4th Annual BYC NYD Hatch-a-long

[aoxa]

Well I'm destined to win the worst hatch rate prize.. Test hatch: Not a single egg fertile.

I put my spare rooster in there yesterday. Hopefully I get a couple.

I ordered a Sportsman 1502 incubator on Friday, though I won't get it in time for the contest.. Maybe I can hatch in it

 

[Bettacreek]

I have seven eggs so far for the pekins. I get 0-2 eggs per day. I have five hens and only two of them appear to be laying. The free-loaders!

 

[delisha]

Quote: Than no worries for you. It is much more expensive to have a whole flock destroyed than a $20 test..don't ya think?

No I don't, if you have say 50 birds that can get expensive. Don't get me wrong, but I would have no problem with it, even a sick bird that could be fixed with antibodies, won't stay alive at my house. Sick birds (which I don't have) would be culled. I know it sounds insensitive, but that is how you keep your flock healthy, I've heard of numerous folks that are constantly using antibodies and don't know why their birds keep getting sick, well they have compromised their birds natural immune systems. So yes, a 20$ a swap, I wouldn't be doing it just for s**** and giggles to see if my chicks have some sorta of disease. 20$ can buy my household meat for 5 days, you way it out, buy a chick for say 3.50$ then test it for 20$ makes no sense to me. You still have to cull your chicks if it is positive.

Seriously that's 200$ for 2$ chick. Worth it no. To many people are struggling to survive. I would suggest you know where your birds are from and always quarantine.
I agree 100%. I cull hard for weaknesses, I do not have sick birds and hope I never do, however you have to be realistic. Most do not. They sell or give away sick birds and since having back yard chickens have become so popular, egg swapping, and chick swaps are so busy the problems are progressing. The help forum is huge. People are buying eggs and chicks without thinking about consequences of purchasing from who knows where.. Some new chicken people would never cull a bird or even eat one. People are investing big dollars in this industry with out thinking about prevention, animal husbandry, and they read very little about chickens. Most have no idea about chicken diseases. how they are contracted, what to do if it happens, what to look for, how to simply examine a chicken is lost on so many. I have even talked to some who never have picked up a chicken and have no idea how to catch them for an exam. I am trying to educate the few who care, and wish to know. It is too late after the fact. Investing into the health and well being of a flock in NOT for s... and giggles. Prevention is responsible animal husbandry. No one said anything about $200 for a $2.00 chick. The test is under $20.00 for 4 swabs. If you have 1 incubator/brooder you only need one test. They will all be infected.


For you it is not worth it and that is OK..For me..I am investing $20 into the future of my flock. I am not risking my whole flock for a $2 chicken. For the few who want the education and information it is out there waiting for you to read it. I have imparted as much as I feel comfortable with on this forum. If you have questions you can pm me.

This forum is about the excitement of egg hatching. There is nothing so pleasurable as a new hatched chick.

I want everyone to have a healthy happy hatch out. Strong chicks to interact with the flock. I love new chicks and the possibilities of adding to my flock. What will they look like, how big will they grow? How many will hatch out? Will my hatch out rate increase with the new knowledge about humidity and the new products purchased for controlling the incubator? My hatch rate is not where I would like it to be and I am learning from others. I normally do not incubate, my flock usually replaces its self, however I do not have a cockerel I like anymore. My old roo was so old he was no longer productive, He made a nice meal even at his advanced age, and I fenced in 1/2 acre so the neighbors roo did not visit. I am hoping for a Heritage RIR cockerel. If i do not get one I will have to eventually combine my flocks and use my English Orpington on all the girls when I need replacement hens.

 

[Bettacreek]

When you have a flock of 50-60 birds, you definitely don't want to risk infection. I had a scare awhile back and thought I was going to lose all of my birds because of some silkies that I had purchased. Fortunately, everybody was clean. It'll definitely open your eyes though, even just a scare. My flock, in dollar terms, is worth about $460 if I sold them all right now. If they stay healthy and I take care of them, hatch the eggs for sales and meat, they're worth thousands in the long run. And, that's just taking into account the dollar sense. They are also a part of our family, and it would cause a lot of tears and heartbreak if the flock dropped dead.

 

[CHICKEN CRAZY1]

We will have chickens next year so maybe I can particapate then.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

I am a big believer in bio security.

