April Hatch Thread--Come Join Us!

[PugBug]

I'm sorry, that would be so hard! And I know what you mean about that stomach ache when you think about wasted money. What incubator do you have?

I have 2 bators. A large styro forced air with auto turner. I use it for day 1-18. And yes I have a hydrometer, my temp & humidity are correct. Then I have a brinsea mini advance that I usually use for lockdown/hatch. The first several times I was getting small batches of shipped eggs, I had some infertile- some with funky air cells etc. I learned on here from Rox & Brooks to not turn the eggs for 7 days- which helped alot. Also now I order larger batches so I have a better chance. Problem is I didn't know certain things when I started, since then my hatches have been better. It's just sickening when I look back at all the wasted money!

 

[PugBug]

Yikes...that IS a lot of money. Sounds like you've got yourself $100 chicks! I have a $40 roo from my last hatch. Shipped eggs, 1/13 hatched and I'm 99% sure it's a boy -_-

Yep that's just it hokan! In hide sight- which is always 20/20- I should have just bought some cheap eggs until I learned. It never occurred to me I'd have prob. since I used to hatch in bators years ago- however I was hatching my own barnyard mix eggs, not shipped. There is a huge diff, which I now know. When I got back into chickens in Jan, there were certain breeds I wanted, which were unavailable to me unless I spent hundreds on chicks, or tried the shipped eggs. Of course I went with the eggs... I did end up buying some chicks of some of the breeds I wanted- which are all doing well. But boy has this been a lesson learned!

 

[PugBug]

Oh wow, that is stomach turning Are you able to hatch from your own flock instead of paying the extra for shipped eggs?

I was starting from scratch again after 10 yrs being chicken-less LOL So it was either buy shipped eggs for the breeds I wanted or spend hundreds on chicks....

 

[Partyfowl]

I'm thinking that this (my first time hatching in an incubator) may be my last, at least for a while. Not that it's becoming a bad experience, it's just easier and cheaper to pick up chicks once somebody else hatches them. Maybe I'll feel different when they actually hatch, I don't know.

I only began this hatching project because I wanted silkies and the only breeder I found local to me didn't respond to my emails and having live chicks shipped was too expensive or I had to buy more chicks than I wanted. I guess I kinda jumped the gun buying my eggs 2 weeks ago because I went to TSC today and, surprise surprise, they had silkies. Granted they are all white so no color variety. Still, I can't complain for $1.99 a chick. I spent $10 on my eggs plus $12.00 for shipping and as of today, day 11, I have 4 eggs developing/moving. If you add in the $50+ cost of the incubator and IF all 4 developing chicks hatch, my average cost per chick is $18+, which I suppose is not bad considering the quality of the eggs I got. I saw pictures of all of her other birds so I know these will turn out to be nice as well.

Maybe I'm a little disappointed for another reason.. Honestly, I thought my family would be more involved in this. I have a 6 almost 7 year old son who loves science and loves building things so I thought this project would be right up his alley. When we built the incubator, it was me and my boyfriend, our son, and a friend of mine. I bought everything we needed at a few different stores and I came up with the basic design after doing tons of research. My boyfriend set up the wiring so the entire bator plugs in, that feeds an outlet on the bator. One plug is on constant for the fan and the other plug is tripped on and off by the thermostat for the light/heat. My friend helped a little here and there, mostly by taking pictures so we could document "The Great Chicken Project". But who's missing from this picture? My son.. Mr lets build something cool. Apparently he abandoned the "Great Chicken Project" in our garage to go in the house and play wii games. He says he thinks its cool, it's just slow going now. I'm sure his interest will increase once some hatch. Since setting the eggs, I've been on my own. The day I set them, around noon, I had to work from 3pm to 2am. I asked my boyfriend to check the temp and humidity for me once or trice.. His answer was that he didn't want to be bothered. It's not like it was hard.. Walk up stairs to a spare bedroom and look through the glass. Long story short, all checking on them and egg turning has been done by me. I wanted this to be a project the whole family could enjoy.

I find that the more involved I get in the animal aspect of the farm, the kids (11,6, 1.5) and hubby tend to follow. But I also have a no electronics rule till 7:30 pm so they really don't have a choice. Ha! My husband is a 4th generation grain farmer and were farming almost 13,000 acres this year so the kids know better then to say "I'm bored" because sure enough mom or dad will give thm a job. Funny how all the sudden helping mom in the barn isn't so bad. .

 

[animaladdictions]

There are a few breeds that I desperately want that are just too far out of reach for me whether it be eggs or chicks...it's hard to get rare and quality without going broke. I don't see how some people do it...I reckon they're rollin in the dough. Not me! I've had to wait years to get the quality I have now and I'm still a long ways away from having all that I want. All good things come to those who wait I guess.

 

[PugBug]

I'm thinking that this (my first time hatching in an incubator) may be my last, at least for a while. Not that it's becoming a bad experience, it's just easier and cheaper to pick up chicks once somebody else hatches them. Maybe I'll feel different when they actually hatch, I don't know.

I only began this hatching project because I wanted silkies and the only breeder I found local to me didn't respond to my emails and having live chicks shipped was too expensive or I had to buy more chicks than I wanted. I guess I kinda jumped the gun buying my eggs 2 weeks ago because I went to TSC today and, surprise surprise, they had silkies. Granted they are all white so no color variety. Still, I can't complain for $1.99 a chick. I spent $10 on my eggs plus $12.00 for shipping and as of today, day 11, I have 4 eggs developing/moving. If you add in the $50+ cost of the incubator and IF all 4 developing chicks hatch, my average cost per chick is $18+, which I suppose is not bad considering the quality of the eggs I got. I saw pictures of all of her other birds so I know these will turn out to be nice as well.

