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Hey, it’s Chickam time again, and this is our 13th year, yay! You can watch the hatch, with sound and chat, here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr7ICWyIMhWSp0UUJpAeTCw/live NOW... We have a surprise for everyone! We’ve installed a major equipment upgrade! A new laptop to run everything, dedicated solely to Chickam: Asus TUF506II, upgraded to 16GB RAM and an Intel WiFi 6 Ax200 WiFi adapter. A new router: Asus RT-AX86U (AX5700) The camera is the same Logitech c920 that we used last year. So this year’s Chickam is running at 16:9 1280x720 (720p) @30fps! With the previous equipment, the stream was at best 852x480, and barely keeping to 25fps. No more eye-bleedingly bad picture, YAY! Thanks go to our Chickam patrons, for helping make this happen! What The Hell Is *Chickam* You Ask? Why it’s a live webcam feed of baby chicks hatching in my ReptiPro incubator, in my dining room! After the hatch, we’ll move the cam to the brooder box for the next 8 weeks, it will run 24/7, with sound, so you can watch the chicks grow up! You will also hear our family, since the chicks are taking over my dining room for the next 8 weeks. If you have a question, fire away! Hope everyone is ready for some hot chick action, ‘cause we’ve got eggs pipped and chicks on the way… How Many? This year, we started with 36 in the incubator, a variety of standard and bantam sizes, all from our flock! We have for sure 26 embryos, with 2 more that are iffy due to the shells being too dark to see through when I candled them—so a possible hatch of 28, though it will likely be less than that. Mother Nature ultimately makes the call and sometimes pulls the plug at the last minute. Bantam eggs like to hatch several days earlier then the usual incubation period of 21 days, we have three eggs that pipped (the chick pecked an airhole) already. Little bastards. Will There Be A Mama Hen This Year? MAYBE. Right now only 3 banty (small) hens in our flock have gone broody (gone over to the Dark Side and are in killer mama mode). One of them is Darling, a really tiny banty hen, the other two are Brick and Bobo (another uber-tiny hen). Several mama hens would tend to fight over the chicks, so we’d only be able to use one hen for a foster mom. BUT--if all the eggs hatch, there will be too many chicks for one bantam hen, and when this happens mama gets pissy and can peck/hurt the chicks. So if roughly 7 or fewer chicks hatch, YES we can try to introduce a broody hen, if MORE than that hatch, no mama, sorry. Hopefully we can get the kids a foster mom, because watching a mama hen interact with her chicks is a blast. And no, broody hens don’t care if she laid those eggs or not, all she cares about is OMG CHICKS. What’s With The Missing Sequential Numbers Of Eggs? I candled (shined a bright light through each egg in a darkened room to see if there was an embryo inside) the eggs 13 days in and removed some duds, that’s why you’ll see a break in the number sequence of the eggs. In addition to being numbered, each egg is marked with an X on one side and an O on the other, this is for us to keep track of which egg was turned every time we turned the eggs—5 times a day for three weeks, by the way, because I wanted no life other that EGGS for the last three weeks. What’s Taking So Long?! And ICK! Patience, little one. When chicks hatch they pip first, then hours later (sometimes up to 24 hours later) start to ‘unzip’ their shell (peck in a line as they rotate in the shell) then finally kick free all at once. It’s hours of waiting with a sudden payoff at the end, but once they start to unzip they can be out of the shell in anywhere from 1 hour, to 20 minutes, to 5 minutes later. And YES, they are icky and slimy and lay around like wet noodles when they first hatch, don’t worry they get cute and fluffy as they dry and get stronger. Also, hatched chicks can be quite rough and step on each other, or flip over onto their backs and have trouble righting themselves—they’ll be okay, no damage is done; so don’t worry. We monitor them carefully and will lend a hand where needed. Ditto for any that require assistance hatching. Once dry and strong we move them and the cam to the brooder box, where mama will be installed overnight if we can use one this year. I’ll list the eggs that have pipped and hatched here, with their progress and names: #36—Pipped 4/1 at 11AM--Hatched on 4/2 at 6:30PM, named 'Kana' by eating only apples #14--Pipped 4/1 at 11PM--Hatched 4/3 at 8AM, named 'Taffy' by ApathyGirl BLUE leg band #16--Pipped 4/1 at 11PM--Hatched 4/3 at 8AM, named 'Octavius' by Glenn Fawcet PURPLE leg band #3--Pipped 4/2 at 6PM, Hatched 4/3 at 3PM, named 'Ouzo' by Nutella #26--Pipped 4/2 at 7PM, Hatched 4/3 at 3PM, named 'Saber' by pretty pinkpansy BLUE food color spots #28--Pipped 4/2 at 7PM--Hatched on 4/2 at 7:30PM, named 'Moosebaby' by Chernobyl Princess #35--Pipped 4/2 at 7PM--Hatched on 4/3 at 3:30PM, named 'Biscuit' by Velvet Sparrow GREEN food color spots #5--Pipped 4/3 at 12P--Hatched on 4/4 at 12:30AM, named 'Harvey' by my cat is norris #17--Pipped 4/3 at 12P--Hatched on 4/3 at 10:30PM, named 'Sybil Disobediance' by Primpin and Pimpin And because we are suckers, on 4/9 we got 4 chicks from the feed store: All are the same age as our chicks, except for Jonesy, who is 2 weeks old. Jonesy – Feed store buff Orpington chick, two weeks old. Large buff chick, no foot feathers. Spork – Feed store Dominique chick, dark with a white head spot, no foot feathers. Slick Charlie – Feed store partridge Rock chick, reddish-brown, fuzzy, no foot feathers. Nyx – Feed store Midnight Majesty Marans chick, dark with foot feathers. (although I will forever call this breed a Midnight Marauder) BTW—please keep the YouTube chat CLEAN. Lots of kids watch Chickam every year, likely moreso this year than ever. We have zero tolerance for over-the-top bad language, racism, hate or other things of that nature and will kick & ban anyone not being a decent human being. NOW FOR THE BEST PART: YOU GUYS GET TO NAME THE CHICKS! Post your name suggestions here, 
Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Apr 11, 2021 |
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Apr 2, 2021 20:33
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 14:25 |
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All I see is eggs. The world is full of lies...
