11th Annual Easter Hatch a Long 2020

[SteveWin]

I actually got some farm store chicks last week, so I’ve got my chick fix for the next few weeks while we wait. View attachment 2062125

Cute! Are you keeping those on wood pellets? I thought about doing that with mine, but wasn't sure if it would work, or how long before the chicks grow enough to start eating them.

And, I presume you're using $0.10/lb. fuel pellets, not $0.75/lb. "Pit Boss Competition Blend" smoking/cooking pellets (though they say the apple and cherry pellets really enhance the flavors of chicken and fish, I think you're a bit early to start cooking those birds....)

 

[ronott1]

Trader Joe's is affiliated with Aldi, right? Because we have no TJ's around here, but plenty of Aldi stores.. maybe the Aldi eggs would hatch as well as the TJ eggs..?

The eggs have to say fertile on the carton. Not all trader joes have fertile eggs.

I have hatched eggs from both Whole foods and trader joes Three times.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Dare I say it?

Consider reading shadrachs articles on roosters. He makes a strong argument for rooster aggression being more to do with husbandry and not genetics.

It might help since cream legbars are high energy birds that might need a different bit of upbringing

Speaking of Legbars...I've had many many broody hens and while they always sound like velociraptors when they're broody for the most part I can pick them up and move them around with zero issues. I now have my very first broody Frosted Legbar and I finally know what everyone has been talking about. LOL! She wants to eat me!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I can't get to Trader Joe's right now, but I can probably in a few weeks... Maybe

We don't have a Trader Joe's, maybe I'll have to attempt the Aldi's approach too. lol

 

[CluckNDoodle]

The eggs have to say fertile on the carton. Not all trader joes have fertile eggs.

I have hatched eggs from both Whole foods and trader joes Three times.

Oh we do have a Whole Foods! I'll check them out...well...once the apocalypse is over.

 

[SteveWin]

The eggs have to say fertile on the carton. Not all trader joes have fertile eggs.

I have hatched eggs from both Whole foods and trader joes Three times.

Wow... I had no idea that any groceries sold fertile eggs. I was honestly just making a joke about the hatch rate of Wal-Mart eggs..

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Cute! Are you keeping those on wood pellets? I thought about doing that with mine, but wasn't sure if it would work, or how long before the chicks grow enough to start eating them.

And, I presume you're using $0.10/lb. fuel pellets, not $0.75/lb. "Pit Boss Competition Blend" smoking/cooking pellets (though they say the apple and cherry pellets really enhance the flavors of chicken and fish, I think you're a bit early to start cooking those birds....)

I use equine pine pellets with all of my chicks from day one until I put them outside around 3-4 weeks. They look the same as the pellets you're talking about but I don't know enough about the composition to feel good about using fuel pellets in the brooder.

 

[SteveWin]

We don't have a Trader Joe's, maybe I'll have to attempt the Aldi's approach too. lol

It turns out that the founders of Aldi/Trader Joe's- two brothers, I guess - couldn't work together, so they divided the company into "Aldi Nord" (owns TJ stores in US and Aldi stores outside US), and "Aldi Sud" (owns Aldi stores in US). So, the TJ inventory doesnt imply anything about Aldi inventory...

 

[SteveWin]

I use equine pine pellets with all of my chicks from day one until I put them outside around 3-4 weeks. They look the same as the pellets you're talking about but I don't know enough about the composition to feel good about using fuel pellets in the brooder.

View attachment 2062207

Interesting.. I never saw that at my TSC - but then again, i dont have a reason to visit the equine aisle there. I know the cooking pellets are hardwood and fruit wood, food grade, formulated to burn clean with low ash and creosote, and no toxins to contaminate food. All the smoker makers caution against cooking with fuel pellets, which are still mostly hardwood, but in random blends with unpredictable flavors and possible contaminants. Heat stove makers and fireplace/chimney experts warn against burning pine, because the high volatiles content in pine sap contributes to creosote buildup and chimney fire hazards.

I'd expect pine bedding pellets to be as safe as food grade pellets, and as safe as pine shavings.. for this brood, I'll use the hickory cooking pellets I have, and pick up a bag of yours before the next hatch..

 

[hysop]

Thought this was a simple but interesting watch

Wow thank you for that video!!