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I assumed I had missed this, so the second batch was a very cool surprise! I assume there won't be any new chicks, but in case I'm wrong, I'd like to second Chako as a name. Thanks for doing these! They're a really nice Spring feature 
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May 16, 2023 03:45
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I caught them all posing together 
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May 16, 2023 04:51
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The little ones keep doing this https://i.imgur.com/URpbIaY.mp4 and it is just very precious  good lord why did imgur embed that so big CJacobs fucked around with this message at 09:03 on May 16, 2023 |
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May 16, 2023 09:01
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Love the pics and vids, LOL The chicks have discovered that they all fit inside the brick that the cam is clamped to. I think this batch hands-down wins the contest of 'Who Can Be Out Of Frame The Most?' Hey, new chick pics! https://jackshenhouse.blogspot.com/2023/05/chickam-round-two-chicks.html
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May 17, 2023 01:03
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Hey, new chick pics! The oreo pics are great, lol. How successful were these batches compared to past years? It's been way too long since I did hatches back home for me to remember what our success rates were like.
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May 17, 2023 01:19
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Captain Hygiene posted:The oreo pics are great, lol. Our best hatch was when we still lived in southern California and something like 42 out of 44 eggs that we set in our two el cheapo Little Giant styrofoam incubators hatched, LOL. But I'd say in So Cal we'd get a 75-80% hatch rate. Then we moved to northern Nevada, just shy of 5000 feet in altitude and hatching got REALLY tough and required some deep dives into egg hatching science (pore size is a thing in eggshells and you really need eggs from high altitude chickens!). And a cabinet (ReptiPro) incubator, the styrofoam ones are a joke up here in the land of single-digit humidity. Even then, if I got a 50% hatch rate I was thrilled. THEN... If you look at my blog & GPS threads for previous Chickam hatches...the last three years (starting in 2020) have been a chickdeath horror show, with various suspected causes (one was chemicals poisoning the chicks when people had treated the cardboard because of Covid) that was making me crazed. I upgraded/replaced some of my equipment, built a plastic brooder box and changed some methods, and it seems to have helped! Which is great, because I'd already decided that if the rampant chick death happened again this year, I'd end Chickam.
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May 17, 2023 03:02
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Oh wow, that is a big change, I guess I missed the details from the last few years too. I lived in the Midwest back when I raised chickens while growing up, so it wasn't all that far above sea level. I hadn't realized there was such a difference with altitude, that's good to know in case I ever do accomplish my goal of raising chickens again now that I'm a ways up in the mountains.
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May 17, 2023 03:19
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Captain Hygiene posted:Oh wow, that is a big change, I guess I missed the details from the last few years too. I lived in the Midwest back when I raised chickens while growing up, so it wasn't all that far above sea level. I hadn't realized there was such a difference with altitude, that's good to know in case I ever do accomplish my goal of raising chickens again now that I'm a ways up in the mountains. I don't know what your altitude is, but LOL--if you need high altitude hatching advice, I'm your girl. We're gonna try tonight after it gets full dark to install a broody hen. The cam will stay on so there will be sound. But we will turn off ALL the lights. The older chicks should be tuckered out like yesterday, and sleep so they don't distract mama. By morning, she'll have accepted the chicks, the older chicks will go outside and not be a distraction tomorrow. We'll try either Bobo or Marble. Fingers crossed this all goes to plan!
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May 17, 2023 04:24
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Okay, Marble is in as mama and it's going well so far...fingers crossed! The trilling is the older chicks. When we hear a distressed chirping, it means one of the three new chicks has crept out from under Marble--they need her for warmth. THAT'S the sound we'll keep an ear out for. I'll be up for another hour or so, I'll hear it if it starts. Marble was well asleep when we went out and got her, so she settled right down.The cam will remain dark the rest of the night but will have sound--it's 11:30PM here now. By morning they should be a happy family...I'll be up at dawn just in case she rejects them. It's rare but can happen, especially with first-time moms. Marble is 4 years old, so at least she's got that going for her. The older babies no longer need their light for warmth--they've got each other and it's warm enough here now. Even Eggroll will be fine. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 07:56 on May 17, 2023 |
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May 17, 2023 07:45
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Thank you so much for the continued updates and pics. I know you mentioned Chickam is expensive - is it possible that you could set up a donation page for folks to chip in? Especially if it meant more hatches this year...  but even if it didn't, it's given me so much joy over the years that I'd love to throw in  .Also, requesting even more updated pics of Swiffer now that she's recuperated and is enjoying her time as a spoiled hen 
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May 17, 2023 10:34
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Tiny Myers posted:Also, requesting even more updated pics of Swiffer now that she's recuperated and is enjoying her time as a spoiled hen
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May 17, 2023 14:37
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Well, at dawn (5:30AM) everything was okay, but now at 7AM the chicks won't stay under Marble because she keeps pecking them away. So out she goes... The babies weren't hurt, BTW. Argh....chickens--! EDIT: Tiny Myers, thank you for your kind offer of a donation! I meant to ask the mods if it was okay to post a link. I'll do so now, and if they give the go-ahead, will post a link. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 15:23 on May 17, 2023 |
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May 17, 2023 15:10
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Chickam: Argh….chickens—!
