September Hatch-A-Long

[duluthralphie]

I incubated 12 and am left with 3... I hope next year is better!!!

Me too I am going for 100 turkeys next year! 50 Guineas and 100 chickens!!


BUT SHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh!

Do not tell my wife...let me break it to her..................................................sometime in the future.......like next september

 

[AmericanMom]

lol, I started out three years ago with 12 laying hens, decided last summer when one went broody to get some hatching eggs, lady gave me a rooster too... now I have over 50 chickens, we decided to raise rabbits for meat and then I had the opportunity to hatch some turkeys, after a few mishaps and a lost batch of Turkey eggs I hatched 12 totally new to raising them and lost all but 3... my plan is hopefully to let the hen raise a clutch for us but sell the rest

 

[AmericanMom]

someone once told me that chickens were the gateway to backyard farming... boy were they right!

 

[KendyF]

someone once told me that chickens were the gateway to backyard farming... boy were they right!

Yes, and wanting to purchase acreage.

 

[CharterChick]

someone once told me that chickens were the gateway to backyard farming... boy were they right!

I told DH in 2011 I want chickens. He said no. Then a turkey just happened to show up. Then a coop magically appeared. 6 hens, a rooster and OH MY! Where did this incubator full of eggs come from? What do you mean there's 2 more tractor coops in the yard? What that weird squawking? Those are guinea fowl..... Yeah like that.

 

[AmericanMom]

I told DH in 2011 I want chickens. He said no. Then a turkey just happened to show up. Then a coop magically appeared. 6 hens, a rooster and OH MY! Where did this incubator full of eggs come from? What do you mean there's 2 more tractor coops in the yard? What that weird squawking? Those are guinea fowl..... Yeah like that.

That's about how it started here, Now I want to raise pork for our freezer and a couple goats... poor DH is going mad lol... But when they tease me I remind them (daughter and DH) that both of them have a pretty large collection of various things and I have never told them to downsize Daughter has every Disney movie + and DH has a shop full of tools, many are in twos and three's... This is my hobby, its what I love doing, since I injured my back and had to close my business and my children are grown and one has a family of his own and the other although still at home just basically sleeps here, I needed something to pass my time. With gas prices where they are running around isn't an option, I have become quite the homebody anyways so its a win win.. Not only am I raising meat for our freezer and eggs for our own consumption, I sell quite a bit, from bunnies to hatching eggs and eating eggs and now incubated chicks. I have these animals paying for themselves and hope to be able to profit off the Turkeys next year...

If only we had more acreage the things I could raise

 

[AmericanMom]

Yes, and wanting to purchase acreage.

LOL... X2!!

 

[darkbluespace]

Yes, and wanting to purchase acreage.

X3!!! We are blessed to be on 9 acres that we rent but my landlord is not very supportive of having an excess of animals. Fortunately for me he doesn't want to do much around here so I pretty much do what I want. I am just figuring he is going to start noticing all my new coops one of these days! It will be so awesome when we have our own place.

 

[darkbluespace]

I have 3 chicks out... and two in half shells still absorbing veins. I was hoping to find just the right formula for humidity this time but it didn't work.

I really wish I had a thermometer/hygrometer with a probe I could put under my Serama hen to see what conditions are like under there!!

I had one serious malposition that is out of the shell now... I am pretty amazed it is okay because it couldn't even pip internally! It was folded in half with head and leg and belly right at the air cell, but beak behind leg away from air cell and big vein right over the head... yikes! I opened a tiny spot in the membrane between the leg and shell so it could breathe overnight and this morning all of it's yolk was absorbed. Since I had a couple still in the shell I turned off the fan overnight and I think that helped them a lot... I'm surprised I didn't think of that last time.

So, yes, I was up till 3 last night but hopefully all 5 will make it... looks pretty good.

 

[JekkaLynn]

So I finally found my notes and checked when my next 12 eggs was due to hatch. Then are on day 15 so I candled quickly and found 3 of 6 from one hen were clear but the other 3 were looking good and from the second hen all 6 were looking great. Hopefully all 9 hatch. Their daddy died on the road just after I put them in the incubator so I really want these babies.