Araucana chicks!!

So today I finally got in my order of true Araucana chicks from a very well respected breeder in South Carolina. One died an hour after arrival, and another black one is rather weak - But everyone else is doing great!! I have SO many colors too, a lot of them not even APA recognized. There are splashes, BBR, black, blue, white, Gold and Silver Duckwing, and several I have yet to name. They're all SO cute though! I'll keep you posted with their growth as well as the others. Oh by the way - The BIG chicks in there are my previously hatched Marans and Ameraucanas.

Wheaties!

So the hatching finally ended this morning, on day 23. Last night my last Black Copper was having some terrible troubles hatching, as it didn't quite zip all the way, and was trying to just bust out. So, bad little me snuck in as quick as I could, despite it being lockdown, and popped the little'uns cap right off. Well, trouble still occured. I wanted to go to sleep as soon as the chick started acting normally and waddling around the incubator, but it didn't. . . It couldn't even stand up, and was upside down or on its side most of the time. The other chicks wanted to use it as a pillow, and almost suffocated it!!

Well, since there was only one other egg with a pip that was sitting there for HOURS, I had to help. . . I grabbed all the other chicks, put them in the brooder, and let the poor thing gather its strength by itself. There was nothing more I could do.

Luckily, by the next morning, it did indeed gather its strength - And I also had my last Wheaten hatched and joined with it! How'd that one hatch? . . . Well, I helped it too. In the middle of the night I noticed its pip just never went anywhere, so I just HAD to help it too. Sigh. I peeled off the chipped peice of shell, then carefully cut a small nick into the membrane. The chick was breathing!! So, I quickly closed the incubator and left it be with the last 6 other eggs in there. The next morning, it had hatched and was waddling around with the last Black Copper. Sadly, I tried seeing if pipping the other eggs would help, but all the remaining Black Coppers were dead in their shells, and the last 3 Wheatens were either dead and underdeveloped, alive and underdeveloped (SO sad to see. . .) or not even a visible chick, but just yolk and a fetus.

Well, here's the resulting chicks, all dry and chipper now. There are a total of 10. Now I'm just waiting for my staggered hatch of 4 to hatch. . . Hoping to see 3 Brahma crosses and one New Hampshire pop out!!







Aren't they ADORABLE?!

The yellow one is a Wheaten or Blue Wheaten Marans. In real life, it is the most vibrant color of white with a hint of bright, lemon meringue-y yellow on its head and shoulders. The black one with white spots is a Black Copper Marans. The Blue one with the fanny pointing towards you is a Blue Ameraucana.

Out of this hatch, I got 5 Black Copper Marans, 3 Wheaten/Blue Wheaten Marans, 2 Black Ameraucanas, and 1 Blue Ameraucana.

Pips, Zips, and Hatches!

What you see here is the first chick we've ever hatched!! Yes, this time it worked!! This is a black Ameraucana, from Heidi's eggs. I've been watching its piping that started at 8AM, which led to me gardening on this beautiful sunny day, until told that the chick finally hatched out just before 2PM. So we all rushed in, and lookie!!

Today is day 21, hatch day - All 3 Ameraucanas have made it now, with 2 black and 1 blue. That sets us to have 5 total Black Ameraucanas and 6 Blues. The Marans have yet to hatch. . . Four have pipped, and that has all that has ever happened. . .

The Ameraucanas - 5 weeks old

So, of my 12 chicks - 8 are of course Ameraucanas. True Ameraucanas. 5 are blue, and 3 are black. Yesterday was the final test in sexing them, and I have 4 boys. 2 blue, 2 black. I am going to keep one black, and most likely sell the remaining 3 boys. Or eat them. They're going to be perfectly friendly roosters (I have never heard of a mean true Ameraucana case) and will have a true blue egg gene, so crossing them will give offspring that will lay green, pale blue, or olive colored eggs. Currently, this is how they look. This boy in particular I know I would not keep, as he seemed to have no muffs as a chick, and still doesn't seem to be growing a new set yet.



