Yikes! What A Week It Has Been!!

Yikes!  What a week it has been!  Beside turning 30 this week, some other fun stuff has been going on.  I'd like to take a look at the past week in photos...

This week my three chicks have gotten so big.  They are feathering out really well.  So far as I can tell we have one of one sex and two of the other sex.  I just don't know which ones are which.  Here are some of my favorite photos of them!

 
Zeus and Colby got haircuts this week.  Colby was the only one that I was able to get before and after photos for.  I know it's too cold to be giving them haircuts, but I just can't stand all of the hair around the house and they were getting cruddy anyway from romping around in the yard.  The funny thing about Colby is that he looks like a completely different dog after his haircut.  Zeus looks similar, but much younger when trimmed up.

A hairy Colby checking out the chicks a few days after they were born

All fluffy in the snow

Naked in the snow with his light that I attach to his collar so I don't lose him in the dark

After his haircut getting warm by the brooder light

This week more chicks are getting ready to hatch, if the embryos are still living.   We had a pretty bad snow and ice storm and it knocked our power out for about 12 hours.  The eggs cooled down a little but my husband was able to hook up an inverter that gave us a minimal amount of power to heat the incubator, turn the eggs, and also have a few lights on.  We melted water to use when we went to the bathroom and we had kerosene heaters.  We were okay!  The ice did bring some tree branches down and broke our front porch rail a little, which we will have to get fixed.  Here are some of the photos of the ice and snow which, although I hate this weather, it's still beautiful.

The holly tree is so beautiful when captured in ice

Beautiful ice

Although hazardous, the ice is so beautiful

Snow on top of the garage...I just love the weather vane

 

The chickens and ducks seem to be doing okay in this weather.  I have recently gotten them some heated dog bowls to keep their water from freezing, though I hadn't had them hooked up yet in these photos.  The ducks are silly though.  They'd rather be outside than be inside where the hay and straw can keep them warm.  They also will pick and dig at the frozen water in their kiddie pool in hopes that it will give water instead actually drinking out of the basin out water I put out for them.  Since getting the heated bowls, we removed the kiddie pool for the rest of the winter.  I'm hoping this will make them want to drink for the bowl more often.  Here are some fun photos from this week.

I had just put straw down for the ducks to keep them off of the snow a little more and the next day it snowed some more

One of the girls getting ready to lay her egg for the day

Some beautiful eggs all washed and ready to go

Hope you enjoyed my photos this week.  We are expecting 12 inches of snow tomorrow.  I hope the power stays on and so the rest of my eggs that are incubating don't die.  We shall see.  Stay warm and safe!

No Baby Ducklings

Well none of the baby ducklings hatched.  They were all fertile though.  The remainder of the chicken eggs that did not hatch were all fertile as well.  So that means at least our drake and rooster are doing their jobs.  There wasn't one egg that wasn't fertile.  That is just amazing to me. 

The problem has to be on my end with the incubation.  It's probably that the humidity or the temperature isn't completely right.  I have so many gauges inside the incubator, but no two are alike.  Hopefully I can find some kind of digital thermometer and humidity gauge.  I think this would help solve the problem.

Now I just have to wait for the ducks to lay more eggs so I can incubate them again.  I will have ducklings.  Maybe not sooner rather than later, but I will eventually get it right! 

A Fluffy Day

Talk about a fluffy day!  The new chicks are bopping and peeping around.  They are just adorable.  They are not even a week old yet and the feathers on their wings and tails are starting to grow out already.  They sure getting big fast.  The black and brown one is the only one who'd let me take a close up picture of him today.  He's just the cutest little thing...

 

The chicks also must think I'm their mom because they cuddle up on my chest near my neck and sleep...

The night is also going to be very cold tonight. The adult chickens have heat in their coop, but the ducks do not.  So I brought them inside and let them take a warm bath in the bathtub.  They looked better and they had a great time in the tub too.  I dried them off and they are sleeping in Colby's (one of our dogs) crate.  They are all cuddled up with a towel to lay on.  They'll go outside again tomorrow morning, but for now, they are warm and cozy.  Stay warm and have a great night!

