BAM! The lights go out.

What do you do when you have an incubator full of eggs and your power goes out for several hours?   Unfortunately, many of us are unprepared for power outages unless you have a generator.  It is really good to make sure you have one of these little portable battery chargers that you can plug your incubator into until power is restored.  http://www.amazon.com/Wagan-400-Watt-Starter-Built-In-Compressor  Several companies make this product. 

It's very stressful to have your power go out for several hours in good conditions, but even more so if you find yourself in less than positive circumstances.  I usually incubate my eggs in my upstairs
bathroom so I can keep an eye on things so I have put my little charger in the bathroom just in case I have the need for it. We lost power for over 3 hours on a sunny Sunday afternoon and my incubator was full of eggs.

Needless to say, I started stewing over how long the power had been out.  My son, bless his heart, came up with the great idea of using the battery charger to plug the incubator into.  It would have been a great idea if the battery charger had been fully charged, but it still provided enough energy to kick on the incubator to bring up the temp levels again.  I was sure I had lost all of the chicks, because we didn't have a source to keep them warm.  Luckily, the next morning we had chicks coming so all was not lost.  The goose egg survived as well. 

Get yourself one of these little battery chargers or even more than one if you keep more than one incubator running at a time or have chicks under lights.  It will save you stress and probably save their little lives.

All I want for Christmas is a Chicken?

     I'm sure that many of you have heard the various things children want for Christmas.  But, have you ever heard a child tell Santa, I want a chicken for Christmas?  Usually, it's the latest hand held game, doll, puppy or kitten, but not a chicken.
     I'm so happy that I'm a crazy chicken lady who just decided to hatch some chicks after the main hatching season was over.  I had lost most of my Polish hens to either a fox or creatures that fly so I wanted to hatch some.  I also wanted a few more white Silkies, so I incubated a few of them.  There were some bluish and smaller eggs and I was curious to see who was laying those so I also incubated them.  I had beautiful white Silkies, Self blue d'uccles mixed with cochin, hatch in October.  I also incubated Polish and a few misc eggs that I knew would be banty but I wasn't sure what kind.  This batch hatched right before Thanksgiving.

born October 27th, 2011

     Yesterday when I got home from work, there was a message on my phone about having chicks.  I returned the call as it was someone who had obtained a few chicks from me earlier in the year.  I started to talk to the mom and I told her of the variety of chicks I had.  She was pleasantly surprised that I had any chicks and was especially delighted when I said I had white Silkies.  She said, "Oh white Silkies, that's just what my son wants, he even brought out a book and showed us a picture of one."  I told her they were about 2 months old and but nicely fluffing out.  I told her the white Silkie hen was also sitting on a few eggs at this point that I expect to hatch around Christmas, so I would be fine with parting with a couple of the older ones.  I told her that I had some red ribbon that I could make big bow for on the chick or chicks.  She asked how late she could pick it up and I told her, she could come on Christmas eve if she wanted to so it would be a lovely surprise for him.

about 1 month old

currently they are with the Polish and the mix.

I think I'm as excited as the parents about giving the little boy this special gift.  I have been very pleased with how lovely the Silkies look.  I would love to see the look on the little boy's face when he receives this chick or chicks. The parents haven't decided if they want to get one or two.  What a delightful and special gift. I'm so happy I was crazy enough to hatch out a few chicks for myself or I wouldn't have this opportunity.  Happy Hatching and Happy Holidays.  Chickens are a joy year round.

This is awesome

The Look Mobile Version

The Look Mobile Version

Our Newest Hatchling

When I got home from work yesterday, the kids ushered me into the house so that I could see we had another duckling working it's way into the world.  The pic to the left was how it started it's lengthy process.  It is so interesting to watch them make their way out.  A duck egg is quite thick and they have to really work at it.  We could hear it peeping from inside the egg. 

 After a while, we did help pull the shell away from its face and then it pushed its way out.  It was all wet and very fragile looking.  We left it in the incubator so it would stay warm enough.  When it had pushed its way all the way out, we removed the shell and left it in the incubator to dry and stay warm.


It amazes me how something can grow in a shell this way and arrive in the world knowing exactly what it's suppose to do. It knows to groom itself. It knows that it's hungry and instinctively start foraging for food and water.  The personality is there right from the beginning.  Such a delicate, fragile creature.  

I'm going to put some chickens eggs in and see what happens next. Obviously our ducks are at work.  I think this one is Chocolate colored and may be the offspring of our Khaki Campbell male.  Whether the female was fawn Indian runner or Rouen or Swedish, I'm not sure. We have Cayuga, Campbell, Peking and Swedish males that I'm sure of. Our females are Cayuga, Peking, Runners, Rouen, and Blue and Black Swedish.  I know the males like all the females so it's any one's guess.

