but if you don't and need to manually turn the eggs, its critical to turn at least 3 times a day, most suggest turning 5 times a day.  If you turn manually you need to ensure you mark the eggs so you know they have been turned.

Of course you can avoid all of this by using a broody hen, but who knows when a hen will go broody, and you are limited to 6-8 eggs depending on breed type.
Plus where is the fun and learning experience!

Thanks for reading

Naughty naughty

So, I have done something I shouldn't.  

I candled the remaining 2 eggs last night.  Most suggest this is a bad idea.  I have never candled so late before so why now?

Well I have had concerns for a while that the 2 eggs are not progressing well.  The air sacks seem too big for my liking.  However I will let them continue until at least 23 days just to make sure.
I guess I just could not resist checking.  This is my first time using an incubator, all previous hatches have been under a broody hen, and no sane person is going to try and remove a broody from their nest in the last 2-3 days.  

They sit tight and defend their nest with that prehistoric beak!  Its a little like the final scene in Zulu!  
Plus it hurts and I have been given enough wounds in the past so would do everything to avoid this.
However in the incubator there is not a crazy hen trying to peck your finger off your hand, you can just lift and check.  Naughty naughty.

I will have to sit tight now and wait.  Its day 20 out of 21, so not long.

More updates to follow tomorrow - official hatching day! :-)

Wyandotte hatching update day 18

Day 18 of the hatching of Silver Lace Wyandotte Bantams in the new incubator is proving to be exciting, for me anyway!

Hatching egg, candled at 18 days

I candled the eggs again last night and saw what I am hoping is a chick, moving around in the egg.  The photo is to the left and you can quite clearly see the blood vessels.
There are some quite strange air sack shapes going on in both of the remaining eggs.  I hope this is not a bad sign.

As it is 3 days before hatch, I have removed the 4 non-fertile eggs and the dividers separating the eggs and the auto turning mechanism has been turned off.
It is recommended to increase the humidity for the hatching period.  I had no idea how to do this until I read Katie Thears Incubation, A guide to Hatching and Rearing book and the instructions that came with my incubator.

Apparently you may not necessarily need to add more water but just reduce the temperature by half a degree to 37 degrees c and this increases humidity.

My Incubator manual also helped my understand things a little clearer.  Its not the level of water in the incubator dish, but the surface area of water.  So if you fill two dishes with water a quarter full each, it will produce higher humidity than if you fill one dish to the full capacity!

So, I am still clinging onto a little hope that the two remaining eggs will hatch.  If they do, it will go a little way in helping me set up my little project of breeding pure breed poultry, 1) to ensure their survival, 2) for fun and 3) to encourage other chicken keepers or want to be keepers, that pure breed is an option over hybrid birds.

Wyandotte Goldlace bantams at 14 weeks

Here are a few photos of the Gold Lace Wyandottes, taken more recently in the snow!

Not happy hens on the snow

I seem to be getting as addicted to taking photos as I am keeping hens and hatching chicks!  Nevermind!  Could be worse!

Wyandotte Chick with mum

I resisted the urge to drone on about it.  The hens did not like it at all but I quite enjoyed our little wintry spell.  Certainly made a change to all the mud!

Hens and chicks, sheltering from a hail shower

In the last half hour we had a heavy hail storm.  I had let the Chickens our earlier in the day.  Seems the boys climbing frame has another use in the winter!





Thanks for reading.

Candling Eggs on day 11

Excitement, enthusiasm, anticipation!  Words that I would used to define how I felt when I received my hatching eggs through the post back on the 10th January.

There is something special and addictive about hatching chicks.  Sadly my hatch rates have never really been high.  My first attempt under Treacle my Speckledy hen resulted in just one chick hatching out of 3 eggs.

The second attempt in October 2012 resulted in two chicks hatching out of 6 eggs, again under Treacle!

My third hatch is in my new incubator. A Corti AF25 - the automatic turning model.
I set the eggs back on 9th January and candled as recommended on the 7th day.  Being relatively inexperienced at candling, I was happy to leave the eggs for a further few days before discarding any that are unlikely to hatch.

I candled the eggs again tonight the 20th January at 11 days and took photographs of each egg.  I think this may be a useful guide for anyone candling their own eggs.  Apparently you should not candle to often and for too long! So here goes with the photos!

One of my own chickens eggs - Not Fertile

First incubator egg - not looking too promising - I would say this is NOT fertile.

Second Egg - something defiantly going on in this one - good to leave   in the incubator.

Third egg - Not Fertile! :-(







I cant go on really, sad that only one other egg below seems to have something going on. 
2 out of 6 again!!

Hopefully the other fertile egg!








Lets hope the two do hatch and there are no complications.

Thanks for reading! 

Gold Lace Wyandotte Photos 12 Weeks

They are hardly chicks any more.  12 weeks old and they look like mini versions of the real thing.  Gold Lace Wyandotte Bantam chickens.

I'm hoping that in 4-5 weeks I will find out if they are hens or cockerels.



At the moment one of each would fall nicely into my plans going forwards.








I have 6 Silver lace Wyandotte eggs in my incubator, due to hatch on the 30th January, the day Rhys turns 4!  Could be a nice birthday surprise.....well for me anyway.  He gets a little stressed about animals.

The plan going forward is to breed Wyandottes and I will be selling hatching eggs.

A local school has asked if I will help set them up with a hen house and chickens so that the children can look after them during term time.  They could be the first recipients of the offspring. :-)

I know a lot of schools have been taking on hens, but there is always the little problem of holiday's to sort out.  I guess that's where I would come in and happily take them in for 6 weeks during the summer holidays.  Free eggs - can't complain at that!

Anyway, next on the list after that will be chocolate Wyandottes.
I am very tempted by the Frizzle Pekins, but more recently have been investigating the Silver Appleyard ducks and Buff Orpington Ducks.  They would definitely be an allotment project so lots of work to do before then!

 

I best get my feet under the table with the Wyandottes first of all and the quail that are arriving via the West Midlands on 19th Jan!!  Still work to do on the coop as you can see.  The top level is way to dark.  I have all the materials, just need an hour to knock it together!
I have taken the hardwood panel from the back of the run on the bottom level and replaced with a frame and mesh.
Fingers crossed they will like their new homes.
Next stage is to do the same with the panel at the top level and install mesh on the solid door!  

Hope you enjoyed the photos. Thanks for reading!