Major Catscan taking command of Mission Lodi Launch.
First module release occurred during night with two pips appearing concurrently.
Life form tentatively identified as Australorp pullet.
Happy Hatch Dance is taking place in the executive officer's lounge. Everybody Conga!
I am pullet, hear me roar!
"Big Book of Alien Life Forms", suggests that darker legs may indicate females of the Gallus domesticus invaders. Is this an enemy attempt at dashing hopes through misinformation?
Over.
Mother Bird reporting for duty...
Beautiful legs there lady! Congratulations Major!
Observed dark legs and feminine expression.. permission to join in dashing hopes of pulletry..
Over
Thank you agent Mother Bird!
Feminine glint in eye duly noted.
What will be the name of the second launch originating from Lodi next weekend? Need it for the official logs.
CAptain Williams reporting for duty, awaiting further instructions.
Congratulations to the Commander on newest life form.
Williams.................................Over
Agent Taynors has clearly been indulging in the bottle and has mistaken Commander Catscan for Commander Moxon. Get it right Agent Taynors!!! LOL!!!
Excellent start Commander Catscan. How is the dance going? If you are getting tired, Midwest Ground Control can assist and take over dancing for a while.
Mox over.
Greetings from Lodi, Captain Williams and Agent Taynor! Mission is proceeding with some interruptions: Report as follows:
Bad news. Second pip failed. Fully formed chick DOA. Transfer module large and white--unsure of intergallustic id.
Good news. Third pip succeded--another probably Australorp--this time speculating roo due to head spot and lighter legs.
Two more pips initiated.
Major transfer of fully grown Marans and Barnevelder roo life forms to ZZsBabies base scheduled this evening.
ALERT! Four Black Sumatra transfer modules abandoned by mysterious uniformed agent on porch this afternoon. Unfortunately grieving Commander dropped one on Monitor remote and cracked (dented) large end. Attempting McGyver repair with liquid bandage. Has anyone had success with this or any other repair?
Crew exhausted by unapproved Conga line action. Forage mission to Lowe's for itty bitty (bantam) life form shelter scheduled at 18:00 PDT.
Over
commander josh reporting to say we both have a hatch at the same time
over
YEAH!
Err...what life forms are you entertaining, Commander Josh?
Commander Catscan - regret to hear of failed pip module. Possible intergalactic gamma wave radiation issues. Consult geiger counter.
Commander is truly brave and adventurous to try repairing egg. Moxon suspects impossible but never says never.
Does Lowe's carry itty bitty life form shelter? Or is the Commander purchasing elements for construction of said life form shelter?
Spooky space-like picture. Impeccable.
Mox over.
Commander Moxon, has your mission ended?
Originator of white life module identified failed invader as Leghorn/Jersey Giant cross--probable failure due to incompatable mass to volume ratio between JG chick and Leghorn module.
Two successful hatches, five pips initiated.
Mission to ZZ's base postponed till AM.
Lowe's is ignorant supplier of itty bitty (bantam) shelter material for coop based on this pattern:
Invading life form mug shots for dissemination among the ranks:
Beware cute fuzziness and insistent peeping--subtle attempts at parasitical mind control.
Mother bird reporting...
Condolences to Commander Catscan for loss. Ground crew sad for loss.
Got the roof to chicken headquarters all framed in... worked on fence also.
Module completely ready for Roo delivery. :)
Alternate Lodi Hatching countown to commence Wed.. Keeping ever so hopeful for a good launch and mission.
Curious of Commander Josh's mission.
Mother Bird out..
like a light.
Excellent work my Dear Californians!!!
First chick is a Jersey Giant.
Chicks with head spots are a cross with possibly a Rhode Island Red or Buckeye. Head spots are NOT associated with purebred black chicks.
Many congratulatory feelings flowing across the globe tonight.
***
CF
Cat i indeed have repaired and egg when candleing a pigeon egg as i was placing it back in the nest the mother pigeon knocked it from my hand it had a small dent on the small end and a little blood.
I just couldn't toss it so i put a small square piece of that type of cloth hospital tape over the dent and carefully smoothed it so it was like a second skin for the egg.
Glad to say about a week later a little fan tailed pigeon pecked his way right out.
Ooooo, so glad to hear about sucessful repair, Harmony I've temporarily covered it with a small piece of plastic wrap. No bleeding cause they are just about to enter the chick actualizer (incubator). I was thinking that the liquid bandage might work because it is slightly air permeable. The area is quite. small.
Uhumm.
Commander Catscan and the crew of Lodi Launch are grateful for the moral support of the chicken sphere.
Oh Great CF, I believe you regarding the first chick being a JG--she is much bigger than the second. But they both came from similar eggs. Can you gaze into your feathered globe and tell what sex they are?
