Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

My DH was the same way. The chickens were "your thing" and he just "wasn't interested." Then he started asking me what their names were and which ones laid which eggs. I keep them in the run when we aren't home because of the hawks, and a couple of weeks ago I had an appt. in town on a Sunday afternoon. When I got home he had let them out because, "they all ran over to the gate when I went out to throw the ball for the dog." He also gets a real kick out of sharing the eggs with his co-workers.

My DH was so cute tonight. First, I must preface by stating that I'm completely the one that had to talk him into letting me get some chickens. He gave me the lecture of me having to be the one to take care of them and so forth.. So today, he said a couple things that were so cute. First, I'd gotten an email from Burpee about the $4.95 shipping weekend and I mentioned that to him, and he said "is that your chicken site, you wanting to order more chicks?". I was like "no, it's the seeds site" and he said "oh, cuz those ones that lay the blue and green eggs are cool. I'd like some of those". awww.. And then today over dinner (we had breakfast for dinner), I mentioned that this time next year we'd be eating fresh from our coop eggs. I told him that if we get any funky eggs that we could scramble them up and feed them to the chickens. He said "Wouldn't that be canabilizm. Our chickens are going to eat better than that". OUR chickens. I love that they just aren't "your birds" anymore. Anyways, I knew ya'll would be the ones that would understand how happy these little things said would make me

 

[rittert3]

I wish I could change my DW like that. She wants nothing to do with the birds and wouldn't even get out of the car this morning when I stopped at the farm to break ice for them. (we were leaving town for a few hours and I got a late start.) I'm luck I got her to even go to the farm after a week of having birds. The dog is still "MY dog" after 4 years so I doubt I'll get here out feeding birds with me anytime soon. Hmm I seem to remember cleaning out a cat box (I'm not a cat fan) the first time she was prego, I'm thinking ammo!

 

[cherwill]

Tweety, my husband grew up with chickens, ducks and geese. He enjoys them just as much as I do. I'm glad your husband is beginning to enjoy them, too. They can be a lot of fun just to watch. I like hearing their low-level clucking as they scratch around the yard, and I like how they cluster around the gate when one of us comes out. They run back and forth in front of the gate and cluck; they're excited to see if we've brought something for them!

We have 6 hens; all have laid eggs at some point. Since it's been so cold and since one of the girls is broody right now, we only get 2-3 eggs a day. Some days we only get 1. The first summer we got 4-5 eggs every day. This last summer, we had 4 birds go broody and it was so darn hot, we got 0-3 eggs a day. My in-laws are unhappy with the laying rate because I often don't have any extras for them. Also, all our chickens are dual purpose, so their laying rate isn't as good as breeds designed only to be layers.

 

[Trish44]

Reading all of your comments about your spouses makes me smile. My DH always says they're MY chickens & I do all the taking care of them, buying the feed & whatever. But I catch him watching them & laughing at them all the time, he enjoys watching them as much as I do when they're out in the yard. He will point out a certain chicken when we go outside sometimes & comment on how pretty they are & ask me what kind of chicken they are. He just doesn't want to admit he's interested in them, he's afraid he might get recruited to help take care of them. He sure does enjoy eating the eggs though & took 4 dozen to his family today in Missouri. I heard him on the phone this morning before he left talking to his sister & telling her that I'm naming all my chickens so he didn't think we would be eating them.

rittert, give your DW time, just let her observe them for awhile if you can get her there. My DH just didn't want anything to do with my chickens at first & when we were working on the coop all I heard was griping about doing all this work for MY chickens. But now he actually gets a kick out of them, especially my head rooster Big Red & how he watches over his hens & protects them. He thinks he's hilarious the way he goes after anything that gets too close to his hens. My DH didn't grow up with chickens or any other farm animals despite the fact that they did live in the country when they were growing up. His parents just weren't into farm animals at all even though his mother lived on a farm growing up & that's how they made a living after her dad died, selling eggs & other animals to make a little money. So all of the chickens & rabbits & such that I have are all a new thing to him & he's having to adjust to it. We're thinking of getting a few goats in the spring for brush control on the front 5 acres we don't do anything with. We don't have a tractor to mow it or anything, so it's gotten way out of control down there. He's just nervous about taking on more animals to care for, but I have had a lot of animals most of my life. At one time where I lived before I moved here we raised our own hogs, steers, & meat chickens. We also at times had sheep & goats, ducks, geese, & chickens for eggs. My family who are all citified folks always thought I was a little crazy, but they did enjoy the fresh eggs from me & the ham we had from the hogs we raised & took to the locker. I've always been a country girl at heart I think even though I grew up in the city. I left the city as soon as I could & haven't lived in one since 1976, nor do I want to. I enjoy the privacy, quiet, & being able to have what animals I want to have without being told there is a limit or a restriction.

