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

[champer]

It's so cold here at work that I can see my breathe in the trailer I'm loading. They don't believe in heat and turn it down to 50 every morning. Which means when it is 7* outside it is 30* I'm here. We walk up and down the dock debating who is the coldest. To top it off we have to wear steel toe shoes which make your feet stay cold all day

Sounds miserable ((((hugs)))). Since I started knitting my own wool socks, I never have cold feet. Do you know how to knit?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

When I got my first shipment of Black Penedesencas, they got lost in the mail.
More worrisome was that they weren't day old chicks. They were 3 days old when shipped.
I asked the shipper and he said not to worry. We were overnighting them, they put feed and mandarin orange in the box for moisture. We're putting them on the plane in Atlanta and they'll come off the plane in St. Louis - no problem.
He said, when I got the box there would be orange in the box. That was the mandarin orange.
The next morning I went to the PO but there were no chicks nor any record of where they were. Checking the tracking number online, there was no info past the shipping.
After a lot of research, I reached the head of overnight mail dept. of the PO and explained how rare they were.
They basically put out a nationwide APB and there was no trace of them.
The second day, I still couldn't get any info on the tracking # online. I went to the PO hoping against hope. To my surprise, there was a box there. I had my camera ready to take pictures of dead chicks for the insurance claim. I was shocked when I opened the box and all 23 chicks were alive. There was no mandarin orange or feed in the box. There wasn't even feces in the box. They ate everything.
I got them home and remembered that after I had disinfected the brooder house, a rooster had spent a couple nights in there. I decided to re-disinfect it before putting extremely valuable birds in there. Since there were only 23 of them, I decided to temporarily brood them in the garage with more reliable electricity.
I set up a box with a heat lamp, food and water. Then I went to the brooder house to pull everything out, re-disinfect and set it up for the new birds.
During the process, it started raining. We had a huge rainstorm and we got 4 inches of rain in under an hour. Keep in mind, this was March.
After setting up the brooder house I was walking back to the house in the downpour and heard a lot of chirping from the garage. I wondered why and looked in. The garage was flooded with ice cold water. The box with the chicks was floating with about an inch in the box. The chicks were soaked and freezing.
I grabbed the box, poured the water out and ran it back to the brooder house. I put the chicks on the shavings on top of my homemade brooder and put a couple heat lamps on both sides of them. They weren't running around. A couple were still standing and cheeping. Most were laying prostrate. Two, I was sure were dead.
I thought, "my God, I killed these chicks".
I grabbed the two chicks I was sure were dead and ran back to the house. I turned the oven on, propped the door open, put the dead chicks on a baking pan.
I ran upstairs and grabbed a hair dryer. I ran back to the brooder house and turned the blow dryer on the chicks that looked even worse now. I kept prodding each one till they responded. Eventually I got them all dry, warm and they started to stand up. When I felt secure that they may be out of danger, I went back to the house.
Of the 2 dead chicks, one was starting to stand and the other was trying to jump out of the oven.
At that moment, my wife and daughter pulled in the drive. Since I bought the chicks on the spur of the moment having searched for them for a year, I hadn't told my wife I bought them. I certainly didn't want her to know that I dried chicks in her oven.
I grabbed the two chicks, stuck one in each pocket and walked past her and my daughter as they were coming in the house, waved and said "hi hon".
I ran back to the brooder house and put those two with the others.
I did not lose one of those chicks.
That sold me on both the vigor of Black Penedesencas but also breeder birds.
Hatchery chicks would have been dead after 5 days of almost no food, no water and 4 hours later, drown in ice cold water. 95% of my birds are descended from that batch.
Did I say I love these birds?

Apparently the box didn't get taken off the plane in St. Louis and went some other places around the country. When it came back through, it made it off the plane.

Thanks for listening.
And NEVER GIVE UP!!!

 

[Wisher1000]

...
I got them home and remembered that after I had disinfected the brooder house, a rooster had spent a couple nights in there. I decided to re-disinfect it before putting extremely valuable birds in there....
I grabbed the box, poured the water out and ran it back to the brooder house. I put the chicks on the shavings on top of my homemade brooder and put a couple heat lamps on both sides of them...
I thought, "my God, I killed these chicks".
I grabbed the two chicks I was sure were dead and ran back to the house. I turned the oven on, propped the door open, put the dead chicks on a baking pan.
I ran upstairs and grabbed a hair dryer. I ran back to the brooder house and turned the blow dryer on the chicks that looked even worse now. I kept prodding each one till they responded. Eventually I got them all dry... hadn't told my wife I bought them. I certainly didn't want her to know that I dried chicks in her oven.
I grabbed the two chicks, stuck one in each pocket and walked past her and my daughter as they were coming in the house, waved and said "hi hon".
I ran back to the brooder house and put those two with the others.
Did I say I love these birds?

If anything ever happens to your wife, can I have you?

 

[chickydee64]

Here are mine!

Hope everyone has a great hatch!

They are beautiful...........................

