AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Hi,

After my incubator disaster I do have some good news. Our little crossbred bantam hen, James, hatched out 3 chicks overnight - 1 silkie (partridge, multi-coloured like the other 2 ), 1 black Belgian de Watermael and 1 stunning Millefleur d'Uccle chick. The Millefleur is (I think) about the prettiest chick I have ever seen - just beautiful.

I have brought these 3 chicks into the brooder with the ones that hatched earlier in the week and have given James one of the earlier silkie chicks (hatched Tuesday) as it kept bullying all the others! It was pecking the feet of the other chicks - actually pulling their feet out from under them, and also pecking their combs until they bled! It has been on its own for the last few days, and I gave it one more chance with the others but it went straight back to attacking their feet & faces so it has moved out under the hen where it can't hurt anybody. The hen is happy to have a baby so all is well.

My next lot are due on 17th Sept from a local hatchery, then a few more from our little broody pekin Shiny on the 18th.

More eggs to go to the hatchery on Monday as well!

Deb

You must be so excitted. I am looking forward to seeing our first baby chickens when we get our new girls. Can I ask what a millefleur d'uccle chick looks like?

Hi misty-rene - welcome to the forum.

Millefleurs are about the most beautiful chicks in the world (well, I'm slightly biased ). Mine was a caramel colour with black markings and you could already see the tri-colour pattern in its tiny wings. d'Uccle Belgians have fluffy feet and little beards.

I used the past tense regarding our chick above because today our mini pinscher pup killed that chick.

Adult Millefleurs have chestnut ground colouring with white markings at the end and a black tip. I'll find the proper wording somewhere and edit this later! It is a beautiful colour! There are some photos of adults in the photo gallery. I have some, and so does Bunyanuternie as well as others.

Have fun on here.

Deb

Hello everybody.

Yesterday I picked up my first batch of the season from the hatchery.

Out of 39 eggs I got 19 chickens - I know that sounds appalling, but I really didn't think the pekin eggs would be fertile as the hens were all so fluffy and untrimmed.

It is a very confusing batch of chicks as I had to put all the eggs in one tray. I think I ended up with:

9 silkies (out of 10 eggs - go Mr Cluck!! )
3 de Watermael Belgians
4 Millefleur d'Uccles
1 black mottled d'Uccle (chick died a few hours after getting home)
1 bluish/grey Pekin (what a surprise that one was!)
1 unknown but very pretty chick - might be the "lucky dip" egg I let my 4yo put in. I'm hoping I get some clues as it grows up.

I actually have some variation in silkie colour this time, but no whites or blacks. I did get some pretty silver/grey ones, and some that look like they might be quite red. One has only 4 toes , but the rest look like quite good types.

One of the de Watermael chicks is unusual - the others just look like normal chicks but one has a huge bump on its head like a Polish, and a funny white beard. I had heard that Polish was used to help develop the de Watermael here, so maybe this is a throwback? I might ask this in another post. One weird looking chick!

I think the black mottled chick may have been squashed by the others on the trip home - it was quite small and weak, and I probably should have had it in a separate box. And of course it was the only one - poor little thing.

Today I am building brooders! (As usual, doing things backwards - not one of those people who builds the pen and then says "what chickens shall I get?"..... more one of those people who says "I'll have those chickens.............now where will I put them???? ).

Deb

Congratulations Deb on your hatch.

I have an excess of eggs at present as my lot just keep laying and laying and no one has gone broody. I have 20 brahma eggs in the rcom 20 and 60 pekin eggs in the bellsouth 100. Some were not fertile as my cuckoo boy is getting older and has lost some fertility.

Thanks CL.

I saw your ad on Farmstock for your excess eggs - have you sold many?

Deb

The dozen I had on farmstock sold within 5 mins and I have a waiting list for any spares I might have. As I can't incubate them all myself I thought others may like them and they are from really good stock.

I am thinking that I should advertise some as with the hatchery down the road (well, 40 minutes away), I really don't have any brakes on!!!

Last year I hatched about 25 chicks. This year I am going on 120 incubated so far (and I still haven't put my lavender rooster over my best pekin hen to get any splits). That is potentially 60 roosters (or more, if I am very unlucky). It is so hard to put eggs that you know are viable in the fridge................

I just got one more Millefleur chick from under my little black pekin, Shiny. I have brought the chick inside as Shiny is still sitting on the duck egg I found in the back paddock and as I have just sold my incubator I REALLY want her to stay on it. I have three potential broodies in the main hen house that might be able to take over from Shiny in a few days if they prove themselves worthy. Really silly, I know, to try to hatch a duck egg that is probably just from the local wood ducks, but it's that "see egg - must hatch it" thing!

Deb