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May 17, 2023 15:58
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Well, we gave it our best shot and tried 6 or 7 different broody hens, but they all had the universal reaction of seeing chicks, knowing THEY didn't hatch them, and then afraid mama was gonna show up and whup 'em. That's the problem with trying to do this during the day. I just want to imagine what goes in their heads at that time. "Oh oh oh I want to be mommy oh oh look at these precious babies they're so cute... Can I... Can I brood them a bit? Can I... No better not, mama will be mad.. A bit maybe?? Oh they're so cute, aaaaaa the struggle" Velvet Sparrow posted:Love the pics and vids, LOL They are so insanely creative and inventive when it comes to bug us, the goons that never deserved their cuteness and sacred presence Goons Are Gifts fucked around with this message at 17:37 on May 17, 2023 |
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May 17, 2023 17:34
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Saw this earlier and it made me laugh https://i.imgur.com/uarvIUY.mp4 Cao Cao getting a little too into grooming herself, and going straight on to the flamingo  Reminds me of when a cat's sitting in your lap while washing itself, and sometimes just continues on to start cleaning your arm.
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May 18, 2023 02:35
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Hey, many thanks to the Chickam patroness who made a generous donation today, we love you, E.W.! 
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May 18, 2023 22:56
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Where’s the Chickam-support link?!?
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May 19, 2023 00:27
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Subjunctive posted:Where’s the Chickam-support link?!? I got the go-ahead from mod Seth Pecksniff to post a link! I'll also put it in the OP to make it easier to find. Go to my Jack's Henhouse chicken info site, scroll down to the bottom, and you can click on a big blue Paypal button if you want to make a donation: http://jackshenhouse.com/ A giant thank you to anyone who supports the chikins! Especially since the unusually heavy winter snows absolutely squashed our small run and now we have to rebuild it...if you want to see it, read these two blog entries: https://jackshenhouse.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-little-time-lapse-of-how-things-went.html https://jackshenhouse.blogspot.com/2023/01/snowpacolypse.html Then see the aftermath, here  :https://jackshenhouse.blogspot.com/2023/02/yup.html For now we've made the run safe for the older chicks to use. Pretty sure once we're done with Chickam we're gonna have a bit of a fund drive to rebuild it properly, though some of the materials can be salvaged. VVV Poor puzzled Delicious looking around like, "What? What?!" For chicks, actually eating the goodie isn't the best part at this age--the chase is. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 23:17 on May 20, 2023 |
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May 19, 2023 23:16
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 There's some shenanigans going on tonighthttps://i.imgur.com/23OCeuF.mp4 https://i.imgur.com/FH7XBfV.mp4 Hopefully she'll get to enjoy whatever that thing is 
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May 20, 2023 04:14
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Velvet Sparrow posted:I got the go-ahead from mod Seth Pecksniff to post a link! I'll also put it in the OP to make it easier to find. wonderful, thank you!
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May 20, 2023 20:25
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Velvet Sparrow, were all your hatches from your own eggs?
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May 20, 2023 21:15
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Lightning strikes around here, the 7-11 a miles or so away got hit. Older babies are back inside. If cam goes down again we may have lost power from the thunderstorm. Arsenic Lupin, Yes, this year's hatch were all from our own eggs. I bought 6 calico bantam Cochin eggs & incubated them, too--but only 2 developed embryos, one of those was an early quitter, and but none hatched. Triffid, Eggroll and Wingding were purchased chicks. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 23:15 on May 20, 2023 |
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May 20, 2023 22:46
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The three little chicks just got their Marek's vaccination, as did the three older chicks we got at the poultry swap--Triffid, Eggroll and Wingding, since we don't know if they had been medicated. Everybody got mealworms just prior, so they got a little protein boost.
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May 21, 2023 03:13
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Hey! A HUGE thanks to the Chickam patrons who so kindly made donations yesterday, you're amazing! DP, MS and AN, we LOVE you folks! Also, this is how the older babies sleep now: 
Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 07:50 on May 23, 2023 |
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May 21, 2023 20:49
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It's a chicken spree!!
