I had a lap rooster... before he discovered hens.I have organic non gmo 23 % protein chick starter non medicated from Ranchway feeds (loxal) I have mine custom milled gluten-free for me because I have celiac disease and no chicken feed is gluten-free
Wardel's sells a 40 lb bag for $35.
And CONGRATS uzi!! I'm so glad you went with the brinsea, because this is a scene from my incubating/homestead office. Yes, that's a rooster checking out my bf working on the incubator. I have a pet /lap chicken. Gah
I have my hovabator 1588 wrapped up and a heating pad under it on low and the independent hydrometer reads 99f and 70% humidity on day 4.
I wish I had gone with the brinsea.
I hope things work out with your hovabator because that last batch of chicks you had were adorable!I had a lap rooster... before he discovered hens.
I honestly felt like I had made a bad purchase for myself on the Brinsea because it was pretty expensive and I don't have plans to use it very much. Also, I have been trying to save money for that Cintiq Companion forever and medical bills from my car accident had depleted my savings for it pretty hard already. Pushing that purchase off another year was not a happy making decision. But after this experience, I'm definitely glad I bought it especially since I wasn't around enough to be more involved with the incubation process. However, I think if I try chicks again, I better let Calypso do it for me. She's been trying to hatch the golf ball in their nesting box for about a month now and is getting really cranky when one of the other hens wants to lay an egg in the there.
I have been seeing a lot of USPS horror stories lately on the boards and it is making me worried about my tiny shipment of 8 that are supposed to ship in May. Who were you getting them from, if you don't mind my asking. :/ugh, you guys...I was supposed to get my chicks today by noon via USPS Express Mail. I hadn't heard anything so I went to the post office and, long story short...they don't know where the package is.
I was on the phone with 'delivery retrieval' and they said they would try to get back with me by tonight or tomorrow morning.
I had bantams in that shipment.
I was actually thinking about that, but since it's the small version I didn't know if anyone but me would have much use for a 7 egg incubator. Everyone seems to be doing much bigger hatches than that. I guess if anyone wanted to try quail eggs, I have the turning tray for that and it can hold 12 eggs. I think if I can get to a place where I can afford to build up the flocks I would like to have in order to sell hatching eggs/chicks, it'll come in handy. I'm super nervous about ordering chicks from breeders/hatcheries in other states because of the USPS stories I've been reading on BYC (& from @maggiemo now). I'm super worried about the chicks that are supposed to show up in May from MPC. I would rather take my chances with shipped eggs to build my flocks than chicks dying in transit because our postal system is in the crapper right now. Unless I can find local breeders of the birds I'm interested in, of course.
I ordered from My Pet Chicken, but they shipped from Meyers in Ohio. MPC said they rent incubator space from Meyer.
Nbr. 3 hatched out this morning! I was not expecting a 75% success. I wasn't expecting any success, to be honest! This is the first time I've ever seen something hatch from an egg. Except "my" baby robins that were in a nest right by my front door, but I had significantly less to do with that then these three. This is a lot different than getting mammals through pregnancy and birth.
All three are still hanging out in the incubator with the last egg until I get home from work this evening, when I'll move them into the brooder box (unless that last egg surprises the Cheerios out of me because I really don't think that one will hatch). I think the first one out will be named Mercury, after Freddy Mercury, because that little dude has a set of lungs. They don't look too much in colouring like pure Silver Sebrights, but I think they might end up with crests. They're heads kind of look like the GLP chick on MPC. I think I was expecting a serious dome on the chicks' heads and these little fluffs don't really have that. It'll definitely be interesting to see how they develop.
I wasn't too sure I made the right choice by dipping into my Cintiq Companion Hybrid tablet fund to buy the Brinsea, but after this experience I'm super glad I did.
