Pet Quality Seramas :)

Now here at the homestead I've got small flock of 5 lovely little pet quality seramas! I note the "pet quality" part as just like my pet quality call ducks there is a drastic difference in looks between them and their show quality counter parts. I love them all so much though wonderful little birds (both them and the calls). When I let them out of the brooder shed (where I house them) they will make their way to wherever I am and stare at me if to ask what they are supposed to do next. Hehe! Thing is, they perfer not to be touched or held but don't fight if they are picked up which is so sweet! These would be WONDERFUL chickens for children no question about it I wish I had them growing up! :) I deffiantly think they are even sweeter than silkies!

In other news, I have been waiting weeks for my capuchine pigeons to lay eggs again, well finnally the other day my one pair layed an egg...and sadly the male broke it 2 days later. Unsure how he did it but it was stuck to his belly. *sigh* so now I wait again. :P Supposedly they can lay all winter long, so with that said, hopefully my season for seeing an ugly squab isnt over! :) I dont need more pigeons as im happy with the number I have but I love watching mothers care for their own young it's just sweet :) And in pigeons both parents care for their young so double adorable! :)

I got more red (cinnamon) coturnix eggs in my incubator along with 2 white bobwhite eggies :) I also have outside a pair of Tennesee Red Bobwhites, i had a trio but I woke up today with one of them dead I assume a hen... probably the one that was laying my luck! I dont really mind though, she had looked unhappy from the day I got her so no suprise plus all I was really interested was the roo...they are so hard to tell apart though *male and female* that I am not 100% sure which one is which lol! I read that the tenns are "mute" bobwhites, Im unsure what that means as it also says that they do the bobwhite call...but i've never heard my male call.... one of them in tehre makes cries and yips that reminds me of noises a parrot would make but other than that no charactersitic bobwhite whistle. I love that sound wouldnt mind hearing it :P

Other than bird news... planning for human baby number one.... not pregnant yet, but hoping to be here some day soon :) I am so ready to be a mama it actually makes me sad thinking about it....I was happy thinking about it but so far no pregnancy so everytime I know im not it really bums me out. I read it normally takes 4 months for the average couple to get pregnant....soo I'm trying to be pacient :P It's technically only been one month so far, but I count two since I thought I was pregnant the month before we actually started planning. BUT just to give myself some sanity I'll only say it's been one month :)

I'm still alive :P

Hey there anyone who's still sticking with this :) I'm still around just haven't had much to update still really don't but alas Im bored :) I'm working on a book about Coturnix! :) I'm also waiting on red (cinnamon) coturnix eggs and other project coturnix eggs I am very excited about! I've been fighting (naturally) a sinous infection... using saline flushing of my sinouses...it sucks to do but it really does help.... I think I need to do it again tonight which will be my third flushing..salt going down the nose, throat and backing up into the sinouses does nOT feel nice but the end result is less pain :)

Hubby and I are trying for our first baby... planning on taking a EPT this weekend... I dont *feel* pregnant though so... I dunno.

Movedout almost all my big birds, working now with silkies in blue and splash, as well as mottled cochins...the plan? Crossing the two together for a few generations to produce Mottled silkies in blue and black! :) Wont that be neat!?!?! :) I am also probably this weekend getting a trio or two pairs of Seramas from a good friend of mine..we're swapping...he's getting my excess standard birds and he's giving me itty birds :P haha. I'm downsizing on the monsters to adjust feed costs :)

My black east indie bantam ducks were due today...none made it... :(. One pipped and died, the other pipped and I had to cull as its brains were hanging out of hte back of it's head :( And the other three were all DOA. :( I was upset but not suprised...I wanted them too bad... that' always happens. *shrugs*

welp going to end this here :)

Changes changes

So theres some changes going on here, I won't be raising GS marans with my pal atleast not right yet. I'm hatching her cuties actually tonight (well they are pipped) and she'll be taking them all home (whatever hatches) I may collect some of the excess she doesn't want later but I'm not sure. My focus is so off the wall now that hubby and I are planning for a baby. My goals are changing. :) I'm not sad about it, I mean it would be so fun to work with GS marans so I may still, however I'm just unsure right now and with the ecnomy the way it is I'd rather keep my expenses low (feed expenses) for my hobby since I make no profit on these birds, just make enough to feed, bed and care for them which is all I ask. :)

I had my first red eggs hatch today (from my red hens) and it was only two eggs I had put in the bator, so I got one golden (cries) and one red tuxedo (you'd think i'd be happy but im not...because...). The red tuxedo though had complications hatching thanks to my faulty wafer it dried out it's membrane so the lil cutie was ready to hatch but couldnt so it was stuck in there and pretty weak. I assisted it (all the others had a perfect hatch even though..) and it's so weak it wont even open it's eyes. SO i may not even get to enjoy my first homebred red tux! *cries* I'm not really sad just frusterated....I just got to wait a few more days until more hatch is all :).

I have sooooo many of all my other colors in my brooder it's distusting. I think im up to almost 100. I did not plan for that many....I didn't think I'd get such good hatch rates. haha. I shouldnt complain though. The tuxedos I hatched are absolutly gorgeous! My dream markings! So I hope to keep this going. The darks are beautiful too. Got lots of large goldens too. :) Not to mention some funky browns with yellow eye brows hoping they feather out differently if they do then I will be breeding for them. :P

The silkie chicks that I hatched from a sweet girl on BYC are absolutly STUNNING! Valted amazingly!!!! One splash (I named Toby it just looks like a Toby lol) and two blues! That means if atleast one is a pullet I've got wonderful chances of getting MORE nice splashes :) I iwll have to post a picture of them on here huh? :P

My capuchine pigeons are starting to mate so I'm hoping that means eggs soon *crosses fingers* my mallard ducks ...the drake is getting SOO Gorgeous! I need to take some new pictures of him before he transforms completley out o fhis baby plumage into his adult breeding plumage. :) HIs headis almost completley green on the one side :) My chocolate calls are now friends with them which is great :) I had to pinnion their two ducklings today I felt so bad doing it but it's for their future safety.

well I will end this here with some pictures :)

Lots of updates :)

In the incubator:::
Black East Indies Bantam Duck eggs
Bantam Rhode Island Red eggs
Coturnix (what a suprise) LOL
Those Marannnnnss ;)
Some other marans from a friend going to be my egg layers (food) if I keep them since theres no project I'm interested in with them (blacks and possibly blues though so those'll be pretty)!

I had a pigeon chick hatch that I rescued as a freshly layed cracked egg, I'm really concerned about it because I have to tube feed it and I think it aspirated so I feel bad but hopfully it makes it. :) I saved the egg with wax and now I have a baby to show for it! :)

Speaking of babies, hubby and I are talking about trying for our own :) Since my missed monthly that has now returned we were prepairing for a baby anyhow so now we're talking about planning for one :) I'm pretty excited about being a mom... someday hopefully soon! :) I will still focus on my birds during all of this ofcourse just don't plan on getting anymore breeds :)

My Reds Are Starting Up!

That's right folks! My red coturnix are starting to lay! Now, in my red pen is a brown hen she came from the red eggs so I assume/hope she carries recessively the red gene...so one of the eggs could have been from her however since the only other two hens in the pen are both reds (red golden and a true red) it's safe to say atleast ONE of those gals is laying! Sadly, the one egg that was layed today was cracked so I decided to crack it open to see if it was fertile and yep! A lovely bullseye! I am so anxious to see the babies I want to so badly just set the 2 I have (one from yesterday and one from today) but I'll wait until I collect for a few more days first :P.