And, who could forget my Black Copper Marans? They're my only chocolate egg layers right now! I have even better quality ones in an incubator, but they're 6 days away from hatching. I cannot wait! Their eggs are SO dark, so big, and so perfect! Also, their bloodlines have not been crossed. As for these guys, we'll see how things go. I already know I have atleast one boy, but look at how they pose when I'm around! They look like raptors!



And then at last, here is the whole group of 12 all around the waterer. So far, my pick of the Ameraucana cockerels is the black one on the very bottom of the photo. When comparing him to the black one on the far left, he's so far bigger (which honestly doesn't mean too much right now) and has a better body than the other guy. But, as they grow, I'll be looking for a smoothly angled tail set, nice red eyes, an evenly curved pea comb, a very well filled out muffs and beard, and so on. I want my boy to be perfect!

The addiction is showing.

So, to add on top of the many many eggs in 2 incubators right now, here's what I have expected to come next week and beyond!

12 Black Copper Marans eggs
12 Blue/Black/Splash Jersey Giant eggs
12 Blue Wheaten Ameraucana eggs
12-15 Blue/Black/Splash Ameraucana eggs
20 Araucana chicks

Yes, we're getting chicks too! REAL Araucanas! They're coming all the way from South Carolina, and are expected to arrive by the 24th of March. Sooo excited! And so, that brings to our egg colors by breed this summer:

True Blue: Araucanas
Teal Blue: Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas
Pale Blue: Blue/Black Ameraucanas
Mint Green: BBS Ameraucanas
Dark Chocolate: Black Copper/Wheaten/Blue Wheaten Marans
Brown: Wyandottes
Pink: Light & Buff Brahmas
White: Crested Polish

And then next year we'll also have:

Olive Green: Marans X Ameraucana
True Green: Marans/Ameraucana X Araucana

What a rainbow!!

Also to note - Right now I have 1 New Hampshire and 3 Brahma x Easter Egger eggs in the incubator. The New Hampshire will add more pink to the egg basket, but the other 3 will either add a pale olive green or pink color of egg.

Silly Yak!

Okay so I finally got photos of our yak being kinda goofy. How did I do it on time? I basically grabbed the camera, fed him, then ran around until he started chasing me. So, I held up the camera and shot some photos while he was behind me. Eventually he got silly enough to run in other directions too. I couldn't get him in full gallop and speed - But I got him!





In other news - Our eggs in the incubator. The eggs on my banner, my icon, and previously shown some time ago are from Black Copper Marans, Wheaten/Blue Wheaten Marans, and BBS Ameraucanas. Anyway; I candled the first batch of 12 Ameraucana, 12 Wheatie, and 11 BC Marans eggs on their 9th day, and found only 2/12 Ameraucanas good to go, and most of the BC eggs good with about half of the Wheaties good. The others looked like quitters. On the second batch of 2 Wheaties, 2 Ameraucanas, several BrahmaxEaster Egger, 2 NHRxNHR and 1 EExEE, almost all are good to go except the Ameraucanas (one has a bloodring, the other a quitter) and the Wheaties (both look like quitters.)

I'll post candling photos up the next time I candle them. (In about 3 days)

Otherwise, the big changes here are a beginning to the sale of eggs (for eating) and the finishings of planting the following trees/shrubs: 2 peaches, 2 plums, 2 pears, 2 apples, 1 almond, 3 grapes, 4 blueberries, 9 rasberries, and 75 strawberries. We still have 4 more grapevines arriving and 1 more Almond tree arriving. Then, next time we get another break of sunlight - We´ll start on tilling up the garden and planting thousands upon thousands of seeds, from crops like corn to herbs like thyme, to fruits and vegetables like tomatoes. By the way, listen to this: We have 12 different varieties of tomatoes! Can you imagine? 12 kinds of tomatoes!! Wow!! Some are golden, some are red, some are oblong, some are pink and purple, and some are even striped!

