2nd batch of eggs

The Brilley Blue eggs were delivered today and they're in the school incubator.
We're looking for a second incubator to use as a hatcher for the first set of eggs, so that we can stop turning them and increase the humidity, while this second batch still has a few more days to go. Today being day 0, they take 21 days so are due on the 17th July.

Nottingham Uni

We've been to the Nottingham University open day today with school.
When we got there me + my friend Chris got on a shuttle bus to Sutton Bonnington, the vetty campus, which is about 25 minutes away. We'd booked on the Open day there, but got there a bit late because of the coaches being delayed, so we just joined the tour a bit late. It was really good, a new campus and really modern. There were a few practical bits to it, we had a go at suturing, bandaging a life-sized horse model, CPR on a fake dog. There was also a lambing and calving session where you put a glove on and lubed up and have to put your arm in the sheep/cow and feel which way the calf was presented. It was quite easy to do after the lambing.

When we'd finished we got back on the shuttle bus just after 2 o'clock thinking that we'd be back for 2.25, but the shuttle didn't leave until 2.45 - the time we had to be back at Main campus to meet school! We got there late, but the coaches back to school were delayed getting to Main campus too so it wasn't too bad :/

Babies

I feel surrounded by babies.
Theres been some exciting news announced, a newborn today and a baby due withing the next few days.
I always think I'll break new babies so leave them alone for a couple of months! Then I'm fine after that - much rather have a newborn lamb/chick, know I won't break those!!

We set up the incubator this afternoon and I got an email saying that the eggs have been sent out and should be here tomorrow ready to be set on Wednesday, so more babies on the way in a few weeks.

...and just because I like it:
The best thing about a hug? One size fits all

XD

Spoke to soon

.... one of the Dove eggs was cracked on the bottom of the cage.
They may have accidently dropped it, or sometimes they know an egg is infertile and kick it out.
They can do it because if they sit on the eggs, get off, then get back off, an infertile egg will cool down much quicker than a fertile egg. So they will kick out an egg if they think its infertile.


Don't count your doves before they hatch ;)

Incubator has arrived

The incubator has arrived at school :D
Its a Cuvatutto 24 with an automatic turner, but the company have forgotten to send the automatic turner with it. It should arrive on Monday but if it doesn't we'll just turn the eggs manually for the first few days.

Hopefully we'll set them next Tuesday/Wednesday so that they hatch and we'll have them for a week in school before they come home with me XD
We're setting it all up on Monday afternoon and I think we have everything but the food which we won't need for a few weeks yet.
I've got leg rings and the eggs have been ordered and paid for, being posted next-day delivery on Monday.

The story starts again ...

The Doves have laid 2 more eggs, I noticed the second one yesterday.
Going by past experiences they won't hatch so I'm not getting hopeful yet!

So far they've all been fertile but not able to hatch or the parents have got bored and the chicks have got too cold and so died - except the one which hatched.
I think its a girl now because the ceres around her eyes are small, but they could just be not fully developed yet.

If the eggs do hatch I think I'll sell them, ideally I'd get another unrelated breeding pair so I can have 2 blood lines and sell one chick from each pair off as breeding pairs, but as Richard and Judy are unrelated, they'll be ok as sometimes breeders do hatch from related pairs to improve bloodlines.

My Hatching Guide

I wrote a hatching guide about incubation mainly to use in school for the chicks, a while back and then I modified it a bit to make it a lot briefer and shorter and then posted some of it on the internet. Omlet (the company the eglu is from) emailed me saying that they liked it, was it all my own words and could they to post it on their website as they've started selling equipment for raising chicks, and they also asked me to write a piece for their newsletter, which I did and it was published (right word?) in the newsletter today :D

I've copied my bits out and put the picture up above, click to make it bigger :)

Another DIS :(

Another Diamond Dove chick dead in shell, Judy left it and I left her to see if she'd get back on but she didn't, its a couple of days overdue.
I opened it, and the air sac was really big, but not pipped. There was a perfect little chick inside, fully developed but hadn't hatched for some reason.
Its the 3rd time a chick has developed and not hatched so I don't know whats going on with them. They aren't growing too big for the shell, and the shell can't be too thick so I don't really know what has happened :(

Got Your Number

Thats my attempt for an egg competition thing!
Its on Omlet competition to win £20 so I thought I'd enter just for the hell of it. The bodies are chicken eggs + the heads are quail eggs. Painted with tippex + the red is drawn on with sharpie.

New

I've got the eglu! Its 4 years old + in quite good condition. I think I'll need to buy some new plastic roosting bars, a new shade and maybe some bolts to attach the run to the eglu.

.......all we need now is the chicks to fill it!

The incubator has been ordered for school, its a Covatutto automatic one which holds 24 eggs. That should be here in the next couple of weeks, then I can get the eggs then its just a waiting game for 21 days!!!

Once hatched they'll either stay in school over the weekends, or if I have to come home with me because I only live down the road and they can't get lonely! ;)

Egg candling

I've just candled the egg to see if it was alive because I though it was dead, and everything looks good :)
Judy is sitting on it fine, keeping it warm.
When I candled it the air sac looks a bit big, but that should be ok. The chick was moving inside the shell!
I still think its amazing that a chick can develop out of something as simple as an egg, and then know what to do to get out and survive.

EGLU

I've just won an eglu on ebay! It cost £235, which is quite good, they're £333 new + delivery, and seem to hold their price well.
They're plastic chicken houses that are cool in the summer, warm in the winter, don't get red mite because they're plastic and have a fox proof run.
Its in Wiltshire (2 hours away :/), and we're collecting it sometime this week.