Consolidated Kansas - Page 1590

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunflowerparrot 

I'm so new to this entire lifestyle - but finding myself becoming more and more intrigued with hatching my own - especially since I have a rooster!

 

Between the 2, which would be best for success?

 

1. http://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-Deluxe-Incubator-Combo/dp/B004XNMGKW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1347987149&sr=8-7&keywords=little+giant+incubator

 

2. http://www.amazon.com/Brinsea-Octagon-20-ECO-Incubator/dp/B001UF8OSY/ref=sr_1_9?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1347987322&sr=1-9&keywords=incubator

Between these two, I don't even have to click on the links to tell you you'll be happier with the Brinsea Ocatgon than the Little Giant.  ChooksChick has honed hatching in a Little Giant to a fine art, and has written up an incubation tips sheet that you'll find in her signature (she's the thread starter so just go to the first post of this thread and you'll find it) if you do decide to go with the Little Giant but....I'd recommend the Brinsea over the LG.  Also, if you DO decide to go with the LG, you can buy them at TSC, Atwoods etc so don't have to wait for shipping.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HEChicken 

Between these two, I don't even have to click on the links to tell you you'll be happier with the Brinsea Ocatgon than the Little Giant.  ChooksChick has honed hatching in a Little Giant to a fine art, and has written up an incubation tips sheet that you'll find in her signature (she's the thread starter so just go to the first post of this thread and you'll find it) if you do decide to go with the Little Giant but....I'd recommend the Brinsea over the LG.  Also, if you DO decide to go with the LG, you can buy them at TSC, Atwoods etc so don't have to wait for shipping.

Ahhhh! Ditto! Don't buy an LG, there are some people out there that can run those darn things but I gave mine away I hated it so badly. I don't know how many batches of eggs I cooked in that beast before I gave up. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by HEChicken 

Between these two, I don't even have to click on the links to tell you you'll be happier with the Brinsea Ocatgon than the Little Giant.  ChooksChick has honed hatching in a Little Giant to a fine art, and has written up an incubation tips sheet that you'll find in her signature (she's the thread starter so just go to the first post of this thread and you'll find it) if you do decide to go with the Little Giant but....I'd recommend the Brinsea over the LG.  Also, if you DO decide to go with the LG, you can buy them at TSC, Atwoods etc so don't have to wait for shipping.

Thanks! I think first though, asTeresa said, I need to get a better area for chicks (other than in my house in a big box in my dining room!) and want to set up this area in my coop with a heat lamp setup. This is something I'm going to look into come spring :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunflowerparrot 

Thanks! I think first though, asTeresa said, I need to get a better area for chicks (other than in my house in a big box in my dining room!) and want to set up this area in my coop with a heat lamp setup. This is something I'm going to look into come spring :)

Yeah, I guess I didn't realize you didn't already have a brooder set up - it does make a difference to have a good area for them.  When I built my coop I did intend to have an area for a brooder but have wound up brooding them in my house anyway, because I like the daily interaction with them, for them to be friendly.  DD likes to have them in her bedroom and that works great for me as they get tons of attention that way.  The last batch was only inside 2 1/2 weeks because it was so warm.  This lot will probably be inside up to 3 1/2 weeks since it is cooler at night now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelleml 

Good morning all loving this weather its chilly this morning.  I have a question what do you all use in your coop and runs for litter.  Currently i have shaving in my coop and dirt in the run.  I was reading in a blog about sand.  i do the deep litter now and it works great for us but wanted to know if its easier and cleaner to use sand.

 

I just poured sand in my outside run.  Not sure I'm loving it.  I probably didn't put in enough, because it mixed right down into the dirt.  I use pine shavings inside the coop-- deep litter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunflowerparrot 

All this talk of hatching is making me want to go buy one of these and get started! I was looking on amazon at some... any suggestions? Are they all equal as far as quality?

Buy the Brinsea Eco 20!  Like Trish said-- go to their Facebook page and wait until they offer a coupon code.  It's WORTH it.  When they offer the code, THEN sign up on their facebook page for their newsletter.  They will give you another 10% or 20% off.  You can combine both of those codes to make it cheaper!  Don't sign up for the newsletter until you're ready to buy, because you only have so many days to use that coupon they give you for signing up.  If you miss it, you'll have to have a friend or someone else's computer to sign up again.  I would spring for the Brinsea because it really is fool-proof.  I can mess up ANYthing.  And I actually did mess up my Brinsea-- because I relied on the therm inside it-- don't do that!!!  Go buy a therm to put in there-- in fact, buy two so that you will know what your temp is.  I had mine set too high because I relied on a faulty therm.  Killed a lot of babies until I figured that out.  Once I had it set correctly, the machine runs like no one's business and it regains it's temp and humidity FAST after you open the lid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HEChicken 
Two days later, I looked out the window and saw this perched on my fence:

I guess it was back for another meal.  He perched there for about 20 minutes, decided there was nothing there for him and left.  I haven't lost another bird to a hawk, although we did see them swoop over from time to time.  The chooks seemed to understand the danger and when one was spotted, would call the alarm and they would all run to hide under cover.  If I ever went out and found them all hiding, I figured a hawk had swept past recently.  The hawk on the fence above was pretty small - maybe a Coopers Hawk, and I don't think it could have carried off anything but a youngster.

Yikes!!!  Great photo!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trish44 

Sunflowerparrot, if you're going to buy an incubator go with a good one, you may have to pay a little more, but it's worth it in the end. I love my Brinsea 20 Eco, it's what I started out with like Hawkeye & it's almost foolproof. I'll tell you where to get the therm/hygrometer that will fit really good in there too. Go on FaceBook on Brinsea's page on there & check & make sure they're not going to have a sale, they often announce them on there. I ordered mine directly from Brinsea & make sure you order the auto turner unless you want to spend your time turning the eggs. If you're going to hatch chicks though you're going to have to build some kind of brooder box or buy a stock tank like I told you about because you have to have heat for these babies for awhile in colder weather.

