Setting 41 on 6-15, 7-8, 7-31, and 8-23 feel free to join in at any time

[SFrati]

Well, there's one thing that can't happen in an incubator...sorry to hear that. But consider, she might have recognized something wrong with the egg and decided to get rid of it...did she peck it in place with all the other eggs, or did she move it at all away from the other eggs?

She chose an eggs in the middle of the nest and pecked at it in its place. There was only a little shell left. She had shell and yolk on her face. There was yolk all over the other eggs. I am wondering if she crushed it by accident and then ate it. Today was the first day i kept her locked inside (she has plenty of room and all the food and water she needs). I wanted to keep the other hens out of her nest and to keep my broody out of the wrong nests. Hopefully this was a one and only embryo murder. I am going to give her extra treats tomorrow to make her happy to sit on the nest a little while longer.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Update: Day 10 candling and weighing done. Both bators still running at ~60% humidity, temperature still constant at 98.5F/36.9C.

1 new red ring, making 3 total. 1 new potential red ring, making 4 total. 3 less questionable clears. Fertility rate has risen to 76.25%, but there are still 19 questionable clears so could, and should, still rise. Potential hatch rate is now at 91.38%.

Weight loss is still below ideal. Currently its at 5.21%, where ideal weight loss is 6.19%. I have not seen distinct air sacs yet, which is surprising. Since the eggs are all laying on their side, I see distinct growing chicks laying on the side of the egg, even when I stand it up on end to candle it. It will be interesting to see what's in there on day 18.

FWIW, 2 out of 3 of my 21 day old eggs are still viable, the other was a red ring early death.

 

[WVduckchick]

Update: Day 10 candling and weighing done. Both bators still running at ~60% humidity, temperature still constant at 98.5F/36.9C.

1 new red ring, making 3 total. 1 new potential red ring, making 4 total. 3 less questionable clears. Fertility rate has risen to 76.25%, but there are still 19 questionable clears so could, and should, still rise. Potential hatch rate is now at 91.38%.

Weight loss is still below ideal. Currently its at 5.21%, where ideal weight loss is 6.19%. I have not seen distinct air sacs yet, which is surprising. Since the eggs are all laying on their side, I see distinct growing chicks laying on the side of the egg, even when I stand it up on end to candle it. It will be interesting to see what's in there on day 18.

FWIW, 2 out of 3 of my 21 day old eggs are still viable, the other was a red ring early death.

Fingers crossed for success!

And thank you for the maple syrup info!! I don't have time to read it all at the moment, but I did realize after posting that we were in the wrong time of year! My brain doesn't always function on all cylinders...

 

[RubyNala97]

I have marked her eggs. I just have to pick out the new egg every day. I put her in a new location because her previous location was one of my main nests where she would be bothered by all of the other hens. Also if the chicks hatched there they would not be safe. I moved her to her own private nesting location in a brooding box with plenty of room, food, water, and access to the outside. I had to take away access to the outside once she started going to the other nest. Where she is now is where the chicks will be the safest. 

Gotcha! I hope she cooperates a little more for you!

Update: Day 10 candling and weighing done. Both bators still running at ~60% humidity, temperature still constant at 98.5F/36.9C.

1 new red ring, making 3 total. 1 new potential red ring, making 4 total. 3 less questionable clears. Fertility rate has risen to 76.25%, but there are still 19 questionable clears so could, and should, still rise. Potential hatch rate is now at 91.38%.

Weight loss is still below ideal. Currently its at 5.21%, where ideal weight loss is 6.19%. I have not seen distinct air sacs yet, which is surprising. Since the eggs are all laying on their side, I see distinct growing chicks laying on the side of the egg, even when I stand it up on end to candle it. It will be interesting to see what's in there on day 18.

FWIW, 2 out of 3 of my 21 day old eggs are still viable, the other was a red ring early death.

Sounds good, NT! Good luck!!

 

[bantam brood 17]

Today is lockdown

for the 3 out of 6 that made it to lockdown, the waiting begins

also I,m going to be home for day 21 so hopefully I can see them hatch. Good luck to everyone else who as got hatches coming up

 

[rossfam06]

Today is lockdown     for the 3 out of 6 that made it to lockdown, the waiting begins  also I,m going to be home for day 21 so hopefully I can see them hatch. Good luck to everyone else who as got hatches coming up

Good luck!!!!!

 

[WalnutHill]

Unless you live in the southern hemisphere, you're doing it at completely the wrong time of the year. Actually, even if you do live in the southern hemisphere, its still the wrong time of the year.

