Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tidbits


Not much time to post, but here's a bit of what's going on:

-- 21 days is arriven, and no chicks yet. For some reason my incubator temp spiked up last night to 110 degrees. Don't know why, don't know how long it was that hot before I noticed. Don't know if that will do any damage. If none of these eggs hatch I will blame it on an ineffective rooster.

-- I ordered 33 chicks from McMurray Hatchery, delivery week June 8. Good thing, too, if none of my 'bator eggs make it.

-- Spent part of Easter Saturday shearing Dawn, with help from many family members gathered here for the holiday. We were able to see something moving around in her tummy, which proves she is either pregnant or severely indigested. She's quite thin for being pregnant, however. Yesterday I dewormed her, just in case, although she showed no other signs of having worms (bad poops, anemic, etc.). Next week is Evie's turn for the razor treatment.

-- I raked away the straw from atop the garlic bed and saw some yellowish green spikes poking up through the soil. Next step is to till the garden and plant potatoes. I plan on doing a lot of potatoes this year.

-- Started over 100 tomato seeds in my basement on April 3. Just checked last night, nothing growing yet. I am moderately concerned. They should be growing by now.

-- Lots of other spring projects to look forward to -- putting the mower on the lawn tractor, cleaning out the goat barn, cleaning out the chicken coop, mending fences, etc. etc. Spring is finally here, and it's time to get moving. I'm still having trouble shaking off my winter lazy, though.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Typical...blame the poor rooster! Simon...defend us!

Hawaiian Jim

Karen said...

I would blame the intense heat. If you don't get any chicks within ten days from expected due date, crack one open to see if it started growing or not. THEN blame the rooster!!!

Jo said...

We never got any chicks. I cracked one open and saw a dark blobby thing with some of the white and yolk. I was grossed out and threw it away without checking whether the dark blobby thing was an undeveloped chick or just bad egginess. I decided not to break open any more.

I've never actually seen our black rooster 'get it on' with any of the hens, so that is why I suspect his effectiveness.

So, did you guys ever get that heat spike from the incubator?