Also already in my incubator is cochin eggs from a wonderful girl on BYC I was her first egg sendee and she did wonderful job with them! None were broken! Sadly last night I had to remove one it either quit developing early or never developed at all though I was quite sure they all were so who knows! :) Either way all the others are developing wonderfully! Silkie eggs and Standard Cochin x silkie crosses talk about a cute cross! Theres also a pigeon egg in there, a pure Capuchine egg from one of my own pairs. They layed it the day after I got them if I remember correctly and still aren't fully settled down from coming here so I knew they wouldn't sit it. So, I'm really excited and cannot wait to raise it up by hand! :) They say its hard but my buddy assured me it's actually easier than other chicks which is just fun for me as i've raised many wild birds as a kid that had fallen from the nest (i no longer do this :P). Anywho he showed me a video of how to feed them and it's disgustingly simple! Not to mention several coturnix eggs from my own birds..... but that's a given...... annnd ofcourse the Golden Salmons! :D

Got the eggers!!! AND MORE!

Sooo my partner in marans crime (haha) brought by our future project of sorts today! I think 26 total if I'm not mistaken! They are 4 and 5s on the marans egg chart which is fine... means they are considered marans which is what we want lol! So it's a start! :) These are to be our first Golden Salmon Marans! :) I am so excited and so is my partner (keeping her name off of here just for privacy reasons). I cannot wait to put them in the bator and start the incubation fun! :) Hopefully they are easy to vent sex so I can work my magic and hopefully let her take home what I am almost 100% sure is a bunch of pullets and one cockerel for her! *crosses fingers*! I'd be happy with just 2 pullets or 3 and a few cockerels to let grow up and assess :) More plans in the works with GSMs! :) Just keep watchin and readin ;).

A few days ago got my Capuchine Pigeons which I traded 10 coturnix quail for! I think I got the better end of the deal though maybe the new coturnix owners feel the same way about their end of hte deal. I'm just in love with them! They are beautiful! I read that they are pretty rare. I need to do more research on them though as they are quiet fascinating! I got one egg from them in the bator. They werent willing to sit on it, and it had a crack in it which I sealed up with candle wax and put in the bator just to see. I am more than willing to hand raise it thanks to my *twin at heart* Mark knowing all too well how to raise them and is always there to help me if i need it! *love you Mark *hugs**!!!

To top that off, got 2 call ducklings (one is a chocolate and the other unsure), a pair of adult call (pet quality) chocolate ducks (drake and duck ofcourse), and a black pet quality silkie cockerel that hubby and I just love to itty bitty peices! :)

We spent the day today mowing, cleaning, and putting some extra wire on the bottom of the fence (plan to wire the whole bottom of the fence) so that when quails get out of their pens or chicks do that they wont be able to escape the fence itself because they wont be able to squeeze through anywhere :)

Changing Marans Varieties! It's Chicken Destiny!

Yes yes, sadly to admit, I am changing varieties of Marans! Sticking with marans though! So don't go just yet! lol! I'm selling my small flock of BC Marans, and with a new friend/marans partner of mine, we're going to be enjoying the fruits of breeding a recessive color called the Golden Salmon! Whats so exciting is they don't seem to have the same color issues that BC marans do throwing colors and such that you don't want which is why I felt uncomfortable working with the BCs because it's so hard to know what each hatch is going to bring. I will post pictures when the eggs come and ofcourse when the cuties hatch and hopefully keep this thing updated about them! Also we're talking of making a yahoo group to post our findings on this lovely variety! More info to come on this later hopefully!

On friday hubby and I are going to pick up my FIRST pair of call ducks! They are pet quality but I could care less I've wanted call ducks for like three years now! I had call duck eggs coming but the person never sent her part of the swap... I'm very disapointed about it but this isn't the first time I've felt scammed. I HOPE that it's not nothing bad that happened to the person in question I'd rather be scammed then them be hurt or something. I haven't seen them on BYC since like the 20th! So I am a little concerned... anywho... hopefully things get right in that area and I can enjoy call ducks from them as well in the future! *fingers crossed* If the ladies hubby is fine with it I may also be buying some SQ silkie roos from them as well! I hope he's willing to sell a few! I'd even be happy buying just one! :D Got white silkies in the brooder and am sending out payment for BBS silkies (sq) tomorrow! *happy dance* LOL!

I say goodbye to my BC marans more than likely this tuesday they will be going to a good home though with a breeder who is very serious about breeding these birds right and that's what I want for them! He almost got out of BCs too because of the same reason I am...but the love for this variety is strong so he decided to buy my small flock! I am GOING TO MISS THEM DEEPLY! But I am sure that these Golden Salmons will fill that void and getting to work aside another wonderful future breeder with this color we're both new to it but she's got access to some very knowledgable people and through her I should learn a good bit! I am SOO excited!

Well that is all for now! :D

BC Marans Photo collage

MORE marans, and updates on red coturnix

To the left is a true red coturnix, to the right is what I'm calling an "Orange tibetan" the oranges were litterally ORANGE at hatching their down was gorgeous! Now as they feather out they have like an orange lacing it's really pretty. The reds have an almost baby blue lacing whic his really pretty to see. I only have two true reds, 1 red tux, and 1 red golden. They are the starting point of my red flock. I hope to breed red tuxedos with such a contrast of color it leaves you breathless of how beautiful they are! That's what I love about white on any color it just brings out the color! This picture though does neither color any justice! Suffice to say true red coturnix look like smooth milk chocolate, and the orange tibes are a normal tibe with orange lacing. I also have red tibes whic basically omit the orange for red. I didn't produce ANY of these colors, however the name "red tibetan" and "orange tibetan" I have made up because they have no color name and it suits them well.

I have in my incubator, over almost 2 doz marans eggs, half of which are hatching NOW, and the other half which were just put in yesterday! Something like 7 BC marans, and 3 BBS marans (clean legged on the BBS). They are for a color project I will be doing! My BC marans flock is growing and it just swells my heart with joy!!!

Not only that, I have several turkey eggs in the bator, as well as ringneck pheasant eggs, guinea eggs,a nd ofcourse theres ALWAYS coturnix eggs in the bator. Oh and Blue Laced Red Wyandottes!!! :) I am blessed.....nothing else to it. I have such wonderful people in my life that I just owe so much to....I hope to repay each and everyone of those someday somehow! Thank you to all who read this who know the thank you is JUST FOR YOU!!! *hugs*

I will have to wait a few more days and take a picture of my growing marans outside BOY are they gorgeous!!! Esp the Funny Farms Cockerel "Boots" he's just stunning!!!

Well I want to end this here and glue my nose back to the window on my incubator (bc's hatching is the highlight of my day)! LOL!

Haven't Posted In A While

Sorry about that for anyone who does read this :) Just been busy fishing, I personally have only caught like 11 trout... really sad number compaired to what previous years had been haha. It's still fun though.

Lets see about updates here :)

I shipped out my first ever live chicks (I said I never would but now that I've recieved and sent out chicks its not bad at all nothing really to worry about as long as precautions are taken). I sent 17 chicks, and only one parished, which didn't sadden me at all (Sorry it didnt) it was more like a packing peanut and sure it would have been wonderful if it made it but you have to expect some casualties especally when going from PA to Colorado! Their new owners are very pleased with them and that's all I can ask for! It's deffinatly not about the money like someone joked to me on BYC I just really enjoy sharing my love with others....I really enjoy hatching for others....just something so fullfilling about giving what I've produced and cared for to someone else to enjoy be it eggs or chicks or adult birds. If it wasn't for needing to pay for my own hobby I'd only ask for shipping on every shipment! :) Maybe I'll get rich someday and can do that :) :P

I was called the Serial Quailer tonight made me laugh....because I'm like the coturnix quail recruiter....I drag people in with cutness and before they know it they are coturnix obsessed JUST like ME! LOL! My evil plan in the works....I don't know how many people I've caused this addiction to already but it's very fun and halarious to me. :) Well, not to mention entertaining haha. Those poor souls they don't know what hit them! My "evil plan" is to eventually have coturnix so well known that they know them as well as a normal chicken.....after all, people in cities who cannot have chickens but want to enjoy eggs daily (and meat) if they knew about coturnix they'd be very pleased with the results! If they get the right color (brown or golden) they can sex them at 3 1/2 weeks just by looking at their breast feathers (roos are rusty brown tinted and hens are black speckled in the breast) then they can cull the roos when they are 6-8 weeks and put the hens out in a rabbit hutch or something innocent looking like that and as long as the hens get daily sunlight in spring and summer they will lay almost daily (some hens take a day break after 3 days of laying etc but are right back at it the day after). Then in the winter if they still want eggs, either bring them inside in indoor rabbit cages or put lighting on them for atleast 14 hours a day and wala they will continue to lay! The hens make SOME noises but are for the most part very quiet...the roos ofcourse do crow during breeding season (spring summer and when under artificial light in winter) so ofcourse most cities that aren't allowed neighbors may complain but omit the roos and you've got great birds that barely anyone will notice! If they do just tell them they are pigeons problem solved! haha! *see how evil i am?* LOL

