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 :)