Maine

[joanie_maine]

hatching day here too. call ducks this time.
great looking bird Joanie

He's a Bob Hawes bird ....from ashandvine!!!

 

[joanie_maine]

I just hatched out more chicks too. Red, black and mottled bantam cochins and some porcelain d'Uccles.

I have various colors of started d'Uccles (mille, brown red), a started blue LFcochin and a whole bunch of bantam cochins (red, brown red, black) to sell.

 

[buckabucka]

Sweet looking chicks, Joanie!

I guess I forgot you can't just plug your brooder in anywhere, Echo! I'm glad the sheets are working. It must be a pain to wash them though. I start mine on old towels before they go to shavings, and the towels sit on the porch for a long time before I deal with them. Hose season will help though.
The brooder with soapstone panels sounds very nice!

 

[lazy gardener]

Echo, I'm glad you have a system that works for you.

Any one have suggestions for chicks who don't have the sense to come in out of the cold? I moved their little tractor yesterday, so they had the choice of being on the grass, or in their little enclosed end that's raised up off the ground with shavings and straw. they spent the night out on the ground. If it would work, I'd have considered blocking them in the raised end, but they'd be too crowded and for sure having some pretty severe squabbles. I'll give them some straw for tonight, and they'll hopefully get into the big tractor this weekend. Keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

 

[echosrevenge]

Bucks, I haven't had to wash any of them yet! So far, though, I've been able to shake the solid poops off into the hugelkultur beds we're building (well, with the ducks I lay the sheets on the grass to dry a bit before I shake them out), which is handy since those beds will need a huge influx of nitrogen to offset the carbon of the logs. The sheets are definitely still dirty after that but not so bad im embarrassed to take them to the laundry - no washer at home except for me and my trusty bucket, but we have a really nice laundry (with WiFi!) just down the road from us, so I will take them there to wash, them home to dry on the line. I dont think it'll be any worse than cleaning up the sawdust, and one trip to the laundry every two weeks beats the pants off sweeping 65 times every day!

Final count, 26 chicks. Four Black Orpington mixes, two of whom look like picture-perfect Black Faverolles, with better toes than most of our hens!

There is still one egg in the Bator, i heard it scratching last night and this morning but it still hasn't pipped. Worth trying to help or not? I've never helped a chick that hasn't pipped the outer shell yet, any tips if i go that route?

 

[lazy gardener]

Bucks, I haven't had to wash any of them yet! So far, though, I've been able to shake the solid poops off into the hugelkultur beds we're building (well, with the ducks I lay the sheets on the grass to dry a bit before I shake them out), which is handy since those beds will need a huge influx of nitrogen to offset the carbon of the logs. The sheets are definitely still dirty after that but not so bad im embarrassed to take them to the laundry - no washer at home except for me and my trusty bucket, but we have a really nice laundry (with WiFi!) just down the road from us, so I will take them there to wash, them home to dry on the line. I dont think it'll be any worse than cleaning up the sawdust, and one trip to the laundry every two weeks beats the pants off sweeping 65 times every day!

Final count, 26 chicks. Four Black Orpington mixes, two of whom look like picture-perfect Black Faverolles, with better toes than most of our hens!

There is still one egg in the Bator, i heard it scratching last night and this morning but it still hasn't pipped. Worth trying to help or not? I've never helped a chick that hasn't pipped the outer shell yet, any tips if i go that route?

Can you candle to see if it's pipped into the air cell yet? If so, then perhaps you could pip into the air cell to at least give it some extra oxygen and incentive... but I'm totally guessing here, without experience, only thinking what I might try in the same situation. Or, you could just leave it till morning. You might wake up to a new little peep.

 

[buckabucka]

Of course, I had to immediately google hugelkultur!
Too bad the big pile of logs, stumps and branches we have is all conifers.

 

[hoppy]

any word on the final chick? i ended up with 2 more call ducks of 4 eggs. those guys are hard to hatch. may put some under the silkie hens, they are wanting to hatch air, eggs, would be better.

There is still one egg in the Bator, i heard it scratching last night and this morning but it still hasn't pipped. Worth trying to help or not? I've never helped a chick that hasn't pipped the outer shell yet, any tips if i go that route?

 

[blueseal]

hope to see a crowd at the swap in augusta tomorrow. looking for a young rooster.

 

[CoopChick719]

Does anyone else have experience brooding on something other than pine shavings or sand? My husband has asthma, and while HE isn't terribly concerned about the dust affecting his breathing, I am experimenting with brooding on cut-down flannel sheets and towels from the thrift store. My hope is that I can amass several weeks' worth of towels/sheets, stash the dirty ones in a metal trashcan, and hit up the industrial washers at the laundramat once or twice a month - reusable brooder materials with a lot less dust! I hate having to buy in shavings just for them to crap on...its OK for now for the big chickens in the coop, since by the end of summer we'll probably break down and buy a chipper, there's just too much brush on this property to go without one for long, and then we'll be able to use our own chips in the coop, but I dont want to put the teeny tinies on big huge chips. Any thoughts?

Everyone cross your fingers for us - my husband is off for his final interview to take over as general manager at Borealis Breads!

Echo, My grandfather was a plasterer. I remember him hanging damp sheets over the doors of any rooms he was working in to the keep the dust down. He would occassionally spray them down. It seemed to do the trick. Hope this helps!

Good luck to your husband!!

He's a happy boy!

He is a very handsome boy!