I will be shipping out my second shipment of quails here ina few weeks to another Pa'ian that's abtou5 hours away so too far for him to drive to meet even and shipping to him is the next day so those chicks will only be in transit for just a few hours tops! :) I am enjoying it so much! I haven't sold my first eggs yet. I sent out some testing eggs for just shipping to a couple members of BYC, and had a contest and my friend Mark won it so he got his just yesterday so soon I will get to hear about more Catawba Quails hatching from PA to Michigan and California and more! So fun! I wanted testers just to insure my birds fertility along with my own incubating. Well I am pleased to announce as of today all my pens that have been laying religiously ARE FERTILE! So all my testers should have great hatches unless the eggs were scrambled. My A & M pen I had questioned, but soon after incubating the eggs I finnally saw the roo doing his job! And today I got to see the results! So far Enceno (the roo) has 5 babies to be proud of! They will become a flock for another pen of A & Ms with a different A & M roo from another line to breed to them so I don't inbreed or atleast not too closely. :)

My BC marans are growing gorgeously! I have three chicks in the brooder from the one line they are going through their uglies right now but they are going to be gorgeous no doubt about it! On the 10th of May the last batch of Marans I have in the incubator will be due! Soon after that I should be getting another doz from a wonderful breeder in California (same breeder that the ones in my brooder are from)! I am so pleased with how wonderful other breeders are in this breed that's a hard thing to find the generosity! :) I cant wait to repay the breeder to the ones in my inc now with coturnix eggies here sometime in may! :D The bird pictured at the top is my oldest Cockerel from Funny Farms...he's "Catawbas Boot" :) Starting to get in his coppering :)

Then on the 11th I have turkeys due! One black spanish, 1 blue slate, and 3 narganesettes (sp?). Then I'm swapping several dozen coturnix eggs with a fellow Pa'ian AND BYC'er for a couple Bourbon Red turkey eggs (AND CALL DUCK EGGS)! SPOILED I AM SPOILED! :) Out of the turkey varieties there are the Bourbons are deffiantly my favorite! I plan to keep the blue slate as well, and more than likely the black spanish and a nargie but a few are either going to be sold or grown up for thanksgiving I know so sad but I can't keep them all and they'd have a great use and be much appreciated that way. I'd love to keep them all but with my other projects it's not possible.

Hubbies mallards (i call them his because he loves them dearly) are growing so gorgeously! I pinnoned them today along with several of my coturnix chicks. I felt bad but I want to ensure they dont go flying off and being killed. I tried to look at it as an ear piercing...painful for a few moments but soon after it's like nothing...and that is how it was for them and the blood was very minimal. When I first read about pinnoning I NEVER wanted to do it even the thought of it made me sad....however rather than hoping they don't molt out their clipped wings and fly off before I notice I thought this was safer in the long run...and this way they can sitll have most of their gorgeous wing feathers they just cannot fly away or atleast cannot fly off...maybe hover and fly a few feet but nothing severe. I want them safe and at home. :)

I should be getting silkie eggs in tomorrow from show quality stock! I'm getting them from a wonderful friend she knows who she is! *hugs* I can't wait to hatch them out grow them up and show them off to her and her future customers Im sure she will be pleased to see her babies! I also will be in several months from now getting Black East Indies bantam ducks from her. I have always wanted them and she has them! *jaw drops* :) Hers are too young righ tnow to lay but she promised me when they are I get some and that's more than I can ask for so I don't mind waiting they are hard to find! LOL!

OH my gosh! I almost forgot! My red, and red tuxedos hatched! I got like 1 red tuxedo, 1 red golden, 2 reds, and a few normal goldens and a few browns from that hatch. I plan to buy from the breeder again ANNND she offered to let me in on a project she's working on I will get to hatch eggs from her project breedings sometime in november I cannot wait! :)

Well I am going to end this here :)

Niki

13 BC Marans In the Bator!

Got my eggies from my one buddy! They are gorgeous just as they were the first time I got eggs from her and 13 this time! Cannot complain! I am spoiled! I also got 2 EE x Marans, and a few Orpington x Marans from her as well! Woohoo!!! Another BYCer gifted me for basically no reason other than out of the kindness of his heart, several never used water bottles AND a good bit of quail cartons!!! The generosity I find others makes me almost want to cry out of happiness. Good quality waterbottles are expensive so these ones (all weather) are very much so needed! I'm going to train 8 pens to them that way if I ever have to leave on emergency I will KNOW that my quails have water plus it also adds room to the pens for the birds omitting a bowl. :)

I also had 59 Rhode Island Reds, and RIR x WLH cross chicks hatch the other day, the hatch took 3 days to finish! Anywho my friends are coming over tomorrow to pick them up and resell them since they have MANY more customers than I do lol. I get to show them how to vent sex chicks knowing that is a real true benifit that's for sure! :) I need to vent sex my bc marans from the other breeder and mark them so I know for sure who's who. I did already, but I also sexed a bunch of other chicks as well so I honestly forget. LOL! I will probably do that after I finish this blog entry.

I kept one of the RIR chicks, a pullet...she's adorable. I mean she's cuter than all the rest just her baby doll face, to her chipmunky markings. Not sure what we're going to name her yet, but she'll get the royal suit getting to live with the BC marans when I fix up their pen for them. :) Ofcourse once she's older with feathers ;) I'll add her picture to the top here just for cuteness factor.

My coturnix chicks from that major hatch I had are growing well and looking cute as ever. They're starting to pop a lot no ones hurt themselves yet but Im going to be clipping wings soon because obviously theres some skiddish ones in there and I'd be upset to find some with broken necks from being lil spazzes for no reason. Just as I typed this two flew straight upt together luckily they fell before they bonked lol.

I sent out some test hatching coturnix eggs to 2 other BYCers to try out to see how my fertilty holds up in shipping and what not. :) It's so fun to do that. I have one more to send out after that but no eggs yet so gotta collect hopefully tomorow I get 6+.

I got my first jumbo brown chick from my own jumbo brown birds... it was the only egg I set for that hatch and it hatched. :) YAY!

My reds and red tuxedos hatch on thursday! :D

Hubby and I have been fishing everday since hte first day (saturday)... loving it!!! Caught 9 total today...and ate 6 of them :) YUM! I hated trout until I got a great recipe from a friend of mine YEP you guessed it on BYC. LOL! Now eating trout is like eating salmon to me! YUMMMERRS! Going fishing to morrow for a bit then coming home tideying up the house some and sellin and sexing some chicks LOL

Marans hatched and MORE eggs on the way!

You read the subject correctly! My gorgeous BC marans chicks from a fellow BYC'er hatched successfully yesterday, a few eggs weren't developing but I couldn't see into them and they didn't smell so I only knew AFTER I had cracked them opened once the hatch was over. I got 4 beautiful chicks, 3 are flockable (for my breeding plans) and one will have to go to either MY layer flock or someone elses layer flock as the poor thing was born with a defect making it not worthy of the pure pen. It's sad because it's so darned cute well all marans are. :) I celebrated to the breeder my new babies, and about the one that isn't perfect and she offered to send me more hatching eggs for shipping to up my chick numbers...now talk about generous!!! So next week sometime I will be getting MORE beauties from her to feed to my hungry incubator! Not to mention my other pal from BYC who said she'd be sending me another package of eggs Pmed me tonight! She's sending them tomorrow! Which means monday I'll be up bright and early estatic to no end waiting on the mail lady! I think they will mostly be BC marans from her but they may also be marans crosses so those are always fun and cute! So how am I so lucky!? I will never know, but you betcha I won't take it for granted...and plan to pay it forward as much as I can in the future. Kindness stretches far and wide in my book. :)

I don't know if I mentioned but I also now am the mother 2 mallard ducklings. They are soo darned cute! I was amazed that they are so fine outside already, it's been staying above freezing and they've been loving it! I've been keeping them outside in our one barn at night in a pet kennel thing. Then they go in one of my pens and play in their water all day long :) They are just sweet as pie.....or Cake (that's for Mark inside joke sorta thing). :p Anywho, the "male"is Chuy (said Chewy), and the "hen" is McDiver (hubby named her don't blame me)! LOL!

