Simulated Natural Nest Incubation~Experiment #1 So it begins....

[aussie pete]

hi Bee ,hope u have success with the WR's,would be good to see a nice flock of them running in yr field.

my winter hatch r outside now, getting ready to separate the girls from the boys.

looks like i will sell all bar one, from the 19 -come spring.like Fred says "keep the best sell the rest"

the one I'm keeping is a great pullet & stands out from the rest x a mile

maybe get a new roo in spring to improve tail colour,have the size, type & capes rite but feel tails r a little off

going to cut my flock back to a new roo & 2-3 of the best girls before spring then start again to see if i can improve my line

cheers Pete

 

[Beekissed]

Ok, I'm planning on getting a sunbeam heating pad for setting this up. What kind of wire did you use? 2 x 4" fencing bent? I saw that other guy's set up with board and a grill. And I do have grill but this seems more homey. Heating pad attached under the wire? Then covered?

Just 2x2 fencing and it's bent to shape. Here's a few pics...this time I applied a plastic trash bag over the wire and pad before placing the pillow case over it. That has made a world of difference to keeping the whole thing dry in this wet weather and all the poops that wind up on top of it.





On these wet, cold and windy days they are still running under there in the middle of the day for warm ups and naps, though this apparatus is now out in the general coop area, and they still use it every night. I've not raised the height of it much at all...they seem to like crouching low under it.

 

[LindaB220]

Just 2x2 fencing and it's bent to shape. Here's a few pics...this time I applied a plastic trash bag over the wire and pad before placing the pillow case over it. That has made a world of difference to keeping the whole thing dry in this wet weather and all the poops that wind up on top of it.





On these wet, cold and windy days they are still running under there in the middle of the day for warm ups and naps, though this apparatus is now out in the general coop area, and they still use it every night. I've not raised the height of it much at all...they seem to like crouching low under it.

The man that did my coop just happened to mention that he has a cabinet incubator with 3 shelves that he needs to repair and sure I can put some eggs in. He is SIL Clints cousin so I can actually get ahold of him. I told him we need to go into business. He can build a plucker and we can raise CX's and fill the freezer. I'd pay to buy parts if he'd do the work and help process. We're talking. I want 50 a yr for my freezer. Not for selling. Just thinking.......

 

[OHhappychicks]

Well, I have a broody!!! I don't want a broody right now! This weekend, I want to get my 2 breeding pens set up for my copper marans and buckeyes. It is the buckeye that is broody. She goes broody about every 6-8 weeks. I was hoping she would hold off for about 6 more weeks. I understand it takes 5-6 weeks before you can get a "pure" egg after you separate the different breeds. I wanted to use her to raise the chicks so I wouldn't have to incubate. Just don't know what to do. She is very hard to break from broodiness.
And not only that, but we have a couple of foxes running around. We've lost 4 this week alone!!

We saw Mr fox twice today, running thru the yard. I set out most of the day with a rifle waiting for him to show up. He did, but on the other side of the lot than where I was sitting. He didn't get any chickens today. DS set up a trap for them tonight. So here is hoping we get at least 1 of them tonight!

They are a male and female. They probably have a litter somewhere!

 

[enola]

I had a cat get three of my best blue egg layers. Why is it they always get the ones you want to keep most?

Any way, I trapped him. His chicken eating days are over...

 

[Beekissed]

Well, I have a broody!!! I don't want a broody right now! This weekend, I want to get my 2 breeding pens set up for my copper marans and buckeyes. It is the buckeye that is broody. She goes broody about every 6-8 weeks. I was hoping she would hold off for about 6 more weeks. I understand it takes 5-6 weeks before you can get a "pure" egg after you separate the different breeds. I wanted to use her to raise the chicks so I wouldn't have to incubate. Just don't know what to do. She is very hard to break from broodiness.
And not only that, but we have a couple of foxes running around. We've lost 4 this week alone!!

We saw Mr fox twice today, running thru the yard. I set out most of the day with a rifle waiting for him to show up. He did, but on the other side of the lot than where I was sitting. He didn't get any chickens today. DS set up a trap for them tonight. So here is hoping we get at least 1 of them tonight!

They are a male and female. They probably have a litter somewhere!

I've got two broodies in a broody buster pen right now and I'm about to send the final persuasion their way...a large,randy young cockerel. He will spend the next three days showing them that now is no time to go broody because love is in the air~whether they like it or not.

Used to I'd just dunk them upside down in a bucket of water and give them a toss out of the coop but am going out of town and didn't want them dominating the nesting if the bucket didn't do the job...normally it's quite effective.

Foxes are very hard to catch in a trap, especially a live trap. You might try getting a wounded fox kit call and luring them in close enough to shoot ...folks swear by those. What you really need is a good dog outside all the time so you don't have to worry about trapping or killing these sly and super smart animals.

 

[OHhappychicks]

I've got two broodies in a broody buster pen right now and I'm about to send the final persuasion their way...a large,randy young cockerel. He will spend the next three days showing them that now is no time to go broody because love is in the air~whether they like it or not.

Used to I'd just dunk them upside down in a bucket of water and give them a toss out of the coop but am going out of town and didn't want them dominating the nesting if the bucket didn't do the job...normally it's quite effective.

