Acres Poultry hatching thread with aliciaplus3!

[aliciaplus3]

Candled the shipped eggs tonight. Pulled 2 more marans that quit. The legbar looks good as does all 7 turkey
I moved one of the marans over to lockdown because it was showing too much air cell and it looked badly saddled. The plan was to hatch out the eggs due tomorrow then move the marans and legbar into lockdown. They may move in before the stragglers finish hatching?

 

[aliciaplus3]

Oh one black turkey running around in the incubator now and 5 more external pips

 

[FortCluck]

You're a hatching machine! I can't wait to see your NN's.

 

[aliciaplus3]

so far this morning just 5 little black turkeys
They are now dryer and cuddled in a poult pile. SO CUTE!

 

[FortCluck]

View attachment 2028444so far this morning just 5 little black turkeys
They are now dryer and cuddled in a poult pile. SO CUTE!

I can't wait to get some poults. We are hoping to have our own turkey for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if it'll cut costs of grocery store turkeys but it might.

 

[aliciaplus3]

I can't wait to get some poults. We are hoping to have our own turkey for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if it'll cut costs of grocery store turkeys but it might.

are you planning to do heritage?? if so then count on it being more to start with. I like to grow our eating turkeys out to 6 or 7 months, make sure to start them on a good quality turkey or gamebird feed, turkeys need more protein than chicken chicks just like ducks need more niacin than chicks. I have gone to offering a 3 way mix to all my young poultry, chickens, ducks and turkeys because they often run together here. My mix is equal parts turkey starter(28% protein) flock raiser(20%protein) and the chick starter my local feed store mixes up(23% protein) when the chicks get a little bigger I add a fourth part of my layer mix that I have mixed just for us, its 17% protein? I have the feed store add extra vitamins and blood meal as well as meat meal (ok 50 pounds of each per ton isn't a lot but it makes me feel better) the oyster shell that they use for my layer is loose so that the poultry can eat it if they need it and leave it if not.
I have found that the ducks do SO much better when I add the flock raiser, its the only thing that is readily available here locally that has enough niacin for the ducks.
Best of luck with your hatching and I will try to keep updates here on things as they hatch

 

[R2elk]

I can't wait to get some poults. We are hoping to have our own turkey for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if it'll cut costs of grocery store turkeys but it might.

You cannot raise turkeys for what you can buy turkeys on sale during Thanksgiving promotions. The stores are selling them at a loss in order to gain more sales in accompanying items.

 

[FortCluck]

You cannot raise turkeys for what you can buy turkeys on sale during Thanksgiving promotions. The stores are selling them at a loss in order to gain more sales in accompanying items.

We pay $60 for a Thanksgiving turkey. There are no Thanksgiving turkey promotions in my area I don't think.

 

[FortCluck]

are you planning to do heritage?? if so then count on it being more to start with. I like to grow our eating turkeys out to 6 or 7 months, make sure to start them on a good quality turkey or gamebird feed, turkeys need more protein than chicken chicks just like ducks need more niacin than chicks. I have gone to offering a 3 way mix to all my young poultry, chickens, ducks and turkeys because they often run together here. My mix is equal parts turkey starter(28% protein) flock raiser(20%protein) and the chick starter my local feed store mixes up(23% protein) when the chicks get a little bigger I add a fourth part of my layer mix that I have mixed just for us, its 17% protein? I have the feed store add extra vitamins and blood meal as well as meat meal (ok 50 pounds of each per ton isn't a lot but it makes me feel better) the oyster shell that they use for my layer is loose so that the poultry can eat it if they need it and leave it if not.
I have found that the ducks do SO much better when I add the flock raiser, its the only thing that is readily available here locally that has enough niacin for the ducks.
Best of luck with your hatching and I will try to keep updates here on things as they hatch

I was going to do broad breasted turkeys. Heritage I'll do later on and incubate eggs like you're doing.

 

[aliciaplus3]

You cannot raise turkeys for what you can buy turkeys on sale during Thanksgiving promotions. The stores are selling them at a loss in order to gain more sales in accompanying items.

you are correct. but some of us fall in love with our turkeys and can't help but hatch more!