Hatched Chicks!

Well, after exactly 21 days, two of the three eggs hatched! It was all very exciting. So now we have an Olive Egger (mixture of a brown egg layer, and green egg layer) and a Cuckoo Maran (which will lay rich chocolate colored eggs). I don't know for sure what sex they are, but I'm guessing the Maran if a pullet, and the Olive Egger is a cockerel. I'm basing this off of the chicks' combs and behavior. The Olive Egger- who we will call Fern or Freddie-has a more pink comb and is much more outgoing and "brave"; which are both indications of a male chick. The Maran-who we will call Olive or Oliver (courtesy of my little sis)-has a more yellow comb and is a little more skittish; which is an indicator Olive/r is a female.
If they are females we will keep one (after 4-5 months, or when the hen is tired of them :) and if they are males we will have to sell both, because we cants have roosters in our neighborhood. So we are really hoping Olive/r the Maran chick is a girl!
Because of all this crazy heavy windy rain, we had to take the hen and chicks in the box and move them into my bathroom shower. I put shavings and food/water in it right next to the box, and emptied the box first and put new shavings in. Cosette and her chicks are much happier to be inside and its nice because its a lot easier to check on them often (and for show'n'tell!)
Once the bad weather is gone, we will put them back in the run, where we built a special little shelter for them to be under to feel protected. And the other hens will have the coop and backyard to play in where they can see the chicks without coming into contact with them. This will help the hens get used to the chicks.
So here are some fun pictures of the fuzz balls in the shower and in their outside home, and there is one where I am hatching the Maran (by slowly and delicately picking the shell and membrane off) because she was taking too long to come out (which should take around half a day to a day). A lot of experienced people will say that is not good to help a chick hatch, so generally dont help unless you're really sure the chick needs help (mine would've probably been okay hatching on its own, but these are very special chicks and each one counts... And I also wanted to take a photo of it to show :) If you want to hatch chicks, and they are at their pipping stage (where they have just chipped off some egg shell) read this website below first! Which I didn't and know feel kinda bad...but luckily both the chicks seem healthy and "strong" :)
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chicks.html

Broody Hen!

I have a VERY broody Blue Cochin hen, Cosette, who insists on staying on her nest. So, I thought I would try a little experiment with her (animals were not harmed during this experiment :). A few weeks ago I asked a lady I know, who has sold me a few of her chickens in the past (Cosette one of them) if I could have a few of her fertile eggs (She's got roosters, hens, ducks of all kinds). So I picked them up (the eggs can last about 10 days in the nest before they get rotten. A hen will lay a clutch-usually 10 eggs-one egg a day, so the embryos inside are basically frozen in time until the 10th day, then the hen will sit on them until they hatch! Which is around 21 days) and when she was out getting her food and water for the day, I snuck them in (I only put 3 in). The hen is okay with this, more the merrier! (Actually my RIR hen will sneak in while Cosette is out, and lay her egg! So then Cosette will come back and sit on the eggs and hide them from me! Who says chickens aren't smart?

So, HOPEFULLY the eggs will hatch, for a little over two weeks. So if this experiment works, in another week we will have little fuzz balls running around the coop! So exciting!

Here are some things to know if you want to try this too:

-your hen is broody if she will raise her hackle (neck) feathers, and literally make a screaming sound, or even peck you depending how tame she is (don't be offended, she is trying to protect her eggs)

-let the broody hen sit on one of her eggs for a few days to see how determined she is

-if so, you can find someone who has a rooster and hens and some of those eggs are bound to be fertile (but there is a 50/50 chance they will even hatch, and some may not be fertile)

-it is fine if your hen comes out for a couple minutes a few times during the day, or in the morning for no more than 20 minutes. she will need to eat, drink, and poop (she will hold it in the whole day! now thats commitment!)

-also, give her some corn feed, so she wont get underweight, or you can give her the laying pellets a couple times a day

-make sure the coop is insulated, and not too cold, make sure the nesting box is full of shavings, so the moister, heat, etc will stay in. and it is a good idea to put her nesting box further away if she is getting bugged by the other chickens, or all together separate

-you can check on the eggs by putting some treats in the corner, and (with gloves, just in case) stick your hand under and very carefully and slowly lift her up (sometimes she will put the eggs under her feathers-armpit area) just enough to make sure all is well

-once they hatch, instincts will kick in and the hen should be able to care for her chicks all by herself, if she rejects them go to: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chicks.html

-but you do need to have the chicks to be able to access their own chick starter crumble, and to be extra safe, you can keep the mother hen and chicks separate from the others for the first few months, unless she has hatched them in the coop and the others aren't hurting the chicks, and seem to be fine with it...

-here are other sources that you can read about:
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chicks.html *****(must read!)

http://www.lifestyleblock.co.nz/lifestyle-file/article/259-hatching-using-broody-hens.html

http://poultrykeeper.com/chickens/incubation-and-hatching/incubation-using-a-broody-hen.html
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chicks.html

Lottie

In January , 2011, I got a Collie (like Lassie) puppy from Colorado. She flew into LAX, and was such a sweetheart from the start! She charms everyone who meets her. And a lot of people don't recognize her breed, as its not really popular now. That's why I had to get her from Colorado.
Any way, she does great with the chickens! I let her in the chicken area with me in the afternoon, when we get home from work, and she likes to lay on the mulch, and eat the poop ;) The girls are very confident around her too (I didnt let her with them until the third week I had her, so she would get used to them without coming into contact), which helps since they aren't running away encouraging her to chase them. That was one of the reasons why I chose a Collie, they are known to be polite to animals. Also great with kids, calm indoors (except 7:00 am every morning!), smart, a great companion dog, beautiful, a people pleaser, and very loving. I would recommend a female Collie to anyone who has a yard, and will have a relationship with her- otherwise, she will get into bad habits (like barking, A LOT!) And she is a little chatter box, and will make cute little yelps and yips chasing her tail, or playing with her toys (She loves my sister's stuffed animals!)
So here are some pics of her at 12-13 weeks old. Enjoy!