5th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2014 Hatch-A-Long

[mstricer]

[COLOR=4B0082]That's how it goes. If you don't check it, you will be 5 pages behind. I have to go bath chickens here, after dinner, to get them ready for the Dixie Classic. 12 chickens going to be a long night[/COLOR]

Good luck! Hope you getting some ribbons! P.S. I might P.M. you after the hatch for suggestions on washing/fluffing up their beards/muffs for a show. I have no idea how they get theirs so yucky. Only the hens, not the roo. It's weird.

Mine only get a little dirty, put I feed them FF. They didn't like baths very much. I had to scratch the porcelain from the show, due to her being a fatty, weighs way toooooo much, 2 lbs 1 oz. she should only weigh 22 oz and I thought she wasn't getting enough food in the LF coop. I picked her up and knew right away she wasn't going back to the coop for her obese self

... How do you northern hatchers brood your chicks after a winter hatch? The snow is pretty deep here and we aren't expected to see above 0 temps for a week or so. Makes everything so much harder. Any tips are appreciated. Then maybe next year I will be all in!

That's pretty cold, real cold here is -10 but that's fairly unusual. Single digits for a low is more normal. I have homemade brooders with a light socket at each end. After the first week I switch from the 250 watt lamps to ceramic emitters so I can give them 8 hours of dark. The raised sides on the brooders hold shavings for insulation. It can get pretty cold in the building but I've never lost a chick to being too cold. Inside building Outside building

Just a word of caution. I noticed your extension cords, be very careful, last year a member lost her barn and all her animals to a fire, dust and lights and if the cord isn't rated for the power you are using can catch on fire. (Extension. Cords are rated)

 

[love2grinchicke]

I have two incubators. Both are little giant. One is still air, and one is forced air. I'm planning on setting up a turner in one, and then moving them to another on lockdown day. Which is best for actually incubating, and which is best for hatching? Oh, and has anybody here tried dry incubating?

 

[insanity]

I usually don't get excited about contests ( mainly because I have never won one) but these prizes are getting pretty good. I will be watching for sure. At least here we all win the little fuzzies we hatch.

 

[msladyhawke]

This thread is killing me! I would love to hatch along with everyone, but I am pretty sure my hubby would shoot me if I fired up the incubator. I will have to be content to follow along and enjoy everyone's successes. Just a question... How do you northern hatchers brood your chicks after a winter hatch? The snow is pretty deep here and we aren't expected to see above 0 temps for a week or so. Makes everything so much harder. Any tips are appreciated. Then maybe next year I will be all in!

I have a huge basement that maintains a decent temp since most of it is underground. They get the heat lamp as long as they need it,then i take it away when fully feathered. Come spring, outside they go.

 

[ronott1]

I have two incubators. Both are little giant. One is still air, and one is forced air. I'm planning on setting up a turner in one, and then moving them to another on lockdown day. Which is best for actually incubating, and which is best for hatching? Oh, and has anybody here tried dry incubating?

I would use the fan forced incubator for incubating and the Still air for hatching.

Go to the fist post in this thread and read the hatching tips!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Just a word of caution. I noticed your extension cords, be very careful, last year a member lost her barn and all her animals to a fire, dust and lights and if the cord isn't rated for the power you are using can catch on fire. (Extension. Cords are rated)

I appreciate the cautionary tale.

I know it looks pretty convoluted but normally I don't run both of them at once. I had 54 surprise chicks arrive a week after the 26 Freedom Rangers so had to act fast as it was late October.
I was an industrial electrician, robotics instructor and automation engineer so I never overload circuitry. In outbuildings I go for overkill on safety. Almost everything is run in conduit and I never use less than 3/4 inch because no sooner than you use 1/2 inch for a run you want to add a circuit and there's no room for more wire.

 

[insanity]

I have two incubators. Both are little giant. One is still air, and one is forced air. I'm planning on setting up a turner in one, and then moving them to another on lockdown day. Which is best for actually incubating, and which is best for hatching? Oh, and has anybody here tried dry incubating?

I use three lil giants. A forced air to incubate , a still air for lock down, and another stillair for a 48hr brooder. That seems to work for me.

I use

 

[Aphrael]

Ok, I'm kind of panicking for my shipped eggs now. They ship tomorrow and we just had a nasty front hit us. We have freezing temps that are going to last through next week.

 

[acemario]

I usually don't get excited about contests ( mainly because I have never won one) but these prizes are getting pretty good. I will be watching for sure. At least here we all win the little fuzzies we hatch.

Yeah, with all the amazing members on here, winning contests is nearly impossible! haha!

 

[mstricer]

Just a word of caution. I noticed your extension cords, be very careful, last year a member lost her barn and all her animals to a fire, dust and lights and if the cord isn't rated for the power you are using can catch on fire. (Extension. Cords are rated)

I appreciate the cautionary tale.

I know it looks pretty convoluted but normally I don't run both of them at once. I had 54 surprise chicks arrive a week after the 26 Freedom Rangers so had to act fast as it was late October.
I was an industrial electrician, robotics instructor and automation engineer so I never overload circuitry. In outbuildings I go for overkill on safety. Almost everything is run in conduit and I never use less than 3/4 inch because no sooner than you use 1/2 inch for a run you want to add a circuit and there's no room for more wire.

I'm glad that all is good.