 

I went out & did all my chores & was just getting ready to come back in when a big bird of some kind flew over the front yard. I looked around & there wasn't a chicken in sight & Rusty, my BC Marans rooster was sounding the alarm. He was the only one standing out in the open, good boy Rusty!

X2.  :)  What a great rooster!  I just hope he doesn't stay out in the open when it's coming after him!  

lizzy- Here is a listing in Denison for friendly geese. It was a while ago but it looks like they have a lot of birds. http://topeka.craigslist.org/grd/3145854690.html

Or in Berryton http://topeka.craigslist.org/grd/3262153005.html

I know it is probably a haul for you but they sound like what you want and it might be worth looking into? I drove 10 hours to pick up my first pair of sebastopol geese so I know how hard it can be to find what you are looking for. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizzyGSR 

I've already checked the Salina Craigslist.  There's  nothing there...  :(   I realize that people are getting rid of what they don't want to keep over winter.  That's why I was so optimistic about finding someone that wanted to get rid of a goose.  I've found several birds for sale that MIGHT match what I want, but they're all in the Denver, and I rarely ever go to Denver.  I've had an offer of an African gander that is only an hours' drive away, but I was really wanting to stay away from the larger birds. 

 

My DH's grandmother MIGHT be willing to hatch for me.  If not, she has all the supplies (incubator, etc) and would most likely allow me to borrow them so I could attempt to hatch for myself.  She'd probably also be willing to give me advice on what to do as I know she's hatched geese before.  I would definitely prefer to get a young goose, but so far have had a terrible time finding the kind I want that is also close enough to not make the cost of gas cost prohibitive in getting the bird.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HEChicken 

Yeah, I guess I didn't realize you didn't already have a brooder set up - it does make a difference to have a good area for them.  When I built my coop I did intend to have an area for a brooder but have wound up brooding them in my house anyway, because I like the daily interaction with them, for them to be friendly.  DD likes to have them in her bedroom and that works great for me as they get tons of attention that way.  The last batch was only inside 2 1/2 weeks because it was so warm.  This lot will probably be inside up to 3 1/2 weeks since it is cooler at night now.

Up until 3 months ago, I've lived my entire life in the city (born and raised in Washington, DC... moved to NY and lived most of my adult-life there.. lived in NJ and then back to DC before heading west to Wichita) - this entire lifestyle is brand new to me and I had never even eaten an egg from a real farm before - let alone held a chicken, fed a chicken, walked in a field... I have a lot of learning I'm doing... want to do it the right way... I'm loving every single minute of this new life and know I'm going to continue to have fun on this journey! (Also - I am doing this completely alone on 27 acres out in the boonies - I do have a bf, but he doesn't live with me and lives in Derby.)

Thanks everyone.  It is nice.  Heather I know exactly what you mean, I had the cringe all the time in Wichita. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JosieChick 

lizzy- Here is a listing in Denison for friendly geese. It was a while ago but it looks like they have a lot of birds. http://topeka.craigslist.org/grd/3145854690.html

 

Or in Berryton http://topeka.craigslist.org/grd/3262153005.html

 

I know it is probably a haul for you but they sound like what you want and it might be worth looking into? I drove 10 hours to pick up my first pair of sebastopol geese so I know how hard it can be to find what you are looking for. 

Thank you, but I've already tried the first seller.  She's the one who thought ALL 30 of her chinese were males and then let them out of the barn and then couldn't catch them when I got there.  :(

If I were going to drive far enough for the 2nd seller, I would just have Danz pick up a friendly chinese for me and then drive to her house.  Sadly, my husband thinks that that is just too far to drive for a single bird.  And, really, I agree with him.  By the time I pay for gas to drive that far ANd pay for the bird, that bird will be worth well over $100.  I just can't justify that kind of expense for a bird right now.  I did find a seller in the Hays area (~2 hours from me) that had lots of birds.  However, he never returned my phone calls/FB messages after the first phone call.  A friend of his was willing to pick up a bird for me, but none of his birds were as friendly as I was wanting.  So, right now, it's looking like I either compromise on my want list (namely, the friendliness of the bird and/or the breed) OR get my DH's grandma to hatch one for me).

I really do appreciate you looking those up for me, though...

tazcat, those are some interesting Wyandottes in your photos, is that one of your projects? They're really pretty!

I want to move some birds around, but I don't feel like I can yet with some still being sick in the grow-out pen. I was observing them this morning & it appears that the imported birds are the ones that are suffering the worst. I guess they just haven't gotten the immunity built up to the diseases in this country yet, that would be my guess. The usual common birds like the Ameraucanas, Welsummers, & Orpingtons as well as the Salmon Favorelles seem to be fine, so that is the only thing I can think is that our birds here have better immunity. I guess I just will have to try to let it run it's course because I have given them so many antibiotics it's ridiculous & they're still not well. I'm just giving the two left in the garage vitamin water now & probably will do that next time I fill the waterer in the grow-out pen also.

Sunflowerparrot, if you have some scrap wood left after you build your nest boxes & you have enough I can help you build a brooder box for in your coop. I built the 2nd one I have after seeing how the one was made that I bought from someone, it wasn't really that hard. You will need something next spring if you intend to hatch chicks.

Hawkeye, Rusty was right by the run so he could have made a mad dash into there if he needed to & into the coop, so he must have felt fairly confident he could get there. We have lots of trees here & bushes for the chickens to hide under as well as rabbit coops & such, so they do have cover to run under if needed.