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Velvet Sparrow posted:
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Apr 18, 2019 14:41
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| # ? Jun 13, 2024 01:08 |
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I got out of bed before my alarm went off because all the chickens were clucking like crazy. I thought a raccoon or something was trying to get in. Nope! They're just assholes.
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Apr 18, 2019 14:47
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Halloween Jack posted:Nope! They're just assholes. Feelin' cute! Might sing the egg song without laying an egg, IDK!
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Apr 18, 2019 15:12
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Mine frantically SCREAM the egg song, as a group, every 15 minutes while charging frenetically around the yard. Screamers get any non-screamers to join them because FOMO. So I'm hatching more to continue this weirdo scream gene. To be fair, it's been a long winter with tons of ice and snow, the last two days were our first sunny days in months. They are just SO happy to see the sun (as are we). Also, nothing new yet, the two pipped eggs have not begun unzipping. I am going to run a camera test in about a half hour, so nobody panic, I'm shutting it off again after.
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Apr 18, 2019 15:38
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Mozi posted:Any ideas why a seemingly healthy chicken would decide to spend all day honking like a goose? After further observation, this seems to be her traditional hour-long 'hey, I'm planning on laying an egg soon!' public service announcement.
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Apr 18, 2019 16:07
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^^^ In that case, we will need to see a video of her honking Egg Song, please... I call that the 'Pre-Egg Cackle', I'm convinced they do it to draw out predators while they can still escape--once they are on the nest and actually laying, they get quiet again 'till they are done. Running a camera test now, and another egg, #22--right next to the other two pipped eggs--has pipped! There is occassional frustrated peeping, I think from #26.  I'm going to run the cam for a bit to set the lighting and settings, then shut it off until something happens. 12-String tripped over my go-to LED lamp two days ago, so I'm using an old desk lamp to light the eggs, so there is more glare than usual. Someone please let me know if they can see everything OK? EDIT: #8 has also pipped! Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Apr 18, 2019 |
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Apr 18, 2019 18:13
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Wheeee! Time for Chickam! What's the correct URL now?
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Apr 18, 2019 18:41
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Inveigle posted:Wheeee! Time for Chickam! What's the correct URL now? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr7ICWyIMhWSp0UUJpAeTCw/live Twitter: https://twitter.com/ Three more eggs have pipped: #10, 13 and 24, for a total of 7 pipped eggs! Loads o' peeping... There will for sure be hatching today at some point! As soon as we start the cam for real I'll put up the GBS Chickam thread and post a link to it here. EDIT-- 12_String is checking the cam right now Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Apr 18, 2019 |
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Apr 18, 2019 19:16
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Yay for high altitude hatching... I remember when yall moved and you're still having a hell of a time with it. It doesn't really surprise me a lot. I think there's a reason so many hatcheries are out in the mid-west. just seems like an easier climate to hatch in. Down here we have all sorts of humidity issues I didn't have up in Washington state. Sucks. E: My roosters are the ones that yell about eggs. Very proud of their girls.
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Apr 18, 2019 19:20
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Velvet Sparrow posted:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr7ICWyIMhWSp0UUJpAeTCw/live Do you all have a broody hen yet? And have the brooder box set up? Wheeeeee!  Let us know when the cam is up and running!
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Apr 18, 2019 20:24
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https://twitter.com/BHWTOfficial/status/1118462877076283392
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Apr 18, 2019 20:25
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Inveigle posted:Do you all have a broody hen yet? And have the brooder box set up? Wheeeeee!
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Apr 18, 2019 20:26
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The box is ready to go because it is currently housing 7 chicks we got at the feed store almost 2 months ago (we have Morehens Disease, dammit), we'll section off part of it for the new chicks until the youngsters are ready to go outside for good. The older chicks were a couple of breeds I couldn't get online: 2 light Brahmas, 1 Langshan, a mystery (Old English or Dutch) banty, another mystery banty (cochin?) a gold laced Wyandotte and an Americaunas. I should NOT go into feed stores. We have several bantam hens who have gone broody, two of these are Bobo and Gumdrop who hatched last year...but if all of those eggs hatch one hen would never be able to cover them all, and when that happens a hen will peck away chicks she cannot cover and could hurt them. And these particular hens don't get along and are brooding in seperate nest boxes, so we can't stick two hens together. So if fewer than a dozen chicks hatch--yes we can try a mama. If more than that, no. And sadly, Yoya has left us. But she was an awesome mama! EDIT--Another egg has pipped, #12! That makes eight pipped eggs so far...LOUD peeping and loads of egg wiggles, these kids want OUT. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 22:02 on Apr 18, 2019 |
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Apr 18, 2019 20:36
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And we're off! #11 is unzipping now, I've turned on the cam and started the GBS thread. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3887465 Head over and throw out those silly chicken names, kids!