My beautiful coturnix chicks are growing like weeds a little bit over a week old now. :) I made a cute video you can watch of them in my brooder, watch to the very end and see the golden chick peck at the camera lense *gig* : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiTF0Iol_P0 I normally upload to photobucket but it wasn't uploading today...so I made myself a youtube account. :)

Welp I think that's all for now. :) First day of trout saturday, also due saturday is around 80 some chickens for another fellow BYCer of mine to come and pick up on sunday. :D I have some coturnix due around thentoo from my own flock! Oh and I had thought my A & M roo wasnt doing his job... found out today the wrong way to find out. I was turning eggs...pulled on the tray and wasnt paying attention the tray slid all the way out and two eggs fell and cracked on the floor of the incubator. I opened the one up it wasnt fertile... the second one was *cries*. Well atleast I know now. *drags feet*

Coturnix Hatched & Hatching

Theres way over 30 in the brooder right now, with a little under 30 still left in the incubator to hatch. Got some AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS chicks!!! The main chick in this first picture is "Patch Adams" Patch for short. Most interestingly marked chick I've seen so far (as far as tuxedos go). Half of it's face is almost all yellow, other half is splotchy marked. I don't care roo or hen it's staying. This is exactly the type of HIGH WHITE I want to go for. Now, just need more white on the wings and I'll be happy.

This cutie is a almost completely black backed chick....THIS is what I want to strive for...however omit the white on the face....I'm sure I can get there someday and this is a wonderful start to have. :D Theres a few other chicks almost identical to this but they have glints of red on their back like my chick Klown does.

It may be hard to tell but these two cuties are unlike anything I've seen before in coturnix chicks. They almost look like goldens, however they are cinnamon compaired to a golden. So they MAY be like a golden range or something. I will have to just wait and see what they mature to look like. This is an unexpected suprise for sure!

This is a group of the darks I hatched most are mismarked tibetans rather than pure tuxedos. I don't care what they are GREAT start on my darks!

Theres also a TON of A & Ms as well as browns. 15 of which are going to a BYCer in another state (forget which right now haha)! Anywho, I'm raising them up to 3 weeks then going to ship them out to her and her kiddos. So far they've had two shipments of coturnix chicks (day old chicks) and the arrivals were 100% DOA to my knowledge. So, I offered to raise up her chicks that I hatch and don't need for myself and ship out to her when they are older and more potentially able to handle being shipped. I am excited to do it! I also have Rhode Island Reds hatching tonight, they are being taken tomorrow to our Johnstown Tractor Supply to meet up with a guy who wants them for his laying plans. :) So far theres something like 7 of the 34 eggs hatched...they better hurry up ha ha because we're meeting him at 1 pm tomorrow! LOL!

Welp going to send this off...OH and there was also buttons hatched....but only looks well a cute lil cinnamon. :D

Niki

Lots due! Buttons, RIR and Coturnix!

Buttons due tomorrow, Rhode Island Reds due on friday, and Coturnix chicks due on Saturday! I'm excited about all three, the buttons are going to be grown up for a BYCer who wants them shipped to her, the RIRs are being hatched and taken on saturday to a gentlemen who wants them for his wifes future egg laying flock, and on that same day (saturday) 100+ coturnix are due! Fifteen of the coturnix are being kept for another lady who wants them grown up some and shipped out, another 25 are being held for a guy who wants them for flush training, and the rest are for me to grow out and keep woot!

A hen I had and sold a few weeks ago, I hatched out her last eggs, but sadly only one chick made it (I have several older birds from her from different sires). The chick that made it may be a red tuxedo according to a breeder I am blessed enough to converse with! :) We'll see though. Heres the cutie (on the left). Its very dark with two red lines going from it's head to it's rump which none of her other babies looked anything close to that. My goal for tuxedos right now is mostly just a VERY nice uniform bird, with as much white on the wings as possible and with nothing but a white belly. I'm slowly making headway in this area, but not 100% there yet. I am interested to see what this chickie turns out to look like white-markings-wise. Already I can tell that it's wings will not be entirely white as they'd have much more yellow on them. But the yellow on the face is REALLY nice, as is it on the chest. Every hatch I do, I am expressing more and more white so I'm actually not having to try too too hard to get where I want. This is a 3rd generation chick with a pedigree I can actaully trace back from my birds. All started with an A & M hen, she produced a Brown hen, I bred that brown hen with a not very nice marked tuxedo roo, that pairing produced a nicer marked tuxedo roo, who I bred to this chicks mama....and this chicks mama MAY have been a solid red, but I am unsure I was just calling her a rosetta but according to my breeder friend rossettas look entirely different than I had once thought.

Speaking of rosettas, I will be getting TRUE rosettas in my next purchase of eggs. These birds are supposed to be IDEAL birds for pets, bred for docile temperment (specifically bred for a mans daughter to hold) and from what I remember also very large! I am really anxious to get them! :)

I collected only two eggs today but it's not really suprising to me. Nothing but snow and clouds yesterday. I got a golden and an A& M eggie. Tomorrow I should get some more I'd think as it was deciently sunny. Some people don't realize just how much sunlight effects egg laying (atleast in coturnix quails).

Next week my Black Copper Marans from another breeder are due on thursday, you can BET I am happy! Then on the 18th almost 100 rhode island reds and rhode island red crosses are due to hatch they will be going to fellow BYCer friends of mine for them to resell since they get more customers than me. They wanted 100 but some eggs failed but theres like 97 or so eggs so not too bad as long as they all hatch haha. I shouldn't laugh though my incubator has been doing wonderful with high percentage hatches lately atleast with chickens. :)

You'd probably laugh if you saw our bedroom right now. I have two "grow-out brooders" in my room, that have mostly bc marans in them. They are mostly feathered birds but still mostly just blood feathers so they got to stay in still for a while atleast until it quits being so cold out. These birds are REALLY important to me so in here they stay. Cleaning their brooders atleast once a day is a chore though! Anywho what's funny is both brooders are actually just dog crates! LOL! 2 medium sized dog crates. They work really well as brooders actually. One is on top of my dog "Kodas" crate and then beside Kodas crate is the other brooder. Koda must think shes' a golden chicken mix instead of a golden retriever mix ha ha. Then the other brooder is a rabbit cage we bought specifically as a brooder, with 6 bantam chicks and 2 ducklings...and my 10 gallon brooder is empty as of right now. The one grow out brooder has two of Rosies older tuxedo chicks in it boy are they nice! "Flea" and another one I never named yet. I need to name the youngest one of Rosies. I'm thinking Clown. As he looks like he's got clown tears on his face. :)

Well, I think I'll end this here and type up some more pedigrees so I don't forget which birds come from which.

:)

Red & Red Tuxedo Coturnix In Da Bator

That's right folks! True red and red tuxedo coturnix finnally in my bator! 28 of them if I'm not mistaken. They were a lil pricey (but basically the same price as mine--yes I consider mine pricey compaired to mass producing breeders but I also look at quality over quanity) but well worth it! :)

I have a pretty bad sinous headache right now so if I don't seem as entusiastic as usual or quick instead of rambly like normal....the excedrin hasn't kicked in yet haha.