This is not a non-regulation use of psychic forces--The CIA and KGB both used psychics. It was witnessed by the entire ground crew on the History Channel--or was it the Nazis that used them?
Never mind.
Over.
Last photo, roo left, hen right (your right).
First picture may be roo as well, but before CF takes another gaze, have you considered that Commander Moxon ALWAYS offers that nice frontal shot before requesting gender of chicks?
And without photos CF can say for certain only one more roo will hatch, the rest, including bantams, are pullets.
Any news on SWilliams' hatch?
Can't wait for more pictures to gaze upon. CF loves all her chickens.
************************THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR EGGS*******************
CF
Moxon...Moxon..Moxon....She does everything right! I bet she is dating the high school quaterback....grrrrrr.
*****************PHOTO?***************
Commander Catscan recognizes a test! She cannot remove the invading life form from the chick actualizer for photo op for 24 hours!
Imperfect in situ photos as follows:
Winsome Jersey Giant pullet (?) with minimal comb:
if the damge is only small commander i wouldnt do anything
oh and commader i have another hatch on wedensady a little mother decided she would tunnel her way out of the broody coup and return to the main flock. i was looking for her every where then i went to colect the eggs and there she was.so i have her eggs in the incubator.
oh and the life forms i am entertaining are chickens
over
Thank you, Commander Josh! I am keeping a log and it looks like two missions will be intiated on Wednesday!
Here is the noble profile of the second chick--roo?
your a picker commander i see those shelless pips lol
oh are your hatching on wednesday also i forgot what day i set the hen on eggs but i am pretty sure it is wednesday
lol i mis-spelt wednesday up there i am very bad at spelling if you havent noticed
ZZ's are due Wednesday in the second historic Lodi launch. The city is so proud we anticipate a parade.
Spelling errors are always allowed and appreciated by the NPGC--but watch out for the Canadian command--they are real sticklers.
lol i will keep an eye out
lol but you are still a picker
I prefer the title "flicker". This involves using the back of the finger nail instead of the front and is easier to explain as an accident. Some times they knock a chunk out by themselves......
yes a chunk not the whole area lol dont worry i do it too and some time i am realy naughty and help the chick push the sides out when it had been there a while.
over
Commander Moxon reporting for morning duty. Pancakes on the menu this morning so Mox must go and prepare them, however, the following points arise.
First, Cdr. Mox advises Cdr. Catscan that she has indeed completed her mission and it was quite successful, despite 4 early demises. Many buttercup chicks abound, along with frizzles, silkies, and a few black delawares. The blue hen of Delaware apparently isn't always blue. Blue with blue makes blue, black or splash. Cdr. Moxon appears to have all black, which is disappointing because she wanted blue. Poo.
Cdr. Mox is NOT dating the high school quarterback and never did. She was too nerdy for that and was not part of the in-crowd. Furthermore, she dislikes football. Fortunately, so does her captured male life-form.
Cdr. Mox also thinks that Cdr. Catscan needs to locate and use the macro button on her camera.
Commander Josh - we, the Canadian spelling police, have noted your abysmal spelling and believe you to be quite beyond assistance of any kind, so we just ignore your errors and chalk it up to your being an Aussie.
Mox over and out (to make pancakes)
At the risk of being called i know it all or being told i should MMOB does everyone attempt to help thier chicks by chipping the eggs.
Just my honest opinion but i see "so many" egg failures here due "to much" over handleing, candleing and hatch interference and now early chipping?!?
I see chicks being given water soon after hatch and food what does your book say?
I also see wet chicks handled for pics and every book tells to not remove chicks and chill them and to let them be fully dry a mother hen never leave's her hatching chicks for 24 to 48 hours.
Picking at an egg is never a good idea nor is candleing past 19 days and a chick pulled from a egg to soon will have problems.
It is "very important" to let nature do it's thing and i know a peeping chick in a pipped egg is nerve racking but it is in no danger nor is it in pain.
Look at it this way if a chick is "strong" it WILL peck and push it's way out the old saying is true only the strong survive.
It is permissable to remove a chick only in the cases such as jordan when a chick "has pipped" and been unable to peck it's way out for and excessive amount of time and it is not uncommon for it to take a chick a long time to hatch.If Jordan had said it's been peeping for 3 hours i would have told her to just leave it and keep a check.
I understand the excitement yes i do please do not think of me as calus or uncareing i care deeply for all God's creature's but wouldn't you rather have a cute bundle of healthy chicks then to be careing for sick chicks that in some cases could be avoided.
But i see and yes hear the anguish and emotional pain all of you express here but patients goes a long way.
If i offended so sorry but i have been watching and silent but i as a chicken person felt i needed to say this in hopes i could save a chick from being forced to hatch or just from over excited owners.
