round 2

2006-06-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

Sadly nothing hatched from the first batch of eggs. I ,left them for 26 days and nights but they never hatched. I am never put off that easily so i have put in a new batch today. So here we go again, hopefully with better luck this time.

Dispair?

2006-06-01T02:31:00.000-07:00

Well today should be the chicks birthday, literally, but nothing is happening. I`m feeling alittle sad. I spoke to a forum who suggest leaving it for a couple more days before giving up all hope. So if nothing has happenned by by June 6th I will have to start over. fingers crossed XX

progress!

2006-05-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

Well all seems to be ok with the eggs, when candled, they are much bigger and i can`t really see an awful lots as the chicks have gotten bigger inside the eggs. A good sign!!
Only two more days to go until I habe to up the humidity and stop turning the eggs. This will be the more exciting bit as watching incubatind eggs is alittle like watching paint dry!!! But candling is great, I love that you can see the progress.
Be back soon..............

Problems?

2006-05-23T02:25:00.000-07:00

I metioned turning as must when trying to hatch your eggs, but I have a possible problem. When I have done my turning I was aware that the eggs roled back, because I moved the incubator and I then didn`t know where to start form again, .
When candling them (which has turned into an obsession!) I realised that the embryos are only in one half of the eggs!!
What to do I don`t know??......
The chicks are moving and seem to be developing well but I don`t know if they will be ok?
I think I shall consult the others on the http://forums.thepoultrykeeper.co.uk/index.php
and see what advice i can get.
If anyone knows anything about this problem please let me know.
Be back soon.....

all`s well

2006-05-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

This morning I candled the eggs again.....
and guess what? they are ok , I can actually see them moving!!!
so pleased they are ok.
i`ll be back soon!!!

nice and warm!

2006-05-19T00:36:00.000-07:00

I did my usaual turning of the eggs a couple of times since the last post.
They have warmed up nicely since the bulb blowing incident. I think I will carefully candle tonight, and see if there`s been any developments!
I will post soon and let you know how it`s all going.

from small beginings

2006-05-17T02:59:00.000-07:00

Hi there, I have decided to start a blog about my new hobby!
Here is a breif history of how it all began.

For as long as could remember I have always wanted to live somewhere with abit of land, not much, but enough to have some chickens and perhaps some goats! When I was a child my grandfather keeped choocks and my mum used to tell me of the funny liitle chooks anticts.

I have always liked the idea of a large veg patch, free range chickens and making my own dairy products from my goats!!
Unfortunately we live in a town, work full time and have three kiddies.
Nor do we have the money to move somewhere with more land.

Determined as I am, I reshearched poultry keeping on the W.W.W. and to my joy found it was possible to keep chickens in our yard/garden!!

I talked to hubby about my plans and got a few funny looks from the kids, but all where ok with it (but secretly think i`m crazy)
So with a nod from the rest of them family and much reshearch on which breed would be best for the conditions we have, I put in abid for 6 eggs from ebay (oh things you can get there!!).

I won the bid, paid my cash and recieved my eggs!!! and so it begins

And so it begins!!

7th May 06

Today I put in abid on eBay for some pekin bantam eggs, the ones i choose should give me blue, black and splash pekins.
I won the bid of my pekin eggs!!
This is a picture of the parents.

The pekin breed.

History: The first Pekins are said to have been stolen from a private collection held by the emperor of China in Peking around 1860. Another story states they were imported from China around 1830-1840 and were presented to Queen Victoria. These imported birds were then crossed with other breeds and are now know today as Pekin Bantams.

Behaviour: The Pekin is a very gentle bird. They are good layers of small eggs but are broody, making them great mums. They make excellent pets for children as they are tame. They settle very well and require little space. Pekins can look rather pale and anaemic if not allowed on grass to forage. They tend not to scratch around in flower beds so are good birds to keep in an urban garden. They are normally a robust and long-lived bird that loves company.

Varieties: Pekins are a very popular breed here in the UK. They are available in a whole range of colours. Lavender, blue, silver partridge, red partridge, blue mottled, Columbian, cuckoo, mottled, buff, black, white and wheaten. With all their feathers they actually look larger than they really are. All colours have short legs and feathered feet and toes.
Egg Colour: Beige

incubation.

While I was waiting for my cheque to clear for the eggs I looked into buying an incubator.
I decided on the Covatutto 7 and put in an order for one from www.pandtpoultry.co.uk

Two days later, my hubby rang me at work to tell me that the eggs, some chicken care books and the incubator had all arrived!! I couldn`t wait to get home! infact, I popped home in my lunch hour to take a peek!

Incubation info.

A still-air incubator will do the job; circulated-air incubators generally cost quite a bit more.

Be sure the incubator you purchase has a thermostat so the temperature will be closely regulated. Set the incubator up a few days before you get your eggs to make sure that it is functioning properly. It should maintain a temperature of 37°C (99°F), give or take a degree, when the thermostat is operating. Usually a screw on the incubator adjusts the temperature. Always read the manufacturer's instructions that accompany the incubator you purchase and follow them to the letter for best results. Please, please buy spare bulbs. If you read on you`ll find out why!

It is essential to turn the eggs for successful hatching. Automated egg turners are available.They slowly rotate the eggs throughout the day and night. Turning can be done by hand, It helps to mark the eggs with a cross so you know where you turned them. Slowly and carefully rotate the eggs in the morning and evening. Chickens will naturally do this on the nest. Turning stops the embryo sticking to the inside of the shell.

Eggs must incubate for 21 days. Eggs are rotated for the first 18 days, and lay still for the last 3 days. Perhaps the hen stops turning the eggs when she hears the chicks begin to peep inside the shell.

Progess Report 17th May 06.

So my cute little pekin eggs are incubating nicely.
I thought i`d have a go at candling, a process where you shine a light through the egg (tradtionally a candle) to check on the development of the chicks.

You can buy special candling torch like impliments. I just used a everyday torch and found it perfectly good. With great anticipation I candled all six eggs at 5 days old.

Quite early, but i`m not the most patient of people in the world!!

I was loooking for spider like veins coming from a centered mass.
Just like this and an example of a bad egg, you can see a ring where the bateria has began to grow.

I found 3 eggs with definate spider like veins!!!
1 with a definate ring of bacteria.
The other 2 I`m not sure so i`m leaving them for a little while and see what happens. I bravely opened the ringed egg and found that it did indeed have a bacteria ring in it.

But today unfortunately, when I got up this morning I found that the bulb had blown in the incubator and the poor little egg where stone cold!!
Luckily I had a spare bulb and started to warm up the poor dears again. All I can do now is wait and see for a few days if there`s been any development in the chicks or indeed if they`ve all died!!
I do hope not, I and my children have got quite attached to these little hard white bundles of life!
Fingers crossed X.

chickens!