California - Northern

[ronott1]

First one to hatch looks exactly like the 2 on the left. A nice blue.
2nd one still pipping at last check. No other pips yet.

You should get more blue and splash--a bit of black will hatch too.

You are off to a good hatch!

 

[chiqita]

Didn't you tell me you sell them for $50 each? That's what I'm going to be asking if they hatch, it's $30 less than Greenfire charges. 
& LOL Bringing an incubator in the back seat....that's funny!

You might get it once you will have to see but you can't compare your prices with gff. They are nordstroms. You are paying for the brand and the vaccinations too. If your not doing maraks your pricepoint has to stsrt much lower.

Sigh... I just found a well hidden Muscovy nest with 5 hatched, 10 pipped and 2-3 more that haven't pipped! What in the heck am I going to do with another 15 ducklings?

-Kathy

Noms?

Yeah.......lets face it not all our families are  chicken lovers like we are. My family isn't really on board "chicken wise" but do a lot  just to help me. They certainly came through to help with the party.

Good deal Lisa.................They are on my wish list too but I am busy with other breeds for the time being. I added so many from the party & now with incubators full..........LOL

Are we talking the hensemenator again??? Where is Shantih anyway?????   LOL

Sometimes even within a breed you can tell the eggs one from another. My 2 B/W AMs hens who were my best blue egg layers still had a difference & I could tell their eggs apart. On was slightly lighter than the other & slightly smaller. If not I guess you would have to separate them or mark their vent with food dye to make one of the eggs. I am sure you will get others to chime in.

We are in washington! Mt renier is very pretty!!

Incubator/hatcher questions ... and a small rant.

Does anyone have a Dickey? How do you adjust the humidity?

Are there any hatchers, under $1000. that have automatic humidity adjustment?

I just had to set a large number of eggs. Too many for my RCom. The bad thing about the RCom 20 is that it's small. Not much room for pedigree baskets. So, I want a hatcher. The Dickey hatcher has multiple divided trays with covers. Perfect.

Back to my too many eggs for the RCom. I put eggs under two broodies. And I had to use my Genesis for the first time. Unlike BCollie, I HATE the Genesis. My first and only incubation experience was just with the RCom. For humidity, you fill the little hole that's right in front of the machine with water until the ball floats up to the top. Turn on the machine, everything is preset. Digital reading of temp & humidity, stays where it should be. Check the little floating ball every few days, easy to fill.

Setting up the Genesis for the first time ... fill up the channel in the tray, can't see very well how much water I put in. And then you put the screen & turner on top of it and can't even see it?! How am I supposed to know if the water's getting low and how do I fill it? I have to pour water in from the back - that's on a shelf against the wall. Grrrr. Who designed this ridiculous thing?!
I put a hygrometer in the Genesis and I've been checking the humidity on both machines every few hours. The RCom stays stable at 45%, sometimes goes to 46 for a moment then right back to 45. The Genesis is all over the place, ranging in the 50s & 60s. No little button to adjust it, like the RCom.  I'm not pulling all the eggs out to mess with covering the water in the little channel that I can't see. All you hatchaholics think this is fun???

I HATE the Genesis. It is for sale as soon as I have something to hatch in! 

So, back to my question about the Dickey. After dealing with this Genesis, I looked up how to adjust humidity in the Dickey. It looks like it may have the same type of thing, with a tray of water to regulate humidity. OH NO. I want something with a little button to adjust humidity. Is there such a thing?

Pm or call me about the dicky I can give you the skimny. They are aurto and hold well but not very adjustable.

 

[debs_flock]

If you get a pair, will you be selling the eggs once they reach that age?

I expect if they are a pair, I'll be hatching anything for myself for awhile.

 

[SpringPeeper]

I don't know yet. The combs are identical. Their pattern of feathering in was identical. I've been told that they don't really identify themselves until they are 6-9 weeks of age, the comb is quite late coming in on the cockerels. My two kids (Amos and Andi, can you tell I'm old, LOL) are only 2.5 weeks old.

