Consolidated Kansas

[tlzimmerman]

"I'd say that was still way high. I have never hatched at over 58%"

A lot of the reading on the subject I have done disagrees with you. I am really happy with this hatch so far, 5 out of 8 eggs on my first try ever, and taking into account they were shipped eggs......I am pretty happy with that. I'll take the advice into account that some people do hatch at lower humidities though. Seems like everyone figures out their own recipe over time.

I have a 48 egg ebay incubator that is fan forced, not a styrofoam. I am been pretty impressed with it so far.....the real test will be to see if it lasts. Its easy to control the humidity in and keeps a steady temp throughout. Had to calibrate it but I think you have to calibrate them all.

 

[Trish44]

I agree with you on that point that you have to find what works for you & the conditions you're hatching in. The equipment makes a difference as to what you're using & the conditions in your house or wherever your incubator is. I happen to have more humidity in my house where my incubator & hatcher are due to the house being built into the hill & the walls at the sides & back are concrete. We also have a solid concrete base the house sits on so there is concrete under the flooring, so I'm sure that makes a difference here. I have a cabinet incubator & a matching hatcher so once I get them set to where I want them it stays fairly level.

 

[Plinky]

Yay! I now have 4 out of 4 hens laying!
Found the third egg from the left on the floor of the coop a few minutes ago still warm and right under the hen I think it's from.
I know the white egg is from the Leghorn, obviously. The long skinny one is from the PRock that just started back up laying. The kind of speckled more reddish one is from the RIRed. That leaves the smaller rounder one from "Plinky the blind Brahma" who will be a year old in a few days. I suppose this means that she is relatively healthy, for which I'm glad because she is my favorite chicken. But it creates a dilemma in that I'm not sure if she will use a nesting box. She sometimes goes and roosts on the board at the entrance to one, but I have never seen her fully in a nesting box.
I'm going to try to monitor things at about the time she might lay (26 hours from now) and see what happens, especially how the other hens treat her with eggs just dropping out wherever she is.
Any ideas appreciated!

 

[chicken danz]

"I'd say that was still way high. I have never hatched at over 58%"

A lot of the reading on the subject I have done disagrees with you. I am really happy with this hatch so far, 5 out of 8 eggs on my first try ever, and taking into account they were shipped eggs......I am pretty happy with that. I'll take the advice into account that some people do hatch at lower humidities though. Seems like everyone figures out their own recipe over time.

I have a 48 egg ebay incubator that is fan forced, not a styrofoam. I am been pretty impressed with it so far.....the real test will be to see if it lasts. Its easy to control the humidity in and keeps a steady temp throughout. Had to calibrate it but I think you have to calibrate them all.

I agree; a lot of what you read differs from what I do. However I could take about 50% of the stuff I read on BYC alone and prove it to be inaccurate. So much is repeated information or wives tales. I only go by real professional's information and university studies plus years of true experience. My comments were there to help you: not to cause a dispute. Many of the people here and elsewhere can verify I do know what I am talking about. I hatch thousands and thousands of birds every year and if it didn't work I wouldn't be in it so deep. I used to hatch at high humidity which caused losses. I have also used multiple incubators and learned which ones work well and what can be done to the ones with problems.
If you bought the Rite Farm Pro digital incubator or the Super Prod incubator on Ebay are both awesome small units. The fact that they have a digital system makes a world of difference.
The fact that you hatched so well from shipped eggs is also great. But my point still remains that in a small incubator the humidity can be dispersed heavier or lighter in different areas of the incubator which may have contributed to some hatching and some dying.

Yay! I now have 4 out of 4 hens laying!
Found the third egg from the left on the floor of the coop a few minutes ago still warm and right under the hen I think it's from.
I know the white egg is from the Leghorn, obviously. The long skinny one is from the PRock that just started back up laying. The kind of speckled more reddish one is from the RIRed. That leaves the smaller rounder one from "Plinky the blind Brahma" who will be a year old in a few days. I suppose this means that she is relatively healthy, for which I'm glad because she is my favorite chicken. But it creates a dilemma in that I'm not sure if she will use a nesting box. She sometimes goes and roosts on the board at the entrance to one, but I have never seen her fully in a nesting box.
I'm going to try to monitor things at about the time she might lay (26 hours from now) and see what happens, especially how the other hens treat her with eggs just dropping out wherever she is.
Any ideas appreciated!

I am so happy that Plinky finally laid. All that worrying and she is doing well. It certainly paid to give her the care and attention you have. You go, Girl!!

 

[Gail8545]

Hey, Fellow Kansans! I just joined BYC this week and am still learning my way around. Everyone has been very helpful. I am hoping to find a Welsummer rooster for my girls. They have started laying gorgeous chocolate colored eggs! All leads appreciated. Open to traveling to Missouri or
Oklahoma as well. Thanks so much!

 

[Plinky]

I am so happy that Plinky finally laid. All that worrying and she is doing well. It certainly paid to give her the care and attention you have. You go, Girl!!

Thanks Danz. I really appreciate all your help and advice. She really is a sweet chicken and I couldn't bear to put her down. I will contact you soon hopefully about a brahma companion hen for her as I think if she is going to lay she probably does need to be in a coop where she can more easily find a nest or where it won't matter if she doesn't.

 

[chicken danz]

Quote:
Great.I have a couple.

 

[Trish44]

Hey, Fellow Kansans! I just joined BYC this week and am still learning my way around. Everyone has been very helpful. I am hoping to find a Welsummer rooster for my girls. They have started laying gorgeous chocolate colored eggs! All leads appreciated. Open to traveling to Missouri or
Oklahoma as well. Thanks so much!

Welcome! I don't personally know of anyone locally that raises Welsummers at the present time. I have eggs in the incubator for some & could let you know if I end up with an extra rooster. I may start raising them if I get a decent group from these eggs. I really like the dark eggs & use them in my laying flock for something different. I'm always having to buy eggs for new ones so I'm thinking of just raising some so I don't have to buy any more eggs. Send me a PM if you're interested.

 

[chicken danz]

@Gail8545 , the only person I know of that raises Wellsummers if she still does, is Dee or Karl Sauvage. If you have facebook you can contact her at https://www.facebook.com/dee.sauvage
She has some medical problems so I'm not sure if she still has them.
Also the Gardner HOAGBA auction is March 18th. There are often some there for auction.
Yesterday I spent my afternoon on the Bobcat and fairly well finished building a pit for the feed buggy to sit over so I can fill barrels. It sure is going to be nice to be able to just back it up and not have it on ramps. I tried to use the natural lay of the land but still took a lot of digging and building. I still need to gravel the thing but that isn't a big thing.
I also got the vanity done I rebuilt to put in DH's bathroom. I want to build one more shelf in there so there is more storage. Plan to build it so it can easily be removed for plumbing access. The next two projects in there are to build in and tile in the shower, and install a pocket door. I have to move some electrical outlets and such for the door but it will be so nice not to have a door sticking out into the hallway. I should have found the time to work on these projects this winter when the I should have had more time.
I plan to build a new hatching basket for one of my incubators as well. This is the one I hatch geese and peafowl in.

 

[Momma2bellas]

I am looking to add 4-5 more layers to my group I have now. Is anyone located by Topeka that would have some chicks for sale??