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Apr 18, 2019 22:50
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It must be loving baby day or something. Malomar (muscovy) popped some eggs open today to reveal little webbed feetses. And boom, one of my mantis egg cases hatched, too, so I'm just overrun with mantis nymphs. ...And Sprinkles, my braindead frizzle hen, is angrily sitting on every egg she finds so I guess we'll be moving her out to a run to hatch some babies.
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Apr 18, 2019 23:33
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Velvet Sparrow posted:And sadly, Yoya has left us. But she was an awesome mama!  She was awesome and living to eight years old is fantastic. 
spookygonk fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Apr 19, 2019 |
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Apr 18, 2019 23:45
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Those chicks are so drat cute.  Leaving the stream running while playing Dark Souls was a mistake, though, I kept hearing noises and going WHAT FRESH MONSTROSITY IS SNEAKING UP ON ME NOW oh wait it's the chicks. Meanwhile, it's raining here and our chooks are piling up at the back door asking to be let in and looking sodden and pathetic. (They have lots of shelter in the backyard if they want it; they just want access to the kitchen.)
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Apr 19, 2019 16:04
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Velvet Sparrow posted:^^^ In that case, we will need to see a video of her honking Egg Song, please... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqss6hEpRN0
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Apr 19, 2019 17:00
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ToxicFrog posted:Meanwhile, it's raining here and our chooks are piling up at the back door asking to be let in and looking sodden and pathetic. (They have lots of shelter in the backyard if they want it; they just want access to the kitchen.)
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Apr 20, 2019 10:41
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Here we gooo... To the left: 12 eggs from my coworker, a mix of Americaunas, RIRs, and Brahmas. May or may not contain some silky genes. To the right: 16 eggs from Fluffy Bunnies, a mix including Swedish Flowers, Easter eggers (how timely!), and various mutts of various parentage. Really hoping they do well for me! 
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Apr 20, 2019 20:27
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Day 1! The humidity is running high in my incubator, averaging 63 - 65 percent. I think I underestimated the natural humidity levels in my home. It's very rainy here, and with it being too cool for the air conditioner, things are just sort of...wet. I guess. I have the humidity down to 54 - 55 now, but I'm struggling to get it much lower. I'm hoping the water in the incubator evaporates a little more in the next day or two so as to get things back on track.
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Apr 21, 2019 21:47
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my cat is norris posted:Day 1! The humidity is running high in my incubator, averaging 63 - 65 percent. I think I underestimated the natural humidity levels in my home. It's very rainy here, and with it being too cool for the air conditioner, things are just sort of...wet. I guess. I have the humidity down to 54 - 55 now, but I'm struggling to get it much lower. I'm hoping the water in the incubator evaporates a little more in the next day or two so as to get things back on track. Use a turkey baster to pull it out
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Apr 22, 2019 01:37
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my cat is norris posted:Here we gooo... Yay chicks!
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Apr 22, 2019 07:57
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:Use a turkey baster to pull it out Thank you! I'll give that a try. I've been afraid to open the incubator for any reason, but a short time open shouldn't be a problem, right? Velvet Sparrow posted:Yay chicks! Watching yours has made me even more excited!!
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Apr 22, 2019 12:58
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Sigh... my beloved rooster Cheepers has been seeing me as a competitor recently (doing his wing-down dance, etc) and went after my legs a bit this morning. So I'm afraid his days may be running short now. C'est la vie. The thing is, I was hoping to have a hen hatch out some of the fertilized eggs I'm currently getting, but none of my hens are showing signs of broodiness at the moment. They're about 10 and a half months old. Maybe it would be worth a shot not collecting eggs for a few days, to see if that gets one of the hens going? If not I can always figure this out some other way later on, just thought it would be fun to do it all in-house, as it were.
