Incubation: Day 7

Seven days ago I sat 24 eggs in my incubator.  They are a variety of surprises, I have no idea what breeds are included in this batch.  I just ask the lady who sells eggs locally if she could give me two dozen eggs, a mix of colors and sizes so I get a nice variety.  She knew that some of her hens were laying fertile eggs but she couldn't guarantee how many.  I was willing to take the risk.

Today is day 7 so I candled my 24 eggs and found that 19 of them have active little baby chick embryos inside! Yay!  One green egg was so dark that I couldn't see anything inside other then the air pocket so I marked the outline with a pencil and I will check it for any changes at day 10 and 14 if needed.

Later this week I will try to share the brooder I'm building from an old portable crib that, due to a change in federal laws several years ago, isn't legal for human use any more. I am hoping it will be a portable home for my chicks until they are feathered out enough to go outdoors...to the new coop that we haven't built yet.  Can you tell we work best under pressure? Ha ha!

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We are setting down new roots

We've moved from the high desert to the tall pines of Arizona.  I gave away my flock and sold my coop because I didn't know for sure where we were going to land or how long we might be there.  It took us over a year, but we are now settled in on 5 acres and I'm ready to start a new flock.

I'm getting two doz hopefully-fertile eggs tomorrow that I will set in my incubator to start my new flock.   While they are growing-out indoors the hubby will build me a new coop.

I'm already planning my garden area for this spring and a green house to help us continue to grow throughout the cold winters we have here in our new home.  After living in the high desert, learning how to keep my hens from overheating in the summer, now I get to learn to keep them from becoming pop cycles in the winter.  I'm looking forward to my new journey!

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My Egg Customers Are the Sweetest of Peeps

My egg customers are the sweetest of peeps.  Just look at the sweet gifts I have been given recently when folks came to purchase their fresh eggs from me & my 'girls'.

This beautiful ceramic tile with a colorful Rooster designed with a cowboy & bandana theme and the words "Western Omlete" came from Louise, a sweet lady who always slips me an extra dollar when she pays me for my eggs.   I keep telling her that she gave me too much money, but she refuses to take the money back, saying that the eggs are so delicious that its worth that much and more.  Last time she picked up her eggs she gave me this lovely gift.

Another super sweet lady, named Helen, always returns her empty cartons, but they are never empty...she always puts jelly beans in the carton.  Today she handed me the carton but there was no familiar rattling noise, and I noticed the carton was not completely closed.  Inside I discovered this cute little Chicken...that was hand made my someone from clay, then hand painted.  It is so cute, and because it is a cone shape I am calling it my 'ChickCone' and I'm proudly displaying it with my other fun Chicken knick-knacks.

When you have chickens...you meet the sweetest peeps!

Keeper of 1 husband, 3 dogs,

3 cats, and 16 Chickens!

 

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Agressive Javelina's Charging At My Dogs Through the Fence -Video

Here in Arizona you are familiar with the nasty critters to watch out for and avoid such as rattle snakes and scorpions.  Another critter that we try to avoid is the Javelina, but in all my years of living here I didn't really consider them an extreme threat.  I have had them come right up to us to get a treat like a tossed strawberry (or stale cheerios in the case of my grandkids). I watch them each morning and evening as they make their way west then east in their daily travels.

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Arizona Daily Star

When I go out to my chicken run I sometimes find a group of Javelina's hanging out in the yard between the back door and the chicken run, but they will usually scatter as soon as they see and hear me coming.  The only time I hesitate approaching them is when they have new babies in their group.  They get very protective when they have little ones with them.  But even then, I have never had them get really aggressive with me, they just tend to stand their ground and expect me to give them extra time to disperse with their babies.

