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

[MontanaDolphin]

As others have said, the carton will say 'fertile eggs', if the originating flock was free ranging with roosters. Not all TJs have them. The TJ in St. L doesn't have them and they thought I was weird for asking. The Whole Foods here carries them but the originating flock is in Wisconsin. The eggs then travel to the WF distribution center in Chicago, then on to various stores in the Midwest. By the time they get to my store they are at least 10 days old. Needless to say they didn't hatch.
Some local green markets will have them too, stores like Local Harvest.

As Ron said, call ahead. Ask the dairy manager for the Julian date on the fertile eggs carton so you'll know when they were packaged.



Call ahead.


Or, better yet, more coops.

So, across the street from TJ's is Whole Foods, so I called them both (located in Richmond, VA).

NEITHER ONE SELLS FERTILE EGGS!! I am so bummed!

 

[chicken pickin]

So, across the street from TJ's is Whole Foods, so I called them both (located in Richmond, VA).

NEITHER ONE SELLS FERTILE EGGS!! I am so bummed!

Maybe they are labled as cage free or free range I think the eggs are in the organic section. Im not positive though. I know people do hatch eggs from those stores.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

... a perfect hatch of what is left. Not going to happen since I got up this morning and the bulb in my incubator had burned out sometime in the night. Temp was down in the 80s. Not a total disaster since it was 6 hours at the most....

That happened to me once which is why I built in redundant thermostats and heat sources. Still I was worried about lamps burning out so after seeing how many times they cycled on and off a day, I rewired the whole thing. I put the light sockets on a switch and only use them for illumination and put metallic heat elements on the thermostats.
I feel better.
I'm sure your eggs will be OK. This will make you feel better.
http://www.brinsea.com/customerservice/poweroff.html

I love it!

Do not count them until they hatch, Rooster do not count and each breed counts as one. See, I only have 6 chickens.....

That's why when I drink beer it's in 24 ounce cans. That way I can say I only had 2 beers.

I have two of them. They are contact heaters and do not heat the brooder. They work a lot like a broody mom would work.

I really like them. The room needs to be above 40 for the first couple of weeks. I use them in my Garage in the winter because it does not get that cold here. It it did get cold, a small wattage light for heat would be needed for them.

How many chicks will they brood? Are they real energy efficient?

Has anyone here used a contact incubator? I think it has an inflatable bladder type thing that lays across the eggs like a broody hen.

Place a cup of dry rice in the incubator.

Excellent tip.

Roos don't count because they get ate after they crow the first time............

And they taste just like chicken, even the ones that aren't good enough to go breeder pens. They still get to spend 3-5 months running around foraging and playing with their chicken buddies.

That is EXACTLY where I was!!!
Oh YEAH!!! GO EAGLES!!!!! -we bleed green in this household! Next week we'll show the cowboys how it's done!

I was watching the Rams beat TB. As good as the Rams are, they're not going anywhere, unfortunate to be in the powerful NFC west.

... I think of it more as a hobby.

It's a hobby that keeps me off the streets for sure.

I washed them with Dial antibacterial soap. I let them soak for about 30 secs in 99-100 degree water. I washed them with my hands. Just made sure all the poo was gone. I have to keep track of the cost of food to make sure that no one is upset that I am spending money instead of making it lol. Most of my customers said they would pay double for the eggs but I'm afraid they will not buy as much.

Come summer and spring I plan on hatching and selling eggs at the local farmers market also. If I sell there I can ask more per dozen.

I thought about trying to ferment my feed. I did feed fodder for a while until I just got too busy to wash and rinse everyday as I didn't have room to put in a flood a drain system in the house. This is next on my list. To build an indoor system so that I water and rinse the top fodder tray and it drains down through to the next, then the next and so on until it drains out a window. Into the yard. With a complete fodder system in would cut cost by more than half. I plan on hatching lots of chicks for Easter as TSC will only sell chickens at 6 or more per transaction. That is the only place to get chicks here and I seen many people going in and asking for just one or two chicks.

Thanks for sharing your cleaning method.

I've been fermenting feed for all the birds for a few weeks. I kick myself for not keeping track of how much feed I've used since I started but it is noticeably less. It seems like it grows every day. I like it enough that I'm going to build some dedicated trough feeders. The dog bowls don't work very well.
I would still encourage people to get at least 2 since they need friends.
Another thing you could do is rent-a-chick till they get tired of them and then rescue them later.

Wait no. Roo's don't count... That means I have 3 chickens!

I split them up into small groups so when the city asks how many chickens I have, instead of blurting out "seventy", I say I don't have more than 10 in any flock and most are just 2 or 3 birds.
And sorry to say, in the city, roosters count.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

..
your very good at replying to everyone! Lol I'm trying to use all the shelters i have before building more

And I don't even do it in multiple posts. I'm clearly not trying to win the random post contest.

 

[AK FLOCK SWAP]

And I don't even do it in multiple posts. I'm clearly not trying to win the random post contest.

I thought someone wone that already..Blarney,,Sumin,,?,

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So, across the street from TJ's is Whole Foods, so I called them both (located in Richmond, VA).

NEITHER ONE SELLS FERTILE EGGS!! I am so bummed!

I talked to someone in WF corporate and they said they would try to stock anything someone wanted. TJs said it was up to the local manager and the store here is quite small so they don't have the room for fringe items.

Maybe they are labled as cage free or free range I think the eggs are in the organic section. Im not positive though. I know people do hatch eggs from those stores.

The US is horrible about regulating labels but rest assured, if they are fertile they will say so. Cage free eggs come from a poultry shed with hens packed like sardines - similar to a broiler house. Most free range eggs in the US are either from houses with a screened porch (that they can legally call outdoor access) or from a building with small pop doors that the flock of thousands can't possibly all get out of and when they do, there is little in the line of pasture. Neither so called 'cage free' or 'free range' are likely to have an appropriate ratio of roos to hens. That's not true in all cases, some farmers are much more conscientious but I've seen those I described. They are usually those run by the biggest egg firms.

 

[chickengirl1193]

And I don't even do it in multiple posts. I'm clearly not trying to win the random post contest.

I can see that! Lol out of curiosity what is the benefit.of fermented feed? does it increase the protein and nutrients?

 

[abmaddox1981]

Good morning everyone!

 

[chicken pickin]

Good morning everyone!

Mornin!
Its a freezing rain icy ground kind of day here. I think Ill stay inside and sip hot coffee.

 

[Cynthia12]

I'm in here later than usual..hope you all have a great day!