The only difference between them is their bodies. The stance and attitude is the same, but one is a lot more solid, the other more weedy in type. If they are the same sex and I had the luxury of choosing between them, I'd cull the smaller one based on body type.

But I think I'll keep them both

lol, I hope it is a pair, though.

I expect if they are a pair, I'll be hatching anything for myself for awhile.

I don't blame you!

 

[gander007]

Quote:
Did you look at the 48 egg chicken incubator it might have some of the bells and whistles you are looking for ......

Do you mean the Janoel 48?

-Kathy

I had to look it up and it said the eggcubator with the push buttons for setting the temp and humidity and a day counter but the only reason I did not bid on it was it is in C not F but before I get something like that I do believe I would like to hear from someone who has one but there are a lot of incubators out there and I have been looking to upgrade myself and my G.Q.F incubator has lasted my for close to 20 years and I know some of the automated gadgets would be nice but sometimes I think it would be easer to build my own but then it would be all about getting all the correct guts to make it work ...

 

[BCollie]

Quote:
You make a good point.
Don't vaccines only cost a few cents each?

 

[lawatt]

hi everyone -- my life has been wildly busy the past few weeks, and i've not been on-line much at all, & have gotten insanely behind with this list -- no way to catch up, so i'll just jump back in.

and unfortunately not with cheerful news: it's apparently predator season here on Sonoma Mtn again -- a beautiful black marans pullet got snatched yesterday afternoon by something fast and agile (bobcat? fox?), when i'd only walked away from their area for literally 5 minutes -- and it seems to have injured that flock's blue isbar rooster, too -- I can't find anything specific wrong with him, but today he is mostly standing still with his head down, looking weak.

I need to cut back the tall grass & keep a much closer watch on them if they are outside their pens. I don't tend to get attached to individual chickens very closely, but of course the pullet & rooster were both favorites, AND i just feel like i've let them down somehow -- although my feral chicken, the campine of indeterminate gender, has been living outside the pens full-time for three months now, and is still hanging out. somehow s/he is much more wiley than the others!

 

[Audio51]

Sigh... I just found a well hidden Muscovy nest with 5 hatched, 10 pipped and 2-3 more that haven't pipped! What in the heck am I going to do with another 15 ducklings?

-Kathy

Well that sounds like a good problem...

Quote: I agree!

I have UofA blue eggs pipping! Yay!

Woo Hoo!!!

Whew! My hatch is due today but I ALWAYS have early hatchers. Not this time. None and no pips this Am.
Went to check at lunch and 9 pips.

Souhds like the quail...one minute nothing....the next the bator is full of brown popcorn!!!

Incubator/hatcher questions ... and a small rant.

Does anyone have a Dickey? How do you adjust the humidity?

Are there any hatchers, under $1000. that have automatic humidity adjustment?

I just had to set a large number of eggs. Too many for my RCom. The bad thing about the RCom 20 is that it's small. Not much room for pedigree baskets. So, I want a hatcher. The Dickey hatcher has multiple divided trays with covers. Perfect.

Back to my too many eggs for the RCom. I put eggs under two broodies. And I had to use my Genesis for the first time. Unlike BCollie, I HATE the Genesis. My first and only incubation experience was just with the RCom. For humidity, you fill the little hole that's right in front of the machine with water until the ball floats up to the top. Turn on the machine, everything is preset. Digital reading of temp & humidity, stays where it should be. Check the little floating ball every few days, easy to fill.

Setting up the Genesis for the first time ... fill up the channel in the tray, can't see very well how much water I put in. And then you put the screen & turner on top of it and can't even see it?! How am I supposed to know if the water's getting low and how do I fill it? I have to pour water in from the back - that's on a shelf against the wall. Grrrr. Who designed this ridiculous thing?!
I put a hygrometer in the Genesis and I've been checking the humidity on both machines every few hours. The RCom stays stable at 45%, sometimes goes to 46 for a moment then right back to 45. The Genesis is all over the place, ranging in the 50s & 60s. No little button to adjust it, like the RCom. I'm not pulling all the eggs out to mess with covering the water in the little channel that I can't see. All you hatchaholics think this is fun???