Maybe I'm a little disappointed for another reason.. Honestly, I thought my family would be more involved in this. I have a 6 almost 7 year old son who loves science and loves building things so I thought this project would be right up his alley. When we built the incubator, it was me and my boyfriend, our son, and a friend of mine. I bought everything we needed at a few different stores and I came up with the basic design after doing tons of research. My boyfriend set up the wiring so the entire bator plugs in, that feeds an outlet on the bator. One plug is on constant for the fan and the other plug is tripped on and off by the thermostat for the light/heat. My friend helped a little here and there, mostly by taking pictures so we could document "The Great Chicken Project". But who's missing from this picture? My son.. Mr lets build something cool. Apparently he abandoned the "Great Chicken Project" in our garage to go in the house and play wii games. He says he thinks its cool, it's just slow going now. I'm sure his interest will increase once some hatch. Since setting the eggs, I've been on my own. The day I set them, around noon, I had to work from 3pm to 2am. I asked my boyfriend to check the temp and humidity for me once or trice.. His answer was that he didn't want to be bothered. It's not like it was hard.. Walk up stairs to a spare bedroom and look through the glass. Long story short, all checking on them and egg turning has been done by me. I wanted this to be a project the whole family could enjoy.

It's the 'mama hen' in us that keeps us so interested & involved in the day to day 'boring' to other's, details of incubating LOL My family only gets interested once they find out eggs are pipping. Until then they don't even think about it. In defense of your son, at his age unless there is something going on to see it would be boring for him. I think once you get some auction in the bator happening he will be more interested.

 

[PugBug]

These were taken with the cell phone so not the greatest. Little goose hatched EASTER SUNDAY! Gotta think of a good name for him...

The little call ducks were just a couple days ahead of him. My next batch of Calls is due in five days if all goes well! And a couple more dewlap babies a few days later! I just love these little buggars!!!

OH MY GOSH!!! I am so glad you shared these!

 

[PugBug]

Oh dear...you sound like me when I started buying shipped eggs! I learned the hard way, it saves a LOT of money in the long run just to go ahead and spend that fortune on live chicks. If it all goes smoothly you can save a ton buying hatching eggs but with me it didn't work out that way at all. I spent a small fortune just trying to get my flock established (money we didn't really have)...then there's the food, and the building supplies, and the medications, and the bedding materials, and the....it NEVER ENDS!!!! I think if I had all that money back, I'd be a wealthy woman! Whoever said raising birds was inexpensive was ummmm WRONG! They are worth it though. They bring so much joy to my life!

Yes, and that is why after the first 6 hatches were all failures I began buying some of the chicks I wanted. By then I had several good hatches so I kept going on some of the ones where I still could not get chicks. Since then I've learned A LOT and my hatches are better. But I did mess up the past 2 hatches trying a few diff things I heard from others- which resulted in me only getting 2 chicks from one of the hatches, 1 chick from another and two sets with NONE. So this time around I am going back to doing what worked for me, hopefully it will work again

By the way... what about 'Cadberry' if your baby goose that hatched Easter is a boy??? Just a thought

 

[annabell254]

This is my hobby..(and I have spent the last 13 years getting out of debt and saving all of my money so that I could eventually be able to spend some of it on my likes I dont buy shoes, or go shopping for outfits... All of my stuff comes from 2nd hand stores or goodwill... no going out to eat, no extras at the gas station.... no smoking, and only minimal drinking..... I figured it up one day and hubby smokes a pack of cigs a day and a 6 pack of beer.... this adds up to 3000$ a year!!!! so I threw a hissy fit and said it is unfair for him to spend this when I have no hobbies and make 80% of the money!!!!
so the last few years I invested in fruit trees, and irrigation, and dirt

as my hobby
now I have all of my trees and will be making $ off them in another few years..... as I have 300+ fruiting trees/vines/shrubs for a pick your own organic orchard (many started from scion wood exchanges)
and now I am really getting into the poultry as my hobby.... and of course I am planning on eventually selling my eggs from the more expensive breeds... and already sell free range eggs for eating and it 100% pays for the food for all of my poultry

I guess I am penny wise and pound short

but in my mind you can spend an extra 50-100$ a week easily on .... for lack of a better word "crap" haha stuff you dont need or even really want and it just gets shoved to a back shelf and forgotten about or eaten.... (this is how hubby is always spending 5-10$ here and there on "crap") I just save all of my money for large purchases all at once ...

But then I am VERY good at saving and not dipping into it for ANY reason other than the reason it was set aside.... and I think that is the hardest part! haha Hubby cant save 5$ to save his life! and if he ever complains I bring this back up that I do NOT spend as much as him on his addictions, by any stretch of the imagination! and his addictions are very bad on his health while mine will make us healthier and eventually start to make some $ back!!!!

$$$ gets spent, no matter how much you have.... but how much of that $$$ can you still see in 6 months or a year? with chickens you have eggs, beauty, meat, insect hunters, yard irrigators, companions, .... and potential to make $ back.... for years to come.... better than the 60$ jeans that will be out of style in 6 months! haha

(he is big on name brands

) hehe can you tell Ive used this speach on him before! haha

 

[PugBug]

There are a few breeds that I desperately want that are just too far out of reach for me whether it be eggs or chicks...it's hard to get rare and quality without going broke. I don't see how some people do it...I reckon they're rollin in the dough. Not me! I've had to wait years to get the quality I have now and I'm still a long ways away from having all that I want. All good things come to those who wait I guess.

That is so true!