When do you plan on moving them? If you want to move mama and nearly hatched eggs, move her a few days before hatch (maybe 2-3 days). Have the new, secure quarters all ready to go, with food water and a nice quiet, private nest. Then move hen & eggs at night, and keep any lighting low. Do it quickly and quietly, and then leave her alone so she can go back to sleep. Chances are she won't abandon eggs that are peeping, rocking and generally getting ready to hatch. Sometimes other hens will get broody or jealous of another hen's nest, and drive her off the eggs. Then that new hen may take over setting and hatching, or lose interest and wander off after a few days, you never know. If you wait until the chicks are hatched, just do it like seramas says, but I'd still do it at night so they wake up in the new pen. I'd have a brooder box all ready to go with food, water and a heat source just in case she turns on the chicks--but chances are that she won't. With first-time moms you never know if they will go through with the hatch. Generally if they sit all the way through and hatch the eggs, they are good moms and don't abandon the chicks. There may be accidents where chicks get stepped on, especially with large breed hens who are much heavier. Banties usually make great moms and are very protective and savvy. Momma and babies should be kept in a separate pen for the first few weeks, mama can't be everywhere, and while she is chasing one bully away, another may swoop in and hurt the babies. I've got a chicken info site here that may help: http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickHensBroodiesChicks.htm Enjoy the chicks! :) Velvet ~:>

End of May, hmmm. Seems a bit late for all of those varieties? Should they not be planted in Feb.? Or a fall planting? You must have a local nursery, (not a big box store), that can give you a guide to a vegetable garden. Or a neighbor or mentor that has had success... I've never direct seeded an entire pack of seeds, maybe 1/3rd or less...then a week later or two weeks, seed a few more...for insurance depending on weather. I did live in Texas one year, years ago, and followed a neighbors advice. Picked a high spot for a small garden and soon realized why it was a good idea...devastating heavy rains would have destroyed all efforts. Find a garden club, a group that shares garden advice and get that soil ready for the next season....the basics for a healthy start without wasting money on experiments. Many methods to divert heavy rains that do not wash away your good soil....or destroy your seedlings...but best to seek a local gardener.

Wyndyacre, I never thought of trying anti-dessicant spray. I usually wrap in burlap or else cover with an old box. That's good to know that it works well. Does anyone else use this product? I also heard that mulching the plants year round (or at least for the winter) helps prevent winter dessication. One theory is that by mulching the frost doesn't penetrate the ground so deeply, allowing the roots to thaw out quicker in spring and start taking up moisture. As long as the plant is taking up moisture, it can replenish moisture lost through the needles or branches by the sun and wind. Here it was a fairly typical winter with the usual cold spells. I have yet to do a 'tally' of what survived, but alot of plants look good. I was amazed at how well my sungold falsecypress survived, basically covered with newspaper and buried under snowcover. My Hick's yew, however, suffered winter damage but more because it warmed up so quickly in late March, and I kept it covered too long. I shouldn't have had the blanket touch the branches, at least not when it warmed up. Another theory of mine is that sometimes it's not the winter temperatures that determine how well plants survive, but the fall weather. A few years ago we had an unusually cold October. By the middle of the month the highs were only getting a bit above freezing. I don't think the plants had the proper warm days and cold nights to prepare for winter, because the next spring many conifers were damaged and especially plants in the 'prunus' family such as my purple leaf sandcherry and 'Rose' sour cherry. Glen

In the last year I've planted about 5000 seeds over many months, some expensive ones and a lot of cheap ones I bought on the Lily Auction where someone was clearing out their refrigerator. Plus I made about 550 of my own seeds. Germination rates vary from 0 to 100%, and seem to vary more by who the parents are than by who sold me the seeds. I saw this with my own seeds, and I know they had consistent treatment. The seeds from some parents like Shotgun Wedding often didn't germinate, though with a few co-parents the germination rate would jump into the 80s. This happened whether Shotgun Wedding was the pollen or pod parent. So maybe most of your seeds are from a daylily with a bad seed germination rate? I'm in Colorado, and most seeds get harvested in August when we are very dry. So we pick the seeds and immediately put them into a plastic baggie with a piece of paper towel without drying them first, label the baggie with the cross, and tuck the bags into the refrigerator's vegetable drawer. If I wait only a few weeks and plant, the germination rate is higher than if I wait a few months. So speed of planting can have an influence. Seeds I get off the Lily Auction in August that were grown that summer and planted immediately by me usually have 100% germination rates. But this is also a function of dormancy - these southern evergreen or sev seeds sprout faster than some of the northern dormants. I buy 6 or 8 inch deep storage boxes about 1.5 feet by 2 feet from Target and divide them into three planting rows with pieces of colored flagging tape cut to the length of the box and held down by two toothpicks. I use sterile seed planting mix about 4 inches deep and water it first. I plant 5 seeds of one cross and put down a colored plastic toothpick to divide it from the next cross, and keep going until I've filled the box, keeping seeds about two inches apart. I have a master seed planting chart where I write down each cross in its position as I plant them and note the color of the next toothpick. This chart is scanned into my computer so I can't lose it. Then I put the clear lid on the box and either put it under lights or in the middle of my living room floor where it doesn't get direct sun (don't want to steam my seeds!). My house is 62 degrees at night, and 68 degrees during the day. Seeds start to sprout in 2 weeks, and really go to town at 3 weeks when I'll have 30 seeds sprout each day. The lid is put aside as soon as the first seedlings start to hit it - even here where it is dry the seeds/seedlings don't need to stay covered at this point since the air stays moist above the soil. I keep the soil moist but not damp; I think it's best to err on the side of drier instead of too wet. With such a large potting container the soil dries out slowly so it's easy to keep its moisture level consistent. I wait at least 2 months to pot up each cross into its own 1 gallon pot with 5 seedlings per pot, though cheaper seeds will get put into those little tree pots that are deep but about 2 inches square at the top. However, if I get too ambitious and plant too many seeds like I did last year, the seed storage boxes can go outside during the summer - this works in Colorado because we don't get rain very often so not having drainage holes is okay. Otherwise drainage holes would need to be drilled in the box. This fall I planted some seeds I got from someone else, and two were a bit moldy. All the seeds except the moldy ones sprouted, but the mold spread and wiped out all the nearby seedlings. So throw away moldy seeds, or plant them in a separate pot if you must try them. I hope something here is helpful. Generally I find daylily seeds very easy to germinate so there must be something that is causing a problem. Perhaps too much moisture, too much humidity, too much heat? You may have better luck waiting and planting your seeds outside in the spring - using a bigger pot for 5-10 seeds is generally better than a bunch of small pots for each seed. Or plant your seeds in rows in your vegetable garden. May you have more success this year!