Warm and Dry Duckling #2

My Little Miracle, First Baby Duck from our Mini Incubator

This morning was kind of one of those crazy days, where I got up a little later than I wanted to which is never a good thing. It seems like you are always trying to catch up with yourself for the rest of the day. I found what I was going to wear, let the dogs out, started the coffee pot and went down to wake up my son. I proceeded to fill a pail with water for our big ducks and head to the hen house with Patches, our dog. I went in took care of the ducks, geese, and chickens and on my way back out noticed that Patches had gained entrance into the dog yard. I was trying figure out how she did that when I realized my rottie mix and great dane had escaped. Great, this is definitely going to make me late for work. I jump in the car with Patches and we head out to find the escapees. We find them and they trot along behind the car back to house, and then they all get in the car while I'm trying to get them out. Finally, get them back in the house, get them fed, head back up stairs with my coffee to finish getting ready. In this process, I manage to spill coffee on my shirt and poke myself with my mascara so I'm having so much fun. It all makes me laugh because what can you do. I grab my phone and head back down stairs because I'm just about ready to go.

All of that to share this wonderful miracle with you.
We had been incubating a few duck eggs in this mini incubator by Brinsea who is a proud sponsor of the CommunityChickens.com   http://www.brinsea.com/default.html  This incubator has been sitting on the counter in the kitchen for the last month waiting to see what would happen.  It's small and easy to use.  Great for first time users.  I got one that didn't have an automatic turner so I would check the eggs regularly.  My son wanted to know what kind of a duck it was and I'm not 100% sure at this point but I'm fairly sure from pictures that this is a blue Swedish.  It amazes me that a perfect little duck came from an egg.  All the intricate
details of this little body came to be when so many things can go wrong.  I know this is a Chicken Community website, but this little incubator will also give us the blessings of chicks too.  Have an awesome day!!

Happy in the Henhouse

I am fairly new to the chicken world, but have learned quite quickly what to do to keep my crew happy. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska.  I'm sure my challenges are the same as in other places but it has been a learning experience.  Last year in the spring, I thought I would get a few chicks and have farm fresh eggs.  After all, how hard could it be to raise a few chickens. It's a little harder than I thought it would be plus I didn't really know how delicate the chicks were or how heartbreaking it would be to lose them. After losing one and crying over the little thing, I decided to get a few more. How fast I fell in love with raising them and looking forward to seeing them grow into mature hens.

I kept them in the bathtub until they were feathered out because that seemed like a warm, safe place for them. Plus the bathtub was easy to clean and it didn't matter if it got wet.  I had eight at the beginning.  My husband was glad when they vacated the bathtub so he could take showers freely in the main bathroom instead of my daughter's small shower.  I put them in a clothes basket because they could see out and I could put them in the sun. I put something over the top so they couldn't get out and nothing could get in. I eventually put them in a bigger pen that I put together and kept them in the living room with plastic under them until they were big enough to put outside.

They did very well. I started feeding them greens and they finally got a small chicken coupe they really enjoyed.  I would allow them out for as long as I could to free range and then put them back in at night.  I put them in a location that seemed shaded and safe. I had no idea that a Harrier Hawk would be bold enough to land in the fenced area and kill one of the hens.  Of course, they all had names by this time so Freckles died under the talons of this hawk.  As the summer went on, they grew and we had some just come up missing at times.  I had no idea I was going to enjoy the company of these scratching hens and look forward to their antics.

As fall grew closer, my husband and a friend built a sturdy chicken coupe so we could enclose them during the first winter.  Another friend had a rooster and a hen that needed a home so we told him to bring them over.  Shortly, after George, the Rhode Island Red Rooster arrived, I started getting eggs to my delight.  During the winter months, I kept giving them scraps and occasionally would make some oatmeal and put scraps in it for them and they laid eggs all winter. There were two heat lamps to heat the hen house and we bedded them with straw.  They seem happy and content.  I was happy and content because they were a captive audience that I could handle more easily because they couldn't leave the hen house or run from me like they could when they were in the more open space.

There is just something about the gentleness of a hen that soothes a person's soul and brings you joy when you have them nestled on your lap. They are calm, enjoying your caresses and their calmness is a good therapy. Who knew that owning chickens would give me more than a few eggs.  It's the best endeavor I have ever invested in.  

My Happy Hens

Check out the Community Cluckers at CommunityChickens.com