California - Northern

[PetRock]

It is caused by stress--If they hatch hard, are shipped. It seems everyone blames temperature but that is only one cause.

If a chick has a hard time hatching, I can guarantee it will get pasty butt.

That's interesting. I'll have to mark them and keep an eye on them. I've been much more hands off with hatching this year and it is going much better. My crazy Hovabator has not been keeping constant temps for me. It might be that my house is just too hot but I'm having to adjust it often through the day. So, I've been incubating in it and then setting the eggs for hatch in my Brinsea. My current Langshan hatch is winding down. Out of 13 eggs, I have 10 chicks, 1 that is zipping, and 2 that haven't pipped. It was day 21 last night so there is still a chance for the last 2. I'm very pleased with the Brinsea but I wish that it help more eggs!

 

[ronott1]

That's interesting. I'll have to mark them and keep an eye on them. I've been much more hands off with hatching this year and it is going much better. My crazy Hovabator has not been keeping constant temps for me. It might be that my house is just too hot but I'm having to adjust it often through the day. So, I've been incubating in it and then setting the eggs for hatch in my Brinsea. My current Langshan hatch is winding down. Out of 13 eggs, I have 10 chicks, 1 that is zipping, and 2 that haven't pipped. It was day 21 last night so there is still a chance for the last 2. I'm very pleased with the Brinsea but I wish that it help more eggs!

I hope the last two hatch for you!

 

[fowlman01]

I thought people might enjoy this very cool article I saw on Twitter about weeder geese:

http://www.atlasobscura.com/article...ese-are-better-at-mowing-and-always-have-been

There were Cotton Patch geese at the Heritage Expo.

Walt

 

[Scovy Momma]

That's interesting. I'll have to mark them and keep an eye on them. I've been much more hands off with hatching this year and it is going much better. My crazy Hovabator has not been keeping constant temps for me. It might be that my house is just too hot but I'm having to adjust it often through the day. So, I've been incubating in it and then setting the eggs for hatch in my Brinsea. My current Langshan hatch is winding down. Out of 13 eggs, I have 10 chicks, 1 that is zipping, and 2 that haven't pipped. It was day 21 last night so there is still a chance for the last 2. I'm very pleased with the Brinsea but I wish that it help more eggs!

I have only hatched 18 serama eggs in 2 sets so far but the first half of them I was very hands on with my tiny incubator & none made it. The second set I had one hatch but many more developed. I tried the dry hatching & only candled day 10 & 17 for the second set. Worked way better, it was like they rather liked not being fussed over & fondled.
Silly eggs.

Is your Brinsea a mini? They don't hold many standard sized at all, hm? I've been keeping an eye out for a used one in case someone was upgrading because a new one is just too steep in price for me when I don't want to hatch many at all.

 

[ronott1]

I have only hatched 18 serama eggs in 2 sets so far but the first half of them I was very hands on with my tiny incubator & none made it. The second set I had one hatch but many more developed. I tried the dry hatching & only candled day 10 & 17 for the second set. Worked way better, it was like they rather liked not being fussed over & fondled.
Silly eggs.

Is your Brinsea a mini? They don't hold many standard sized at all, hm? I've been keeping an eye out for a used one in case someone was upgrading because a new one is just too steep in price for me when I don't want to hatch many at all.

I agree about not fussing with the eggs. They do seem to do better.

The Brinsea mini holds about 7 large fowl eggs. The Brinsea 20 holds about 22 large fowl eggs and the Brinsea 40 holds about 44.

Pita Pinta eggs are very large though so likely less of them will fit.

 

[Scovy Momma]

The mini would definitly be what I would like!
Pita Pintas are so pretty! I wouldn't mind one or two when I move

 

[PetRock]

I have only hatched 18 serama eggs in 2 sets so far but the first half of them I was very hands on with my tiny incubator & none made it. The second set I had one hatch but many more developed. I tried the dry hatching & only candled day 10 & 17 for the second set. Worked way better, it was like they rather liked not being fussed over & fondled.
Silly eggs.

Is your Brinsea a mini? They don't hold many standard sized at all, hm? I've been keeping an eye out for a used one in case someone was upgrading because a new one is just too steep in price for me when I don't want to hatch many at all.

