California - Northern

[Michael Apple]

Hi guys. I have a question for you re your girls and their recommitment to laying eggs. My Australorps who are among my oldest, both going on 3, and my nearly 2 year old California Grey are the only ones over a year old who are laying at this point. Should I be concerned about my older girls who hatched between April 2012 and May 2013 or am I just being impatient? I honestly don't remember how long it took after last winter's break for the, then older group to get back to it. Thanks!

What breeds are your older hens? My CA Grays are 2yrs this March and are laying an egg a day. My 9 year old hens are only laying 2-3 times a week. They stop for about 2-3 months a year now.

 

[sewandgrow]

Ok! great!! thank you so much

Okay.....we managed to save 3 out of the 4 keets we rescued. The 2 mothers sitting on a joint HUGE clutch abandoned the other eggs. I wanted to wait to see if these that we brought inside to a brooder were going to make. It has been a week or so I think & they are fine. So if you want them RooJi pm me .They are yours if you want them.
Karen

 

[attimus]

Wondering if anyone has any pullets or young chicks available between Alameda and merced. Making a trip to pick up what I was hoping to be around a dozen or more Australorp chicks from a 1st grade class in a few days but the number is now at half. Looking to still make the trip worth while.

 

[dldolan]

The box for my large Premier 1 heating plate says that you can order an optional regulator to control temperature.  I looked on their website and did not see it.  Does anyone know if it is available for purchase?  

I learned something interesting about the Premier 1 company.  I grew up in a small farming community in Iowa.  After I received my 2 smaller plates, I looked at the shipping box and Premier 1 is located in the small town I grew up in!  Good things come from Washington, IA, I guess! 

Debi, my husband's mother's family is from IA, and he has an aunt who lives in Washington! She is a kindegarten teacher there and her husband works in the AG bankinking industry! Small world. (I'm from Madison, WI, originally!)

 

[PetRock]

Debi, my husband's mother's family is from IA, and he has an aunt who lives in Washington! She is a kindegarten teacher there and her husband works in the AG bankinking industry! Small world. (I'm from Madison, WI, originally!)

LOL! I knew we had a connection beyond chickens! It always amazing me how small our world really is! My best friend for the past 30 years is not from Iowa but her parents are. They grew up around 20 miles from where my dad grew up in southern Iowa close to the Missouri border. Their last name is Taylor and I have ancestors on my dad's side who had the same last name. We haven't found a common ancestor, yet, but we are still looking!

 

[sewandgrow]

Well I am off to the Fresno show to me Jules @fortyfivefarm . I my son put my walker in the back of my PT Cruiser & I have dinner going in the crockpot. Let's see how long I can last.
Hope to see some of you there.

 

[dldolan]

Have fun! Next show for me is probably the Heirloom Festival in Santa Rosa.

 

[dldolan]

LOL! I knew we had a connection beyond chickens! It always amazing me how small our world really is! My best friend for the past 30 years is not from Iowa but her parents are. They grew up around 20 miles from where my dad grew up in southern Iowa close to the Missouri border. Their last name is Taylor and I have ancestors on my dad's side who had the same last name. We haven't found a common ancestor, yet, but we are still looking!

My good friend here in Sonoma County grew up here in Alexander Valley. But we just found out we might be related...her mother was from Wisconsin and has the same last name as one of our great-aunts! Random meetings or fate? Hard to know in this life...

On another topic, my new Genesis 1588 is great---boy do i love the automatic turner! But I am having to put in water every other day to keep the humidity around 45% where i want it. I am only using well #1. Yesterday I measured out 1/2 cup instead of just putting "some" in. It is in my office, where ambient temps are around 65* (no, i don't have anywhere warmer in my house.) and no direct sun, etc. Does this seem like a normal? I hesitate to use the other wells, as I don't want the humidity to spike. Thoughts, any of you Hova-bator users?

 

[PetRock]

My good friend here in Sonoma County grew up here in Alexander Valley. But we just found out we might be related...her mother was from Wisconsin and has the same last name as one of our great-aunts! Random meetings or fate? Hard to know in this life...

On another topic, my new Genesis 1588 is great---boy do i love the automatic turner! But I am having to put in water every other day to keep the humidity around 45% where i want it. I am only using well #1. Yesterday I measured out 1/2 cup instead of just putting "some" in. It is in my office, where ambient temps are around 65* (no, i don't have anywhere warmer in my house.) and no direct sun, etc. Does this seem like a normal? I hesitate to use the other wells, as I don't want the humidity to spike. Thoughts, any of you Hova-bator users?

I like my Genesis 1588, too. It is always right on with temp and humidity. We rarely heat our house so the temp in here is around 70-75 in the winter. I have my Genesis on a granite counter top so I put a 1 in thick hard foam board under it for extra insulation. I don't usually have to add water for the first 7-10 days but then I usually add some every day or 2. I put a length of clear aquarium tubing through the top ventilation hole and through the screen into channel 1 for the first 18 days and channel 2 for hatching. The screen holds it in place and I use a large basting syringe to add the water. I add the water as soon as the humidity begins to drop. Some people dry incubate so I decided that the eggs would be fine if the humidity dropped to 40 percent or even less for a short amount of time. I check the temp and humidity in the morning and evening.

 

[ronott1]

My good friend here in Sonoma County grew up here in Alexander Valley. But we just found out we might be related...her mother was from Wisconsin and has the same last name as one of our great-aunts! Random meetings or fate? Hard to know in this life...

On another topic, my new Genesis 1588 is great---boy do i love the automatic turner! But I am having to put in water every other day to keep the humidity around 45% where i want it. I am only using well #1. Yesterday I measured out 1/2 cup instead of just putting "some" in. It is in my office, where ambient temps are around 65* (no, i don't have anywhere warmer in my house.) and no direct sun, etc. Does this seem like a normal? I hesitate to use the other wells, as I don't want the humidity to spike. Thoughts, any of you Hova-bator users?

Humidity goes down with heat so dropping in a room that is 65% is normal. I fill to get the humidity I want, usually 35% and wait until humidity goes down to 20% before adding more. It is usually every 3 or 4 days.

You can use a storage dish with a cut out on the lid. It will fit in the incubator on the rail of the turner. Surface area and not volume creates humidity so something with the same surface area but deeper will keep humidity up longer.

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