Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Danz so will the turkeys drown during the 3 day lock down humidity up to 50% for the chicks to hatch? Or will they be ok?

No they won't, but I never hatch at over 40% if I can help it.
HEChicken I hatch at lower humidities all the time. Never over 40% for chickens or turkeys. You get better hatches and less sticky chicks that way. I used to hatch at much higher levels that I had read about and my hatch rate was considerably lower. Now with fertile eggs I get pretty much a 100% hatch. This varies however if I have different breeds in the incubator. The small breeds tend to hatch much earlier and a couple of the larger breeds hatch on day 22. I have a continuous hatch going all the time with eggs at different stages. Keeping the humidity higher made the chicks grow too large for their shells and thus they didn't hatch as well. I'm sure it makes a difference with staggered hatches and such but even those rare times when all the birds are due at once they do better at lower rates. The amount of air flow makes a difference as well. I've found that out using more than one kind of incubator.
Dani has an old metal incubator and those things are a whole 'nother ball game. I had one for a while that I gave away but there is really not a good way to keep humidity constant or keep temperature level all over.

 

[HEChicken]

HEChicken I hatch at lower humidities all the time. Never over 40% for chickens or turkeys. You get better hatches and less sticky chicks that way.

Like I said, I think it varies for everyone according to the incubator and environment. I tried incubating at lower humidities but finally settled on 45% because that is the point I get no sticky chicks and consistently get almost 100% hatch rates. And I used to hatch at higher humidity but found the chicks and poults I hatch at 45% have almost no issues after hatch either. So 45% is what works for me. But when I used to spend a lot of time on the hatching section of BYC, I found there is a great range of what people say works for them. One person will insist on certain temp/humidity and inevitably someone will come along and tell them they're doing it all wrong and need totally different conditions. In the end, I think we all just have to figure out what works for us in our own environment and our own particular incubator. It takes some trial and error to figure that out.

 

[Trish44]

I agree HEChicken I think there are too many variables with equipment & environment to say that things have to be a certain way. You will see people getting angry & arguing over the subject, but you're right, you need to find what works for you & your situation & go with that. I incubate at about 50% here & it works fine for me & I also hatch around that as well, but like Danz I have a separate hatcher from the incubator since I always have different stages of eggs in the incubator during hatching season & I would rather not make the mess with hatching in there. My matching hatcher has hatching trays that are easy to clean out & I use a rubber shelf liner in the tray too to avoid leg problems. It's the kind with little bumpy things on it so they can grip & not slip around. Those are easy to take out & empty shell fragments into the trash & wash with soap & water between hatches.

I have succumbed to the crud that is going around, ugh. This one goes right to your lungs so coughing is involved, especially at night.

 

[JiltdRoyalty]

I've been working out of the state in Oklahoma for the last couple months, so I haven't even had time to check my threads. Now, I'm going to be moving and have to get rid of my rooster. Can anyone identify this breed for me? He's the white one and he's about nine months old. Are used to know what breed he was, just forgot in all the confusion of my crazy life these days. I appreciate your help and if anybody wants a free rooster in the Wichita area, let me know.

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[chicken danz]

I agree HEChicken I think there are too many variables with equipment & environment to say that things have to be a certain way. You will see people getting angry & arguing over the subject, but you're right, you need to find what works for you & your situation & go with that. I incubate at about 50% here & it works fine for me & I also hatch around that as well, but like Danz I have a separate hatcher from the incubator since I always have different stages of eggs in the incubator during hatching season & I would rather not make the mess with hatching in there. My matching hatcher has hatching trays that are easy to clean out & I use a rubber shelf liner in the tray too to avoid leg problems. It's the kind with little bumpy things on it so they can grip & not slip around. Those are easy to take out & empty shell fragments into the trash & wash with soap & water between hatches.

I have succumbed to the crud that is going around, ugh. This one goes right to your lungs so coughing is involved, especially at night.

I've not been using my hatcher the past year. Reason being, I hatch too many different types of poultry at once which requires a huge swing in humidity requirements, so it's easier to hatch in the combination incubators. I hope to get organized enough to sell my hatcher and one of my incubators this spring so I can buy another one that accommodates hatching. I incubate and hatch my geese and ducks in one incubator and other birds in another couple of them. Because the goose eggs take so much room I normally incubate them in the Professional which has no hatching area and then move them to a dual unit for the last week or so and to hatch.
Sorry you're sick Trish.
I just take my hatching trays out and rinse them with Tek Trol ever so often. I use the rubber shelf liner as well to prevent splayed legs. I tek-trol them as well, rinse them out and put them back in damp cause it just aids the humidity some and saves some time. My older GQF units have an aluminum tray that goes on the bottom to keep it cleaner but it is too slick for the chicks as well. It does save some mess though and is easily cleaned. I do wish they made a hatching basket now like they used to that was made of 1/4" x 3/4" welded wire instead of the plastic treated cardboard they have now. So much cleaner and easier to maintain. Of course I suppose I could make more of them, but that is another project.