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May 23, 2023 17:04
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I always forget there's sound, I need to just leave it up on my phone so I can hear the peeps all day. Velvet Sparrow posted:Also, this is how the older babies sleep now: Lol, and they're getting big! 
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May 23, 2023 17:17
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Swiffer update! She's doing very well and is fully integrated with the flock. She and Bobbie, the buff Brahma rooster, are having a torrid affair--they follow each other around all day, talking and burbling. She's very personable.  Swiffer kept turning her head away during picture time like she was wanted by the FBI.  She's gotten a little wear & tear to her back feathers, as expected with new girls...I'm hoping her little bald head refeathers at some point, she was like this when we got her. EDIT: The kid just put everyone away for the night, turns out that Bobbie has been sleeping on the coop floor next to Swiffer, who prefers the floor over the roosts. What a good boi.
Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 05:12 on May 24, 2023 |
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May 24, 2023 02:56
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God she looks so soft and fluffy, thank you so much for the update. I'm so glad she has a big buff boyfriend, too. Honestly even if she never regrows her head feathers, it's kind of a nice look with the feathers around her neck looking like a high collar. Somewhere between an elegant baroness and a turkey vulture.
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May 24, 2023 03:54
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Aww that’s so sweet he stays with her. My frizzle banty hens need ladders to get up to the highest roosts and it took them awhile to learn. Maybe Swiffer will surprise you by being on the highest roost some morning
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May 24, 2023 06:43
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I kept forgetting to post it, but I heard from the Goon who is Brian's honorary parent and had naming rights, and Brian's new name is: Mooncake! It's very cute, and I love it!
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May 26, 2023 04:44
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Tuned in in time for some more Caonanigans today https://i.imgur.com/R7aw6A7.mp4 It'd been a few days, they're getting big and a bit feathery! https://i.imgur.com/7RJBTn4.mp4 Also noticing more squabbles popping up, even if they're fine hanging out piled on top of each other most of the time. Captain Hygiene fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Jun 1, 2023 |
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May 29, 2023 20:13
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megane posted:Chickam: Argh….chickens—!
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May 29, 2023 21:10
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Captain Hygiene posted:Tuned in in time for some more Caonanigans today LOL, circling around backwards till you're ready to hurl, while your hatchmates stare and hope it isn't catching.
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May 31, 2023 05:02
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Cao is gonna break into your house and steal so many thingsy just to show them off in the chicken house in the very near future
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May 31, 2023 06:15
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Captain Hygiene posted:Tuned in in time for some more Caonanigans today Was out of town for a few days. Catching up on some clips and parts of the VODs. Thanks so much again, even if I can't always be attending live. Reminds me of when dogs or cats circle a spot a few times before settling down.
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Jun 1, 2023 19:12
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Tuned in just in time for food raining down from heaven
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Jun 2, 2023 20:38
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It's warm enough that I could turn off the brooder box light, so you can get a better look at the chicks! The older chicks get booted out into the adult flock for good in 2 days. When they go out I'll be able to reconfigure the brooder box for a better view of the Three Terrors. BTW, Brian/Mooncake is crowing... In a couple ofweeks we'll take the rooboys and the hens we won't be keeping to a local poultry swap to see if we can find them good homes. We haven't decided on who we'll keep yet.
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Jun 3, 2023 23:27
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Everyone mugging for the camera this morning https://i.imgur.com/u6Iu9om.mp4 Are you pretty certain they're all little hens? I can't remember from experience how difficult it is to identify males vs females early on, I just start wondering about getting surprise roosters the more I see them getting squabbly as they get older.
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Jun 4, 2023 20:11
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It's such a miracle to witness their growth from picking the first hole in the shell up to beyond these puberty rascal modes they're in now and even more so, witnessing it TWICE!! 
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Jun 4, 2023 22:29
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LOL Cao Cao with a flamingo pillow and Deli passed out, beak to the sky...it's a Spam sandwich! With these three, I'm thinking Cao Cao is a roo, Deliciousarus *might* be...and Spam maybe, too. The way Spam was last hatched but first with feathers is a high sign for rooboys...but we'll see! Triffid and Brian/Mooncake are crowing so are for sure roos, the rest of the first hatch I think are all hens, which is surprising! The older chicks go out with the flock in the next day or so (weather permitting), so new pics will be up at that time. The kid had Triffid, Dubious Intentions and Garibaldi running up and down the hallway playing chase. I'll have to see if I can get video of it, it's pretty cute. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 06:42 on Jun 5, 2023 |
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Jun 5, 2023 06:38
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