Last week more babies hatched. Most of the chicks hatched so far this year are coming with me tomorrow to the Oregon Spring Poultry Swap. I’m very excited about the swap. I’ve been to a couple swaps as a customer, but this is the first time I’ll be there as a vendor.
Around the Farm and Garden – March 2014
2014 Hatch #2
Friday & Saturday we welcomed another batch of babies. I anxiously await hatch day(s) & am amazed every single time at the wonders of life. This month we incubated Easter Eggers & Marans. The Marans eggs were from our 3 Black Copper Marans hens with a Blue Copper Marans rooster. So, the chicks hatched could be either blue or black. I didn’t really care which
Around the Farm and Garden – February 2014
2014 Hatch #1
Almost a month ago we set eggs in the incubator for the first time in 2014. I was a little unsure about the fertility of many of the eggs when I set them in the incubator. Seven of them ended up being clear, so I took them out on day 7. Days 21 & 22 we had 16 precious Easter Egger chicks hatch. Woo hoo!
Chicken Combs: Pea
One of the most recognizable parts of a chicken is its comb. Most people know that the comb is the (usually) red fleshy part at the top of a chicken’s head. Not all combs are the same, though. The American Poultry Association lists 9 different types of combs in their American Standard of Perfection.
2013 Hatch #4
Last week another batch of eggs hatched. This time we incubated Blue Marans & Easter Eggers like we have done in previous hatches. We also hatched a few Rhode Island Reds for the first time. This is our 5th hatch & it’s still exciting. I love watching the chicks peck their way into the world.
2013 Mama Hen Hatch #1
Last week some of the eggs our broody hen was setting on hatched! About a week after we noticed that she was sitting on eggs, I candled some of the eggs & realized they weren’t developing. So, I swapped five of her eggs for five eggs from our coops that I thought should hatch. Three weeks later we have new babies. I love the process
2013 Hatch #3
We’ve successfully made it through our 4th round of incubating chicken eggs! It continues to be an exciting experience. I get very impatient by day 20. I anxiously wait to see who hatches, then get nervous after some hatch & wonder why others aren’t hatching. I’m then excited when another few hatch. The truth is, though, each batch we’ve had at least one chick pip
2013 Hatch #2
We had our first successful hatch of Blue Copper Marans! Our rooster is a Splash Marans & we have 3 Black Copper hens. With that combination comes Blue Copper chicks. I love them already!