Mine is a Brinsea Octagon Eco with turner cradle and holds 20 eggs. I got it off of craigslist for $200. I had to play around with the temperature adjustment when I first got it and also had to buy a new glass thermometer to replace the messed up one that is mounted on the inside lid. But now it works like a champ! I have been using it for hatching only and incubating in my Hovabator because I can fit more eggs in it to start with. It sure is crowded in the Brinsea once they start hatching, though. It works better for me to leave the chicks in their rather than open it up to remove them. With this last hatch, I only had 2 chicks with a little bit of shell stuck to them and they were the last 2 that were hatching when I removed the other 9. I do have a GQF hatcher that holds hundreds of eggs. It holds temps and humidity perfectly but is just so big. It is a hatcher so I have to turn the eggs by hand several times/day. I have my last hatch set in it because the boys who help me collect the eggs at the farm, collected all the eggs instead of just the Langshan eggs. It is going to be fun watching them hatch! At least the breeds are very different! Yesterday, we were surprised to have 1 Pita Pinta chick hatch after 10 Langshan chicks hatched! I guess I now know when the boys started mixing up the eggs!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Plucked my broody out of the nest box last night and put her in a fairly large wire cage in the run with her own food and water. Need her to shake it off because she was a terrible mom. Even if I wanted chicks at this time of year, I'm going away at the end of the month for a week and no way would I stick my friends with new babies (they all did this to me last time I went out of town, too; it's like they KNOW, LOL!). Other girls don't seem to have "caught" it yet, as they're still laying and hanging out in the yard with the roo.

I'm guessing I need to leave her in there solid for at least 3-4 days before I let her out for a test run in the yard and see if she books it back to the nest. I'm also guessing that the first sign she's over it will be her attitude (no more puffing, pine-coneing, and growling).

 

[Honora]

Plucked my broody out of the nest box last night and put her in a fairly large wire cage in the run with her own food and water. Need her to shake it off because she was a terrible mom. Even if I wanted chicks at this time of year, I'm going away at the end of the month for a week and no way would I stick my friends with new babies (they all did this to me last time I went out of town, too; it's like they KNOW, LOL!). Other girls don't seem to have "caught" it yet, as they're still laying and hanging out in the yard with the roo.

I'm guessing I need to leave her in there solid for at least 3-4 days before I let her out for a test run in the yard and see if she books it back to the nest. I'm also guessing that the first sign she's over it will be her attitude (no more puffing, pine-coneing, and growling).

pine coning, lol. I have 2 first-time broodies right now but one seems to have come down with some kind of chicken pinkeye. Her eyes are all icky & gummed shut. :-( Going to take her to the vet; hoping it is not contagious.

 

[Lynn Manes]

That's fantastic Rae. Have fun raising your meal worm colony and watching your flock enjoy the fruits of your labor. When I want my flock to head back into the coop, I entice them with meal worms. Unfortunately, we just lost our entire colony of meal worms due to too must humidity in the box, a mistake I made; but we'll be starting a new colony in a couple of days-not however with as many as you started with. Our flocks are small- 6 chickens, 6 ducks, 3 geese and right now about 20 quail. So my birds all got used to the big red bag of dried meal worms we buy at TSC, and they now recognize that bag. My little Cortinix quail get to excited that they all crowd to the pen door and so many times, inevitably one or two fall out trying to be sure they are first in line for the yummy treats. Thankfully they are easily picked up and placed back in the pen to enjoy those worms. We did not throw the dead ones away, bc the fowl love them and the beetles anyway. Once our new colony grows enough to feed the birds, I'll have to be sure to keep one of those red bags. Is so funny to learn about these little things that make them all so happy

Lynn, I'm sorry you lost your worm farm... that's one good thing for me is up here its really dry... so I don't have to worry about humidity... it is so much fun watching them,I've fed them the freeze dried ones and they liked them BUT not like they love these live ones! lol I think my one hen that looks like she'll lay first, squatted for me.... so I'm really excited thinking I should get an egg soon... good grief, they are 23 weeks old... Rae

Hi Rae. We live in a dry area too. We're in South Central California where summer temps are upward of 113°. But we kept the mealworms inside. I know I created the humidity by throwing in those unwashed, and probably too many, carrot scrapings. Won't do that ever again.