California - Northern

[chrissyr]

@alibra how is the chick this morning? did any more hatch? what breeds do you have in the bator?

 

[chiqita]

I am soooo disappointed.  Of the 45 cream legbar eggs I had shipped,    3 are developing.   The air sacs were damaged but I was hopeful some would develop.

I am not blaming the breeder/shipper.  It is my fault.  I knew the eggs were being shipped from an area that was experiencing -10 degree weather so I am to blame.  I should have waited til Spring, but patience in not a virtue I possess.  Also,  I am often an unrealistic optimist so a good kick in the butt does me good once in awhile. 

I will be happy if I get a good blue gene rooster out of the bunch.  

On a good note:    I am having superb development from eggs I picked up at the Stockton show.  I have 14 Phoenix eggs developing from Rambob59 and 12 for 12 Calico Cochins bantams from Chooklet.   Yeah,  local eggs!!!   

The magic of dicky finally faild?? Curses! Ahh well its gotta happen some time. Im sure you know this but if you get eggs with funky air cells you should be able to collect your insurance money.

I was thinking of adding a coop dedicated to a couple of bantam broodies.  Would like to know others experiences with two broodies sharing the same coop.  

This will depend on the broodies. Some like to share chicks some attack others and their chicks some will try and steal the other hens chicks. I used to have small coops I could divide into 2 so they went in and out separately. The other problem is if they sit together it is common for hen 1s eggs to hatch And hen 2 to abandon her eggs to co brood with her sister. I once had an icelandic and a turkey try and co brood together. So I would advise having somewhat seperate spaces.

 

[Audio51]

Hi Everyone. This morning I took Hercules, Sierra's bantam Leghorn that died Saturday, to the UC Davis lab in Turlock. I grew up in Turlock and didn't even knew this existed. I was impressed with their protocol there. Great biosecurity. They even pressure washed my tires with a cleaning solution before I left. I was greeted by a graduate student from Italy who was completing her residency here. She interviewed me about my birds, conditions, health. All if my other birds are completely healthy.

She called me this evening to tell me about the results. Hercules died of a moderate-extreme infestation of red mites. We have only had him for three months, but must have come to us with them since he is a mature Cock. Luckily, I have kept him isolated because he was my daughters show bird. Of course I rechecked all of my birds when I got home. No Signs of mites anywhere.

Sorry about the mites, but it's good that you were able to confirm the cause. Quarantine is always a smart thing to do (I do it with new finches too) and will reduce the chances of spread. Some birds are more susceptible to parasites than others, or at least do a better job of resisting their effects. The Gouldian Finches I raise are prone to Air Sac Mites, which all birds have to some extent pretty much all the time. The mites are "opportunistic" and will increase in population during stress such as breeding, molting or transfer to new owners/environment when the birds resistances is lower. Some deal with stress better and are better able to keep them at bay. With the finches, birds that are fluffed and doing open mouth breathing usually have ASM. They have to be treated as early as possible because sometimes, if the mite load is very heavy, when they start to die off after treatment they can obstruct the birds airway and it will suffocate.

 

[Audio51]

Quote:
I haven't given my banty any eggs yet, but did put her in nest #2 in the broody coop. She was taking up one of the layer nests in the main coop. She is sitting on 3 porcelein eggs though. The nest divider is cut a little funny with a downward curve on the front edge. This lets the 2 hens see each other. They don't seem to have a problem incubating next to each other. Maybe if I just let them do that with only the Wyandotte actually having real eggs they will co-brood. I wouldn't have a problem with that, especially if the weather stays wet and cold thru hatch time. This coop does have a ramp up to the elevated nest area. Are the chicks likely to have problems negotiating that? It is about 18 inches from dirt floor to nesting area This is the coop:

 

[Flowers of Abba]

I am soooo disappointed.  Of the 45 cream legbar eggs I had shipped,    3 are developing.   The air sacs were damaged but I was hopeful some would develop.

