As of last weekend the hatching season has ended for us for 2011. The last hatches included lavender orpingtons, barred olive eggers, and the eggs I literally stood over talking nicely to them hoping I'd have a great hatch: the silver penciled rocks, of which I was blessed with 13 babies. The SPR's will all be retained for a breeding flock for next year. Overall it was a great hatching year. I was really pleased with the performance of the Brinsea and the HB 2362. We had an interesting spring in central VA, so watching the humidity levels was a task in itself. I much prefer a more 'dry' incubation method, keeping humidity between 30 and 40%, and then bumping up to around 75% for lockdown.
My beautiful 1 year old layers all went to a fantastic home in Goochland County this past weekend in preparation for the rapidly growing youngsters. I have one more coop to finish, and will have chicks in the house for another month or so, but it's amazing to see the chicks that hatched early the spring in their 'teenage' glory right now. I don't expect eggs out of anyone for a few more months, but can't wait to see what graces the nesting boxes!
SLF has swaps on June 25th and July 2nd, and then will be taking a break until the Gilmanor sale in September.