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Apr 22, 2019 13:01
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Mozi posted:Sigh... my beloved rooster Cheepers has been seeing me as a competitor recently (doing his wing-down dance, etc) and went after my legs a bit this morning. So I'm afraid his days may be running short now. C'est la vie. Pick up the bad boy and show him his place in the pecking order by carrying him like a baby in front of his ladies.
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Apr 22, 2019 13:33
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That worked for me.
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Apr 22, 2019 13:44
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Hm - I was always a little doubtful of that strategy but it's worth a try. Usually when I have to grab one of them I'll wait until they're roosting, but in this case I'll probably have to figure something else out.
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Apr 22, 2019 14:05
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Sooo...quick question: if I can't get the humidity levels down for whatever reason, will my chicks be likely to hatch early? Will I need help them unzip? Does anyone have any experience with this situation?
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Apr 22, 2019 14:48
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Mozi posted:Hm - I was always a little doubtful of that strategy but it's worth a try. Usually when I have to grab one of them I'll wait until they're roosting, but in this case I'll probably have to figure something else out. A few days ago we had ungodly rain and I did something I've never done before: slipped and fell in the muddy chicken run. I should have just let myself land on my rear end, but instead I twisted halfway around like a cat and caught myself by planting my hand, which just hurt my back. Anyway, as soon as I got back up I heard a noise and felt a sting; I'd spooked Judas enough to attack my shin. I made a point of picking him up and parading him around.
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Apr 22, 2019 15:06
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The first attempt seemed to go well, grabbed him without too much issue and while he was unhappy about it he didn't fight me at all as I walked around for a few minutes. Guess I'll repeat that for a few days and hope he changes his behavior. I had heard of this technique before, but I always figured that once the rooster saw me as a competitor that was basically a losing game to try to make him change his mind. But hey, as you said, if that avoids having to meet Mr Rake Handle, then that's great.
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Apr 22, 2019 21:09
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I've had a rough day and I'm going to pick up my loud idiot boy and carry him around, for fun.
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Apr 22, 2019 21:10
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Chickens out enjoying the nice Spring day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkX7xazAHIg
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Apr 22, 2019 21:26
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my cat is norris posted:Sooo...quick question: if I can't get the humidity levels down for whatever reason, will my chicks be likely to hatch early? Will I need help them unzip? Does anyone have any experience with this situation? they'll just be likely to drown is all. what's goin on?
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Apr 23, 2019 01:06
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I've sucked as much water as possible out of the incubator and I'm still hovering at about 60% humidity. I'm now entertaining thoughts of toweling out the whole thing. I'm just concerned for them! Edit: Holding steady at 54 - 55% after my husband helped me leech out a little more water. Still aiming to bring it closer to 50 but feeling slightly less panicked now.
my cat is norris fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Apr 23, 2019 |
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Apr 23, 2019 01:31
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chooks
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Apr 23, 2019 02:11
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my barred rock roosters were the gentlest creatures on earth and at peace with being respectfully picked up and carried around. it wasn't until i started sending them to new homes (and they all went to bougie manor houses so i had to deal with some quite upset rich people) that i realised their fatal flaw, which is that if treated roughly by a stranger they would respond with righteous indignation, and being the size of ostriches they did cause some actual bloodshed when their new owners tried to hold them upside down by the legs like they were common chickens and then i had to give refunds and find new, less-fancy homes that would treat them with the reverence they expected
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Apr 23, 2019 02:19
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Okay, maybe my concerns were for nothing? I'm using a forced air incubator, and further research from multiple sources has assured me that my humidity levels are within the satisfactory range and I can stop losing my poo poo and go to sleep. Maybe I'm too anxious for these things...
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Apr 23, 2019 03:02
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my cat is norris posted:Okay, maybe my concerns were for nothing? I'm using a forced air incubator, and further research from multiple sources has assured me that my humidity levels are within the satisfactory range and I can stop losing my poo poo and go to sleep.
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Apr 23, 2019 04:14
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^^^ god This morning my husband drove us into the city because I was too sleepy to drive after staying up too late reading papers and journals and websites and forums and after telling him about this he just LOOKED at me and said, "You're such a MOM! A chicken mom!" i can never reproduce if this is how i am over chickens can you imagine what i would do over a tiny human being
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Apr 23, 2019 12:40
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