The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: waddy on February 17, 2014, 10:26:45 pm
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Yay! Our first hatching eggs are arriving early next week! We are having 6 Norfolk Greys from a breeder in Norfolk, six CCL and six gold laced Wyandottes both from Ebay so keep fingers crossed they all survive the post. I would have preferred not to use Ebay and source the last two from recommended breeders as with the Norfolks but OH couldn't wait and jumped the gun! He is dangerous with Ebay in his lunchbreak!
Helen
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Good luck with them and keep us informed. Up to now we have agreed not to hatch this year :innocent:
It will be lovely to see the arrivals of other people's hatchings :excited:
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Large silkies and silver lace wyndotts for the spring sale dingwall in 3 weeks .And this will be the last we hatch as all stock is being sold .Tacking time out dad wont be around soon.
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Great piccie of chicks VF.
:hug: sorry to hear about your dad.
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The first egg has pipped! I keep having to go and look every few minutes! It is a gold laced Wyandotte. Of the 18 eggs two of the Legbars candled clear; one of the Norfolks clear and one stopped developing after a week. All the rest including all the Wyandottes appeared to develop normally. The smallest eggs have lost a bit too much weight and the largest (the Wyandottes) not enough so I have been in a bit of a dilemma with the humidity. I am keeping my fingers crossed and prepared to help if it appear necessary. So exited! our first chickens! I know it would have been easier to buy POL but I have wanted to do this for more years than I care to remember, and now we have space it was first on the list for livestock.
:excited: :excited: :excited:
Helen
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Good luck little chicks :) :fc:
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Hi Waddy. Sounds like you bought well with the Wyandotte eggs. We have some Gold Laced and very strong birds our Wyandottes are -4 years old now. It can be a bit awkward hatching different breeds because of differences in shell porosity. Hopefully yours have lost enough fluid to give them the room to manoeuvre for pipping. Best of luck with them.
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:excited: nearly as exited as you! awaiting updates with baited breath. Good luck :fc:
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Hows the incy looking :excited: any more pipped?
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Just found a Norfolk pipping round the back hiding where it is hard to see. I have been on my knees peering at them every few minutes.
:excited: :excited: :excited:
Helen
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Which seller did y get the legbars from? I've never found any on ebay that look right. Most have too much gold- boys too much colour and girls gold not pale cream neck hackels and some didn't even have yellow legs! so don't have two copies of the cream gene so not cream legbars
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The two that pipped yesterday are out and cheeping. Another has pipped. Hoping for more today.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Helen
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Which seller did y get the legbars from? I've never found any on ebay that look right. Most have too much gold- boys too much colour and girls gold not pale cream neck hackels and some didn't even have yellow legs! so don't have two copies of the cream gene so not cream legbars
http://www.cream-legbar.com/ (http://www.cream-legbar.com/)
Some of the best CLB's around. I haven't bought eggs from her but might do this year if we get a broody or 2. There is a good facebook group as well if you on there.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/332175963534766/ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/332175963534766/)
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Yes Emily's birds are fab! Am on that page. Am waiting on some hatching eggs from a lady I sold a trio from Bonnies lines.
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Now up to 4 Wyandottes and another pipping; two legbars and another pipping and two Norfolks. We will see how the CCl's measure up when they feather though the egg colour was nice. Thanks for the tip on the good legbars Stereo. I will need unrelated stock for breeding and will contact Emily. The Wyandotte cock that fathered these chicks was said to have been placed third in the fed show. The eggs were very big and the chicks look good and strong. The breeder of the Norfolks was recommended by the lady that was featured in Country Smallholding a couple of months ago. She had a waiting list for her own eggs at the time (not surprisingly - the birds looked great). I will get some from her next time. I understand it may be hard to get unrelated Norfolks but she said enough generations separated hers from the ones I bought. They are still pipping and hatching after 23 days. We won't be as quick to worry next time if they choose to come out in their own time and not by the book. Watching them is fascinating and addictive. Far more interesting than the television! Just off to check them again.
Helen
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Great news :thumbsup: certainly better entertainment than TV :chook: :chook:
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Which seller did y get the legbars from? I've never found any on ebay that look right. Most have too much gold- boys too much colour and girls gold not pale cream neck hackels and some didn't even have yellow legs! so don't have two copies of the cream gene so not cream legbars
I had intended to breed from my legbars this year I have two styles both with yellow legs, I have just one girl left whom I believe to be best of quality, I have another whom seems close, then I have a few others that seem to either have not enough colouring or the wrong colours, please post a picture of what you would like a bird to look like, we have had a few problems this winter and our plans aren't as they were, I will try and breed a few this year though.
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Have a look at Emily's website-link on page 1. Basically hen should have light cream neck hackles salmon not brown chest and a nice tuft on head. Comb will flop due to tuft. If the chest is brown or neck hackles gold or brown or grey it means she doesn't have two copies of the cream gene so can only pass on one gene which may not be the cream one. Even if liiks right may still only have one copy so of spring may not be right-as I understand it anyway genetics not my strongest thing.
Boys should have virtually no chestnut on him. Some white wing feathers and tail feathers ok. If he has a lot of colourhe again only has one copy of the cream gene.
Emily's website has good pics of good and bad examples. Now bearing this in mind have a look on ebay for CLB. You will not find many good birds! Even judges are placing wrong birds! There are not many good birds around. I had a nice trio but had to sell as fox was picking off my birds and they were too good to be eaten. Hopefully will have some eggs off them in a few weeks! :)
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The final score was six Wyandottes, three legbars (two of them male) and only two Norfolks. Three eggs candled clear after a week, one stopped developing after a week and three didn't make it to pipping. The last Wyandotte was stuck and had to be helped out. He had pipped too low down (where we couldn't see) and the membrane had dried. We gently moistened it and partially freed it leaving the chick to finish the job. The Wyandotte eggs were the largest ones and hadn't dried as much as I would have liked although the others all pipped and hatched fine. The chick did seem a bit squished although it fluffed up nicely and was getting around so was eventually put with the others. This morning they were all sat on it which didn't help. It looks to have been walking around on its heels which are sore. It doesn't seem able to stretch it's legs. We have put sudocrem on the sore bits and put it back in the incubator. If the chick has been been squished in the egg too long (it came out morning of day 24) is it likely that it will never straighten? Should we turn the incubator temperature down a bit for it? Is there anything else we could do? I have seen the video of splayed leg splinting but his legs aren't splayed they are forward facing the normal way. He (or she) can't seem to stretch and get up on his feet, he is shuffling along on his heels.
The other problem we have had is pecking at eyes. I understand this will hopefully abate as they learn what they should be pecking at, I have put shiny washers in and a lettuce leaf to try and attract them instead (not interested). I have also read about using a red light. I will order one today. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Helen
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We have now separated off a bit of the brood box to give the poorly chick his own area with part of the brooder so he can still be with the others but won't get sat on or pecked at.
:fc: :fc: :fc:
Helen
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We are also massaging and gently stretching his legs frequently using sudocrem. He looks a bit brighter than this morning when he was squashed by the others.
Helen
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Waddy, we have only hatched one lot of eggs so no expert. We had one that started off ok first day though a bit wobbly and over the next two days went off it's legs as you describe and seemed to get weaker as the day went on. I had to help her stand to eat and drink through the day as she couldn't reach with her leg weakness. I bought some poultry tonic and put it in the water just in case it was a deficiency but half expected to cull the chick within a day or two. Glad I didn't as she got the use of her legs again and has grown to be lovely strong Wyandotte cross.
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Thanks for that Mammyshaz! I will keep up with the physio and keep my fingers crossed!
:fc: :fc: :fc:
H