Starting to get a steady stream of customers interested in my coturnix eggs that should be going full force here in a few weeks *yay*. I'm getting 3-5 eggs a day now. Two from my A & M pen, 1 from my golden pen maybe two but it's hard to say because of when I collect them, and if I'm not mistaken 2 from my brown pen. Now everyone just needs to start layin and I'll be getting something like 12 a day. Would be more but my tuxedo and golden pen is low right now (youngsters and eggs developing on the way to change that).

Also planning on getting ANOTHER set of pens here soon, making or buying them. Making them myself would be best, but buying a pen from someone else would be easier ofcourse..but not really as we have no way to transport it here unless I bug my mom which I hate doing lol! Our jeep just isnt meant for lugging home scratchy wirey pens it barely fit my huge incubator! :)

I got some secrets in the works only a few know about in reguards to coturnix.....so just keep your eyes out. They're not here yet, but will be. *makes evil sneer*. Suffice to say it'll be some great new genetics.


My marans are growing like HORSES....I'll have to add a picture of them...well I have pictures of them from a few days ago I can add when a redtailed hawk swooped down on me and them while out in the fence (hawk didnt notice me until it almost pounced on the chicks that were on my lap and legs *faints*). It luckily noticed me there at the last second and had to fight to get air to get away from me. I would have punched it had it had any sucess at my chickies! :( Protected species...protect my poultry *growls*.


That's a picture of Boot the Funny Farms Cockerel from the C1 bloodline of Wade Jeane (sp?) everyone spells that poor mans name wrong...I probably am too so... there. LOL. A chick from my friend Belinda of Ninjapoodles (screen name and her dog breeding website name if I'm not mistaken) who I thought may be a pullet and most deffinatly is a cockerel. I finnally named.. "PokerFace". I love the new song pokerface by Lady Gaga, and since this cockerel bluffed me...it sounded appropriate. :D



Heres PokerFace just about 2 days ago walking around on my incubator top. Still sorting out his baby fluff, and looking oh so handsome! He's goin to be a gorgeous roo! *love* That creepy looking blue thing in the back is a caramic (sp?) castle tower (like what the witch hides the princess in) I made in highschool artclass...it makes a great paperweight! :) It's actually quite cute but looks pretty funky there and if anyones as curious as me you may have wanted to know what in the world that was. The pointy things are whitetail antlers.


Lets see and heres more pictures of the Funny Farms Trio. First is of Boot again, if you look closely in this pic you can see the coppering coming in on the back of his neck...he has more now but its' not been nice enough to let them out for pictures and such since this day. Well I take that back there was one nice day but I just penned them out and didnt baby sit and take pictures had too much else to do. You try having hundreds of eggs in your bator, some of which were "sold" and that are now available again because I never heard back from some people *pulls hair out* lol and having to rush around and make for sale ads everywhere and tell me if you always have time for piccies! :D Cleaning brooders daily takes me about a half hour, turning eggs about 6 mins, feeding them all, another half hour, collecting the bit of eggs, house chores, yelling at the cats to get off counters, feeding again, changing waterers, posting ads, yelling at the cats....yeah it makes for a busy me. :D








That's Scoot, she's an angel I love her to peices! Always wants to be right with me first to me everytime as long as she can battle the others to get there in time. :D



This Boogie she's a bit shy but Scoot is making her come around with me. She all but smothers me if I have mealwormies to share. :)













And even though it's not as pretty this small....while up there that day a quail feather blew out of one of the pens (prob brown pen more than likely) and landed on some leaves so I took a piccie. :D
I will update pictures when buttons, coturnix, bobwhites, rhode island reds, and crosses hatch.......im going to be engulfed! LOL!
And last but not least! My buddy Brian finnally made a blog himself and heres the link to it if you'd like to keep up with another birdie entusist! :D http://bsafflesfarms.webs.com/apps/blog/

Got my Funny Farm Trio of Marans!

My babies are here!!!! Came on the day they were supposed to just a few hours later and thanks to the PO scaring me, I am never getting live birds mailed in again. They told my mom that the birds were LOST. They also told her that there was no other shipments coming in today so theres no way they'd be in today. Well I talked to several people who have recieved birds in the mail and they reassured me that there was always more than one shipment to a PO in a day....so I had mom call back and sure enough they then said that yes there was. Like two hours later they call my mom and say my birds are there! So hubby and I rused down and picked up my babies!!!! They are in the gangly stage so right now they do not look impressive but if you know marans you know they are nice! Great leg color, NICE feathered shanks on the cockerel etc. I am VERY happy with them! I reccomend Funny Farms Marans to ANYONE! :) She has a few different colors and what not. If you'd like her contact info please contact me at monarc23@yahoo.com I am happy to point customers her way! These birds are from Wade Jeanes C1 line :)

I also got in over 100 assorted colored coturnix quail eggs from a seller I buy from a lot! She ships SO if you want her info too again email me! :) She sells on ebay mostly. GREAT packing etc you wont be disapointed that's for sure. She threw in 12 button quail eggs so now im hatching those again lol! Looking for a home for them but not choosing a home until they hatch that way I dont disapoint anyone :). The eggs below this tray is over 30 RIR eggs hatching for a lady who bought from me once already, and to my friends who are going to buy and resell them :)....getting over 100 more for them this weekend (sunday prob).

Getting 13 marans eggs from a breeder!!! Some of the eggs are old though and coming from Cal. so im trying not to be too hopeful/excited but some are new so i'll atleast have some in a decient hatch. :D They prob won't be here tomorrow but the next day. I BETTER get the coturnix eggs I bought from a company...they cashed our mula, but that was days ago and still no eggs...these eggs are very important to me color wise so they better get here! *grumbles* lol!

Welp that's about it! I'm pretty happy so far lol!

Getting 100 Coturnix eggs from one breeder and..

24 red/red tuxedo/red-golden coturnix eggs from another!!! Also on monday my 9 marans eggs from a BYC breeder I won the auction for her eggs will be mailed out, and probably too will be the eggs from the BYC breeder I hatched out my first two marans from again! As too will probably be my trio of young marans! Can you say excitedly BUSY!? *on cloud nine* Hubby is a SAINT!!!!

Speaking of my saint, lol, not this upcoming tuesday but next tuesday we'll be going to the hospital to get a growth taken out of his neck...it's 4 inches long by 3 inches wide. He's had it for a year... the surgeon thinks it's just a subacious cyst which is expected but it's going to be removed and tested anyhow which is good because I want to personally know he's okay. It's going to be gross for me but iim going to be in the room with him while he gets it done (the surgeon allows lol) but i wanna be there for Ronnie while he gets it done. He's got a fear of needles and it's on his neck... yucccgghh! I'd be freaked out and I know he will be too when the day comes. The surgeon freaked me out a lil bit explaining how much it's going to bleed and what not... but he'll atleast be at the hospital and in good hands :)

I sold all my excess chicks today, and used that money to buy the 100 coturnix eggs. The reds I begged hubby for and he said I could but no more which is fine with me! LOL! Tomorrow we're pickingup 5 doz RIR eggs so i can incubate and sell some more. :) So now all that's in my brooder is 3 coturnix chicks, 2 marans crosses (one orpington, and one ee), and 4 pure black copper marans! :D *celebrates* NOw if only my coturnix quails outside would start up egg production and i'd be in business! LOL!

Shippin Marans and Picked up Marans! :)

Soo! I got two more BC marans today! Both are a week old from my friend Sam and her Fiancee Kevin :) I now know boths lines! :) The one with the yellow band is from Wade Jeane, and the one that's not feathered on the legs (shanks) is a valentine (sp?) lined cutie. I vent sexed both and it looks like 2 hens! I hope so because I'm getting a roo sometime next week lol! Tho if ones a roo or both is I'm sure I'll want to keep them anyhow though I can't be roo heavy. I thnk they're both hens though... I'm not a pro at vent sexing but that's my oppinon so far on birds venting. :)

Tomorrow I send out a money order to "Funny Farms" to get myself a trio of BC feather shanked marans of Wade Jeane lines. :D A cockerel and two pullets! :D They lay on the 7 on the egg chart (and she showed me a pic to proove it NICE)! I wont show the picture here though as that's her picture not mine and it has her name on it so rather than use it without her permission and no one really reading this blog anyhow I'm happy to not post it and just look at it in my email files. I deffiantly reccomend her birds so far as of egg color and smoothness of dealing with her! :) I will update this when i get the birds. They're being overnighted to my moms work whenever she gets the mula. :) I am so excited about it! I was nervous at first because if it was to be shipped right to the house then it would be 2 days before they got out of that box and that's just sad to me.

