phoebejo Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Brilliant news! I bet you'll not sleep between now and Saturday and we'll need heaps of photos! What type of Marans are they? I nearly hatched some Copper Blues this time. I've spent ages out in the garden with my ladies today I love them sooooooooooo much Even the naughty ones I'm very excited at Runty Robins new development, she's got blue ears! Blue ears should equal blue eggs! Fingers firmly crossed! Goodness knows where she got that gene from, she looks nothing like anything that would lay blue eggs She probably will not now anyway I still can't decide if Paxo is a girl or a boy. I'm 90% sure she is a girl but she has the colouring of a cuckoo marans boy Very odd....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Your right I won't sleep, it's like Christmas when I was wee D'you know, I didn't think to ask about the Marans , I'm assuming they're cuckoo, isn't that the most common type ?hopefully they'll have a good deep shell colour. Woooo, blue eggs would be so cool, wonder how much you could sell them for, more than normal I bet, I can hardly wait to get chook watching, I love them already and I haven't even clapped eyes on them be prepared for lots of pics on Sunday ( think I'll give them time to settle on Saturday before I expose them to stardom ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 As I was giving the eggs their final turn before bed last night curiousity got the better of me and I decided to see if I could see anything by candling. And I could! My skills have obviously improved after the last two hatches so I could tell within seconds on the majority of the eggs what was growing and what wasn't. Mixed results, reasons to be very cheerful and likewise utter devastation 100% success rates for both Houdans and Polands Definitely 2 of the 3 Aracaunas, probably all 3 but one has a very thick shell and it was difficult to see, the signs were promising though. 5 out of 6 Dorkings which again is a really good result. I can't remember exactly how many Orpingtons, at least 3 or 4 but I definitely removed 1. And then we come to the disappointments. None of the Silkies have developed And I don't think any of the Wyandottes have either All 9 of them had the crappiest pourous shells, so pitted it was hard to see anything going on but judging by the shell quality it'll be nothing. I shall be having stern words with the seller of those eggs because they simply are not good enough to be hatching from in the first place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtychicken Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I can't wait for the new arrivals - adults and babies I know almost nothing about hatching eggs, Cheryl, but even I can see that the description of those eggs doesn't bode well for hatching healthy chicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Thats not good at all (Silkies and Wyandottes) will you get a refund ? some of the horror stories you hear on the chook forums are unbelievable, it does seem pretty hit of miss. I know there's someone on the forum I use who sells eggs via E Bay and has a very good reputation for quality eggs, I think it's Orp's they do (I've seen lavender and chocolate) but they may do others if your interested. Have you seen the price of the chocolate Orp's ? over a £100 and thats just for eggs, a lot of work must have gone into creating them but I don't know why people don't just wait till the price comes down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I watched 6 choc orp eggs from the best choc orp breeder in the country go for over £300 on Ebay recently It's lunacy! Fair play to him though, it must've cost the earth to produce what he has anyway and I don't begrudge him a penny. The buyer is insane though, surely they could buy a very good pair for that price, and who's to say all six would hatch anyway? And if you hatched all cockerels you're no further down the line of creating your own breeding pair anyway According to the chaps & chapesses on PP there is still hope for the Wyandottes. Some say they've experienced eggs similar to what I describe before and they've done ok. It's a huge shame that the 'best' looking egg has a peck mark on it and is now sporting a blob of nail varnish in the hope it survives I'm very doubtful about all of those......... The silkies were cheap as chips, I'm not bothered about a refund on those but I did pay a lot for the Wyandottes because they were of brilliant type and from a respected source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 (edited) Fingers crossed for the Wyandottes, they are lovely looking birds, funny about them being from a good source, I was speaking to our vet receptionist who has a lot of hens, and was saying the worst eggs she had (not one hatched) was from the Domestic Fowl Trust, and she'd paid a packet for them. I had a look at the site of the people I'll be getting the hens from and it is dark cuckoo marans they have, I've been reading up on marans and you either get fantastic coloured eggs but not many, or paler ones but more of them, supposedly the darker the bird the better the colour, be interesting to see what they produce. Just one more sleep till the day of the chicken £300 ! jeez-o, thats just more money than sense. Edited May 8, 