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 Chicks Hatching

I was very pleased to see that one egg had hatched, so much so I actually bounced into work which has not happened for a long time.  

I could not get a photo yesterday morning.  The camera on my phone is not great, so when I returned in the afternoon, I took Rhys (my three and a half year old son) to see the chick as he was very excited.

With a little help we managed to get a photograph of the chick.  See right.

A very cute Wyandotte Black Lace Bantam.

Whilst out with the hens, I decided to watch Treacle for a while.  I noticed that one of the eggs had rolled out from underneath her and there was a crack in the egg. 

I managed to move the egg to the front of Treacle hoping she would pull it under her again for warmth, but she seemed to just watch it.

To my surprise I heard chirping and the egg started moving.  The chick was actually hatching.

I had my phone with me so I took a chance with the video.  See below.
Before you view it, a word of warning it is quite short.  As the chick started breaking through, Treacle pecked at it.  So I decided it would be best for me to tuck it under her.  She accepted it.  I have not edited the video.

 

So that is two out of six Wyandotte eggs that have hatched.  I have checked regularly and at about noon on Saturday 20th October, Treacle left the nest for the first time in approximately two days.  This is normally a pretty good sign that all hatching has finished.

I candled the eggs with an LED torch I have.  Two of the four un-hatched eggs appeared to have died very early on in the first couple of days.  One I believe was not fertile and the last I think died as day 15-17.  It's a shame but these things happen.

Chart from Avianweb.com
Image 7 shows the air sack according to number of days

For now I have disinfected the run with Stalosan F and will move it on Sunday to fresh grass.  I don't want coccidiosis which is a nasty parasite infection that can kill chicks in a few days.  Symptoms are chicks hunched up and blood in their droppings.
The photo below is of the two Black Lace Wyandotte chicks with Treacle.
They are tiny little things even compared to the Rhode Island Red chick I hatched earlier in the year.

I am becoming a little obsessed with hatching chicks and keeping chickens in general so watch this space! ;-)

Soon I will be posting my thoughts on the various old wives tales for breaking a broody hen and posting pictures of the new clean run for my other hens, Custard and Pudding.

Thanks again for reading.

Broody Speckledy Day 23!

My day has not started brilliantly.  4.30am wake up call by little Rhys!

My Mr Grumpy face was well and truly firing on all 4 cylinders this morning. 
I visited Treacle at 8.30ish to top up food and water.

8:31am = Mr Happy!


Yes!!!!!!!
Treacle's first egg has hatched, and the sound of chirping can be heard from the nest box.

I lifted treacle slightly risking a good old fashioned peck, and caught a glimpse of a dark black little chick!  Just one, but who knows if any of the other five Wyandottes will hatch.

More of an update later.
Thanks for reading

Broody Speckledy Day 22!

Well day 22 and still no action in the broody run! :-(

Treacle seems to be preparing for the Wyandotte chicks arrival but sadly they are not hatching.
I am slowly coming round to the idea that the eggs are not going to hatch.
Perhaps it's the time of year, maybe the eggs were not fertile or could it have been the roller coaster ride provided by Royal Mail?
It's a shame because I was really hoping to end up with a trio (male and two hens) to either keep or sell on as a breeding trio.  It's difficult to get hold of this breed in South Wales, so I will be having a go at hatching some more in the spring, but will again have to rely on royal mail to obtain the eggs.

There is a Poultry Show at Stoneleigh park Warwickshire on 17th and 18th November.  National Poultry Show .  Depending on commitments I may try and visit on either of the days.  It would be the first time I have attended a show!

Who knows what will happen.

Thanks for reading.
I will update the blog in a few days.

Broody Speckledy Final 24 Hours

It is the eve of hatching in the Homer household.  For me its almost as exciting as Christmas! ;-) 24 hours and counting!



Photo from incubatorwarehouse.com

There are no signs of piping yet.  (This is where the chick has broken through the sack inside the egg to reach the air sack and started breaking the outer shell of the egg). Treacle has however become very defensive over her eggs.



