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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Today, I began the next batch of chicks, all from my neighbor's eggs. 
None of these chicks will be from my own chickens because my girls have 
stopped laying.  I get maybe 1 egg a week.  G's birds are raised under 
lights, so his girls are still laying normally.  In the past, eggs from 
his chickens haven't been that productive, I think because they were not 
collected and held properly.  This hatching will settle that question as 
I have collected and stored the eggs myself.  I am watching their place 
while they are out on the White River in Arkansas-a fishing trip, and 
with permission, I have acquired his eggs for hatching.  None froze, and 
they have all been collected since Christmas and kept in my spare 
bedroom which has proven to be a good place to store eggs in the 
past-not too hot, not too cold.
Again, each egg is marked with the date collected.


I still have all 8 of the free chicks I got.  They were hatched around 
10/10, so they are about 11 weeks old now.  They are doing fine and have 
adjusted well to all the moves.  They are almost full grown.  The chicks 
from the first hatch are now in the chicken tractor and they have most 
of their feathers now.  They are about the size of a good honeydew 
melon.  I still have 19 of them.  They are almost 5 weeks old.  A lot of 
these birds are white, some have a black spot or two looks like paint 
streaks.  It's kind of odd.  I'm not a big fan of white birds, so I will 
probably put some of these in the freezer.  My rooster is a big white 
rooster with 'red ' looking wings.  I think he might be a cross between 
a White Wyandotte and a RIR.  If I end up with a good looking rooster 
that is prettier, I'll probably replace my existing stud.
The chicks from the second hatch are 11 days old.  They are still fuzzy 
for the most part, but are starting to get their primary wing feathers. 
 I lost my favorite little smoky chick on the first night in the 
greenhouse, but I still have 13 remaining chicks.
Total chicken count = 46



--
"The world is my country, all mankind are my
 brethren, and to do good is my religion."
 Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809)