So basically without even purposly doing it, I'm landing in on a lot of Wade Jeanes birds. I notice wheaten in a few of the chicks already, and that confirms with what i've read about Wades birds throwing wheatens. It doesnt bother me one bit though. I'm focusing on egg color first, and as long as im honest about the eggs i DO sell, I don't see an issue with it. If anyone does its as simple as they don't have to buy from me. I have heard anyhow, that the darkest laying marans were birds that were gangly and not to standard so I think we all as novice breeders of marans have along while to go before we get anywhere pivital with them anyhow. Feather color comes last to me, first and foremost is egg color, as to my knowledge that's the defining thing in this breed is that their egg color is 4 or above. :)

Bye Bye Ameraucanas Hello Marans

As the title states, my remaining trio of Ameraucana chicks are going to my buds who I've been swapping/selling to. I get 2 BC Marans for the swap! The one chicks sire is directly from Wayde Jeane which is pretty cool as from what I have read he's a pretty *top breeder*. The other is just a normal line I guess nothing notable atleast not that I know of yet. The chick to the left IS the son of the Wayde Jeane roo I'm getting! It's hard to see but his shanks are feathered so he's perfecto! Sam if you read this you are AWESOME for giving me just THIS cutie let alone TWO cuties! I am stoked!

I also attended my first online auction and won the auction! For 6+ (supposed to get nine yay) BC marans eggies from another BYCer. OH boy oh boy! Great looking birds and at this moment I forget where the lines are decended from but it's either Wayde Jeane again or Bev Davis but it's not a direct from them but close enough that the color in the egg is great as are the birds! :) Marans are not APA showable yet, but theres enough of a rave about them I think they will be. Heck even supposedly Martha Stewart won't use any other eggs for cooking other than the marans egg! Dunno why tho cuz that I know of theres no better or lesser nutrition in marans egg than in other eggs, but I just guess they're just more asthetically pleasing. You'll never see marans eggs in the grocery store that's for sure! *giggles*

I hatched out a TON of Rhode Island reds and golden comet mixes yesterday into today. All are going to their new home on sunday. I'll appreciate the brooder space that's for sure! RIRs are some of the most cutest chicks ever, but I have no room for them with me focusing entirely on marans. They just won me over those lil sweet hearts! I have WAY too much to learn about marans still... I am deffinatly a novice and will be for a very long time to come im sure. But I am pretty good at knowing what to look for, and since theres no showing marans just yet, I don't feel like I have to be in any sort of hurry to produce my own "perfect birds". Anywho theres no such thing as a perfect bird...not even in the show world....but we can try to get it to that point as much as we can....I am excited to be apart of it. :)

I bet in a year, looking back on this post as long as everything goes well I'm going to be shocked at all I know "now" and didn't know 'then" :). Happens with every hobby I do. That's why I love hobbies. A fun learning experience in the making. :)

Niki

Black Copper Marans Chicks!

Well, I never wanted to join a fad... and the fad lately has been Black Copper Marans and their eggs. I am the type of person I go to the beat of my own drum when it comes to hobbies. However, when I took interest in producing olive colored eggs by breeding dark brown eggs to blue eggs (ameraucanas) when I saw another BYC member offering EE crossed marans eggs and orpington x marans eggs I jumped on the offer! I got in that offer as well PURE marans eggs! I was excited and curious to see what all the fuss was about. Well when I got the eggs I was stunned! You cannot understand the full beauty of quality Marans eggs until you see them in person! Pictures never do them justice!

I was going to swap these eggs to a new coming friend of mine, however after not having a good enough hatch of Ameraucanas and marans I decided rather than to swap now to swap later with their eggs. I hatched 2 Cree Farm Ameraucana chicks, 1 blue one black...a small percentage hatch but I had a heat spike early on in their development and I think that had something to do with it. THREE BC Marans, and 4 either pure orpingtons or orpington x marans crosses (i cant tell just yet lol), 1 deffinate orpington x marans cross (furry feet black and red), and a EE x marans! :) They are all beautiful and wonderful I am soo happy to have them!

My plan is a pure BC Marans pen, and a Ameraucana pen. AND the crosses, I plan to keep hens from them and put them either in with the marans or the Ameraucanas depending on my goal. :) That way i can play with genetics of egg color while ALSo breeding pure birds. :)

I am soo happy with my Crees and my Marans from a wonderful lady! You know who you are! *hugs* Supposedly im being graced with more Marans eggs from her in the future...If it happens OMG YAY! If not I am more than greatful for what I got. I owe her a bunch of coturnix eggs for this so believe me Im really anxious for them to start up production! LOL!

SPRING-A-LING

AHH! The weather today was PERFECT! WARM and breezy!!! Tonight too is wonderful! I'd love nothing more than to sit out there on the porch and enjoy it but our looney bin neighbor was shooting AT his dog a few hours ago (police were called- but nothing was done about it) so I only went outside after that to potty my dogs and hurried back in the house.

Other than that drama all is well here. The coturnixs are starting to crow and chase the ladies outside so eggs should be SOON! I got my serama, cochin and duccle eggs from California today! They were shipped out on thursday...I seriously thought my luck they'd be here on tuesday not sat! :D I was so excited! I havent heard back from the breeder yet on which eggs are which as only some were labled. Theres 11 eggs total...she is SOO awesome for all she gave I cannot wait to repay her with coturnix eggs! :D I'm paying her shipping for these eggs, but I'm also sending her eggs like she did me. There was some colors of coturnix she paid for from someone else and didn't get all the color she hoped to so I'm happy to supply when they start up. She's going to be my egg tester for my first offical batch of available coturnix eggs. I'm gonna hatch the first few to get some colors then I'll split up the pens and give her all that I collect for 2-3 days that should give her a huge variety! I can't waiiit!

I'm now on the look at for my CALL DUCK and or Black East Indies bantam eggs, both are gorgeous small ducks that I've wanted both since I've seen. It's hard finding the black east indies which are what I want the most! :D

In my brooder I have Bronx a black Ameraucana cockerel that may carry the lavander gene, Mouse a blue looking Easter Egger Bantam hen, 1 tuxedo chick from my rosetta coturnix hen Rosie, 1 pharoah coturnix chick from her as well, 2 jumbo browns from a breeder on BYC, and a curly coturnix hen from another breeder on BYC as well.... I'm really excited to breed those into a separate line as people who learn about the curlies really want them. I think they kinda look like a mess to me but maybe I can breed them to look uniform and not so Messy! LOL!

I stopped using the bedding stall dry today, it was making the entire house dusty. I'm now using Kaytees natural lavander stuff...oo it smells good and is pretty with real dried flowers in it! I hope it keeps the smell down because then it'll also keep the dust down! :D

Updates :)

My quail outside are starting to crow! Eggs should be very soon! :D

I sold SEVERAL of my chicks, some I hatched only to sell others, I decided to sell after my hubby got a day taken off of his weekly work hours because of the economy. I sold my remaining langshang chick, 3 of my 4 black ameraucanas (I kept the best looking one that I'm pretty sure is a roo? i hope so but if he's a hen oh well i'll just keep a roo from my other eggs). I've made a TON of money so far! I had no idea I could make that much money on chicks and birds. Wow. I most deffinatly paid for all the feed i've used so far and then some. If I keep this going they'll have paid for our incubator too! LOL! Ofcourse that's all litterally paid for but ya know what I mean...to almost profit status. :) Way better than breeding stupid rabbits that get sick with unavoidable illnesses that don't go away and breeders ignore and give to everyone elses rabbitries... I may own one as a pet again someday but NEVER ever again breed them.