Day 26 of Duck Egg Incubation

Today is day 26 of the duck egg incubation.  This mean that the eggs were laid on their side and stopped being turned.  Once again the ducklings inside can get themselves situated for hatching.  This was done this morning before I left for work.  So hopefully some will have hatched when I get home.  So excited for baby chicks.  We shall see what happens...

No baby ducklings yet...tomorrow hopefully!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy birthday to three new beautiful baby chickens.  The chicks were hatched throughout the day yesterday, the 20th day of incubation.  (I just didn't get a chance to post about it).  I don't know if there will be any more.  I incubated 18 eggs and 3 have hatched so far.  Hopefully they will continue to hatch, but if not, I won't love the ones I have already any less!  All three of the hatched eggs were laid on December 26, 2013.

Yesterday when I got up to go to work, there was already one hatched, dried off, and cheeping in the incubator.  I let him in there until I came home from work.  I figured the heat would do him some good until I had a chance to get the brooder set up last evening.  We think he is a cross between a brown chicken (the rooster is brown) and a white chicken.  He's definitely a mixed bird because there are ever so tiny spots of dark on his baby feathers.  Here is the baby photo of the first little chick to hatch.   (**Note: I have no idea what sex they are, so I'll just refer to them all as "him", haha).

The first to hatch! January 21, 2014, early morning

When I came home from work I had noticed that while is was gone, another one hatched.  I think this one is a cross between a Buff Orpingon (brown) and a Australorp (black).  He is beautiful.  Here is his baby photo:

The second to hatch! January 21, 2014, early afternoon

So then there were two.

My hubby, Brandon, and one of our dogs, Colby, with the first to hatch

Me with the second to hatch

Having their first meal

Having their first meal

We got them into the brooder for safekeeping.  Here they can also drink, eat, and take naps under the heat lamp.  They are so much fun to watch too.

Then later that night, the third one hatched and we could hear him peeping in the incubator.  We think he is a cross between a brown chicken and white chicken too, just different.  Here are his baby photos:

The third to hatch!  January 21, 2014, in the evening

The third to hatch!  January 21, 2014, in the evening

So then there were three.  They are all so cute.  Even though they were only born yesterday, they are all really active walking, eating, and peeping around the brooder.  They all seem to be really healthy too.  I've been cuddling them, kind of like their mommy would by covering them and tucking them into my hands and arms.  When I do that, they fall asleep and stop peeping.  I'm trying to handle them a lot, so when they are grown up, they will not be skiddish or afraid of me.  I hope I can get them to come when I go outside to see them or call them.  More like pets than just chickens.  Here are more fun photos:

I candled the duck eggs today as well.  They are all developing well and the embryo's even moved today.  It was almost like they kicked.  This means they are all still living.  So hopefully we will have 3 ducklings in about a week.  Their incubation period is a week longer than chickens.

So stay tuned.  Updates will come shortly about the new chicks (hopefully there are some more) and the new ducklings!

Incubation Day 18

I am very excited to announce that today is day 18 of the incubation.  This means I have stopped turning the chicken eggs and have set them on their sides.  There are ideally 3 days left for the total incubation, give or take a few.  The chicks will position themselves correctly to begin hatching.  So hopefully there will be an update this week with lots of chick pictures! Yay!  My 3 duck eggs have another week before they can stop being turned.....Check back for some awesome pictures soon :-)

PA State Farm Show 2014

Hooray for the Farm Show!! This past Wednesday Brandon and I went to the 2014 PA State Farm Show in Harrisburg.  As you probably know, my favorite part is the poultry display.  They have such wonderful chickens and ducks.  My Khaki Campbell ducks would beat theirs any day though.  But I did see a few ducks that I did really like.  They are a green sheened black one and a white call.  They were both small and I believe they are bantams.  I can't tell you how adorable they are.  I NEED these little white ducks :)

We also saw the Turkey Hill cow which was out front, cute baby pigs, pretty cows, an awesome butter sculpture, magnificent peacocks, and a really neat farm miniature.   They are all pictured below.  I really enjoy they farm show, especially the great food.  And the yummy milkshakes!!

Turkey Hill Cow

Bantam White Call

Bantam White Call

Butter Sculpture

Miniature Farm