1. Not all sap is capable of making tasty syrup. The sap that heals a tree tastes entirely different than the sap that makes leaf buds. Tasty syrup can only be made out of sap that makes leaf buds. This only happens when a tree is coming out of winter hibernation. Both maple and birch can make sap that taste almost identical. Do not try with other tree varieties. Make syrup trees when they are in full bloom to be sure you have the right species when they have no leaves.
2. The flow of sap, sufficient to make boiling sap realistic, only happens when the tree experiences 2 very specific events. Within 10 hours, there must be a temperature change of sufficient magnitude that the tree's sap pump actually kicks in. Within 10 hours it must experience a temperature at least 5 degrees above zero, and 5 degrees below zero. There are ways to make that difference less (e.g. using vacuum pumps), but essentially if that change does not occur the tree lays dormant for another day. When it does happen, pressure is created to cause the open cells in the upper tree (above ground part) to retract enough that the roots then have sap sucked from them and up.
3. While it is true that sap is reciprocally drawn down into the roots in the fall, the cells in the tree appear not to be able to react in the opposite fashion. As a result, sap is put back into roots via gravity, not pressure...so there is no equivalent flow. Also, the sap that is put back into the roots has a much higher starch content, and so is equally bad tasting.
4. Ergo, you could get sap as early as January, if there was a significant thaw, but typically sap flows in March and April (in the northern hemisphere), ideally 20 good sap flowing days per season.
5. The earlier you tap a tree, the sooner the tap will become useless. You have to create a new tap every year, preferably on the south side of the tree (in the northern hemisphere), but each tap makes an area 12" wide by 24" tall useless for taping for at least 6 years. Taps get filled within 2-3 months to become near useless, by a shell-like micro-organism which actually coats the inside of the tap to make the hole smaller. If you do tap early, remove the tap when the cold weather returns.
6. A typical 19/64" tap will produce 1 gallon of sap per sap running day. If you use  buckets, collect them every day. Remember, buckets with bugs in it means you got good sap (and a fine strainer removes the bugs, so like the bugs).
7. Good sap reduces at a 40:1 ratio, which means a good tree will give you 1/2 gallon of syrup per season.
8. My sap reduces at just above 30:1 cause my trees are awesome...;-]
9. Sap will keep, cold, for weeks...but the older the sap the darker the syrup. Has no effect on taste, just color. Boiled sap, to any degree, keeps better than raw sap. Better to boil till all your sap is processed than to keep sap. That's why we have main boilers as well as auxiliary boilers. If you are only doing small batches, you've no problems in this regard, just keep boiling till you are done.
10. You cannot boil sap too much, but you can boil it too quickly. There's a kosher fat dry produce sold by syrup equipment companies that will prevent boil overs (boiling too quickly), always have some when boiling. A throw away pot on a turkey fryer or BBQ is a perfect way to boil small batches, just make sure the pot can be heated evenly. Sap boiled beyond 219.2F (typically syrup temperature) can become maple butter, then maple fudge, then maple sugar. But you can burn maple syrup if flame actually gets onto the syrup. That's the purpose of the fat, keep the foam down so you don't boil over.
11. Never boil sap in the house...consider, you are release 40:1 water over sap...it will cause drywall to bubble and wall paper to come off the wall. Finish in the house (e.g. take it off the BBQ at 217F and then finish in the house).
12. Make candies after you've made a lot of good syrup.
13. Syrup, if not made well (e.g. not boiled to a high enough temperature) can go moldy, just boil it again and stir in the mold. Get a better candy thermo. Syrup boiled to too high a temp can crystalize on the rim of the bottle, just boil again adding some good water and stopping before you get to 220F.
14. Good maple syrup never needs to be refrigerated, unless you like it thicker. There are no food safety issues with maple syrup no matter how bad its made.

I would encourage everyone to use more maple syrup. It is the healthiest form of sugar on the planet. Use it in your coffee, tea, cereal, toast, in bastes and marinades, anywhere that calls for molasses, brown sugar, etc...

Unless you live in the southern hemisphere, you're doing it at completely the wrong time of the year. Actually, even if you do live in the southern hemisphere, its still the wrong time of the year.

