There has been so much going on with the farm it can be hard
at times to keep up. This past month we had ordered our new baby chicks for the
new additions, we lost a few during shipping but for the most part they did
very well. Since we had lost a few I ordered a few more and the new babies are
set to arrive this week. I am excited for the new additions! When I started
with chickens I had laying hens off the bat. I have had baby chicks, but only
ones that I have hatched myself. But the new chickens will include
Jersey Giants
Black Polish
Bringing back White Leghorns
Columbian Wyandotte
I did order some of the same breeds that I already have to
add a few hens to my flocks and add pairs for each breed. If I am lucky I can
work towards the new coop by the end of the summer. It is basic but separates
the birds so I can monitor breeding better. Ultimately I hope to have all boys
and girls where they belong, making hating much easier when it comes to breed
identification.
Along with the new expecting babies I usually have some in
the incubator and they started hatching yesterday. They were a little early,
well I should say one was because according to my counter it should have only
been day 19. This can happen, if it absorbs completely and I hadn’t checked it
before most likely would have not noticed. It’s not a bad thing, as long as
they stay in the incubator until they are ready. It was hatched and walking
around but I did notice that its sack was not fully absorbed, most likely due
to hatching early. But I am leaving it in the brooder o give it some time and
hopefully it will absorb as normal and be able to go in the brooder with the
rest. The main thing is to not feed them until the sack is absorbed. Doing so
will stop the absorption process there for killing the poor baby. Their best
chance is in the incubator.
Lots of things to do so many new hatchlings. We are quickly
working our way to plenty of almost layer for people’s homes in the spring. My
biggest obstacle right now is the weather, its hot, its cold, its warm, then it’s
a blizzard, now today its warm and now it’s raining. All I can say is mud mud
and more mud. Building on the goat barn will be put on hold because with part
of the roof the snow was not the roofs friend. That’s honestly the way that
things can go the first few years when your starting up, things break, more
things to build, more things to fix. But it keeps me busy, on my toes, and
never lazy. More updates and pictures to come of the new hatch!!
No comments:
Post a Comment