I've been working out of the state in Oklahoma for the last couple months, so I haven't even had time to check my threads. Now, I'm going to be moving and have to get rid of my rooster. Can anyone identify this breed for me? He's the white one and he's about nine months old. Are used to know what breed he was, just forgot in all the confusion of my crazy life these days. I appreciate your help and if anybody wants a free rooster in the Wichita area, let me know.

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He is a white cochin and looks like a nice one at that. Good luck on your move.
I'm really unhappy that this weather is going to be so awful this week. We have a get together scheduled with my sons and their families next Sunday. With snow on Saturday and really cold temps it doesn't look like very good day to get together. I'm not at all prepared for Christmas for sure. I am clueless about gifts. And obviously am running out of time.
I did get the tree to the house yesterday but it's still sitting in the box in the hallway. I'm not all that anxious to put it up cause I won't be having Christmas company.
I did skip the tree one year and it just didn't seem like Christmas at all around here.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Just got a heads up from my friend Heather that we have embryos and blood vessels formed in our eggs so now to wait and see how many hatch out. Can't wait to see what my hens and roosters produced. And of course spoil their chicks.

 

[chicken danz]

Congrats Dani. Hope you have a good hatch.
Sure been quiet on here but I haven't had time to sit on the computer either. I finally got my tree decorated last night. Not what I was planning on cause some of my plans simply didn't work like I wanted but at least it's a tree. Not a gift under it yet though. I need to get busy today and finish some projects that have to be done this weekend. It's supposed to be warmer this afternoon before the major cold comes in so I am going to try to install my electronic gate latch. My oldest Pyr has learned how to open the gate with her nose in spite of the controller. I have so many other things that need to be finished up but this is of top importance. Stupid deer hunters will shoot her if she is out.

 

[Trish44]

I've been feeling awful the last few days with this virus I have, I've mostly been laying around except to go out & do my feeding. Today I asked my DH to do it because I told him I just am not going to get better if I have to keep going out there in the cold. Yesterday I was out even more & I think I paid for that. We had to load up the 4 wether lambs we were taking to the locker for processing & I had to go help get them to the truck & into the cage we put back there to haul them in. I could hardly breathe by the time we got them all wrestled into the truck & he left with them. That was a relief to have them gone though because they were eating me out of house & home. I just have my oldest ewe, the ram, the young ewe, & the little ram lamb that was just born recently who will go for processing in a few months as well. My feed usuage should be reduced by half now, what a relief. This is the first time we have taken 4 lambs at one time but the ewes I had both had twin ram lambs this year.

@chicken danz how in the world did that dog manage to get the gate opened without the controller? That's the pits, I hope you can get it fixed so she can't get out.

Congrats Dani on the eggs developing! I candled my Mille Fleur Cochin eggs & all 8 in there look to be developing so hopefully out of those I will get some more little pullets to add.

 

[HEChicken]

Trish, I hope you get to feeling better soon. Congrats on getting those lambs sent off - it is always nice to get something like that behind you and stop having to feed them.

Danz, I hope you were able to get your gate latch installed. The wind is killer today.

Before bed last night I looked at the hourly forecast and it looked like it is only going down. So, when I woke early this morning, I used it as an opportunity to get out and do morning chores while the temp was higher than it will be at the usual time. With wind chill it was still plenty cold but it was nice to be in with everyone fed and watered by 8am instead of just heading out to get started at that time.

None of us is looking forward to this weekend I'm sure. I did everything I could yesterday to make my life easier today. All the feed bins are full so at least I only have to dole out feed instead of having to haul heavy bags of feed as well. Water I can't do much about - what they drink, is what they drink and I have to haul it all from the house over the winter. They start every night with full water bowls/buckets, but by the next day I always have to haul more anyway.

 

[chicken danz]

We're getting pretty heavy snow now. @HEChicken I didn't install my gate latch. I got busy cleaning out runs in the building and ran out of time. It never did stop drizzling and raining yesterday. Now it's all ice. Sure enough the wind blew the gate open a foot or so and all the dogs were out this morning. It's chained shut now and will stay that way unless we have to leave. DH has to go get more gas for the generators after while so if we lose power we can still keep warm. With the high winds I'd guess we most likely will. Topeka has already put emergency measures in place due to the large number of accidents this morning.
I sighed relief this morning when one of my sons and wife cancelled our Christmas get together tomorrow. I wasn't going to be the one to cancel and was so glad they did. While I was talking to his wife, my son backed out of their driveway and slid out into the street. She said he just drove back in and said they weren't going any where for any thing. Not sure what the weather is like down there close to the Wichita area but here it's insane.
When I'm ready to go bare the brunt of the cold, I'm going to work on the pullies for the pop doors in the building and close all those for the next day or two. I'm afraid it's going to freeze in there if I don't. I hate to confine the birds but they'll get over it. DH and I are also going to corral all the geese into their pen. They've got shelter there and they otherwise will be crowded up against the south side of the house. I need to get one more bale of straw out there for the last shelter. I ran out of time to do that yesterday. No matter what there is always something else to do for severe weather.