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It just keeps snowing and snowing it seems. Spring is here, but the weather is still acting like winter. I'm pretty tired of it. The birds have got to be tired of it. 
I hatched my first ducklings of the season. My first babies from my blue magpie. 2 are blue ancona marked babies, the 3rd I don't know yet. I also hatched my first serama babies from my stock, don't have a clue what their colors are going to be of course, lol. I think one looks like it's momma though, black and white mottled. I've got more ducklings and some goslings growing in the incubator, I'd very much like to be able to put them outside soon after hatching. Hoping the weather starts cooperating by then. I've got a new incubator, and now have 2. So that means lots of hatching soon too. And I'm hoping they start laying steady enough soon to start selling eggs too, now that fertility is somewhat checked and babies are growing and hatching. I'll keep checking fertility on new layers and on my birds periodically of course. I plan on having my incubator on through spring. 
The pic below is 2 of my 10 day old serama and d'uccle chicks, and my teeny little 9 week old japanese bantam pullet. 

 
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At least I hope it is. But if I say it enough times, maybe it will be true. And it is nice outside, and the snow is melting. Yay! Time to start getting busy out there, so much to do. Gardening, lots of work on the chicken pen to do, mandarin pen, etc. I'm so excited to finally be able to be getting a start on it. 
I also got a few new additions to the flock yesterday. 3 "cute" little naked neck chicks. They are interesting looking little chicks, hubby and the kids love them, and hopefully there is a girl or 2 out of the 3 that will give me some eggs this fall when my older girls take a break.   And I got eggs in the mail yesterday. Some call, crested mallard, and goose eggs from a really sweet person with some pretty pretty ducks. I'm so excited about these! I also set about 10 more serama eggs, and my ONE d'uccle egg that I've gotten. Incubator is full! Until next week, when the turkeys and some of the serama hatch, and I have more eggs ready to go in as soon as they do. Time to get to work building myself a "real" incubator, although I have grown to like my little styrofoam lg. 

 
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I haven't got much done in the last few weeks. It's snowed quite a bit, way too much for my liking. It collapsed the netting over the mandarin pen, I'm just happy it wasn't done yet and empty still. The ducks quit laying since it snowed, and I desperately need to get new netting on the pen the mandarins are in now. I started that today, but it's hard to get much done with frozen fingers and little kids. My goose has been laying, and her and the gander have been acting paired off although I haven't seen any breeding. I've set a few of her eggs, I hope to see in a few days if he's been sealing the deal. My serama that was laying went broody and hasn't started back up, but a second pullet is now laying so I'll have those along with the geese eggs hatching for Easter. I'm really wanting ducklings though, so I'm hoping the few in the incubator hatch and that mine get to laying soon. And my d'uccles too, lol. 

    IttyBittyBantieBarn

    Hi, I'm the owner of Itty Bitty Bantie Barn. I had originally planned on an information page, but I think the links page should cover most of that when I'm done. So instead I've decided to start a blog in it's place, and hopefully I can cover some information here.

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