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Apr 2, 2021 20:37
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Yay, Chickam! I'm voting for Spartacus for the next one hatched
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Apr 2, 2021 20:38
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omg there's a hatchening happening!
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Apr 2, 2021 20:39
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Lil mans already hatchin
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Apr 2, 2021 20:39
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Woof Blitzer posted:All I see is eggs. The world is full of lies... #25 is about to pop out.
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Apr 2, 2021 20:39
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Please name one of the chicks JuicyFruit tia
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Apr 2, 2021 20:47
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Neptune for my favourite banty Brahma who died last year
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Apr 2, 2021 20:52
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I vote for the name Mango Chutney.
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Apr 2, 2021 21:16
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#25 should pop out any minute! #36 is unzipping, and should be after that. Several other chicks are enlarging their pips.
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Apr 2, 2021 21:35
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Aw yea time for chickens Jamiroquai is my name for the year
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Apr 2, 2021 21:42
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name one Gorgax The Devourer
AARD VARKMAN fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Apr 2, 2021 |
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Apr 2, 2021 21:42
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Chickam is the blessed content we need. #25 taking a well-deserved break, hang in there lil' chick.
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Apr 2, 2021 21:44
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I like the chick-cam
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Apr 2, 2021 21:47
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For like the fourth year in a row, throwing SpaceCop into the ring for a chick name.
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Apr 2, 2021 21:49
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Professor Tuberville
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Apr 2, 2021 21:49
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Name a chick Martian Manhunter, please.
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Apr 2, 2021 21:50
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So many eggs this year!
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Apr 2, 2021 21:50
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*cheeps* cheeps for cheap!
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Apr 2, 2021 21:55
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I just want to express my enthusiasm for Chickam 
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Apr 2, 2021 21:57
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I think Guy Bawks would be a good name for a chicken.
Prof. Crocodile fucked around with this message at 13:36 on Apr 3, 2021 |
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Apr 2, 2021 21:59
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Will any of them be named Gretchen? I had a chicken once named Gretchen and a raccoon ate her head. It’s a good name for a friendly chicken I think
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Apr 2, 2021 22:00
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Let's name a gorgeous chicken Julietta.
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Apr 2, 2021 22:04
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Hell yea! Name one “Dee” (as in chickadee)
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Apr 2, 2021 22:07
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Caldera seems like a good name.
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Apr 2, 2021 22:08
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My six year old is watching and would like one named Bear-Bear, after her teddy.
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Apr 2, 2021 22:11
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We had a 'Bear'--our Head Hen for many years. And we had a 'Juliet'. And I'd think 'Anne Boleyn' might be fitting for a headless chicken...? Also, #25 has been mooning the cam for like 20 minutes now. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Apr 2, 2021 |
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Apr 2, 2021 22:21
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In that case, her kitty is named Ruby.
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Apr 2, 2021 22:23
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I'd like to suggest Runce Buggins. Really excited for new and improved Chickam this year. 
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Apr 2, 2021 22:29
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Then I withdraw my pick and substitute Bawks Lunch instead if that works.
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Apr 2, 2021 22:31
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First time catching Chickam as it happens! I think I'll curse one of the chicks with the name Pat Boivin.
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Apr 2, 2021 22:37
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It looks like the chick currently hatching is wearing part of shell as a hat
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Apr 2, 2021 22:47
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I like that they keep mouthing off even as they just lay there
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Apr 2, 2021 22:49
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Dana Katherine Scully would be a good name I think
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Apr 2, 2021 22:54
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Birds from eggs, I'm sure. Special effects.
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Apr 2, 2021 22:54
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there was a bird in there 
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Apr 2, 2021 22:54
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She's so angry about being abducted that she immediately starts kicking the egg next to her
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Apr 2, 2021 22:57
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Imagine being born only to have a giant hand descend from above to take your house away.
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Apr 2, 2021 22:57
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25 took so long that the membrane had dried out and shrink-wrapped her a bit. Once I loosened it she popped right out into the kid's hand...and pooped on her. Going by the looks of her, she is at least half Brahma!
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Apr 2, 2021 23:01
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 14:25 |
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#25 is alive and ready to get out there and sing
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Apr 2, 2021 23:03
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