Our bio security includes:

1. NO ONE ever walks around our property ever for any reason. We have fences and gates for a reason.
2. NO ONE handles any bird prior to paying for it, no pet store look and pet and pick another here.
3. We are NPIP (about to do our yearly re-test)
4. We cull ALL birds who have genetic issues
5. We are careful who we buy from, or try to be, and do our research and ask around
6. New birds are quarantined no exceptions.
7. Clean all incubators and hatchers between every set of eggs.
8. we have isolation cages/sick ward where we can have heat, running water and a/c (super hot summers) for when a bird or any animal we have is in need of medical help.

Now we are lucky in that our largest numbers are in waterfowl, they dont suffer as often from the most common chicken diseases. Our chicken flocks are generally hatched here, from eggs bought from fellow NPIP/\. I cant afford to replace all of our breeders from these breeds, it would bankrupt us. Some of geese were $300 each

antibiotics are a last option, luckily we havent had a need for any either.


We are building new breeding pens over the next couple of weeks. The chickens use to have stalls side by side and could come out from there. I converted that building to goose stalls and the chickens are moving to movable breeding hoop style. Will make isolating anyone bird or flock easier too.

Even someone living in a neighborhood can set up bio security. If you have a limited sized yard, then a dog kennel in the garage is a good isolation cage. Isolation is not keeping in a cage in the backyard where other birds can be near them separated by wire. There might be more work to care for a bird in isolation for 30 days, but better than having to cull the entire flock due to an unseen illness from the new bird you just brought home.

Oh and Pellet style horse stall bedding is the BEST brooder bedding for ALL hatchlings from chickens to geese. We use it in our goose stalls, duck houses and for the goats too. Last forever, a little goes a long way, keeps smell down, breaks down in compost much faster, soaks up much more water than flakes (in the case of brooding waterfowl). We add pine shavings over the pellet for our goats. Everything gets raked daily at turn out, dries out and is good by lock up. Weekly scoop out of the super dirty.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Good morning, I woke up with a NYD hatchalong dream. My eggs that I ordered arrived (I ordered Serama eggs, that is tiny eggs) and got HUGE eggs, that turned out to be Emu eggs, and they didn't fit in the incubator, ROFL. Maybe I'm getting a little TOO eggcited over that hatch?

 

[tadpole98]

Good morning, I woke up with a NYD hatchalong dream. My eggs that I ordered arrived (I ordered Serama eggs, that is tiny eggs) and got HUGE eggs, that turned out to be Emu eggs, and they didn't fit in the incubator, ROFL. Maybe I'm getting a little TOO eggcited over that hatch?

lol!

 

[MarineCorpFarmr]

I am a big believer in bio security.

Our bio security includes:

1. NO ONE ever walks around our property ever for any reason. We have fences and gates for a reason.
2. NO ONE handles any bird prior to paying for it, no pet store look and pet and pick another here.
3. We are NPIP (about to do our yearly re-test)
4. We cull ALL birds who have genetic issues
5. We are careful who we buy from, or try to be, and do our research and ask around
6. New birds are quarantined no exceptions.
7. Clean all incubators and hatchers between every set of eggs.
8. we have isolation cages/sick ward where we can have heat, running water and a/c (super hot summers) for when a bird or any animal we have is in need of medical help.

Now we are lucky in that our largest numbers are in waterfowl, they dont suffer as often from the most common chicken diseases. Our chicken flocks are generally hatched here, from eggs bought from fellow NPIP/\. I cant afford to replace all of our breeders from these breeds, it would bankrupt us. Some of geese were $300 each

antibiotics are a last option, luckily we havent had a need for any either.


We are building new breeding pens over the next couple of weeks. The chickens use to have stalls side by side and could come out from there. I converted that building to goose stalls and the chickens are moving to movable breeding hoop style. Will make isolating anyone bird or flock easier too.

Even someone living in a neighborhood can set up bio security. If you have a limited sized yard, then a dog kennel in the garage is a good isolation cage. Isolation is not keeping in a cage in the backyard where other birds can be near them separated by wire. There might be more work to care for a bird in isolation for 30 days, but better than having to cull the entire flock due to an unseen illness from the new bird you just brought home.

Oh and Pellet style horse stall bedding is the BEST brooder bedding for ALL hatchlings from chickens to geese. We use it in our goose stalls, duck houses and for the goats too. Last forever, a little goes a long way, keeps smell down, breaks down in compost much faster, soaks up much more water than flakes (in the case of brooding waterfowl). We add pine shavings over the pellet for our goats. Everything gets raked daily at turn out, dries out and is good by lock up. Weekly scoop out of the super dirty.

Celtic I fully agree with the bedding. coop and brooders both get the pellets.

 

[tadpole98]

Im on lockdown for my hatch right now! that should clear us out for the NYD hatch