I'm going to be breeding Ameraucanas in Blue Black Splash and Lavander, as well as Seramas in any color (as they produce any color they dont have fixed colors), and probably Millie Fluer Duccles and Bantam Cochins! I'm not sure in what colors yet, however I'm getting them from a wonderful breeder in California along with my serama eggs! I am soo excited! That breeder will be then getting coturnix eggs from me to test. :D Then Catawba coturnixs will be in Cally! Unlike other bird breeders I get excited when I know what state they go in. :)

There are SOO many snob breeders in Ameraucanas, it reminds me of breeders in Holland Lops! I will NEVER be one of those stuck up snobs. I enjoy educating others when they ask, and atleast in birds, it has its perks to help people, not to mention it's good for the overal well being of the breed to educate people who ask for help.

I will be getting my WHOLE flock- even my coturnixs tested for Bird Flu and all other illnesses that are testable here in a few weeks. Then I will be an offical bird/egg seller and I will know for sure my birds are healthy! :) I also learned that what I thought made sick birds so sick the only thing to do was cull them is untrue! It IS treatable unlike in rabbits! :) So that's wonderful to know as well. None of my birds have been sick, but it's good to know if it ever does happen I dont have to go out and kill all the poor babies. :)

I have like 6 coturnix chicks in the house, with more due to hatch here shortly. The one is most deffinatly a curly coturnix from a breeder who went out of business. So this bird is my only curly gene-er lol. So she will go in my experiement pen so I can keep an eye on if the breeding produces more curlies. I personally dont like the curly coturnix but there seems to be an interest in them...so I might as well breed for them on the side for others who like them.

I now have something like 5 different strains (aka lines) of coturnix quails from all over the US. Makes me so excited for the future! :D

We were working on moving, but since hubby got a day taken away from his weekly hours we had to cancel everything. sure it sucks, but what can ya do. We'll just save up MORE and wait until the economy hopefully gets better. :)

well that's all for now! :D

niki

White Leghorn chickies hatched yesterday!

So on valentines day the white leghorn chicks from ArabiansR2Cool started to pip, but didnt start hatching until sunday (15th), one took until today to come out into the world! So I have 7 lil annoying peepers! They are lucky they are cute cuz boy are they noisey! LOL!

That pic right there is of only 5 of them, the big white one up front giving me a sideways stare is

actually a golden comet mutt :).

The second picture here is of one of the white leghorns soo cuuute huh!?!?!

We were going to use our income tax mula to buy a shed for all my birds, but hubby and I agreed we should use that money for a deposit on a home for ourselves....it will better suit our needs and if we get enough land then as long as we have a basement my chickies can live temporarily in the basement lol! We just want a starter home, something that has SOME land so I can enjoy my chickens :). I'm holding off on getting the future BLRWs from my bud until I know what's going on better. His birds arent laying yet anyhow so it works out well. Im hatching everything else I'm getting this week in the mail,a nd then im not swapping or ordering anymore eggs. They'll just be housed in big dogboxes, or I'll build them small ground coops until we're in our own home. I hope so badly by this summer! :)

The next eggs to hatch areeee....*had to grab the calander* lol.... Road Island Reds (6 for my friend, and I'll prob keep 5 and if theres more than that i'll sell them to a guy at my moms work). They will be hatching on friday, on saturday some of my coturnix quail hen "Henny Penny" has a few more due, on the 24th my beloved and anxiously awaited for Ameraucanas are due as well as the rare Black Langshangs! Then on the 26th more coturnix from another breeder are due as well as more Henny Penny eggs, and some of my tibetan hen Rosies eggs as well are due! :)

In the mail I am expecting this week: Serama Eggs, EE eggs, Hamburg eggs, Pure Marans, Marans x EE, Marans x buff orpingtons....and I *THINK* that's it lol! Tho the week after ina swap i'll be getting more white leghorn eggies but those im not excited about only because I got enough chicks from the first batch, that I'll sell all the others that hatch so i'm happy enough with the first ones. It'll be nice to sell some with spring comin up everones wanting chickies. I wont sell for easter though as that's just dumb and cruel to the chicks.

Sick but happy :)

Ugh....for some reason I feel like I'm getting the flu all of asudden. I hope I'm wrong but I just got this flash that I could puke anytime. I've felt fine all day until now here at 8 pm. LOL. I know others are sick so I really hope my stomach just doesn't like the zero calorie pop I'm drinking or something I reeealllly don't want to be sick lol.

Well, just today I recieved in the mail 4 Bantam Barred Rock eggs (show quality stock), and a dozen coturnix eggs! I am so excited!!! A few other swappers mailed out eggs to me today! :) I'll get up early tomorrow too but I don't think I'll recieve any tomorrow already but who knows right? :) I'm expecting Bantam EE eggs, as well as Bantam Blue Orpington eggs, the Serama breeder her birds haven't been laying well, so she hasn't sent out mine yet to me I don't mind waiting. :) I am very excited about the bantam EEs and Bantam Blue Orps....I only was supposed to get the bantam EEs, but the sweet guy James offered me some of his Bantam Blue orpingtons as well! :)

I was talking to my dad about my chickens, and he's really cool with me wanting a nice sized shed for the birds which puts me at so much ease! I didn't want him mad about it, but he's cool with it so that makes me so happy! :) Things have been going so well for me, but in the back of my mind I keep worrying about layoffs. Things are only going well for me because my hubby works hard and makes decient money....however they're having trouble with finding wells to drill with the price of natural gas going down.....so it puts a real big damper on my happiness being TERRIFIED that my hubby may be layed off. I don't work so I cannot pick up the slack. I do not drive so I can't work. It's all frusterating and I just can only put my life and my hubbies live in Gods hands and hope things work out well. I have been trying my best not to worry....I have a feeling everything will be fine but I am a major worry wart...so this has been an issue to me. I almost dont want to talk about it even so this may be all that I type about it :).

I was on the computer today (suprise? LOL) and Toby my Golden comet roo figured out how to get out of the brooder, and roost on the top of it. I thought it was cute and I had no problem with letting him snooze there. About an hour went by and I noticed movement in the corner of my eye, here he had positioned himself and was staring direclty at me. I was like "...okay...." and turned back to my computer...next thing I know theres a wir of feathers, and he's on my back LOL! He flew about three feet and landedon my upper-back shoulder area and settled down for a nap. I thought it was the cutest thing ever :)

Two of my coturnix chicks from my hen Henny Penny and Roo Ike hatched. THey are sooo tiny and cute! I forgot how tiny Coturnix chicks are with hatching chicken chicks lately! LOL! The picture above shows just what I mean...those lil things are the coturnix the big yellow puffy thing is a newly hatched chick (that hatched the SAME day as them)! :) A gorgeous tuxedo chick I named Penguin, and a tibetan chick that I haven't named yet. :) I'll probably wait to name it until I know its sex. So I now know that tibetan is dominant over brown, and that white can be expressed through colors as long as the birds carry the white :D Henny Penny carries A & M (white) from her mother Big Bertha who is out in the rabbit hutch pen. :)

Got the Ameraucana eggs & the Black Langshangs!

Ooh boy oh boy! 11 Ameraucana eggs in the bator as well as 7 black langshangs! This upcoming monday 6+ serama eggs are being shipped out (the swapper had a mishap that involved tripping while eggs were in her hands....lol) so she's collecting me more to send out on monday....and 6+ EE bantam eggs will be shipped out then as well from another swapper! :)

I have eggs due this sunday.... 6-8 of Henny Pennys (my coturnix hen) eggs, and 2 GC x GC crosses from my roo Wimpy Cowboy and whichever of my golden comet hens that are laying. I already have one of Wimpy Cowboys babies in the brooder his/her name is Critter. It looks just like a golden comet roo, except it's not a sexlink so it could easily be a hen :). I hope it's a hen! It's a cutie and very sweet and has a different body shape from my "pure" golden comets.

