California - Northern

[chiqita]

OOOPS. I MAY have a problem. Remember the tetris eggs that got bleach steamed? I ended up setting 63 eggs. Tilted the incubator using Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth (big enough book?) 3 or 4 x a day. Was planning to take out the duds as several of these are fertility checks. Last time I took out 20 eggs so figured this time would be that way too. Guess how many duds. [COLOR=FF0000]3[/COLOR] yup. 3 whole duds. Now what? Do I keep just tilting the incubator? I have 5 that need double checked in a week because they look iffy. Might be blood rings in 2 of them but they are darker and hard to see in. Tips on this? Kind of a funny chicken math problem! [COLOR=0000FF]If a girl sets 5 dozen eggs in the incubator and there is only room for 2 dozen, how many chicks will hatch? 83. 83 chicks will hatch! Is that the right answer? Should I show my work? I'm pretty sure that's how chicken math works [/COLOR]

Is it the hard cover or soft cover? Teehee. That will be fun to watch lol.

 

[Audio51]

Oh boy! A friend just brought me over 7 eggs to incubate for her! I'm planning to put the date on them and add them to the Brinsea tomorrow. I have never done a staggered hatch before. ANything I should know?

Oh...and I got thru to Brinsea yesterday and ordered the foam pads. The one for the bottome is separate from the ones for the dividers. $11.99 for the floor and $5.99 for the dividers..... plus a small bottle of the incubator disinfectant....plus shipping. $35.00 all together, but will be worth it. I have a wash cloth in there now holding one of the rows of eggs in place...

 

[tommysgirl]

. I have a separate area that is attached to my coop, it's just a run with access to a small separate area of the coop. I put the chicks in it (when they are old enough) for about a week, so they can get used to the older girls, and the older girls get familiar with them. After the week I have a little door that I open (where the chicks can get back in, but the older girls are too big to fit). I let them out for a couple hours a day (when I can be close enough to hear/see if they get into trouble), and make sure they know how to get in and out of the little door. I leave extra food and water in the run for them, so if for some reason they get bullied away from the regular food/water they'll be okay. I leave that run open for them until they go into the "big girl" coop at night to roost and hang out with my older ones. I've never had a problem with integration.

We are fencing off a section of what I am calling our layer flock pen. Really at this point ALL of my pens are layer flock pens but once I get the set up this will be the pen for the girls and boy NOT in the breeding pen...anyway this is a great idea. originally we thought of it as a spot to put a roo to separate him from another roo while everyone else was ranging BUT the modification of the little door makes it dual purpose. Thanks for this!

That does get me into trouble. It leads to chicken Math!

Showed my husband and he mumbled..."tell me about it."

That's one breed that I haven't had! I do have a Buff Brahma who is a big, wide girl! Zoro has been courting her and finally succeeded today, several times! He even got our Coronation Sussex today. He likes those big butts!

How Cute!

Pita Pintas are so great!

wanna hatch me a couple of girls...I have made/am making room for 4 new girls getting 2 NH from Deb and I would love to add PPs if you are willing to part with them.

She's still away as far as I know. She mentioned her DH was her pet sitter. I think she said she was coming back in March?

That is what I am remembering too. Anxious to get her back and get my hands on her birds

But poisonous doesn't necessarily mean it's going to kill them. It just means there may be some adverse effects such as stomach upset, vomiting ( I don't think chickens vomit).

uhhmmm byou ever had a chicken with e sour crop?? They VOMIT

 

[sewandgrow]

Well that's how it's supposed to work when friends get together for a visit!

I have a question...tomatoes ....are the leaves ok for chickens or no...found two websites that said two different things! Trying to plan my raised beds for the garden and some are in chicken territory.

I am sure you have lots of responses by now. If you research your question you find many conflicting reports. Vava (my grandmother) had loose free range chickens & a big tomato garden for canning so either the chickens are smart enough NOT to eat them or they are not as harmful as thought to them. I don't remember seeing damage to the plants by the chickens but they would eat the fruit usually ruining one tomato & not eating it all then going on to ruin the next one.........LOL AT my own home we have Aaron's project pretty birds loose & they forage in the garden & have for the past few years without dying & we planted many tomatoes.

 

[Audio51]

But poisonous doesn't necessarily mean it's going to kill them. It just means there may be some adverse effects such as stomach upset, vomiting ( I don't think chickens vomit).

uhhmmm byou ever had a chicken with e sour crop?? They VOMIT

LOL!!!! I guess I am lucky and have never seen on do that! I didn't think they could if they had a crop. Well...I sure learn something new every day here!

 

[ronott1]

The couple that might be blood rings - is that a bacteria that will spread to the other eggs? Am I better to remove iffy ones now or is it okay to wait a couple days?

And yes, hatching will be interesting. No selling day old chicks. Going to have to let them feather in so I can properly ID the type. Too many to isolate kinds.

Only if the egg seeps and goo gets on the other eggs. Use the sniff test. I they still look the same at day 10, Crack them open in a zip lock bag to see when they quit and toss them.

Sorry, one more question.
Day 9 we will be gone all night and day. My Dad is bringing my son over in the AM to tilt the bator. it will only get tilted a new direction 1x in 24hrs. Should I be sending the bator over to a friends house for bator sitting?
We had planned to be using the turner by now.

They will be fine turning them like that for one day.

 

[ronott1]

Hmm

i hope its not bacteria. the crack only looks like its in the shell amd npt the membrane. what else could cause the shadow inside of the air cell?

I hope so!

 

[sewandgrow]

That's one breed that I haven't had! I do have a Buff Brahma who is a big, wide girl! Zoro has been courting her and finally succeeded today, several times! He even got our Coronation Sussex today. He likes those big butts!

I like the big butts too but Aaron & I had to trim them so they would give me fertile eggs. He catches & holds them & I trim the fluff off the backsides.....

 

[bayareachick]

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[sewandgrow]

Is Denny coming to the chicken party in May? It would be nice to see her! I'm so glad that you are back chatting with us, Karen! I've missed you!

Well, thank you so much kind lady. Glad to be here but am trying hard not to lose control of what good sense I have left. I fought to get my numbers down & hope to stay that way. I have had great fun trying many breeds & oh what an education but have hopefully come to my sense now & can focus on what I have kept & keep improving it.
Denny does hope to come to the party & is marking her calendar. She does as much riding as she can & I think she says she is now down to 8 horses. She is planning a long extended trail ride but that will be after the party. Bob is working regular hours now, not the long ones he had been & her chicken numbers are way down so she can get away more often.