Self-taught farmers confidently raising chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. Our focus is on practices that are environmentally harmonious and respectful to our livestock. We appreciate the beauty around us, clean eating, fermenting, and responsibly utilizing the bounty of the land. If you like thinking for yourself, continuous learning, and connecting with the homesteader lifestyle, check us out.
The first hatch of the year was an unusual one: the bulk of the batch was shipped Cream Legbar eggs – and shipped hatching eggs typically have a low hatch rate (for a number of reasons). We also put in a couple of our own Black Copper Marans eggs – early in the season, for them – and hoped for the best. Continue reading “First Hatch 2018: Final Count And Recap”
It’s hatching time! We have several incubators here on the farm and we like to keep them busy – we typically hatch eggs during spring, summer, and fall, so we’re starting a little earlier this year. We have Crested Cream Legbar (shipped eggs) and French Black Copper Marans (our own stock) eggs in the incubator and they should be hatching in the next couple of days. This point in the incubation process is called lockdown. Continue reading “In The Incubator: Chicken Eggs On Lockdown (Hatch #1)”
It’s that time of year again – the fowl are laying and that means there are chicks, keets, ducklings, and goslings to be hatched! One of the most important aspects of hatching your own eggs without the help of a broody hen or duck is having a reliable incubator. But where do you start when looking for an incubator?
Before you buy one, I highly recommend considering your goals, using questions like these as your guide in your analysis:
We recently added guinea fowl to the menagerie here at the farm. Hatching and raising our own has taught us some lessons we’d like to share. Never heard of guinea fowl? Read on to learn a little more about them.
While guinea keets (what young guinea fowl are called, like baby chickens are “chicks”) may look a lot like chicks, they are very different creatures. One of the biggest differences is that they’re tiny compared to chicks. So tiny that they can easily be trampled or get into spaces chicks wouldn’t. Our first hard lesson came when a keet inexplicably disappeared from the brooder room. Continue reading “Guinea Fowl: What We’ve Learned After Two Hatches”
We’re always excited when it’s hatching day…it’s really amazing that fully-formed chicks, ready to scratch and find food, emerge from eggs that seem much too small to contain them. They work so hard to hatch, too; sometimes, they’re exhausted after hours of struggle and they simply crash out on the incubator floor. That rest is well-deserved.
This round, we set French Black Copper Marans (purebred) and American Bresse x French Black Copper Marans eggs. The FBCM eggs are dark brown, sometimes speckled, and highly sought after by chicken enthusiasts. The chicks are very cute, black with little white bottoms and feathered feet. The Bresse/FBCM eggs are from our handsome FBCM rooster over our friendliest white Bresse hen. Continue reading “Farm Babies: Chicks Are Hatching!”
We have some unusual eggs hatching right now at the farm. They’ve been in the incubator for 27 days, and several have pipped externally. Hatching is extremely hard work, especially for birds that have shells as hard as these do.
Here are your hints:
So do you know what kind of bird this is? Bonus question: what are the young of this species called?