Toby my oldest golden comet chick (a roo ofcourse) is getting BIG! He's such a sweet boy too....I hope to have him replace Wimpy Cowboy. I love Wimpy Cowboy but he's an older roo and he's terrified of me, I'll probably keep him and let him free range with my other future free rangers. I haven't fully decided yet, but it's hard to decide when I don't have all the birds already.

Monday I send out $ for show quality Ameraucana black, blue and splash eggies from a breeder in washington state! :D They are beautiful birds! Then the week after $ for blue laced red wyandottes! My gosh I cannot wait!!!

My first Catawba Coturnix Quails finnally got shipped out, I consider those my offical birds from my OWN breedings....and they went for free to an FFA project! :) In Missouri I think? LOL! I wasn't able to send a lot but everyone I did send go there in great condition.....or one may have cracked I'm not sure she said none did but she only mentioned 7 and I am pretty sure I shippedout 8 lol oh well! Me and my brain!!!

Tomorrow I get to go with hubby to his rig for a few hours to watch him drill. I've always wanted to see them work because he tries to explain that stuff to me and I'm clueless it's like chinese to me....so it will be nice to actually SEE what "tripping pipe" means LOL! I'll be taking my camera :D

I'm getting some Marans x Buff Orpington crosses, some may be pure marans and pure orps too which will be neat and i requested any EEx marans crosses as well! :) They will be perfect in my future brown egg layer cross pen :D

After all of these eggs I AM DONE for a long while! I need to be lol! Or atleast I'm going to try to be! It's already going to be crazy hard because im going to need some extra brooders and brooder lamps! LOL!

Welp....nothing really more to ramble on about today :)

Now Seramas!!! Eggtitis

Well there was a swap on BYC, and I decided to BITE and I knew I had to BITE soon so in a blurr of eggtitis (addiction to hatching eggs haha) I posted TAKEN! and offered some more Road Island Red eggs which were gobbled up quickly by another member. So wednesday serama eggs should be mailed out for me! Oh I cannot wait!!!! The black langshangs, and the ameraucana eggs I was hoping were shipped out today were! So those will be coming this week as well! I am so Eggcited! :D

Now as long as I don't have any more silly problems with my incubator I should have a good deal of chicks everywhere!!! AHH! LOL The two chicks are in my brooder right now the closest one is Toby our favorite lil guy he's a sweetie :)

BYC Map on Frappr

www.frappr.com/byc

I really don't have much to update other than I got a LARGE dogbox for my outside chickens...it's huge I can go into it myself! LOL! My chicken chicks are growing like weeds, and I have SEVERAL eggs in the bator with more on the way! :D Expecting Ameraucanas black/split lav, and Black Langshangs in the mail next week! :D

Oh and next week sending out mula for show quality bred Ameraucanas BBS! :D I cannot wait!

I sent out some of my coturnixs eggs to an FFA project I hope they have a good hatch out of them I was only able to send out 8. Then I sent out 7 RIR hatching eggs for a swap I was in :).

I'll get around to adding pictures of the 3 golden comet chicks I have growing in the brooder :)

Got my Incubator & getting more chickens!

Soo I got my incubator! It's more awesome, and MUCH bigger than I thought i'd be! I can litterally pull the egg trays out and hide in there if I needed to ha ha ha! Theres four trays, and each can hold 100 chicken eggs! It can also hatch anything from quail to goose eggs. :) I highly doubt I'll be hatching any geese eggs unless someone asks me to, otherwise for me...no...MAYBE pilgrims someday but I doubt it.

My friend Brian now has me interested in Black East Indies ducks. He acts like he was the one that got me interested in them, but nope nope...I myself got interested in them from a picture he took of his dads! hehe! Though Brian did tell me a lil bit about them and that helped fuel my interest so I'll give him credit for that I guess ;P. They are just really pretty, black with a purple hue!

I just told a breeder I'll be sending them out mula for a half doz. Blue Laced Red Wyandotte eggs! OH my gosh I cannot wait for those! In this new incubator, as long as they ship here well I should have a decient hatch. Even if I get half, I will be over joyed! Even if I got two I'd be okay. :) If this half doz. come to me fine I'll order again to make a complete dozen BLRWs!

Also, it sounds like I'm going to be getting Black and possible split lavender standard Ameraucana hatching eggs from another BYCer! I had paid her for bantam amers because that's all I thought she had. To find out she's offering me Standards because her banties arent laying well is exciting enough but to hear some may hatch out possible split lavenders! That's so exciting it's unreal! I can't wait to hear back from her on that !:)

Tomorrow I'll get my coturnix eggs in the mail! Got my White Leghorn hatching eggs in a swap the other day and just put them in tonight :)

Clear the way! Hatchaholic who can't help herself! LOL!

*weeeeee*!

Chicks are here with more on the way AND more eggs

The madness never ends I guess! :)

I had two chicks hatch...a male and female Golden Comet. I haven't named them yet, but boy oh boy are they cute! The chick in the picture is the male...the hen is slightly darker and smaller. The hen I am deffinatly keeping, and this male I am probably keeping as well because they'll be added into my large mutt pen of chickens in the spring, and the rooster that's up there already needs only one more hen to have his maximum amount of hens per rooster while holding fertility (12 hens per). I have several eggs (i think atleast 7 though I could be wrong) that I have to stop turning tomorrow! Many of which are Road Island Red eggs! :) I cannot wait to see those beauties! I just love RIRs! Esp roosters! Yep I plan to keep a rooster from that as well. I just love how big dark and shiney they are. :) So finnally FINNALLY I have baby chicken chicks to show for all my work i've done trying to bring them into this world. I was beinging to think I'd never hatch chicken chicks! I wasn't giving myself enough credit though. It wasnt my fault I lost those chicken chicks before...it was my incubators. I've slightly mastered the problem by rebuiling the incubator so that it's now mostly homemade and works much better.

Speaking of incubators! Still going this upcoming saturday to get the Sears Roebuck FarmMaster incubator!!! I called the guy and he said he fired it up the other day and its' holding temps steady at 102!!! I could shout at the roof tops im so happy! :) Cheesy saying but I am extreemly excited! That's really going to up my hatching odds!

I'm getting ATLEAST 30 coturnix hatching eggs from a fellow BYCer that I am estatic about (new blood can't pass that up)! For the generosity I will repay them with their choice from my birds in the spring/summer so I can't wait to repay too....giving a gift is just as fun as recieving a gift IMO. :)

These birds are just making me so happy, and theres enough of a want in others for the birds that I know within time (just months) they'll be paying for themselves in eggs. :)

Oh and also this week I'm getting mailed out a dozen White Leghorn eggs from a breeder I'm swapping RIR eggs with! :) My eggs ship out tomorrow for her, and I think she said she's shipping mine out to me as well tomorrow! :) So I'll get the fun job of tracking my eggs of both the coturnix and the WLH eggs. :) Makes my day! :)

I just couldn't be happier right now things are falling into a place where I finnally feel like things are going the way they should and that puts me at so much peace its' unreal. I don't know if I mentioned it in my last blog but I was very upset because hubbies promised raise was supposedly ignored and he wasn't going to get it! We went something like 4 days thinking he wasn't getting it and last night Ronnie called me from work saying I'd be very happy with the news he was about to tell me. Here, he IS getting the raise, but he's getting it a dollar and some change, at the end of every month, until march then he'll be making 16.50 an hour! :) Now he's at 13.50. :) So once he gets that raise I'll feel comfortable once again looking at houses for sale and drooling over them but for now all my focus is on these eggs and fluff balls that magically come out of them! LOL!

I cannot forget to mention that I went to SamGs house (another BYCer) and picked up the hens! They are ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! Ronnie and I are in love with the Blue Ameraucana, and I also LOVE the golden laced Wyandotte! :) They are all gorgeous though! The EEs are as cute as a button! *heart melts* I havent been able to get any good pictures of the girls yet because of all of the snow they are staying in their home....so I must wait. :)