1. Not all sap is capable of making tasty syrup. The sap that heals a tree tastes entirely different than the sap that makes leaf buds. Tasty syrup can only be made out of sap that makes leaf buds. This only happens when a tree is coming out of winter hibernation. Both maple and birch can make sap that taste almost identical. Do not try with other tree varieties. Make syrup trees when they are in full bloom to be sure you have the right species when they have no leaves.
2. The flow of sap, sufficient to make boiling sap realistic, only happens when the tree experiences 2 very specific events. Within 10 hours, there must be a temperature change of sufficient magnitude that the tree's sap pump actually kicks in. Within 10 hours it must experience a temperature at least 5 degrees above zero, and 5 degrees below zero. There are ways to make that difference less (e.g. using vacuum pumps), but essentially if that change does not occur the tree lays dormant for another day. When it does happen, pressure is created to cause the open cells in the upper tree (above ground part) to retract enough that the roots then have sap sucked from them and up.
3. While it is true that sap is reciprocally drawn down into the roots in the fall, the cells in the tree appear not to be able to react in the opposite fashion. As a result, sap is put back into roots via gravity, not pressure...so there is no equivalent flow. Also, the sap that is put back into the roots has a much higher starch content, and so is equally bad tasting.
4. Ergo, you could get sap as early as January, if there was a significant thaw, but typically sap flows in March and April (in the northern hemisphere), ideally 20 good sap flowing days per season.
5. The earlier you tap a tree, the sooner the tap will become useless. You have to create a new tap every year, preferably on the south side of the tree (in the northern hemisphere), but each tap makes an area 12" wide by 24" tall useless for taping for at least 6 years. Taps get filled within 2-3 months to become near useless, by a shell-like micro-organism which actually coats the inside of the tap to make the hole smaller. If you do tap early, remove the tap when the cold weather returns.
6. A typical 19/64" tap will produce 1 gallon of sap per sap running day. If you use  buckets, collect them every day. Remember, buckets with bugs in it means you got good sap (and a fine strainer removes the bugs, so like the bugs).
7. Good sap reduces at a 40:1 ratio, which means a good tree will give you 1/2 gallon of syrup per season.
8. My sap reduces at just above 30:1 cause my trees are awesome...;-]
9. Sap will keep, cold, for weeks...but the older the sap the darker the syrup. Has no effect on taste, just color. Boiled sap, to any degree, keeps better than raw sap. Better to boil till all your sap is processed than to keep sap. That's why we have main boilers as well as auxiliary boilers. If you are only doing small batches, you've no problems in this regard, just keep boiling till you are done.
10. You cannot boil sap too much, but you can boil it too quickly. There's a kosher fat dry produce sold by syrup equipment companies that will prevent boil overs (boiling too quickly), always have some when boiling. A throw away pot on a turkey fryer or BBQ is a perfect way to boil small batches, just make sure the pot can be heated evenly. Sap boiled beyond 219.2F (typically syrup temperature) can become maple butter, then maple fudge, then maple sugar. But you can burn maple syrup if flame actually gets onto the syrup. That's the purpose of the fat, keep the foam down so you don't boil over.
11. Never boil sap in the house...consider, you are release 40:1 water over sap...it will cause drywall to bubble and wall paper to come off the wall. Finish in the house (e.g. take it off the BBQ at 217F and then finish in the house).
12. Make candies after you've made a lot of good syrup.
13. Syrup, if not made well (e.g. not boiled to a high enough temperature) can go moldy, just boil it again and stir in the mold. Get a better candy thermo. Syrup boiled to too high a temp can crystalize on the rim of the bottle, just boil again adding some good water and stopping before you get to 220F.
14. Good maple syrup never needs to be refrigerated, unless you like it thicker. There are no food safety issues with maple syrup no matter how bad its made.

I would encourage everyone to use more maple syrup. It is the healthiest form of sugar on the planet. Use it in your coffee, tea, cereal, toast, in bastes and marinades, anywhere that calls for molasses, brown sugar, etc...

 

[WalnutHill]

On a mobile device and quoting challenged....

Thank you for the detailed garlic info! Mine has been in the same place for 15 years so I'll remedy that and start new cloves.

Black walnut and Amur maple also make excellent syrup. I'd love to try pecan but I am too far north.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Big day today. I took my 12 x 4 week-old chicks and put them into a chicken transport cage, and placed that cage in the young chickens run this morning. The plan is to leave them in there until tonight, for the other 11 week-old and 7 week-olds to get used to them. I've built a sizeable hiding place for the young'uns, so hopefully they'll manage to evade attacks. Of course not sure how the feeding and watering is going to go...but I'll keep an eye on it.

I'd like to move the 11 week 3 day-old hens in with the main flock, they are nearly the same size as the smaller mature hens. I may try it later today and just hover over them. My hope is that because there will be 8 of them, they won't get individually picked on so much...we'll see.

My young chicken run is getting an outdoor extension added. I've used a removable pool fence I had left over, and I am covering it with floating row cover material (for a garden bed) to keep out the flying predators. I'll put up a pic when its done.

 

[sjturner79]

Nice. Can you put a water container in the hide for them?