California - Northern

[CackleJoy]

ok dont laugh, but this is my set up and i have been lighting my coops with christmas lights at night for a few hours. well the lights all went out last night. will that effect them? funny enough i just received my order from amazon of all of the pieces i need to put actual lights in each coop haha. talk about timing!

I don't know why anyone would laugh. I think it looks like a great set-up. And all your coops match! Well done

Our coop system was recently compared to Auschwitz with all the different little buildings and wire enclosures.

 

[CackleJoy]

My babies I got today! So sweet. Lavender Cuckoo Orpingtons.

Oooh from where? They look to be in great shape. I want some Orpy babies!

 

[farmhand]

The floor is the same as the siding. It's like a deck floor. We built them off the ground so they had the extra space, also to get out of the weather aside from going in the actual coop. Thanks! My husband built them.

What size are they? How many birds do you keep and how often do they need cleaning? Sorry for all these questions I'm just trying to find the best way to build next time.

 

[ronott1]

Incubation humidity question:
Before I set the eggs the temp was 99.5 (Digital thermostat) and the humidity was 25% (calibrated analog hygrometer) with room humidity being 50%. I added 27 eggs and added 6ml of water and closed it up. One hour later incubator humidity is 50%. Also my turning motor decided to stop so I will be opening the lid to turn the eggs. My question is; should I get inside and try to remove some water, or open vents to help dry it out? Or just relax?

1. Do not worry about the humidity--It will stabalise over a day or two.
2. You do not need the water bottles. They may be what is stopping the motor on the turner too--The motors are not very strong. With the number of eggs in there, They will keep the temperature stale without ballast.

There is a fan too? If you don't have a fan and it is a still air, the spot for an egg next to the turner motor needs to be empty. The heat from the motor can over heat that egg. If possible I keep the eggs away from the motor in my incubator with a fan.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

What size are they? How many birds do you keep and how often do they need cleaning?  Sorry for all these questions I'm just trying to find the best way to build next time.

They are 8 x 10 I think. Some of them are split in half inside. Some of them are split into quarters, for breeds that we only have a pair or trio of. My husband cleans them about every two weeks. With a wide putty knife just scrape the poop lol. There are also 2 inch holes in the floor for ventilation

 

[chiqita]

Well... Between my mother-in-law and myself, because I am totally her enabler! We are looking for (mainly pullets or hens)
-black copper marans
- Lavender Orpington
-Jubilee Orpington
-Blue Laced Red Wyandotte
-Silver Laced Wyandotte
-Barnevelder
-EE-ers
-any type of Polish
-millie fleur
-partridge cochin & silkie

Like I said above, I had about 17 hens and 4 roo's not too long ago, nice ones at that. Well, there was a dog who kept getting out of his owners yard, we deemed him as a stray because they didn't even try to catch him anymore and he ripped through my coop and had himself a chicken dinner :/  I was devastated, the poor animal control guy had to deal with me being a sobbing mess, at least he cleaned up the wreckage. I don't know if there is a limit on how many I can have, uhmmm.... I don't really care if there is, either. I'm assuming with about 20 I was still in the safe zone. because AC didn't say anything to me about the number I had. I will stop when a) My husband cuts me off. b) I run out of room or c) I just cant handle anymore, being as I have about 10 empty acres I'm going to say its a safe bet that none of the above will happen, I have a man who loves fresh eggs! lol! 

That is not a heat hardy list! Be ready to take special care of your fat and sassy girls (orps marans etc) when it gets over about 103. Not that you can't do that it is just heartbreaking to loose em to heatstroke. I hated to hear what was on my friends fb pages or here during the heat wave this summer. Right now australia is hitting 40 c in a lot of places and friends are loosing whole flocks its heartbreaking.

I hope the NYD Hatch a long thread felt like this one. I worked on it and all of the feedback was positive.

it was massively huge though--350 to 500 posts a day during the hatch part.

I kept up till actual hatching . Once I was 10 posts behind I gave up lol.

Received my new motor for my egg turner today but it's not going to work.   So it's hand turning for me.  My new plan is to set them in egg cartons cut in half to make it easy to turn everything.  I'm open to ideas and suggestions.

I starting collecting only planning to hatch a few from one hen but found myself saying, "this egg would be fun, and maybe that one. That would be an interesting mix there."  Now I have about 30 eggs.    LOL

Turn the whole incubator! Get a brick or piece of wood or something 5 or more inches tall and move it from one side to the other 3x a day. This works as long as the air cell is upright and does not effect the humidity and temp like opening and hand turning does.

 

[farmhand]

1. Do not worry about the humidity--It will stabalise over a day or two.
2. You do not need the water bottles. They may be what is stopping the motor on the turner too--The motors are not very strong. With the number of eggs in there, They will keep the temperature stale without ballast.

There is a fan too? If you don't have a fan and it is a still air, the spot for an egg next to the turner motor needs to be empty. The heat from the motor can over heat that egg. If possible I keep the eggs away from the motor in my incubator with a fan.

Thanks for the help.

The motor has it's own problems. Nothing is stopping it. I have a fan on the unit. I'll sit tight about the humidity.

Turn the whole incubator! Get a brick or piece of wood or something 5 or more inches tall and move it from one side to the other 3x a day. This works as long as the air cell is upright and does not effect the humidity and temp like opening and hand turning does.

That's a great idea!

 

[juststruttin]

Oh! Awesome! I am really looking for a lavender orpy, she was my daughters favorite and one of the ones I'm wanting to replace ASAP. My poor baby girl still looks for her every time we go out side. Where are you located?

I am in Novato. Are you going to the Stockton Show? We can meet there. I'll PM you.

 

[juststruttin]

ok dont laugh, but this is my set up and i have been lighting my coops with christmas lights at night for a few hours. well the lights all went out last night. will that effect them? funny enough i just received my order from amazon of all of the pieces i need to put actual lights in each coop haha. talk about timing!

Why would we laugh? You have a great set up.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

Why would we laugh?  You have a great set up.   

About the Christmas lights strung around the whole yard lol