The newest of the brood!
This hen shared the laying rights with another hen. There were twenty eggs in the nest when she started brooding and she hatched 17 of the 20. Half are Sextons and half are Round heads. At three weeks, she has managed to keep them all alive except one. Now the Sexton is setting on another batch of eggs, so we will see what her rate of hatch is going to be. Wonderful watching these little ones learn the survival techniques they will need to survive. I can't believe how still they can be when the hawk flies over.
The shrill cry of a young hawk had me scrambling for 4 week old biddies and my precious chihuahuas early this morning. Prayers were interrupted as I watched and waited for the deathly dipping swoop of this bird in search of prey. So beautiful to watch as they glide swiftly and gracefully through the sky, these keen eyed predators are deadly to my small animals.
The hens ran for cover and Miss Betty and her chicks froze where they stood. How this feisty hen conveyed to her chicks the danger of moving is a wonder. They held the frozen position for 3 minutes before resuming their foraging. The hens are still staying close to the porch or under the shrubbery - both favorite havens. The roosters are on patrol, one in the front yard and one in the back.
Last week my beautiful rooster tangled with this beautiful creature and lost a cone and most of his neck feathers. He survived the attack and his valiant efforts to protect his flock of hens paid off. Matilda fell prey to a hawk last fall. An aging Rhode Island Red hen that could no longer flee as quickly as she once could, Matilda was caught in the deadly talons of a large hawk hunting in the area.
Snakes, hawks, owls, weasels, coyotes and cats are deadly to my menagerie and it appears we have them all. That's one way to keep me on my toes. Until next time . .
Happy reading!
Belle
Things have really started jumping around this little farm and I am trying to hop a long and keep up! February was dragging along and I was dragging with it until the 24th - yes the day of the last big storm. Star, my beautiful white and gray rabbit, decided to kindle on this day. For those of you that do not speak rabbitese - kindle is giving birth. Babies were dropping here there and yonder and unprepared me was running around in lightening and pouring rain trying to get her pen out of the rain and well stocked with all the needs of a new mother rabbit. She had four kits (babies) and is a wonderful mother. I checked on the other doe and Mr. Jedi and they were fine, so Star and I settled in for a quiet afternoon. After the storms had passed, I fed the chickens and gathered the eggs and low and behold here comes Blondie followed by 12 little ones. She led them straight to the barn to eat and eat they did! I returned to check on Cleo and Jedi. The pen was filled with babies. Cleo must have danced in the rain and quickly deposited 9 little ones in an unprepared pen. I lost about 5 to drowning and quickly moved Mother and kits into the second birthing pen. She was not a good mother! I ended up with one survivor and moved it into the pen with Star. She immediately cleaned and fed the little one and now is the happy mother of 5.
I never realized that rabbits grew so quickly. These little ones are a joy to watch. Star has been weaning them this week and I think she is about ready to go back to the big pen and let the little ones grow on up.
In the two weeks in between this tumultuous Thursday, something killed 6 of Blondie biddies and my big rooster along with one laying hen. I am hoping the hen is sitting on a nest somewhere, but I did find two patches of feathers behind the barn. It had to big a big rascal to get my Barred Rock Rooster - he was huge!
I have managed to get in some sewing and therefore knocked back my stack a bit but not near enough. That will have to wait though as I have two chairs to cane and those take priority.
Have to run. Until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
Two weeks ago a very thoughtful neighbor gifted me with 20 biddies. It was an unsolicited and wonderful surprise from this man with a heart of gold.
Several weeks ago a neighbors dog killed ten of my laying hens and a rooster. These are pets that I raised and nurtured for over a year. The dog's owner offered to pay me for the hens, but having no idea the value to put on my friends, I told them no. I replaced my Rhode Island Reds with a few Barred Rock hens that were already laying.
My gift arrived. A mixture of Rhode Island Red, Red Sexlink and Big Reds, these little biddies became my focus of attention for days. I wanted to make sure they were safe, warm and well fed and watered. The little ones settled in quickly. On Saturday I went out to check their feed and water only to find a 6 foot black snake had eaten seven of my little ones. My heart fell. Sunday was a repeat only this four footer only ate three before being caught. I still have 10 little ones which during the week have relaxed once again and are happily running up and down their pen. In a couple of weeks they will be too big for the snakes to swallow and I can stop worrying so much.
I think this may have been the reason my egg production dropped from four a day to two a day. I have some well fed snakes in my area. The coyote pups have been born also. I hear their cries late at night and in the early morning in the woods behind the barn. I am waiting on them also as I know they will be coming my way in search of food.
I don't think I shall get too attached to the biddies or the new chickens. Mother Nature is not kind to my heart. And yes, I know all about the survival instinct, but I still don't like it.
Until next time . . .
Happy reading!
Belle
I have 9 beautiful new little chicks that are as of yesterday a week old. Eat, eat, eat and drink, drink, drink is their main forte at this point. We are proud of the little buggers and just know they will be producing big brown eggs in just five months and start giving back.
