He does look like mine.Very handsome.I don`t like it when there whole face is covered with feathers,I like the original look not the show quailty stuff.If you look at what silkies were suppose to look like and what they look like now there is quite a difference especially the head.They are more puffy looking like a cotton ball,but to each his own,we all like different things.
Feeling low...visit with friends..just what I needed!
get a muzzle for the dog lol. Hey he was just looking to see if there was anything good up there
I am with you Green. I don't like the puppy headed silkies either. They just don't see very with all those feathers in their eyes, poor things
BIG NEWS!!!!! Rockin' and Rollin' began at 4:30 , the Peeeeepin' was coming from several eggies!!! By 6:00 we had Ziiiiiiiiiiip! By 6:25 we had the cutest baby Maran!
Well ...its looks as if he's going to be the only one for tonight! Yep,..I said HE... you should see the comb on his head!!! Hes so funny , he hasnt quit Peeping since he hatched!!!! Oh well back into the incu he goes for now!!!
yeah!!!! Eufaula you are going to be up all night lol
You know it Girl!!! Ive tried to go to bed now 3 times....everytime I hear this little loudmouth "holler" I come a runnin!!! LOL!!!! No newbies yet...........I go to bed now.... night night !
Yippee! New chicks. Hatching is exciting even from a distance!
It sure is,hope you have all kinds of babies when you get up
So far only one more, a buffOrpington/BCMaran cross and one Buff Brahma Eggie Pipping. I think my Thermostat is a wee bit off so maybe today is the day!!!! Lordy I hated coming to work today!!!! I could sit and stare at that Incu 24-7!
Oh...he is so cute! I remember in 3rd grade we did chicken eggs. How we would all run in evry morning and check to see if any had hatched...so exciting!
Drum roll Please!! Todays little fellas are TAHDAH!!!
1 Buff O / FBCMaran Cross
3 Buff Brahmas , all fluffy and dry and alert!
5 still fluffin' and dryin'
2 FBCMarans still thinking about coming out of their cozy eggies
4 on the half shell still drying out!
Out of 12 pure strain Maran eggs only one was fertile, and that little booger was the first and strongest to hatch. The rest were lazy and took their time about getting born! Im still waiting to see how many of these still drying in will make it. They all seemed to have a bit of a problem breaking through the inner membrane and were stuck. so I helped by finishing the air sac end of the shell for them, thus the mess you saw in the incu. Only one little baby still had yolk attached and perished, although it was put into the incu at the same time as the rest. All I can figure is that since it was directly in the middle of the incu between the heating coils it just didnt get quite as much heat as the rest.
these photos are of the first hatched . They were ready to go out into the brooder house . Their new home actually sits next to a window so they can peak outside whenver they want.
Wow, what a good hatch! Congratulations!
We are doing the happy dance together! Mine hatched today!
wow nice hatch Eufaula. Congrats!!!
Thanks guys im so happy!!!! HEy T-Rx Lets see those babies!!!!
T-Rx! :-)
Congratulations!! :)
Heres the brood , Out of 23 eggs due to hatch on the 7th I only got these 10. But considering the fact that upon inspection I found that only 1 of 8 Maran ( not 12) eggs was fertile, I guess that was a pretty good hatch. they all look so much alike right now it was hard trying to decide who was who. But as you can see in this photo There is only one that is a pure Maran he has no reddish glints to him at all. He's easy to pick out! If you could hear him it would be even easier! He is so loud. And of course the lightest one,Buff Brahma, is very easy and it seems to always be getting into mischief or stepping onto the others just to make them "Yelp" . Its at the bottom left of the photo as if standing at the Bar waiting to be served!!
heres a close up. Im pretty sure the lighter ones are Buff Brahmas, the dark ones with reddish faces are the Crosses. Oh you can see two of the chicks still need me to clean away the dried "Goo" from their little heads.
This message was edited Feb 9, 2012 6:27 PM
This little one has got me baffled! It has a topknot! None of the breeds that it could be have top-knots!
Before I close for tonight I thought I might show you the parents of the BuffOrp/Maran Crosses! Heres is Papa HitchCock ( French Black Copper Maran) Flopsie and Floozie ( Buff Orpingtons) and in the background hopefully soon Mama Mary (FBCMaran).
