The new Cane Sisters

[897tgigvib]

Oh boy! Hay Cane, maybe you should become a Chicken breeder!

 

[MontyJ]

Awe, sorry to hear about the little lost one. On the bright side, those other three are real cuties, especially that first one! And maybe a broody too!

 

[canesisters]

Yeah, Monty, when it rains - it pours.

On the bright side, my 'broody' is still on her nest. I took the extra eggs and left her the 3. While I was at the swap, I picked up a dozen hatching eggs for a friend. It turns out that the eggs were from the same flock as my little one - dorking/ee. Sooooo... IF Sola is seriously going to hatch her little nest of eggs, they will be hatching the same week as my friend's. There is a good chance that I might be able to slip a little 5-toe, fluffy cheek baby under her once she's got chicks.

 

[ducks4you]

Sorry for your loss. We've been incubating for a few years now, and they HAVE to be kept at 90 degrees F for the first WEEK, then 85, then 80, then 75. At about 5-6 weeks, if it's not winter, they are feathered enough to handle Spring temperatures. Usually the hen lets them snuggle in to keep their temperatures up. Even though I had a broody hen who hatched 3 chicks last September, it was still warm enough that the chicks could play in their pen during the day.

 

[canesisters]

Well, I lost the little doirking mix last night. She had been getting weaker and weaker - I was even 'force' feeding her starter mash with vitamins several times a day but she just never would pick up and start growing. I kinda suspect that there might have been something more than just a poor appitite going on since the other 2 have more than doubled in size and are WILD!

On a different note, both of my Sussex hens are broody! They are sharing 1 nest box and 8 eggs. Sometimes they will all be under one hen, sometimes under the other, and sometimes divided between. I'm hoping that once they hatch both hens will protect and care for them.

 

[baymule]

Sorry your chick didn't make it. I know you tried so hard to give it every chance to survive, but sometimes things just don't work out.

 

[canesisters]

Thanks Bay. I don't know if I have 'bad chick luck' or if this is normal. I've had 2 small batches of chicks - 1 last May, and this one. Each time I've had one who simply would not grow. I think that I'm done with picking up chicks at swaps - it's just too much stress on them, I think.
Possibly, if my hens continue to be broody now and then, I can get hatching eggs instead. Of course, that depends on how the hatching and chick raising goes later on this month.

 

[MontyJ]

Oh no! Not the little dorking...that was my favorite. Very sorry to hear that Cane.

 

[canesisters]

Chick update!

Lido (the blue-laced red wynadotte/ee) is getting so dark! I'm not seeing any blue on her yet.... But they can change SOOO much from 2weeks to 8weeks.
'She' is about 5weeks old now.

Benzo (easter egger) however - is definatley showing 'her' blue! "She's" also sporting a little bit of a top-knot like her dad...
"please, please, please be a female"

Laps... nice for napping (and pooing)

And here's a few of Sola and her brand new hatchlings!
All together now.... "AWWWWWWWwwwwwwwwwww"

 

[thistlebloom]

Great pictures Cane! Love that little fuzz knot on Benzo .