Marigold on eggs.

[Nicos]

Are the gals in separate nesting boxes- or is Dandelion trying to share Marigolds eggs??
If it's the latter then kick her out!!


I seem to recall one of my moms only sat for just over a week????..I'll need to re-read my Grandmom thread

If I were you I'd let Dandelion do her own thing and keep the eggs in the incubater. D might be a rubbish first time mum and abandon the nest...I wouldn't risk it to be honest

You might want to try her with say 3 eggs?????...you know her better than we do.I think my Alice didn't really bond with her youngster in that week- and that's one of the ones which did of cold .

I'm sure you can slip a few of the newly hatched under Marigold's wings when hers start hatching...how many do you have in the incubator???

[di]

......and back to plan A!!!A fickle gal is our Dandelion...she went from being the scariest puff ball on eggs I'd ever seen...really wasn't looking forward to trying to move her...to pottering around the run with the others for the rest of the day!
I bet she's just waiting til next week when we think we're sorted with the others!
To be honest,it actually makes things(a bit)easier to not have her broody...if they'd started at the same time it would have been nice,but some of the stories I heard today about trying to introduce chicks so early into broodiness...well,I know I'd panic that she'd not only reject but possibly harm them.
*sigh & relax....chook keeping IS therapeutic...
Marigold has already got 13 eggs under her...reason being,she started with 9 but left them cold overnight & shook them about a bit that I thought they may not be OK to still hatch,therefore when we realised she did still want to sit on eggs,just not in the lonely broody coop I lovingly made for her(in the rain may I add!!).Anyway,we got her some new eggs,but were then told the first lot were probably stillOK,she got 4 of the new popped under her,just in case & we have another 8 in the incubator...she is a huge chook,but I think 21 may possibly be a few too many!...but that said,obviously we don't know how many will hatch,so our plan remains that hopefully by the time the inncy ones start pipping hers will be here & we'll know how many she's got & if she can manage a couple more.If not,I'm actually looking forward to hand rearing a few...just don't want Marigold to end up doing all this work & not have any babies...so if she has a crap hatch rate & we have good then she can have some,otherwise I(we)will enjoy being surrogate mum.

[Suechooks]

I've been considering doing this hatching thing but I'm not sure I can handle the stress!

[Glutton4...]

I've been considering doing this hatching thing but I'm not sure I can handle the stress!

Well, I know I couldn't. I can cope with pampering them once I've rescued/bought them, but breeding/hatching my own is a different story!

[di]

Oh No!!!Sue please don't be put off by me!
I'm sure had we been planned for it,it would all have been so much easier!
"Next time",we'll make sure & have a little sectioned of broody coop/run,along side the others & it will all run so much smoother!!!

[lynda66]

lol i love the way you said next time di and sue .... after having succeeded once ... i can say i would deffo do it all again at some point .... just when thy poke their ikkle noses out into the world ... is worth the stress

[matthew2riches]

Hi Di,

Have been very busy... If you set them on the Sunday, you count that as day 0, Monday being day 1.

Providing the temp doesn't go over 40, you should be fine. Like I said, fill 1 tray up with water on day 18 and do not open the lid again until day 22. They need 24 hours to dry off.

If you give me a call on my mobile around day 18 or 19 and you can come and collect a heat lamp from me.

Hopefully you'll have some success! How many eggs did you set again?

[di]

Thanks Matthew!...I've possibly got a few spare sprout plants so was gonna give you a shout anyway!There's 8 in there....that's OK isn't it...*am now panicking you said only put 6 in there???....4 are only bantams so kind of only the equivalent of 6!!!
Day 18 is Thursday...I've not managed to candle them so have absolutely no idea what to expect...but do keep doing a sniff check to make sure none are about to explode!

[matthew2riches]

They won't explode! Unless you are incubating old manky eggs, there should be no problem. And besides, the egg will start to leak before it bursts. The incubator will hold up to 15 eggs really, you're just better off doing a few first so you get the hang of the process.

Great to hear about the plants... really helpful.

Give me a call Thursday and we'll sort something out for the weekend?

[Suechooks]

Yes Glutton I can do the pampering bit no prob but the stress (will they won't they hatch - will they/won't they survive) disappointment (nothing does or they're all boys) guilt when someone - deffo NOT me has to dispatch the boys. All too much for an old softie like me!
Having said all that I've been offered the loan of an incubator and have all the heat lamps dog crates etc after dog breeding so watch this space .................!

[Nicos]

They won't explode!

On of my gals sat for 3 weeks on 2 unfertile eggs ( or had died at an extremely early stage)
my farmer's wife friend cracked them eventually to see what was going on- and they looked like 'normal' fresh eggs!....I was expecting black gungey stuff after 3 weeks of warmth...but clearly not!

[di]

I shall put the exploding thing out of my mind then!!!
re Dandelion...had to get a fellow lottie holder to come help me lift her off todays eggs...she really went for me!...he's showed me how to "calmly" let her peck my gloved hands a few times,reassure her all is well,then slowly lift her off...got to chat with Andi & decide what we're going to do with her?I definitely think the incubator eggs are too far on to give them to her...she'd have less than a week sitting,We'll probably make her an A frame run/coop & either leave her with potchet eggs or maybe get 3 or 4 fertile...I'll give her a couple of days to make her mind up,but think she needs to be moved away from the others ASAP.

[di]

Well with about three days to go,I really thought she was gonna give up on them today!!!She was sat on them when I got there,but I could smell she's pooed & couldn't see it,so lifted her off the eggs to check & she'd done it in the nest.She went outside for a potter but I think she heard me cleaning her nest & made a few distress calls!...I hope I did the rightthing,I'm assuming leaving her nest dirty would have been wrong?
Anyway,while she was outside she didn't do any of her normal stuff...no dustbathing,no manic eating...just stood at the fence separating her from the others,looking longingly at them.For about 5 mins her & Dandelion stood touching beaks through the wire!I really didn't think she was going to go back to her eggs,just before her half hour was up(I needed to pick up the kiddies)I gently guided her back in through the pophole,but she didn't seem as desperate as previous days to get back to them.....thankfully however,as soon as she got into her little bit of the coop she did go straight back onto them,so fingers crossed she can last just a few more days!Bless them though,they really do seem to be missing each other!
As for Dandelion!!...She was off the nest box when I went up,despite the fact there were eggs there,however when Andi went up a couple of hours later she was sat all puffed up hissing at him like a mad thing...even though she had no eggs!...I'm starting to wonder if it's more a case of her missing her sis & copying her hoping we'll put them together??I feel a bit guilty that we're letting Marigold sit & hatch,but think we've agreed that we really don't have the space to let Dandelion do the same...maybe next year it will be her turn!
Anyway...let the countdown begin...I had vague results from candling last night(incubated eggs)...saw the air sac & some veins...torch wasn't very bright so couldn't see anything else,but hopefully that's a good indication that at least 4 of her eggs are fertile!
So Friday or Saturday...if she can handle three/four more days of boredom...she may be a mummy!!!

[Bephlam]

Oh...it's getting close now. I'm eggcited!!

[Nicos]

think we've agreed that we really don't have the space to let Dandelion do the same...maybe next year it will be her turn!

I think you'll find that she'll be wanting to sit before then!!!!


Not long now eh??

..and no..you don't want poo in her nest box with the little chicks in there!

Once she's got her chicks, you may well find Dandelion a great help to her with their care

I best go check on my veloceraptors!!!!