The crosses were deliberate. Im trying to produce a Hen that will have darker eggs and be more productive. The Orps lay every day usually and have nice medium brown eggs, while the Maran is very stingy laying but her eggs are Gorgeous Dark Hot Chocolate brown.
Maybe his top knot is temporary - just a bad hair day. Really cute chicks. I hope you get enough hens to test out your theory.
Awesome photos and story behind them! Okay, you've inspired me. I'm going to do a hatch now, too. I mail order eggs from Murray McMurray. It's addictive. Thank you, Eufaula!
I'm sure I'm missing something here but don't it cost more to order eggs than live chicks???
Or is it the fun of incubating them.
Just curious......If not then maybe I better get some eggs and get started that way.
Yes, WAY more expensive to order the eggs, quite a bit more. But watching the hatch is worth it. It's truly a miracle. I have 3 boys ages 3, 5, 7---so it's fun for them, too. Also, you have to order a minimum of 20 or 25 live chicks I think. And I don't need that many. But you can order eggs in increments of 10, and only around 25-40% of them hatch, so it's more manageable for me. I can also buy chicks at my local feed store---that was my plan---to buy 3 chicks next week. But Eufaula's pics made me want to do the hatch again. Mine will hatch the day my sister and nieces come into town for a visit, so that will be fun for them. I ordered 30 eggs. Way too many. I haven't confessed to my husband yet. He is not going to be all that thrilled with that large quantity. We might end up with 10 or more new chickens. Which we don't need.
()_()
(* *) That is kind of what I guessed.
I've thought about making a incubator and getting a doz. eggs from a local source of free run chickens. They charge a quite a bit for eggs to eat but to hatch out would very reasonable. However they are not bantams or anything fancy but they do have a rooster running with them. He is asking $5.00 a doz. I've just been going to Sam's and getting 36 for $3.00 and don't eat any sunny side up. I know they are from caged chickens and all that.
4 of us got together and decided to get some broilers to fatten up for our freezers. Daughters Idea but I like it. We ordered from Welps, they were not as high as Murray. I am still going to get some layers, maybe in March when the local sources start handling them. I may work into incubating some later as I'm sure our great grandkids would get a kick out of it.
But have fun and be well! Make hubby a special supper before you break the news. lol
You might try posting a "want" locally. I'd be happy to set someone up with hatching eggs. I could even be specific on what _some_ of them are, but that majority would be some interesting mixes...
*G*. Just recalled these were taken an a very wet day,and everyone looks a bit scraggly. They usually look much nicer/better/fluffier...
Ah, the ultimate enabler!
Yep, if it werent for the fact that I have so many local friends with every imaginable breed, I guess I would be ordering chicks too! I get my eggs free or in trade. Whenver I have a broody Hen I dont have to worry about the incu at all!
Hey Catsy!!! Ummmm got any Dark Brahma eggies you would want to talk about ?? LOL!!! Poor Old Wambli needs a Dark Brahma Family! Right now he still thinks hes a little bitty Silkie!! The photo is him at only a week old. You can see why I named him the name which means "Little Eagle".
This message was edited Feb 11, 2012 10:20 AM
Catmad you have some gorgeous chickens.
Oh my...good thing I can't have chickens where I live.....I think I would be trying to hatch some babies!
Cat, what are those chickens with the head dresses? Are they all roos?
Cajun - I think those are Polish chickens...not sure how to tell male from female.
luv the pic in the 5:15 post. See that little chick acting so cool with its elbow propped on the box and leaning against it
"Barkeep, the usual."
good one PP
Cajun, t-RX (I like that) is on the money. The Roos are the Rock stars, with the spiky hairdos, the hens more sedate with nicely rounded Bonnets. The only ones I'm not really sure about are my Silver laced. That coloring often results in "hen-feathered" breeds, and I'm unsure whether it is like that for these. They were Straight run from a hatchery, and there seem to be 4 hens. We _know_ that doesn't happen*G*. I usually get 4 out of 5 roos...
I can't see the picture before posting, so I'll try to identify next post
