# I may Have too many Chickens



## Sheepshape (Aug 30, 2018)

So, I have over 20....I'm refusing to count them.

I put 12 eggs in the incubator......"There won't be any more hatches this year"..... just under 3 weeks ago. 10 showed good embryos and one a dubious embryo on day 16.

Last night I turned off off the turner, upped the humidity, and took out the dividers (day 19....a bit late as I had had a day of travel to see a sick relative). I photographed the position of the eggs this morning




 

I've just gone to top up the water and one egg moved whilst another had a 'pip' albeit at the wrong end of the egg! Now, this is only fairly early on day 20, but (as always), I am SO excited.

I thought I'd 'miss all the action' as I am doing a charity walk at the time when most should hatch (if any hatch at all, that is!). OH was really rather pleased as he was looking forward to looking after the hatch with me out of the way. I'm now hopeful to have a few 'early birds'.

I'm just realising what a very boring pic. of an incubator with 11 unhatched eggs makes.....


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## Latestarter (Aug 30, 2018)

Boring indeed! Next time you should post a VIDEO!  Hope you and OH (other half?) get to see at least a couple of "break outs" together. Is there such a thing as "too many chickens" or goats/sheep/cookies/money?


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## Sheepshape (Aug 30, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> Boring indeed! Next time you should post a VIDEO!


An hour long video of an incubator whirring and an egg moving a fraction of an inch would be a great way to fall asleep....maybe I should try that BUT I dropped my (uninsured!) new and expensive camera in about the only remaining puddle in a dried up stream and my 3rd hand iPhone has a pretty poor battery having been majorly overused by my two daughters who owned it (and abused it!) before.....but it still takes pics.  (That about says it all, doesn't it, the parents getting the discarded phones of their offspring?)



Latestarter said:


> OH (other half?) get to see at least a couple of "break outs" together


 I'm the one who is unable to leave when things start happening.....hubster just leaves them to get on with things (This is almost certainly the best thing to do, but I just HAVE to watch, and stress, and nail-bite that they won't get out, and interfere..... )



Latestarter said:


> Is there such a thing as "too many chickens" or goats/sheep/cookies/money?


I think the definition of too many/much is a VERY subjective thing...... I can't really have too many chickens, sheep etc as I refuse to count them, so when asked "Well how many do you have?" I can genuinely say "I don't know". Is this called 'denial'?


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## greybeard (Aug 30, 2018)

Sheepshape said:


> (That about says it all, doesn't it, the parents getting the discarded phones of their offspring?)



I know my older sister has never had cell phone or cell service of her own.......she's always tagged off her son's service and had hand me down phones. 

Last Novemeber, as my youngest (in his 30s) son watched as I laboriously texted on my old 10 key flip phone, I was told "Dad, you really need to upgrade your phone".

me:
"For what? But, Christmas is right around the corner. You can buy me a new one." 

I got a Christmas card instead.


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## Latestarter (Aug 30, 2018)

the newest phones are going for a cool grand...  I won't be getting one any time soon.


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## Baymule (Aug 30, 2018)

Never, ever count your chickens before they hatch...….and ESPECIALLY AFTER they hatch!


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## Sheepshape (Aug 30, 2018)

Baymule said:


> Never, ever count your chickens before they hatch...….and ESPECIALLY AFTER they hatch!


  I like your thinking, Bay!


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## Baymule (Sep 1, 2018)

We just got a trio of Silkies today. They are so darn cute!


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## Sheepshape (Sep 2, 2018)

So....9 chicks out (of 11).....I'll upload a pic. after I've recharged my 3rd-hand phone which died half way through trying to take a pic. I don't think the other two are going to hatch, but I'm very happy with the outcome.

2 chicks tried to emerge from the 'pointy end', and, realising that they were never going to emerge, I hatched them bit-by-bit. Both were very weak, one especially so......hardly moved for 24 hours.They went into an ICU tin on the stove by themselves. I syringed in orange juice in tiny amounts every 2 hours and both have made a lot of progress.  They are now in with the other chicks......one of them will almost certainly survive and I'm hopeful for the other.

Congrats. on your Silkies, Bay....what colour are they? Pic Please.....


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## Sheepshape (Sep 2, 2018)

Here they are


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## Baymule (Sep 2, 2018)

Baby chicks are so cuddly and cute. Congrats on the good hatch. Hope your two pointy Enders survive and grow up to be pullets! LOL 

We got a white rooster, white hen and a black hen. The rooster just started crowing, the hens are about a year old. Not a good pic, I’ll get better ones.


