Articles by BantyChooks

Why Roosters? Where Should I Start? Roosters are a vital part of a well-rounded flock. They provide a watchful eye against predators, genes for the next generation, and keep social stability in a group. It is my opinion that a flock without a rooster is missing out on a good deal of their...

What is PTFE? How can it harm my chickens? Polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE, often known by the brand name Teflon, is a synthetic polymer often used as a non-stick coating for cooking pans. It is also used to coat shatter-resistant heat lamps, particularly within the food service industry. When...

After becoming dissatisfied with my Little Giant's propensity to temperature swings, I went on the market for a new incubator. I wanted something of a medium size that was cheap and reliable. Unfortunately, I discovered that finding all three of those qualities in the average commercial...

How to Candle Eggs There are two different ways to effectively candle eggs. One pertains to shipped eggs with air cell damage and the other to non-shipped eggs. Shipped Eggs: Always keep the eggs air cell end up. It's best to leave them in an egg carton if you can. Put the light source on the...

General Information and Description Three species of weasels can be found in North America and Canada. The long tailed weasel (Mustela frenata), which measures up to 24 inches (61 cm) in length; the short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea), which measures up to 13 inches (33cm) long; and the least...

In this article, my goal is to explain some basic methods of photography and setting up shots, as well as photo editing after the fact. I do not intend to go into detail on camera settings; for the purposes of this article, I will be using the automatic mode on my camera. There are no...

In early 2017, I decided to begin a rebuild of the BinBator and use a cooler for the body. If anyone else wants to try using a bin as I did in the last article in this series, I highly recommend screwing a piece of wood on the back to screw the thermostat onto rather than putting it over the...

Once again, I am upgrading my incubator. I ran into an issue with the small table-top cooler that was probably caused at least partially by my inability to quit tinkering. Hatch rates started falling and I noticed that embryo development was uneven. Moving thermometers around revealed large hot...

My large incubators are great, but they take up a lot of space. I have a small breeding population, so there are plenty of times when I only want to set a couple of eggs. I wanted a desktop model that would run off one plug and sit nicely in a corner without lighting up the entire room at night...

WORK IN PROGRESS—LAST UPDATED 3/2/20 My first coop came to the end of its 50 year tenure in 2017, after several years of dealing with problems ranging from a tree smashing the roof in to the floorboards rotting out. I had bought it in 2014 and dragged it home with a tractor, accidentally...

WORK IN PROGRESS—LAST UPDATE 3/2/20 Incubating w/ Friends Notes and Links Sometimes notes work better than brains! This is the first part of an article series for the threads INCUBATING w/ FRIENDS! come HATCH, LEARN, and Chat! w/ hosts, Sally Sunshine and BantyChooks (now closed due to large...