 

[chickydee64]

When I got my first shipment of Black Penedesencas, they got lost in the mail.
More worrisome was that they weren't day old chicks. They were 3 days old when shipped.
I asked the shipper and he said not to worry. We were overnighting them, they put feed and mandarin orange in the box for moisture. We're putting them on the plane in Atlanta and they'll come off the plane in St. Louis - no problem.
He said, when I got the box there would be orange in the box. That was the mandarin orange.
The next morning I went to the PO but there were no chicks nor any record of where they were. Checking the tracking number online, there was no info past the shipping.
After a lot of research, I reached the head of overnight mail dept. of the PO and explained how rare they were.
They basically put out a nationwide APB and there was no trace of them.
The second day, I still couldn't get any info on the tracking # online. I went to the PO hoping against hope. To my surprise, there was a box there. I had my camera ready to take pictures of dead chicks for insurance. I opened the box and all 23 chicks were alive. There was no mandarin orange or feed in the box. There wasn't even feces in the box. They ate everything.
I got them home and remembered that after I had disinfected the brooder house, a rooster had spent a couple nights in there. I decided to re-disinfect it before putting extremely valuable birds in there. Since there were only 23 of them, I decided to temporarily brood them in the garage with more reliable electricity.
I set up a box with a heat lamp, food and water. Then I went to the brooder house to pull everything out, re-disinfect and set it up for the new birds.
During the process, it started raining. We had a huge rainstorm and we got 4 inches of rain in under an hour. Keep in mind, this was March.
After setting up the brooder house I was walking back to the house in the downpour and heard a lot of chirping from the garage. I wondered why and looked in. The garage was flooded with ice cold water. The box with the chicks was floating with about an inch in the box. The chicks were soaked and freezing.
I grabbed the box, poured the water out and ran it back to the brooder house. I put the chicks on the shavings on top of my homemade brooder and put a couple heat lamps on both sides of them. They weren't running around. A couple were still standing and cheeping. Most were laying prostrate. Two, I was sure were dead.
I thought, "my God, I killed these chicks".
I grabbed the two chicks I was sure were dead and ran back to the house. I turned the oven on, propped the door open, put the dead chicks on a baking pan.
I ran upstairs and grabbed a hair dryer. I ran back to the brooder house and turned the blow dryer on the chicks that looked even worse now. I kept prodding each one till they responded. Eventually I got them all dry, warm and they started to stand up. When I felt secure that they may be out of danger, I went back to the house.
Of the 2 dead chicks, one was starting to stand and the other was trying to jump out of the oven.
At that moment, my wife and daughter pulled in the drive. Since I bought the chicks on the spur of the moment having searched for them for a year, I hadn't told my wife I bought them. I certainly didn't want her to know that I dried chicks in her oven.
I grabbed the two chicks, stuck one in each pocket and walked past her and my daughter as they were coming in the house, waved and said "hi hon".
I ran back to the brooder house and put those two with the others.
I did not lose one of those chicks.
That sold me on both the vigor of Black Penedesencas but also breeder birds.
Hatchery chicks would have been dead after 5 days of almost no food, no water and 4 hours later, drown in ice cold water. 95% of my birds are descended from that batch.
Did I say I love these birds?

Apparently the box didn't get taken off the box in St. Louis and went some other places around the country. When it came back through, it made it off the plane.

Thanks for listening.
And NEVER GIVE UP!!!

If anything ever happens to your wife, can I have you?

OMG.......................

.I THINK I LOVE YOU.....................What a great chicken Dad

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Okay I have a question.... I thought maybe you guys can enlighten me some. Here goes...
The box of hatching eggs I ordered almost 2 weeks ago are still missing, they have a tracking number, but have not been scanned or moved since the first day of shipment. They were sent 3 day post with $50 insurance. I have contacted the person that sold me the eggs with no reply....So here is my question. Do I go through and make a insurance claim, or does she? If I am the one to do it, how do I do it? Is it an involved process?
I just want to get SOMETHING out of this experience, preferably 7 hatching eggs, but I guess the insurance claim would be the next best thing. =(

the sender has to file the USPS claim. Now if you sent money by paypal you can file a paypal claim to motivate the sender. Of course I recommend contacting the sender and just asking if they have filed a claim. You should know though that the PO does not promise a set number of days for the package to arrive unless the package was sent by express. And the PO may decide that aged eggs are not damaged eggs. All that meaning you may be out the egg and shipping money.

 

[msladyhawke]

If anything ever happens to your wife, can I have you?

Get in line Wisher!!! LOL, I will fight you for him!!!!!

 

[Ramblin Rooster]

How's everyone's hatches going?

I JUST ORDERED AN OCTAGON 20 ECO AUTOTURN! SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

Anyone have any experience with an Octagon 20?

 

[ronott1]

How's everyone's hatches going?

I JUST ORDERED AN OCTAGON 20 ECO AUTOTURN! SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

Anyone have any experience with an Octagon 20?

I have the octagon 40. You will love yours!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

How's everyone's hatches going?

I JUST ORDERED AN OCTAGON 20 ECO AUTOTURN! SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

Anyone have any experience with an Octagon 20?

Awesome.
You must be richer than I. Not that that's a bad thing.
Mine is made from recycled/found stuff plus a few electronics I put together.