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## Sheepshape (Sep 2, 2018)

Gorgeous.....do they have black or blue combs.....I can't make out?



Baymule said:


> We got a white rooster, white hen and a black hen.


 Are you intending to Breed them? I think the genetics for colours is pretty complicated in Silkies, so you may end up with several colours from Black X White (I think)

http://sites.google.com/site/zijdehoenders/t&dcreating/basics-about-chicken-color-genetics-heritage

 Brahma colour genetics are much more basic!


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## Baymule (Sep 2, 2018)

They came out of a mixed flock, so I figure the colors will be all over the place. That is fine with me, I like colors! LOL


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## Sheepshape (Sep 9, 2018)

A week on and they are doing fine. If early feathering really does suggest hen, then there should be 5 hens to 4 roos. Sounds about right, anyway.


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## Baymule (Sep 9, 2018)

Early feathering? I hadn't heard that one!


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## Sheepshape (Sep 10, 2018)

Baymule said:


> Early feathering? I hadn't heard that one!


 I think it's mainly for the large breeds of chicken.....Orpington, Brahma etc. The wing feathers are the first to come in, so easiest place to tell. In the pic. above the (hopefully) pullets ....the two chicks on both ends of the front  row already have 3 'tiers' of permanent feathers. The cockerels are less easy to see, but  in the middle of the from row, the yellowish Naked Neck only has one tiny wing feather and the black chick is the same.

The feathering thing usually does follow this pattern in some breeds. However, I have one (or more)of the late feathering genes in my little flock, so some of the chicks have 'bum fluff' for many months. I currently have a Blue Partridge Brahma who, at 20 weeks,looks like she's half Silkie due to this gene. I'll take a pic. of her to show the effect of these genes in her.....whilst I'm searching for one of my best Brahma hens who was AWOL last night. Unfortunately it is all too likely that she has been Taken by a fox.


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## Sheepshape (Sep 10, 2018)

This is a chicken with the extreme late feathering gene (or maybe more than one!) which I believe is sex-linked. She's the Blue Partridge Brahma in the middle with the very fluffy butt and is aged 20 weeks. She has only recently acquired back feathers.Once she gets her full adult plumage, then there will not be any problems with her feathers. She'll moult and re-feather normally.


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## Baymule (Sep 10, 2018)

I hope you find your hen. Even a pile of feathers is better than wondering what happened to her. Hope she comes home. 

That is unusual on the feathers staying fluffy that long. It just makes her cuter and more lovable.


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## Sheepshape (Sep 10, 2018)

Baymule said:


> I hope you find your hen


She suddenly showed up from the back of the sheep shed....huge sigh of relief. She's a really odd hen in that she is a complete loner....which really means she is asking for trouble as the nights get longer and the foxes get hungrier. I think I'm going to try to drive her into the sheep shed (where she chooses to roost) much earlier at night. Solitary hens like her have no defences at all. She cannot run fast due to her bulk and feathery feet, and can barely fly. When I kept La Flèche they were amazingly agile and used to fly up onto the roof struts of the shed or way up into the branches of trees, so would be quite safe from predators.However, their temperament was nervous and not-so-friendly.

 I'm still trying to work out what is the overall winner in the chicken stakes when considering friendliness, longevity, egg laying capacity, looks, broodiness and hardiness. Brahmas score very highly on friendliness, looks and longevity, but spend most of their lives broody and eat loads. Usually they are not moody when broody as some chickens I have had would try to peck your hands off when they have a few eggs.

The fluffy butt Blue Partridge Brahmas look extremely cute, like overgrown chicks, up until about 8-9 months. This coincides with them starting to lay as a rule (yes. they are that old before they start to lay)

Looking at what I have just written about Brahmas I'm wondering why ever I keep them. However, for me their personalities win the day.


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## Baymule (Sep 10, 2018)

I had some Delaware chickens, meanest darn things I ever had. I butchered all the roosters and kept the hens. That was a mistake. They ate like full grown hogs and laid half the time. They finally killed my very favorite EE hen and I slaughtered the awful witches. My feed bill went down. I have a pen of Australorps, 10 pullets and 2 roos, one of which is on my fried chicken list. We'll see how they do. I like my EE hens, they lay well and are friendly.


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