I am not blaming the breeder/shipper.  It is my fault.  I knew the eggs were being shipped from an area that was experiencing -10 degree weather so I am to blame.  I should have waited til Spring, but patience in not a virtue I possess.  Also,  I am often an unrealistic optimist so a good kick in the butt does me good once in awhile. 

I will be happy if I get a good blue gene rooster out of the bunch.  

On a good note:    I am having superb development from eggs I picked up at the Stockton show.  I have 14 Phoenix eggs developing from Rambob59 and 12 for 12 Calico Cochins bantams from Chooklet.   Yeah,  local eggs!!!   

Ack! That is sad! I empathize with the patience virtue though. I felt the same way about the package of eggs you brought up last. You warned me that that they may be clear because you had just shifted the hens around because of that pesky hawk and of course you were correct. I wonder how much we affect our utility bills when running all the extra equipment ?

 

[lawatt]

Ack! That is sad! I empathize with the patience virtue though. I felt the same way about the package of eggs you brought up last. You warned me that that they may be clear because you had just shifted the hens around because of that pesky hawk and of course you were correct. I wonder how much we affect our utility bills when running all the extra equipment ?

i don't know if this is universal, but my utility bill (PG&E) now shows a little graph of daily energy usage -- so you can track when you turn on/off your incubator or etc. and see if it has any effect? since i'm on a well with an electric pump, i can easily see the days i water the yards as spikes in my electrical usage -- and when i had housesitters staying here over the holidays, while i was in NY, their usage was double or triple my average -- i think they had the furnace on WAY more than i usually do.

@tommysgirl if you were serious about wanting me to set some eggs for you, please let me know -- i'd like to get the incubator up and running today!

 

[Flowers of Abba]

...

i don't know if this is universal, but my utility bill (PG&E) now shows a little graph of daily energy usage -- so you can track when you turn on/off your incubator or etc. and see if it has any effect?  since i'm on a well with an electric pump, i can easily see the days i water the yards as spikes in my electrical usage -- and when i had housesitters staying here over the holidays, while i was in NY, their usage was double or triple my average -- i think they had the furnace on WAY more than i usually do.


We have liberty energy... No daily ( prob could request) but a monthly graph. However I'm not the only one spiking the power. Dh has power to a shed, Heat tape on the roof, new motion detectors (working of the problem bear) out back, new electrical gym equipment in the garage.... Blech thank goodness for the wood stove;-))))

 

[chiqita]

I haven't given my banty any eggs yet, but did put her in nest #2 in the broody coop. She was taking up one of the layer nests in the main coop. She is sitting on 3 porcelein eggs though. The nest divider is cut a little funny with a downward curve on the front edge. This lets the 2 hens see each other. They don't seem to have a problem incubating next to each other. Maybe if I just let them do that with only the Wyandotte actually having real eggs they will co-brood. I wouldn't have a problem with that, especially if the weather stays wet and cold thru hatch time. This coop does have a ramp up to the elevated nest area. Are the chicks likely to have problems negotiating that? It is about 18 inches from dirt floor to nesting area This is the coop:

That seems steep for babies. I see you picking up chicks and moving them a lot lol.

 

[lawatt]

Quote:
this was my bill for late Dec/early Jan -- I was out of town Dec 20-28, which you can see pretty clearly on this!

at least, after all this rain, those watering-the-yard spikes will go away for a little while! and yes, i LOVE my woodstove -- best purchase i ever made!

 

[Audio51]

Quote:
You are probably right. When I used it last summer I removed the ramp and put an old covered cat box underneath where the chicken is in this picture. I cut the front down and added bedding. But it was much warmer and dryer at that time. I think I will just have to wait and see what it's like outside when hatch is due and make adjustments as needed. I do have an empty section of one of my bird flights up on the back deck that I might be able to move them to if needed. It's only about 4' x4' though but would do in a pinch.