Colorado

[Mtn Margie]

I would like to have a test-run on hatching eggs if anyone is willing to. I have a new rooster who has taken a liking to most of my hens and am wondering if anyone would like some hatching eggs to try out. The eggs will not be a purebreed as the rooster is a Golden Laced Wyandotte and my hens are Easter Eggers, a White Star, and a Black Sex Link. Since it would be a trial to see if the eggs are fertile, the eggs will cost no more than $1.00 per egg. Please PM me for more info or if you are interested.

You can see if they are fertile when you crack them open to use them. If you can see the "white dot", it will look like a bulls-eye, if they have been fertilized. Or put some in a very warm place (100 degrees) for a few days and then crack them open or candle to see if you have veining starting. Or maybe someone can add a few to their New Year's hatch-a-long batch and hope for the best. It is a lot of work to incubate eggs that might or might not be fertile. Actually, it is really hard to go through the time and not have anything hatch.

 

[ryan820]

Does anyone have DIY incubator plans you'd be willing to share? I don't run a complicated or big operation by any means but it would be nice to line breed my light Brahmas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Latestarter]

Does anyone have DIY incubator plans you'd be willing to share? I don't run a complicated or big operation by any means but it would be nice to line breed my light Brahmas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey Ryan: Here ya go and this is what I'll be doing when the time comes.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...bator-how-we-did-it-and-test-run-ready-set-go

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have a pretty elaborate cabinet incubator/hatcher combination that I built some time back and I've been tweaking it. It's out of service right now to install stronger fans and a new controller on the incubator side and maybe even a redundant heat/controller combination. I have some pictures and electrical schematics but can't find my drawing for the structure itself. If I get it all together soon I'll PM you.

ETA
In the current configuration it holds 126 chicken eggs in the incubator and up to 50 in the hatcher. With a different turner setup the incubator could probably hold 180 eggs but I have no need for that many.
The design holds high humidity in the hatcher even with the door open for brief periods.

 

[trsturself]

Here's my DIY incubator. It can incubate up to 36 eggs but I recommend less unless you have a separate hatcher. It took a lot of soaked towels in there to keep the humidity up. I also added more ventilation holes since the write up. My last hatch I had 4 out of 12 make it to lockdown that didn't hatch. There is an interesting thread about hatching in high altitude that I might try if I hatch again this year.


ETA the link

 

[suncatcher]

Snowed here at 8700 feet this morning for about two hours, was really coming down, a very wet snow. Sun is out, and is actually quite balmy outside right now..... around 35 degrees!

There are a ton of You Tube Video;s on making your own incubators, also, a few threads here on BYC.

Finally sold all of this years pullets, and a cockeral. Kept two or three cockerals to process, but they are not big enough yet. Is going to make a HUGE difference on the feed bill! YAY! Down to 12 chickens for winter.

I do have several breeds on my wish list!!! Anyone on here breed Chanteclers, Orpingtons or Barred Rocks? Would like to get a breeders list started for spring.

 

[COChix]

Snowed here at 8700 feet this morning for about two hours, was really coming down, a very wet snow.  Sun is out, and is actually quite balmy outside right now..... around 35 degrees!

There are a ton of You Tube Video;s on making your own incubators, also, a few threads here on BYC.

e Finally sold all of this years pullets, and a cockeral.  Kept two or three cockerals to process, but they are not big enough yet.  Is going to make a HUGE difference on the feed bill!   YAY!   Down to 12 chickens for winter.

I do have several breeds on my wish list!!!    Anyone on here breed Chanteclers, Orpingtons or Barred Rocks?  Would like to get a breeders list started for spring.

Sun we will have barred rock x Buff Orph (roo) if your interested so am sure we can work something out. Pm if you want to continue conversation.

 

[trsturself]

Snowed here at 8700 feet this morning for about two hours, was really coming down, a very wet snow. Sun is out, and is actually quite balmy outside right now..... around 35 degrees!

There are a ton of You Tube Video;s on making your own incubators, also, a few threads here on BYC.

Finally sold all of this years pullets, and a cockeral. Kept two or three cockerals to process, but they are not big enough yet. Is going to make a HUGE difference on the feed bill! YAY! Down to 12 chickens for winter.

I do have several breeds on my wish list!!! Anyone on here breed Chanteclers, Orpingtons or Barred Rocks? Would like to get a breeders list started for spring.

My friend has a heritage BR rooster at my place right now and I have 2 BR pullets. I can put them together this spring if her rooster is still around. Even if he isn't I'm sure she'll let me borrow him since she doesn't even want a rooster to start with.

 

[uzisuzuki]

So, since I've successfully (so far) integrated fully grown chickens into my family & daily routine, I'm thinking of adding a few more in the spring. I've been reading the articles in the Learning Center, but I wanted to get a consensus on the difficulty of raising chicks and adding them to an already existing flock. Is this something a total newb to poultry could handle relatively well? I'm also curious about buying chicks and having them mailed to me. Is it better to find a local seller than to have chicks mailed through the USPS? The only reasons I'm considering ordering them is because I can pick the breeds I've been researching and get them ordered on payday with a delivery date of next May. Has anyone had any bad experiences with ordering chicks? I mean, my brain automatically goes to the horror show of opening up your packaged chicks and finding nothing but dead bodies.

Just wanted to survey the experiences of everyone here before putting any money down on anything.

 

[suncatcher]

Quote: Cool, sent you a PM......

Should have also added Bresse and Heritage RIR to my list. Seems it is getting longer and longer!

Is always hard integrating new chickens. Some people put them on the roost at night, and watch them throughout the day to make sure no one is getting picked on. With smaller chicks, putting them in their own wire enclosure inside the run works. All chickens are different, so is hard to say for sure how your outcome will be.