I HATE the Genesis. It is for sale as soon as I have something to hatch in!

So, back to my question about the Dickey. After dealing with this Genesis, I looked up how to adjust humidity in the Dickey. It looks like it may have the same type of thing, with a tray of water to regulate humidity. OH NO. I want something with a little button to adjust humidity. Is there such a thing?

I have heard of some people putting food coloring (there's that term again..) in the water in the channels to make them easier to see. My Genesis is made so the fill point of the channels is very near the front on the right hand side so it's pretty easy to access.

Quote: Are you doing Fermented Feed? It will cut your feed bill quite a bit.

On another note, when I went to check on the peepers for the last time, I saw something odd.
I have 4 cages stacked 2 high & 2 wide then set against the coop wall - these are my maternity wards. Langshan broody with UofA eggs is in a top one.
I look at the cage below her & I realize I see feathers between the wall & the cage. No - it's a whole wing - No - it's a whole bird.
Oh gawd, it must be dead. No - it's still alive!
Easily rescued, happier & a bit wobbly still, it's walking around fine after eating & drinking, just holding it's wing a little funny. I checked & no broken bones thankfully.
And, wouldn't you know? It was a jubilee orpington pullet - OF COURSE.
It's always your favorite or your most valuable that get into trouble.
I'm so glad I went for that last egg check & averted the crisis.
Silly chicken. I think I'll name her Murphy.

Oh my! Great rescue!

Quote: I bet! They will be very valuable chick.....

 

[ronott1]

hi everyone -- my life has been wildly busy the past few weeks, and i've not been on-line much at all, & have gotten insanely behind with this list -- no way to catch up, so i'll just jump back in.

and unfortunately not with cheerful news: it's apparently predator season here on Sonoma Mtn again -- a beautiful black marans pullet got snatched yesterday afternoon by something fast and agile (bobcat? fox?), when i'd only walked away from their area for literally 5 minutes -- and it seems to have injured that flock's blue isbar rooster, too -- I can't find anything specific wrong with him, but today he is mostly standing still with his head down, looking weak.

I need to cut back the tall grass & keep a much closer watch on them if they are outside their pens. I don't tend to get attached to individual chickens very closely, but of course the pullet & rooster were both favorites, AND i just feel like i've let them down somehow -- although my feral chicken, the campine of indeterminate gender, has been living outside the pens full-time for three months now, and is still hanging out. somehow s/he is much more wiley than the others!

I am sorry about the predators! and the loss of the Marans.

I hope the rooster recovers.

 

[Audio51]

hi everyone -- my life has been wildly busy the past few weeks, and i've not been on-line much at all, & have gotten insanely behind with this list -- no way to catch up, so i'll just jump back in.

and unfortunately not with cheerful news: it's apparently predator season here on Sonoma Mtn again -- a beautiful black marans pullet got snatched yesterday afternoon by something fast and agile (bobcat? fox?), when i'd only walked away from their area for literally 5 minutes -- and it seems to have injured that flock's blue isbar rooster, too -- I can't find anything specific wrong with him, but today he is mostly standing still with his head down, looking weak.

I need to cut back the tall grass & keep a much closer watch on them if they are outside their pens. I don't tend to get attached to individual chickens very closely, but of course the pullet & rooster were both favorites, AND i just feel like i've let them down somehow -- although my feral chicken, the campine of indeterminate gender, has been living outside the pens full-time for three months now, and is still hanging out. somehow s/he is much more wiley than the others!

So sorry to hear about that. It does always seem to be the favorites, doesn't it? I hope the rooster will be OK...