Foxes are very hard to catch in a trap, especially a live trap. You might try getting a wounded fox kit call and luring them in close enough to shoot ...folks swear by those. What you really need is a good dog outside all the time so you don't have to worry about trapping or killing these sly and super smart animals.

Thanks for the broody busting tips! Will give them a try! We aren't using a live trap. We put a roo in a live trap with the door shut, for bait. DS has a snare type trap that will work. I know they are very sly and smart! I really want to get a GP, but we are afraid it would get killed on the highway we live on. That is what happened to our first one. We had him almost a year to the month when he died. We taught him not to go on the road and he never did, that we knew of, but for some reason this one evening he did. We figured he was chasing a deer or something. We have a very big yard so fencing it would be expensive. We keep talking about it. If for some reason the trap doesn't work, we are going to get a wounded rabbit call and try to call it in that way. It is my mission to get these guys this weekend. I work 3 days a week, so I don't want to have to worry about the flock, or keep them in the coop all day. So, if I have to camp out with the rifle, I will do whatever it takes!

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks for the broody busting tips! Will give them a try! We aren't using a live trap. We put a roo in a live trap with the door shut, for bait. DS has a snare type trap that will work. I know they are very sly and smart! I really want to get a GP, but we are afraid it would get killed on the highway we live on. That is what happened to our first one. We had him almost a year to the month when he died. We taught him not to go on the road and he never did, that we knew of, but for some reason this one evening he did. We figured he was chasing a deer or something. We have a very big yard so fencing it would be expensive. We keep talking about it. If for some reason the trap doesn't work, we are going to get a wounded rabbit call and try to call it in that way. It is my mission to get these guys this weekend. I work 3 days a week, so I don't want to have to worry about the flock, or keep them in the coop all day. So, if I have to camp out with the rifle, I will do whatever it takes!

I just had a GP...for just a few days...before he took off and got immediately shot by the neighbor. My wireless electric containment that works on my other dog couldn't make contact through this big guy's fur. I hated that.

I just use a regular farm mutt for flock protection and the system works lovely on him, and on my other dogs in the past. He does a great job and hasn't lost one yet, but I was hoping to get him some help because he's getting some age on him.

So your hubby snares?

My son is just dying to set snares this year but lives too far away to check them but will soon buy his own place. He loves the idea of snaring and wants to practice until he gets it down right.

I sure hope you get them! If you do, please take a pic and let us see the prize?

 

[OHhappychicks]

I just had a GP...for just a few days...before he took off and got immediately shot by the neighbor. My wireless electric containment that works on my other dog couldn't make contact through this big guy's fur. I hated that.

I just use a regular farm mutt for flock protection and the system works lovely on him, and on my other dogs in the past. He does a great job and hasn't lost one yet, but I was hoping to get him some help because he's getting some age on him.

So your hubby snares?

My son is just dying to set snares this year but lives too far away to check them but will soon buy his own place. He loves the idea of snaring and wants to practice until he gets it down right.

I sure hope you get them! If you do, please take a pic and let us see the prize?

My Son does. He has caught several coyotes this way. I'm not sure if I like the idea of a snare, but it takes care of them. I will get a pic for you. The male is fairly large. He is beautiful though! Big bushy tail and beautiful reddish/orange color. Do you still have the GP you just got, or is this the one the neighbor shot? We may have to get another dog. What kind of wireless electric system do you use. I guess I didn't know they made wireless. That would be awesome, as we used the kind you had to bury the wire. We didn't like it so much. We were pulling up wire years after the dog was gone. I will have to check on that. This is why we haven't gotten another outside dog.

 

[Beekissed]

My Son does. He has caught several coyotes this way. I'm not sure if I like the idea of a snare, but it takes care of them. I will get a pic for you. The male is fairly large. He is beautiful though! Big bushy tail and beautiful reddish/orange color. Do you still have the GP you just got, or is this the one the neighbor shot? We may have to get another dog. What kind of wireless electric system do you use. I guess I didn't know they made wireless. That would be awesome, as we used the kind you had to bury the wire. We didn't like it so much. We were pulling up wire years after the dog was gone. I will have to check on that. This is why we haven't gotten another outside dog.

I hated the wired fencing too...it was ineffective for my dogs and a pain to install and maintain. This one involves placing a collar on the dog and plugging in a box...that's it. It will cover about half acre of land, which is all my dogs really needed to keep the preds away from the coop and forage areas.

I use PetSafe brand...I just bought a new one. The old one lasted me 10 yrs of faithful, reliable service...I was impressed enough to buy another just like it. I used to live right by a busy highway and it kept my dogs safe as houses. One was a GP mix dog and it worked so well on her that I thought it could be used on a full blood GP but his coat was mega huge and like carpeting at the neck line...couldn't trim it enough to get down to any contact point for the fence. I didn't even have to trim any fur for my other dogs and they could wear the collars very loosely, more like necklaces.

Yeah, it was the one the neighbor shot...we only had him 3-4 days. I was right out there in the yard working when he took off...I didn't see him go and he hadn't offered to leave the property before that, but when I noticed him gone I called for him. A few minutes later I heard the shot and he never came back. And that's country justice out here and one cannot blame the neighbor when they see a huge, potentially dangerous dog come running up on their land. My fault.