We have put 10 eggs each under Lucy and Louise, due to hatch on Sunday 19 October. I tried to choose all eggs from the youngest hens....
Lucy hatched 10 eggs. Yes, 10 hatched from 10 eggs. Louise hatched 8 eggs. but now the chicks are all mixed up so they have 9 each! Louise is a little stressed about the whole thing but Lucy is loving it.
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In all the excitement of the fox, I didn't check Thelma and she has 8 chicks all fluffy and lovely. Photo coming soon. 2 eggs were remaining and she got off the nest so I took that as a sign.
It seems that the grandma's eggs are not fertile this year - they are very large so easy to identify. I have 10 eggs under Liza but I sorted them. 5 are from the young bantams and 5 are from Grandmas so we will see next week when they hatch. A fox came last night. Lucky I am a light sleeper or things could have been worse. He got 8 chicks and nearly had Ertha when I came flying across the yard in my nighty carrying my shoes and followed closely by the dog. The dog chased him right along Charles St, which is a fairly busy shopping Street during the day. Poor Ertha with her 1 chick are walking around very shell shocked this morning. The whole hen yard is subdued.
My lovely husband is going to fox proof the back fence this morning and then we'll put in some permanent broody coops. Ertha hatched 9 chicks on Tuesday night. They are all lovely little chicks but it was so cold outside we brought them into the kitchen. We have had a lovely weekend playing in the garden with the chooks. Lizzy is very clucky but she has been unwell and I want her fat and strong before she sits for 3 weeks. So I locked her in the vegie garden and she is so grumpy with me. This is a shot of the girls sitting on their perch. We put 10 eggs under Thelma a couple of Saturdays ago. So this time next week we should have chicks everywhere. 😊 We put 10 eggs under Ertha, one of our young hens, on Tuesday. I'm not candling or anything - just going to leave them in peace and see what happens. Due to hatch on Tuesday 9 September.
I have another dozen eggs ready to sell if anyone wants them - $2 each egg Have posted the first dozen of the season interstate: 1 cracked during postage but the others are looking good and fertile so far - I'll let you know how they go. thanks for the updates Sarah. Sorry, I just couldn't help that title. Everything is calm and going smoothly. I put a couple of layer boxes on the floor of the coop and now all the chooks are laying in the coop. We are getting between 1 and 7 eggs each day and maybe one clucky chook already. I don't have an incubator so rely on the chooks for the hard work of hatching and mothering. It would be great to get an early batch hatching. Colin is taking everything very seriously and sharing his favours vigorously!
If you want some buff chicks now is a good time to buy eggs. Hens are laying again - getting about 3-4 eggs per day. They are laying all over the place instead of in the nest boxes. I think it is because everything was unsettled with 2 roosters. Colin is still the main man, this is his first full season and he has spurs. I need to look that up because I can't remember any other Pekin rooster having spurs.
Greg the Golden was coming in to be the second rooster - 5 months old and he is just beautiful, mid colouring, yellow feet, straight comb and so quiet, almost cuddly. But Colin was not having a bit of it and giving him such a hard time that Greg has gone to a new home with his own girls - thanks Kem, hope all goes well. I have been suspecting and too scared to look calmly for about 3 weeks now but it really is true. From 18 chicks I have 4 hens and 14 roosters. Not sure what to do. I have a list of very patient people waiting for hens (and 1 rooster). and I really want to keep one of the hens (and 1 rooster) for my breeding program, so that leaves 3 hens ready for new homes. Risk of nature... O
Quentin has taken her chicks to live with Julie and her rabbits at Red Girl Mosaics. Quentin will come home and leave 3 pullets behind in a couple of months. It is a great way to start with Pekins: Quentin will do most of the work and you can play with the chicks from a young age so they will be tame and calm.
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AuthorHi, I am Rosemerry and I breed buff Pekin Bantams. I live with my husband at Staughton Vale. We moved to the country in 2021 and left our 3 adult children behind in the city. By day I am a Business Systems Analyst but after hours I am a Chook Fancier Archives
November 2022
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