Colorado

[Adam7]

LOL!  You are too funny!!!  Looks big.  How many eggs WILL you be incubating in it. 

Well I'm not sure. I plan to make it my hatcher, if you couldn't tell by the 2 baskets. Im not an artist but i tried! Ill have about 4 sq ft of hatching space. I'm not sure how many eggs I can fit in that amount of room.

I candled a few of my eggs tonight, boy how they grow so fast!! Most eggs were so dark with growth I could only see the air cell. I could observe one guy moving around!! It's only day 9.. I rechecked my 2 suspect eggs. Confirming that one does have a blood ring and that one is infertile. From this point on I won't be removing any more. So 16 eggs will be marching on till the last day. I don't know if I can wait another 2 weeks...the suspense is killing me!

 

[wsmith]

Hi, my name is Adam an I'm addicted to chickens.

Ok ... Feel free to intervene. I might have spent the last 2 hours designing my next homemade cabinet incubator..

 

[suncatcher]

Wendell - teaspoon of molasses in the water last night along with the usual ACV - not a single pasty butt today!

No way I was driving the rear wheel drive pickup (with almost no heat) this morning, barely made it up the hill from the exit when someone who had spun into the ditch decided to pull all the way across the road to get straightened out as I was making my way up the hill with a pickup right on my rear bumper; once I had to stop and wait, making it the rest of the way up the hill was a challenge and the pickup behind me wasn't giving me an out AT ALL, he stayed right on me. Part of the pipeline construction crew I guess as he passed the turn into the landfill. The way the forecast looks for down here, it is unlikely I will get to drive the pickup this week to pick up the brooder.

The pipped porcelain hatched overnight, tonight I moved it and the lavender to the brooder, watched a while, brought the porcelain back up to spend the night in the hatcher - these chicks are somewhat aggressive toward one another once they've completely fluffed out, and I didn't want to take any chances. There is little hope any more will hatch but I will give them a full 25 days before I give up, and then will candle to see if any movement is detected first. This is a learning curve for sure - so far my observations for this hatch are that Silkies need at least 24 hours in the hatcher before they are ready for the brooder, and that despite all being set the same day they hatched well spaced apart. If nothing else hatches they will be expensive chicks, and all I can hope for is that at least 2-3 are female. As they continue to fluff out, I have to say they are gorgeous, much bigger than hatchery Silkies, and I don't regret my decision to buy them, but right now I have 5 chicks from 24 eggs (paid for 18) - pretty poor percentage. Unless I have all males, I don't see any likelihood of selling any right now.

Hoping later this spring to buy some eggs or chicks from Shylee. If I am going to have Silkies as my broody flock, they may as well be nice ones!

All chicks remaining as growers for later sale as started pullets look terrific. It is amusing to see them settling into the bedding as if they were already hens; it isn't until sleepiness overtakes chicken-ness and their little heads fall into oblivion and the shavings, that one remembers they are only 8 days old

Ute pass was terrible last night, show swirling all over the place, and coming down heavy. Just had to go really slow.

Glad to hear the molasses worked! And congrats on your five hatching, is better than none, here's

hoping you have two breeding pairs and an extra hen!!

 

[wsmith]

Wendell - teaspoon of molasses in the water last night along with the usual ACV - not a single pasty butt today!

No way I was driving the rear wheel drive pickup (with almost no heat) this morning, barely made it up the hill from the exit when someone who had spun into the ditch decided to pull all the way across the road to get straightened out as I was making my way up the hill with a pickup right on my rear bumper; once I had to stop and wait, making it the rest of the way up the hill was a challenge and the pickup behind me wasn't giving me an out AT ALL, he stayed right on me. Part of the pipeline construction crew I guess as he passed the turn into the landfill. The way the forecast looks for down here, it is unlikely I will get to drive the pickup this week to pick up the brooder.

LOL! AWESOME!

It was definately entertaining driving this morning. It's still where it was, waiting to go to its new home.

 

[Adam7]

Can you explain to those of us (me) who don't understand exactly?

Sure.. The top has a recessed fan with a heating element that zig zags across it. It has a wafer thermostat sitting up there as well. It's going to have 2 mesh drawers for hatching. The scribbled picture on the bottom is me dividing a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" plywood. Stuffs expensive had to make sure I had enough to build it in one sheet.

 

[suncatcher]

Quote: Oh, I did not see the top drawing, just saw that HUGE drawing of plywood! Looks nice.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Where did you find a vet that would look at your chicken?  Very cool.  I know nothing of chicken leg injuries, but I would think you may want to limit her movement, which it sounds like you are already doing. 

When I get truly desperate I go to Dublin Animal Hospital. They specialize in birds and at least one of the vets owns a flock of chickens.

 

[TracieJS]

Dublin Animal Hospital... not cheap but they get you in pretty quickly and call and check on you (okay on your chicken/pet)...

 

[Ashdoes]

Dublin Animal Hospital... not cheap but they get you in pretty quickly and call and check on you (okay on your chicken/pet)...

I had a Cochin girl limping a while back, I brought her in for a warm Epsom salt soak. She sat in a bucket of warm water for thirty minutes, then hung out inside in a plastic tub full of shavings. She was mostly better the next day, and just fine two days later.

 

[Lhillstad]

Started out with 6 layers (3 buff Orpington and 3 barred rocks), added 8 chicks last August which turned out to be Welsummer and black Cornish. They are just beginning to lay now. I officially have the bug, so I'm building a second coop for 45 chicks (9 different breeds) that are coming in March. They give me great joy.