Summer Thoughts
Well, high summer is certainly upon us. The thermometer reads about 96f here in Bellville, OH. I'm thankful for the good soaking rain this weekend (1.45”), as we hadn't had any measurable precipitation since the derecho on Monday, June 13. That storm also produced 3 EF1 tornadoes in our area with wind gusts estimated to have hit 105 mph. We were without electric for over 3 days and of course the incubator and brooders were loaded. In time of power cuts, the babies in the brooder can be put with a good broody hen or boxed up so they can snuggle together for warmth. Only give them water a few times a day and in well lit areas so they don't get too wet and chilled. I watered them on the patio in the sun and they did well, basking in the summer sun. However this was only after losing a dozen or so to piling in the brooder's corners because I was distracted by the severe weather.
The incubator is another story. I wrapped it with an insulated woolen lap robe (we use these in the sleigh in the winter) and moved it from the basement to the upstairs where the ambient heat was warmest. I could have taken it to a neighbor or family member's house to plug in but our whole area was without electric. You could also fill jugs and bottles with hot water, but I didn't think of this until after the fact.
When the electricity finally came back on the incubator had been well below 99.5 degrees for 3 days and 3 hours. I was convinced that the entirety of both hatches (there were two settings of eggs 1 week apart) of 286 eggs would be destroyed. When the first hatch was due on 19 June, I candled the eggs and much to my surprise, there was movement inside a few of them! This first hatch, which was mostly Reds, a few Golden Greys, Whites, Cuckoos, and Silver Greys, produced 27 chicks out of 186 fertile eggs. The second setting, (all Coloreds) which was only 1 week into incubation when the electric was cut, gave me less hope. I candled them and saw plenty of embryos, but was it was too early to tell much. When their time came to hatch on 27 June, there were 32 live chicks that hatched out of 100 eggs from the original setting. This second hatch has a few chicks missing toes and toenails, but all of them are healthy and active. Both of these hatches were exactly 2 days late in hatching. Mother Nature, despite her awesome destructive power, sure is pretty cool, huh?
Remember to eat those cull Dorkings. Invite your friends over for supper and cook up a couple cockerels on the grill this summer. Let them taste why we love these birds, they'll still think we're crazy, but now at least they'll know why.
Clockwise beginning with upper left, Colored Dorking cockerel with the promise of an excellent comb, a Cuckoo pullet with good toes, three pullets showing some of the variations in the Grey color, and a Slate Red cockerel.