Two days ago she happily allowed me to pick her off the nest and place her next to the food and water.  Now it's like playing chicken on the Silverstone race track with a Ferrari F1 racing car.  She pecks at anything that moves especially my hands and fingers.  She is so quick it is impossible to dodge.
I may have to start wearing gloves.  :-(

I have read that hens can hear the chicks chirping inside the eggs the day before hatching.  To encourage the chicks to hatch they call back to them.  I think I heard Treacle doing this today as I filled the food and water containers.  Fingers crossed these little Wyandotte chicks will hatch soon.

I will post another update tomorrow, hopefully with good news!
Thanks for reading.

8 days to hatch

Treacle

It's Tuesday and the 13 day that treacle has been sat on the 6 Wynedotte eggs.
There is not a great deal happening apart for a daily stretch of legs, "movement" and food and drink.

So really there is not a great deal to talk about.  I have not candled the eggs yet to see if they are all developing.  I should have done this at day 7 really. 

Candeling is just shining a bright light, like a torch on the egg to check if the chick is developing. 

This is something I will do in the next few days.

In my view 21 days is not really a long time for new life to enter the world, and I started thinking what else can you do in 21 days?

Well one activity I enjoy is brewing beer, and using one of the beer kits you can buy relatively cheaply these days, you can turn the wort into drinkable beer in 21 days! :-)  You can't complain about that can you!

Anyway back to the eggs, I bought the eggs in the spur of the moment from eBay, something I said I would never do.  I can't see how the eggs can be that happy being tossed around by Royal Mail however well packed they are.

I got a very good deal in the end, even including postage I think I paid less that I would have done visiting my local poultry breeder for 6 standard hen eggs.

I suppose that is why I took the chance.  I could not source the Black Lace Wynedotte Bantam locally.  So it was either via post or no eggs.  It seems such a waste to not pop a few eggs under a broody, especially when she had already been sat for 2-3 weeks and was not getting the hint I was giver her by picking her out the nest box twice a day!

If these hatch, and some are hens rather than cockerels, maybe I can breed from them and supply locally, because they are such nice looking birds.

Thanks for reading and Cheers.........

Broody Speckledy Hen

As I type my Speckledy Hen has been sat on her eggs in her new Broody Coop for the last 7 days.  Only 14 days to go - fingers crossed!!!

My first broody coop

I bought my first broody coop recently on the basis that I would put my broody hen in there to stop her from upsetting the other 2 hens.  The egg laying was all over the place including in the run.
I should really introduce my hens.

Treacle - Speckledy Hybrid
Pudding - Bluebelle Hybrid
Custard - Light White Sussex Hybrid (one of my originals) AKA "Big Bird"

Treacle is broody and has been for 2/3 weeks now.

Here she is with Rhode Island Red chick that she hatched earlier in the year.

The farm I bought the eggs from agreed that if they were cockerels they would have them back.  Guess what?........Yes it was a cockerel.  Beautiful looking bird and when it started cock-a-doodle-doing I knew it was time for him to go.  My neighbours would not thank me, mind you neither would my wife and 3 boys.

After moving Treacle into here new home, I found myself searching eBay for fertile hen eggs for sale.  This was not the intention, but I could not help myself.

I saw a lovely looking bantam hen in the October 2012 issue of the Country Smallholding Poultry Magazine.    It was a Bantam Gold Laced Wynedotte.
As luck would have it there were 6 eggs on eBay.  I bid for them and WON!!!


So, lucky Treacle has now been sat on the 6 eggs for the last 7 days doing a great job.  She does need reminding to get of the nest and have a drink and food every now and then, but a small hand full of corn tends to encourage her out.  Saves me being pecked as I try and pick her up.

I'm hoping they will hatch, not the best time of year I know, but I would love to be able to breed from them as they are very pretty birds.


I will keep the site updated with progress, and if by some miracle the all hatch, I will need to be finding homes for some!!

Thanks again for reading.