The rest of them

Well, a couple days ago I had the time to actually be out with all the animals in the pasture. It was really nice - I got to watch Djimon wander off, almost to the burn piles and itch his horns on a stump; I got to fix up a nice, huge pit of dirt for the chickens to dust bathe in, and I was able to actually take a photo of all the Wyandottes in one frame. Oh, and I got to stare at my Easter Egger rooster and take in all the beauty that he is! I have a most beautiful Easter Egger.





Here's Djimon now. He's really grown since our first couple days! He's loose now, has been for some number of days. He's really really good with people, the only thing he still needs work with is halter training. Oh, and I actually had a chance to photograph the size of his horn. When we first got him, they were practically non-existent. In a matter of hours to a day, they were visible bumps. Now, they're getting shape, and starting to curve up and out of his fuzzy forehead.






Now, of course, there's two animals left that I have not spoken of since perhaps the day after we got them. They are the goats - Our LaMancha dairy girls. Zing, the black one, is due in less than 2 months, and Zest, the yellow-striped one, is due in June. Zing is still a sweety, and Zest isn't really as playful anymore but still quite distant. Sometimes it takes chasing her around until you catch her to actually put her to bed in the barn at night. One new thing that I have yet to catch on camera though is their almost daily "fights" now. Not sure if it is play or not, but during or after their breakfast, I have twice now caught the girls ramming their heads. Zest is always the one to pack the most punch, rearing into the air and coming straight down - But Zing is the one who resists the most. I just hope it doesn't hurt the babies inside them!



^ Zing and Zest approaching me, with all the chickens foraging behind. You can just see the bratty look on Zest's face! She always gives a sharp look at you. She's pretty bad right now - Her favorite thing to do is go up in the corner nearest the chicken coop and stand up on the fence. It tears down the chicken wire that lines the bottom of the fence, allowing the chickens to get loose from their pasture.

Meet the Wyandottes! - Part 2

Well it has been months since I last had a true talk about my Wyandottes. Since they are the only breed I have that is relatively common, and a topic of discussion of hatchery quality and behavior - Here's how mine grew up to be. Do you remember these 10 ladies when they were younger? They were brats. They always had the nickname of "The Gang," "The Clique," and so on. Their quality was not looking hopeful, their friendliness was just about nil - even to themselves, and they were always in groups. Well, here's them today. Colors, names, maturity, and now laying eggs.

Here's a little walkthrough on how the girls look. They've grown to have better lacing, but still are very thin, have erect, small tails, and almost every single one has a different comb. No, none of mine are bad enough to have single combs as some hatcheries sell - But some of my girls have combs that are too rosy, abnormally grown, or just plain too medium sized and not tight enough. Wyandottes should have small, tight to the face rose combs. Mine range from that to large rosecombs, like on a bantam, to combs so bulbous, the tip is hidden underneath the rest like a bellybotton. Anyway - They're a lot more friendly, and lay a great amount of eggs.



This is the Wyandotte with the abnormal comb. She was always the darkest of them, with the least amount of white. As a chick she was nearly black. Her name is orange, as I have marked all the Wyandottes with colors and given them accordingly names but for one.



This is red - One of the two who, for a while, were the only ones who had really good lacing throughout their bodies. She's got a lovely posture and chest, and I guess that could be where it ends.



This is Lilac, the most perfect of my Wyandottes. She once got sick for a while, and couldn't use her legs too well. She eventually got better, and because of that - Is one of the two friendliest Wyandottes, and one of the two only ones who will voluntarily come up to me without hesitation. Why is she perfect? Her lacing distributes well, her comb is decent, her face has a nice "dark brow" without the sickly and small eyes, and her tail ends pretty well, without too much of long, thin, erect base. She's also very quiet.



This is Umber, note the brown-colored wings for her color-name. She's also quiet, and has some "okay" lacing. She has a very small, tight comb. Pretty nice looking, if it weren't for her small head.


So, I sound very critical and harsh on my own birds - But I like showing the good and bad of things; Judging what is nice and what is wrong or could use improvements. And, these are hatchery birds - They're mainly just to lay eggs, so they're bound to have physical faults.

But, all in all, my Wyandottes have greatly improved. They're not the same "Gang" they used to be. Still biccersome - But not as bad as previous.