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.
I know N O T H I N G about rabbits! But, I am learning fast! Pick them up by the nape of the neck or you will get clawed badly! They eat and drink constantly!
Never thought I would have to learn to sex a rabbit, but dang if these little fellows are a bit tricky, I started with three of these little balls of fur and lost one - I didn't know what the heck I was doing and had no idea this beauty was pregnant, but I quickly found out you can't keep males and females together. In all honesty, this little lady was pregnant when I bought her and I had no idea! I now know you palpitate the sides of a female to determine pregnancy and never keep the males and females together except during the very short breeding process. It doesn't take long as the sole purpose of male bunnies is to eat and make babies!
I now know I have all males and will continue in this vein for just a while. I need to change my hutch setup to accommodate both sexes and keep from losing anymore due to my stupidity! Things are looking up though and I have learned much in the past 3 weeks about these wonderful little animals. Their main diet consist of hay and fresh veggies - my bunnies favor celery tops and lettuce (they prefer iceberg but will eat Romain). They also like ripe tomatoes, but also enjoy any green stuff from the garden. I fear during the winter I will have to supplement the fresh garden stuff with some veggie pellets, but for now they are happy. They are emptying the water containers regularly as we have had many days of 90+ temperatures which has really taken a toll on their fur covered bodies.
The "half" grown chickens are doing well. Mid morning they all get a misting with the water hose and enjoy playing in the rain as long as the water flow isn't too strong. The mist they enjoy, a washing they don't like! I a having to dig the plastic eggs out again to stop an "egg eater." The oyster shells are suppose to stop that, but I have one that attacks the egg as soon as the hen leaves the nest! I think I have identified the culprit and if the plastic egg doesn't work, she will be separated from the flock for a while. A hungry little bugger, she eats six or seven eggs a day!
The neighbor's rooster is still eating as many of my tomatoes as I am and he has learned to "sneak" into the garden through the woods. He and I fight on a daily basis! The deer found my cantaloupe and have stripped the vines on many plants. I can identify that hoof print and so I can't blame the rabbits or rooster for that one. As some of you know I have rehabbed a couple of deer. I can only hope that one of them has come back for a visit, but I sure wish they wouldn't eat my veggies. They cleared a half a row of green beans before the cantaloupe came up but all the plants seem to have survived.
I have a dozen eggs in the incubator that a mother hen left. I am hoping they all hatch and they weren't left too long. Some great person left a dog that was no longer wanted at my nephew's house and he scared the chickens off the nest. Not vicious, just curious, he had to investigate and the hen ran off. With luck I can call my nephew to come get 12 new biddies in the next few days!
Life in the country is never boring and always filled with something going on! Lot's of work, but so rewarding!
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
Thank goodness a break! No new ones hatched in the last 12 hours, but still have several pecking and scratching inside the shells. The "pecking order" has already started with the first born being king of the roost. It mothers each and everyone and attacks my hand on a regular basis, but eventually just sprawls out and takes a rest with its little head laying down on the back of my hand. The first born is also trying to assist each little chick with the birthing process and even pulled the shell off yesterday. When one little chick poked nothing but its beak out of the little hole in the egg, it was promptly pecked for its effort. It is also the one to peck the others if they interfer in its assumed duties.
We probably will get another dozen out of this batch of eggs, maybe more but no one knows what is going on inside those little shell houses.
Meanwhile, the biddies we purchased at the Buggytown Auction have rapidly out grown their pen and two have been released into the barn with an "escape" pen handy for those times the chickens decide they look good enough to eat. I also feed them in this pen to ensure they get enough to eat.
The laying hens and rooster have enjoyed apple cores and lettuce this week. They really enjoy these treats. When one pecks the apple core the others will chase it around. These ladies will then toss the core into the air and let another catch it and once again the chase is on. Majestic, the dominate rooster, will run a bit and then stop and look around to see if anyone caught his antics. He is so arrogant!