However this morning I was caught off guard by their aggression.  I looked through the window of the door before letting my dogs out into the fenced back patio and saw the Javelina's wondering around the backyard outside the fenced in area.  I opened the door and let the dogs out.  As is usual, the small dogs run to the fence barking frantically at the Javelina's and typically the Javelina's will scatter.  But today they did not.  They took a few steps away, then turned right around and came back towards the fence.  My puppy (8 mo old Rottweiler/SharPei) ran towards them but didn't bark, she wanted to play with them.  She jumped towards them and lowered her upper body like she does to instigate the dogs or cat to romp and play with her.  The Javelina's jumped towards her with their hock hair standing erect, huffing and snorting, clacking their sharp tusks in chomping motion as a threat to her.  Miss Hollywood was oblivious to any threat.

This was totally unusual behavior from what I have seen by Javelina's in my nearly 2 decades living here in Arizona.  I grabbed my video camera to record this because no one was home and I figured no one would believe they were acting so hostile this morning.  There were no babies in this group.  They all appeared to be full grown adults, perhaps they were all males so that sparked it. 

Watch (and listen to) the video below to see how they not only charged at Miss Hollywood, but also at my Boston Terrier Pickle as well.  One even tried to nip at Pickle through the fence (3/4 of the way through the video).  Note, Pickle only has one eye, so she has issues with depth perception...I don't think she thought the Javelina was that close.  There were about 5 or 6 of them circling around the fenced area.  They did not even seem to notice me, a human, standing right there video taping them.  -Scary! 

Here are today's 'Chicken Lady's Pick of FREE eBooks'

[*BEFORE PURCHASING* Please look at the price of the book before you purchase it.  These books were listed as $0.00 at the time of this post, but this is usually a short term promotion and then they go back to the full price.] 

This book will be available for FREE on Amazon for one day only, on Wednesday, October 1, 2104. 

This story is told from the perspective of Cheryl, the oldest of seven siblings.  There are glimpses into the heart and soul of each of the other children as they experienced unimaginable abuse and pain throughout their childhoods.

This book is a message of hope and unexpected joys as you experience the journey with Cheryl as she discovers the road to freedom through the Power of Forgiveness. Cheryl learned to forgive her abusers and her past, and it opened up opportunities for her life to change. In speaking and sharing all over the United States and in other countries, for so many years, her story has powerfully impacted thousands of other hurting people all over the world.

Cheryl's bold message that she so eloquently conveys to the reader is that they must not remain just victims, or survivors - they can become healers of themselves and others, just as she has done. The book resonates with the colors of triumph, courage and life-sustaining caring for others.

** This book is also available for Free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Learn more

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Ex-cop Frank Harper doesn't want to get involved. Harper is visiting the small Ohio town of Cooper's Mill, trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter and a grandson he's never met. But he finds the town gripped in fear-two young girls have gone missing, taken in broad daylight from a busy street. And the police are coming up blank. But once Harper is drawn reluctantly into the investigation, he'll stop at nothing to find the girls. And he doesn't care who gets in the way.

** This book is also available for Free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Learn more

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You will learn everything about Sprouting that will get you started and excited about creating your own Superfood that is super healthy for you and much cheaper and healthier than buying in the store.

Sprouts are crunchy and flavorful additions to any diet, rich in natural sources of proteins, vitamins, enzymes and minerals; they add a healthy punch to sandwiches, salads and stir-fry dishes. You can easily buy sprouts in many grocery stores and whole foods stores, but it is so easy to grow your own sprouts at home, plus you can control the amount you need and also experiment with different sprouting seeds and beans for a wider variety to choose from.

** This book is also available for Free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Learn more

NOTE ABOUT KINDLES & AMAZON: By the way, you do not need a Kindle device to read Kindle books, you can download the Kindle app to your Laptop, Desktop, Smartphone, iPad and just about any smart devices.  You will need an Amazon account to purchase the free books.  Sign-up is super easy if you don't already have one.  To get a Free book you have to go through the purchase process even though the price is $0.00.  You will need a method of payment on file with Amazon, but they will not charge your card to 'purchase' a free ebook. 

*This was an unpaid, unsolicited post about the products shown above that I have purchased myself.  Neither the authors nor the publishers have asked me to include their books in this post.  The first image in this post today is courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.  I have included Affiliate links in this post, please see my Full Disclosure here.

Keeper of 1 husband, 3 dogs, 
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

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