With our laying hens and roosters, our new chicks brings our flock to number twenty four. Of course, some of these precious babies will be roosters and will either go in the cookpot or to the sale barn.
I want to share a few things we learned through this process. First, keep the temperature between 98 and 100 degrees. We maintained the 100 degree point through the use of an old thermostat from a discarded hot water heater. Second, rotate the eggs in the incubator - this is in addition to turning them three times a day. Third, close to hatching time (21 days in the incubator) listen and watch. We had been told not to help the biddies hatch (remove the shell or open the egg a bit) as this would make for a weak bird, but about nine of our eggs were fully developed but the shells were too hard for the little chicks to break through. They expired in the process and we lost about a dozen little chicks. Fourth, remove the water from the incubator so the babies will not drown (I lost one this way) or move the chicks immediately to another container keeping them warm and dry, but providing food and water (in a container they cannot fall into).
Our chicks did not eat anything on the first day after they hatched, but on the second day they ate like they were starving and haven't slowed down. It took about an hour after hatching for them to dry and get their legs under them, but at a week old they are flutter flying all around their box. The first chick is still the boss of the others as evidence by her tending her flock. I know this will change when they are merged with the larger chicks that are about 7 - 8 weeks now.
I was a proud Mama yesterday when I went into the pen late in the day and found my older chicks (about 4 months old) on the perch roosting with my hens. They have found their place in the flock and the hens are keeping them in line but have accepted them.
I know I have a ways to go, but this has been a most gratifying process and I think I might just try another couple of dozen in a week or so. My friends are anxious to put my babies in a pot for chicken and dumplings, but I think they may have to go to the grocer for their chickens.
Thanks for stopping in for a visit and come back soon!
Happy reading!
Belle
I fear this is going to be a long process - one more hatched overnight and two more are cracking. The two that were cracking yesterday are still in process. It seems the blue eggs (probably a variety of a game chicken) hatching hatching easier than the brown eggs which is logical as the brown eggs have probably been fed a laying mash with extra calcium where the game chicks foraged free.
I have two beige and 1 black. One precious baby got into the water container before I could get to it and drowned. So, if 50 - 75 % are expected to hatch, we started with 120 eggs, lost 12 due to accidental crushing or dropping, a hen is still sitting on 6 and 6 are ladies in waiting, then I still have a long long way to go.
Expect 5 more to hatch today, but that is what I thought yesterday also. Buying the eggs as mixed dozens, I have no idea what we will end up with, but I must be game for anything or we wouldn't have started this process to begin with.
It looks like we are pretty close to the normal hatching days as the eggs were started on March 21 and that puts us on day 24. Thanks for letting me share this experience with you and come back soon for more updates.
By the way, the garden has not suffered as I have hoed and planted while the chicks are doing their thing! Thanks to all the rain we have had over the winter and early spring, the flowers and plants are flourishing. I did lose my sago palms, but we had a really nasty winter as far as temperatures and snow went. My "thrift" is beautiful and I am so pleased that my rosa rugosa came back and is so full and lush. My asparagus is sprouting its little shoots everywhere and the hostas (thanks to all the rain) has multiplied into large bushy clumps.
Again, thanks for visiting and come back soon!
Happy reading!
Belle
Consistently for three weeks we have turned eggs three times a day - 6 to 8 hours apart - not knowing whether we had even purchased fertile eggs, nevertheless, hoping that our efforts would pay off. Friday was suppose to be hatching day, but I do understand that the temperature must stay within the 99 to 100 degree window for the process to even begin, so it can vary by a few days.
We started checking the eggs on Friday in hopes that we would be able to watch the little shells burst open and little creatures would emerge. My daughter and granddaughter, very excited over the idea, swore they heard scratching and chirping. I heard nothing and was sure they were hallucinating due their wishing to be part of the birthing process.
I had a rather busy morning on the inside and did not rush out to check my biddies and the eggs in the incubator, but around mid-morning I hit the barn. Two little biddies had hatched and were soaking wet and wobbling around in the incubator. With pounding heart and a smile on my face, I quickly gathered them in an old towel and tucked them safely into the corner of the incubator to keep them warm and dry. I removed the water and placed a small plastic top in the bottom with water and feed. It took about an hour for them to settled in and start to cuddle in their bed. That was about 4 hours ago and 5 more eggs are cracking and the little peeps are chirping away in their shells.
Of course I called hubby to let him know that his 10 dozen egg purchase was not in vain and that the little peeps were hatching fine. I am now the nursey and delivery nurse for the rest of the day. Will catch you up on my progress during the day. I am in the process of making a true nursery for the little darlings. I have read that the process can take from 5 - 10 days so I will be watchful until I am sure the process in over.
Stay with me on my chicken and biddy venture! It is so exciting to watch the miracle of birth which only further affirms that our God is one of miracles!
Happy reading!
Belle