Thanks for dropping in. More updates are pending as are the little broken shells!
Happy Reading!
Belle
My Friday night date was very special. My husband took me to the local livestock auction featuring 350+ cages of rabbits, chickens, guineas, turkeys, pheasants, ducks, and geese and then throw in the goats, calves, emus, and sheep. It was quite a night at Buggytown Auction Barn!
We arrived a little late for the miscellaneous sale which usually starts at 6:00, but must have started around 5:30 on Friday night. Anything goes during the miscellaneous sale and we have seen some really good buys during this sale. Advertising signs, truck parts, tractor accessories and parts, cookware, handtools, work gloves and so much more are included. Some people come for this sale only and then others stay for the livestock.
On Friday night, there were not as many goats as from previous weeks and prices on the goats were higher. The price of calves on the otherhand were down - small (two week old) were selling between $16 and $22 per head compared to $65 a head a couple of weeks ago. There were also several nannies with babies that I would have bought in a minute if I had a good spot to put them. One little family of black goats stole my heart for a little while, but I got over it and waited patiently for the chickens.
Some of the auctioneers tend to dawdle over the livestock and attempt to draw a higher bid out of the audience. The owner of the auction will move right along and if you want to bid you better be on your toes and make sure you are seen.
Usually, hatching eggs are sold between the miscellaneous merchandise and the small livestock. Friday night however, all the eggs did not get sold during this time so were presented before the poultry and rabbits. As I walked back into the bidding area from reviewing the poultry in the back of the building, my dear hubby was saying $.50 a dozen, that's a deal and ask me what I thought. Well, this is what I heard out of all the commotion - from the auctioneer "50 cents a dozen but there is only 10" from my hubby "that's a deal, what do you think?" My response, "whatever you want dear" - big,big mistake. Well, 10 dozen hatching eggs are now on my kitchen table waiting to go in the incubator my hubby has rigged up. Okay, I now know to keep my eyes and ears open and to never, ever leave my hubby alone at an auction. Well, it doesn't matter whether he is alone or not, because not more than thirty minutes later with me safely at his side, he was calling out his number again and had bought 5 baby black giants for $1.50 each.
At this point I gave him my sternest look and said "No more!" He has the most innocent smile - he never committed to the "no more", but I did get a "we'll see." We have increased our flock by 120 eggs (which if estimates are correct we should get 60 chicks, but it will take 21 days once the hatching process is started) and 5 chicks. Oh my, we are now chicken farmers. I will admit our chickens have made wonderful pets, are no trouble to care for, and bring many hours of joy. They enjoy a good game of race when we give them scaps of lettuce or celery and compete for our attention in a friendly manner. Some of them are real show offs.
Whether it was the seller or just the turnover of the buyers, the price of chickens were up and down. Some beautiful roosters went for $3.50 a piece early on then the price quickly jumped to as high as $15. The same with the chickens, but the highest price I remember was $18 a head for a pair of black copper morans. (I know that is probably not what the auctioneer meant to say, but that is what these ears heard. Beautiful long tail pheasants brought $26 a head while one big tom turkey sold for over a hundred. I can't figure out the logic, but it is always interesting to see what draws a persons interest. I learned there is a chicken/turkey mix called a turken. They described them as turkey neck chickens.
We left at 11:45 with the sale still going strong, but it was a little late for me (it was past my bedtime). There were still cages and more cages of poultry and we were told later it was around 1:30 before all was over.
That is the best $12.50 date I have had in a long while! Every time we go I learn something new and see something unusual. And everytime I make the trip the kid in me comes out and I get that "daddy please?" syndrome. I love animals! And yes in a couple of weeks, I will have another Friday Night Date, but this time I am taping hubby's hands to his side.
Next week maybe you can have an exciting, educational Friday Night Date. Try a visit to the Buggytown Auction on Highway 341 south of Barnesville. In the meantime, thanks for dropping by.
Happy Reading!
Belle
