Colorado

[Pozees]

yawninggreyhound - my layer coop is from the same person. First thing we did was add insulation and inner walls in including a ceiling. The insulation we used was that stuff you buy in a roll that looks like foil around bubble wrap. If I put enough birds in there it raises the temp over outdoors by maybe 10 degrees. If your birds are draft-free they will be fine. If you want to supplement heat safely look for a ceramic heat emitter in the reptile section at the pet store, but now that we are past the sub-zero nights I would not worry. If we have another cold snap it won't hurt to prepare, but as I said a couple of days ago, if I didn't have chicks out in the coop I would not have supplied any extra heat. This is the first time I have done so, it is a minimal amount of heat in place only to ensure ambient temp in the coop stays above zero, which is about all it's done. Chickens are tougher than you think they are

 

[Mtn Margie]

OK guys and gals,
Early birds out and I have one more piping right now.
Question
1-how long should I leave the early bird in the incubator.
2-how long till I step in to help the one piping?
3- hire long overall till I call it quits on the other eggs?

Yea! How exciting.
1. Up to 48 hours
2. At least 12 and close to 24 hours. There needs to be plenty of time for them to absorb the yolk and rest. That fan and our climate can be problematic at times. My two that had no progress were shrink wrapped and otherwise had no issues. They were fine after being helped out in a steamy bathroom.
3. I give them 2 to 3 days after the chicks are pulled. Candle and wait and then right before tossing out, you can do a float test on them just to double check. I eggtopsy them to see if there are problems cropping up that I should know about.

 

[CoMtnGal]

Thank you all for the warm welcome! Certainly needed in this frigid winter we are having. Think I figured out my signature, we'll see I guess.

Connie

 

[CaptainQuigley]

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to get the hang of this forum. I have to admit that I don't find it very intuitive, so sorry if I'm doing things wrong. But I'd love to talk to others with chickens in Colorado!

I'm in Boulder, and at the moment have only 2 chickens. One Red Sexlink and one Barred Rock. My girls haven't been happy this week with the cold temperatures, but their coop seems cozy. I always worry about them overnight, but then they're fine in the morning.

Here's a question for you all: My daughter's class is hatching eggs this spring, and I'm hoping to get 3 or 4 more girls. Her teacher is trying to find local-ish hatching eggs. And by local, we pretty much mean anywhere you can drive to within a day from Boulder. Breeds that we're especially interested in are Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Speckled Sussex, Wellsummer, etc. Basically kid-friendly temperaments and good layers. Any ideas about where to get eggs?

We can order them, but in the past the class has had a pretty bad hatch rate with shipped hatching eggs. They got a grant for new fancy incubators this year, though, so maybe we'll have better luck.

Any ideas are welcome.

- CQ

 

[Euarto Gullible]

CQ, If it's for kids, I'd be happy to donate fertile eggs from my barnyard mix, but I'm in Pueblo. I have two roos, and all dual purpose breeds though only a few are from good lines. My last two hatches have been 100% with my eggs. However, I'm sure that there's somebody a lot closer that can provide the same and pure breeds rather than mutts.

 

[CaptainQuigley]

Hi Euarto
Thanks! Yes, we'd prefer pure breeds versus mutts. I hear that last year the school hatched mutts, and most of them grew up to be pretty bad layers. Many never laid at all. But if we can't find anything else, I may get back to you. We can drive to Pueblo, but it is a bit far.

CQ

 

[Minchi]

Welcome all new, I am way behind. Started going to school to get my Emergency Dispatch Cert so I have been swamped lately. Poor girls are getting ignored a little more then normal, they grip at me when I let them out and huddle next to the door trying to get in. I think they miss me.

 

[jmmeye4]

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to get the hang of this forum. I have to admit that I don't find it very intuitive, so sorry if I'm doing things wrong. But I'd love to talk to others with chickens in Colorado!

I'm in Boulder, and at the moment have only 2 chickens. One Red Sexlink and one Barred Rock. My girls haven't been happy this week with the cold temperatures, but their coop seems cozy. I always worry about them overnight, but then they're fine in the morning.

Here's a question for you all: My daughter's class is hatching eggs this spring, and I'm hoping to get 3 or 4 more girls. Her teacher is trying to find local-ish hatching eggs. And by local, we pretty much mean anywhere you can drive to within a day from Boulder. Breeds that we're especially interested in are Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Speckled Sussex, Wellsummer, etc. Basically kid-friendly temperaments and good layers. Any ideas about where to get eggs?

We can order them, but in the past the class has had a pretty bad hatch rate with shipped hatching eggs. They got a grant for new fancy incubators this year, though, so maybe we'll have better luck.

Any ideas are welcome.

- CQ

Welcome to BYC

I'm live here in Colorado near the springs. Ft. Collins and surrounding area tends to have a lot of chicken areas and can find eggs or chickens for sale on Craigslist. Now I call and find out how they raise them etc.. before I buy because I don't want sick birds or poor conditions. Most online stores, eFowl is the one I know, sell chicks just hatched but on occasion they have fertile eggs. I would put out a wanted add on the site here and see what hits you get. There is also a section on here https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/36/chicken-hatching-eggs that you might be able to find some. Good luck and I will keep my ears open.

 

[suncatcher]

Hello to all the newbies! I think we are going to get above feezing today! ty

You might check with a 4-H leader in your area, they may know of someone who can supply you with pure breed hatching eggs. If not, there are plenty of people on here who might know someone in your area, or within driving distance.

I am sooooooo tired of shoveling snow, but welcome the moisture, hope we get some in late spring too! We may actually have a some runoff this year to fill our ditches and seasonal pond.

 

[wsmith]

Welcome to the new folks. Had to take a short break from BYC.....

There are lots of people out there who live close to the Springs who have eggs and or chicks. Many aren't on BYC for various reasons. I have my first test batch in the incubator, and tomorrow will be day 7. Hoping for a good hatch. Anything will be better than last year.

We haven't saved any eggs for hatching this past week, as the temps have been SOOOOO cold. If things look good when we candle, we may start collecting for fertile hatching egg orders that are already lined up.

I wish phase 3 was done......