2009 by celeste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesB Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Celeste, roll on tomorrow My three little ex-batt girls are coming on really well. The bullying has died down, they are all putting on weight and growing little stubby feathers and laying an egg a day each (with much celebratory shouting, which is probably thrilling the neighbours ). They burst out of the coop in the mornings like a bunch of feathery hooligans, race round after me, shove me out of the way, try and force their way into the house etc - they are a riot My poor garden though, it's trashed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I've been offered a white silkie girl She was bought to live with another silkie but that one keeps beating her up. She's currently sat on some eggs but her owner doesn't think they'll hatch because she pooped all over them Babies are due this week but he'll let me know next weekend if she's hatched any or not. If not she'll need a home away from the bullying silkie asap otherwise in a few weeks once she's raised her family Emily will be thrilled If she does come next weekend I'll put her in with the chicks outside. I hope they'll be fine with her and my lot will get a good view of her through the netting for gradual introductions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesB Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 She's beautiful, and what a lovely hair do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickentikka Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Is that the chicken version of a poodle One day, lottery permitting, I will have chickens and ducks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkingmad Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Hello, Sorry to hijack this thread but I have come across this apeal whilst looking for ex-hens. Little hen rescue they are trying to rehome 10,000 ex battery hens before a farm closes. yeap that is right 10,000!!!! If anyone could help or take on a few extra I am sure that any help would be great. Please use the contact page on little hen rescues web page to offer help as I do not work with them, i am just spreading the word Thanks Sorry it apears that the link is not working!!! and I dont know how to make it work, help!!!! In the mean time here is the web address http://littlehenrescue.co.uk/default.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted May 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Don't tell Mr Hazell but I'm hoping to squeeze a couple in here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 I'm back !.......oh my god.....oh my god......oh my god. Stressed or what ! Well, all the ladies are chilling in the coop at the mo.........just............feckin' men !........Ed had one little job to do, be the goalie and catch any hens that might escape between getting out of carry box and coop, the big balloon, lifted one side of the lid to pick up a bird, and didn't bother to shut the bloody lid again ! cue one Maran lady lose in the garden, Ed now decides he's bloody Daktari and knows all about catching hens, he corners it and of course it flaps up and over the wall into next doors garden!, luckily I can catch hens without putting the fear of god into them and managed to snaffle her before she went through a hedge and ended up in the stream..............whew ! Pics tomorrow, it's chucking it down with a vengence here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslass Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 My three little ex-batt girls are coming on really well. The bullying has died down, they are all putting on weight and growing little stubby feathers and laying an egg a day each (with much celebratory shouting, which is probably thrilling the neighbours ). They burst out of the coop in the mornings like a bunch of feathery hooligans, race round after me, shove me out of the way, try and force their way into the house etc - they are a riot My poor garden though, it's trashed They sound very settled already. isn't it lovely to see them have a proper life? I'm back !.......oh my god.....oh my god......oh my god.Stressed or what ! Well, all the ladies are chilling in the coop at the mo.........just............feckin' men !........Ed had one little job to do, be the goalie and catch any hens that might escape between getting out of carry box and coop, the big balloon, lifted one side of the lid to pick up a bird, and didn't bother to shut the bloody lid again ! cue one Maran lady lose in the garden, Ed now decides he's bloody Daktari and knows all about catching hens, he corners it and of course it flaps up and over the wall into next doors garden!, luckily I can catch hens without putting the fear of god into them and managed to snaffle her before she went through a hedge and ended up in the stream..............whew ! Pics tomorrow, it's chucking it down with a vengence here. Glad they're ok, despite your OH's efforts! Look forward to pics. I'm still sick with envy and shall be getting hens again (ex-batts) once I have a proper garden. Phoebejo, I used to have a pair of white silkies and they were the sweetest girls. I hope you enjoy yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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