I did this to bring what i see is an injustice to these little life forms by us humans in such a rush to "see" .
I have judge no one here and this is not directed at any person here just and observation of what i see and hear.
I have a question only because i know nothing of it's success"s or failure's and i would personally never do it.
But have any of you questioned that some of your hatch failures could be staggering hatches?
Who did this first and had success and encouraged others to do it?
Is staggering a compulsion of not being able to wait on eggs to hatch or is it to have a constant supply of baby chicks?
Is this a satisfaction of a need to hatch eggs or are these chicks really a big part of a breeding program?
Does anyone here recommend others to try this?
Agent Taynors is udderly embarressed by calling out wrong ranks. My bad. :(
Been busy with DH home after a yr of him gone in China.
Will resume my work
I understand if i get fired :( from my position
pweeeeease dont fire me . wiff sugar on top pweeeese
Ag.T over
got to get my alian life forms to a pumpkin fest with other alian life forms
out
Sargent Jordan reporting for duty. Apologizes for being late
Harmony you make some excellent points. I think we do get over-excited about chicks and wanting to handle them. I know that I move mine from the incubator to the brooder after hatching. Sometimes that is when they are still wet. I usually have a camera ready so that as I move from bator to brooder (about 5 feet away) I snap a single pic. I haven't had a chick die from this to my knowledge. The one who flips its head backwards was doing that from the beginning. The other deaths were actually still in the incubator because it was overnight. I have no clue why they died after hatching.
Because I have the Brinsea RCom20 as my hatching incubator (I prefer it for that), I do not mind opening it to get them out to transfer to brooder. This particular incubator gets back up to temp and humidity in less than 2 minutes after lid opening. I would not do that with a still air incubator because it doesn't have that capacity.
I also agree with not picking at eggs as a rule. I have done it after a pip has appeared and there has been no further activity for over 24 hours. Then I take a tiny piece of the shell off (like maybe 1/8 inch piece) to ensure that there is an actual hole in the membrane for air, and I put it back. If there is no actual hole, which was only the case a couple of times, I made one with the tip of a pencil. Both those times the chick hatched fine so I thought it was OK to do that. I don't want them to die in there because of not enough air.
While we all have different methods and different levels of knowledge, I think it's important to remember to do the right things for our chicks. And, for those of us who have greater knowledge and wisdom, it is important to remind those of us who are new to this (which I am) what should or shouldn't be done, and why. I think you were right to raise this, Harmony, and it's a good reminder to us all. Please understand that many of us are very new to this and learning by experience (our own, as well as from others) so if we make some early mistakes in our over-exuberance, at least we learn and we don't do it again, and we can teach others.
very well said by both of you girls. I am learning from you all and hope to make it a perfect hatching for me when I decide to start, probably sometime in January or February. Maybe even earlier if I can get a brooder built that will be well insulated and heated.
Just to bring back the chickie love, here is my silkie named Harmony, because she's Harmony's favorite. A week old now. (very dry!!)
Here is a picture of almost all my dry fluffies. They didn't all want to pose at the same time. Some kept running out of the shot. They are shy.
One more of everybody.
Feel free to critique if you think my chick setup is bad. The cosy lamp is in there but they can also run around within the perimeter set up. The paper is messy but they are hard to keep up with so I change it every other day. There is a waterer, not in the picture, and they scattered the feed everywhere like they always do.
Claire
yes they are hard to keep their bedding clean, how old should they be before you start to add the shaving as bedding?
Yes Claire i consider what you are doing excellent example of how to do it some will learn from your example of being willing to learn and do what you know is best.
I did not mean for anyone to feel i thought they were ignorant about hatching it is from my perspective that some people want to by pass the correct procedures of hatching and venture out on their own asumptions.
There are no instructions written in stone as Grow said once but it appears some choose to ignore even the most noted instruction's passed down from noted chicken professionals.
Yes we all have our own ways we hatch but we all have the responsibility of reserching and knowing as much as we can about what we are wanting our final outcome to be.
Claire you named it Harmony i'm literaly crying How sweet and she/he is still SOOOOO cute and your setup is similiar to mine i have a long 90 quart walmart storage container and i have the light on one end and water on the other.
That way their water stays cool and they can escape the heat if they get a little hot.
Messy yes i use paper towels and have to change them every 2 days thats why i move mine to a wire bottom brooder when there 2 weeks all the poo OOOOOEEEEWWWW!
LOOK!! at all the cute little chicks!!!
I'm supposed to be hatching right now or should have a while back for spring sales but this pox they just won't lay and i have no idea when i will even get to see a egg. (sigh) 25 hens and not a single egg:(
I guess i can watch all yall hatch your little life forms and wish.(i do have a hen set to hatch tommarow i haven't even candled her eggs got my fingers crossed.
