Nesting box modifications in Eglu Go Up

[Lewis]

Congratulations

Where are all the photos

[laurmurf]

Morning has arrived, and so has 1 of the silkie chicks!!!

 

a few of the chicks came out for worms today (rather than just Nessie) so pictures were taken and they will be up in a minute

[laurmurf]

here are the pictures you have all been waiting for!

 

Little Marsh daisy chick peeking out

 

Babs and Violet looking very closely at a worm

 

Babs, Violet and Nessie

 

MD, Babs, Violet and Nessie

 

Babs, Violet and Nessie and a little face (haven't ascertained who it is though, possibly NN)

 

this is the first time that multiple chicks have been out at once, will get more pictures for your viewing pleasure throughout the day!

[The Dogmother]

Lovely photos Shonagh

 

They start to come out more now that they need some food.

[Chickvic]

What cute pics

[ClaireG]

Great pics.

[laurmurf]

Babs has come off the nest now! she's sat just outside the doorway with all the chicks tucked under her.

There was still the 1 little unhatched silkie egg when i checked, so after discussing with my mum we have decided to give it 1 last chance by popping it under willow, who has a nest full of speckled sussex eggs, for the next 24 hours just in case it is just taking its time.

 

All of the big girls are being very curious and are milling around the eglu run trying to get a peek at whatever is in there

i'll have to find someway of distracting them (possibly large amounts of snacks) long enough for me to get in and take more pictures!

[atsw]

Wonderful pictures and what a great hatch rate too - well done all concerned. Mummy hens seem to know when there's no hope for an egg, so be prepared for the last remaining one to be a 'lost cause' .

 

The eggs under our Buff Orp reach 21 days tomorrow, so it's very exciting (and rather nerving) seeing everyone elses chicks arriving on time and doing so well. We've not been able to candle our eggs (mummy hen very protective!), so we have no idea if we're waiting in vein or if we'll get a nice surprise in the next 24/48hrs - the suspense is killing me .

 

Looking forward to your next set of pics.

 

Andrew

[laurmurf]

yes, i thought it might be, but my mum insisted on giving it another chance.

 

Oooooh! good luck

 

it was sooo exciting when ours started hatching, my mum was candling for the last time on sunday and the scots grey egg cheeped at her! and then all of a sudden, all over the place!

 

Desperate to get outside and take more pics as the chicks are now wandering around outside! but i have to wait for a computer man to come because i can't hear people knocking from the garden

luckily he should only take a minute or 2 and then i can be out there watching them scratch away

[mostin]

Gorgeous photos. what lovely wee chicks. Tell babs she has done very well

[laurmurf]

All the chooks are enjoying the sunny weather right now, the big girls are all sunbathing or snoozing in the shade, and Babs is sitting in a nice dappled patch with her babies zooming about next to her

 

they're all so energetic, flapping their itsy-bitsy wings, pecking at the ground and chasing each other

[HENthusiastic]

Well done. fantastic stuff.

[laurmurf]

Here's some pics of the babies enjoying there afternoon

 

Nessie (Scots grey)

 

Violet (Araucana)

 

Fleur (Marsh daisy)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nessie has become a very self-sufficient little madam already! she's off scratching away, flinging easybed everywhere whilst her siblings are tucked away under Babs

[Griffin]

Awwwwww Babs looks so proud of her babies! She's a very clever girl.

[The Dogmother]

What a gorgeous multi-coloured clutch of babies!

 

Has Dad noticed the NN yet?

 

Mummy Hen looks to be very good at guarding them.

 

If you have any cats, I'd advise putting kick-boards along the bottom of the run - the silly little fluffsters will poke their heads out and my cats certainly showed a large amount of interest! I just propped up some planks with bricks. It's only until the chicks are too big to get their heads through.

[laurmurf]

Our cat Tilly has been confined to the house until we can get something sorted as she did seem quite keen.

 

well the NN does not look particularly naked yet, so it is inconspicuous, but we'll just have to wait and see how long it takes him to figure out there's a silkie in the mix too

[craftyhunnypie]

Is there a photo anywhere of the NN?

 

Emma.x

[laurmurf]

not a close up yet, but in the 1st picture after the 2 of Fleur it is the tiny black 1 on the left of the feeder. It looks almost exactly like the Scots grey but a bit smaller and Nessie has a little yellow dot on her head

[Chickvic]

What gorgeous pics

[laurmurf]

I'm home and taking back control of 'laurmurf' (altho ED has done a stirling job of both chook wrangling and omleteering - tell her, everybody, she needs her own omlet id)

 

Well.... i'm nearly speechless. It's all gorgeous chicks AT MY HOUSE!

 

I came home to find a picnic blanket on the ground next to the eglu, a garden chair and pint of beer, recently vacated by OH: apparently it's been chick-telly all day.

 

I had to do some serious deflection though - OH asking very searching questions: "well, what are they all? why do some look a bit different what breeds did you get? "

 

I had YD sniggering next to me, ED grinning at me from behind his back - I had to act very and say: well I know I asked for aracaunas and scots greys and wyandottes and marsh daisies ... but i can't think what THOSE might be... Then I saw all the chicks for the first time and did lots of load shrieking and jumping around (and actually none of that was really put on as a distraction )

 

So you lot: , and mostin and HEN - you two were especially bad.... ON THE NAUGHTY STEP, BOTH OF YOU NOW

[purple hen]

I don't know how I could have missed this thread until now, your babies are all gorgeous, lovely little balls of fluff Sounds like your OH is already succumbing to their charm.

[HENthusiastic]

mostin and HEN - you two were especially bad.... ON THE NAUGHTY STEP, BOTH OF YOU NOW

 

 

[Jules.]

Great pictures- the one where mummy hen has her wing out protecting her little ones makes me want to weep with joy

 

Seeing chicks with mummy hen is so much nicer than seeing chicks in a brooder with a heat lamp, lovely though that may be.

 

There'll be no more incubator hatching in this house- hubby has put his foot down

*Jumps up & down searching for a broody hen*

[mostin]

So you lot: , and mostin and HEN - you two were especially bad.... ON THE NAUGHTY STEP, BOTH OF YOU NOW

 

What me . I don't know what you mean .

 

It was all just too exciting, you would have been even worse if you had been at home as planned .

[laurmurf]

hmmm... we think our longed for naked neck isn't quite so naked.

 

The little chick (with the initial name of Dracula - thanks hellymisscloud) has looked so similar to Nessie the Scots Grey from the beginning that I have been very suspicious. Searching google images for 'turkens' (the american name for them) shows that I'd notice a NN by now. I think we've got two Scots Greys (which will delight OH, particularly as he had NO IDEA about the potential NN invasion). I think they eggs were mis-labled at Temple Newsam, sadly.

 

well he hasn't spotted the silkie chick yet - altho he does keep asking about that 'ugly, hairy, grey thing' and wondering what sort of Aracauna it is...