 

[rittert3]

She does have a soft spot for baby chicks and it would be totally different if we lived at the farm. We had 6 feed store chicks a couple years back that we brooded in a spare bed room and then sold off to some freinds and family. So I really think if I can get her around the baby quail she will like them. She didn't really like them being in the house but I really think she had a secret curriosity for those baby/ growing chicks.

 

[Ivywoods]

Yippee! Finally! a 100% hatch rate on the last batch of eggs to go into the hatcher. I think I figured out at least part of my problem with some of my poor hatch rates. I wasn't turning them often enough. I had convinced myself that once a day was okay. Well, it's not! Sometimes I think I am my own worst enemy. I knew better but thought I could get by with it or something.

Anyway, I am turning them at least 3 times a day now. I had so many chicks that were fully developed in the egg but then just didn't go ahead and hatch, and I think that was the problem. Hopefully I can have good hatch rates from now on... but I sure wish I had an automatic turner! Rosie- Are you sure you don't want to sell that Sportsman incubator back that you bought from me?

This hatch included golden lakenvelders, lavender and black ameraucanas. The difference in size of the black and lavender ameraucanas is evident as soon as you pick up a chick. The blacks are much heavier. I will be raising some black/lavender splits later in the season.

Wow! They grow so fast! I really wasn't set up for raising chicks in this cold weather, so they are all in the basement in plastic tubs. It's nice to have them here close and convenient to keep an eye on, but the older ones are already outgrowing their tubs. They will be hopping out of there before too long so I need to rethink my brooder situation. I sure wish I had a set up like I had when I was a kid. We had a whole room, just about as big as our one car garage that we raised chicks in. It had a big, round, hanging metal brooder hood in the middle and the chicks could move under or away from the light as much as they needed to. It was big enough to raise hundreds of chicks up to a good size. Maybe once we get moved I can refine my poultry shelters into something that would accommodate more chickens!

Danz-I bought a pair of pants tonight. They aren't exactly what I was looking for, but I will try them and maybe they will be warm enough. They seem pretty lightweight, but if they block the wind, that may be all I need. They were $12 so what the heck? Can't really go wrong at that and I'm sure they will be better than just my blue jeans.

 

[chicken danz]

Isn't it great when they come around? I still get complaints but at the same time get those moments that you just have to smile to yourself and know they really do like them.

 

[notiones]

It's time to start think about ordering chicks.

Have any of y'all used Country Hatchery in Oklahoma?

I was thinking about going half and half Rhode Island Reds and Ameraucanas. Maybe 10 each? My thinking is thus. The Reds are a dual purpose heritage breed, are excellent egg layers, and any roosters I get will make good fryers. These are not setters. The Ameraucanas are pretty much the same except for the green eggs and they are much better looking than the Reds. According to the web site, the Ameraucanas are hardy and good setters too. I am open to breed and hatchery suggestions too.

My biggest question is what to do with the chicks once they outgrow the chicken tractor (32 square feet), which maxes out at 7 birds. The main coop (64 square feet) and the 2500 square foot run should hold them well enough, but I am worried about them eating layer rations. I could keep them in a separate run for a while, but it would not be covered.

I'm new to this so any advice would be appreciated.

Once last question. I have supplemental light in my coop and my hens have not stopped laying. Is this bad for their overall health? Should I let them stop laying for a portion of the year?

 

[rlwt]

I know this is probably a dumb question but I'm going to ask it anyway. I was loaned a little giant incubator and it says in the directions that there are supposed to be some toggles for changing temperature which I cannot find (it is a 1588 "circulated air model" hova-bator). The incubator was at a good 99.5 pretty consistently for three days according to my manuel thermometer and then I got the eggs. I put the eggs in and added warm water and the temperature dropped. I took the water out and changed the egg cartons I'm using (they got wet) and the mechanical thermometer is back between 99 and 100 and is set close to the floor of the incubator. I purchased an electric thermometer/hygrometer yesterday that is reading at 97.3 and is close to the top of the incubator which seems very odd given the science of warm air. It is certainly possible that one of the thermometers is off but I don't know which one and I don't know how to fix that problem (is it more likely that the electric or mechanical thermometer is off?). If the temperature is actually at 97.3 then I imagine I won't get the eggs to hatch. I know this is a long explanation but I am looking for suggestions on what to do from here. I'm thinking the electronic thermometer may not be precise? Any thoughts?

 

[HEChicken]

I know this is probably a dumb question but I'm going to ask it anyway. I was loaned a little giant incubator and it says in the directions that there are supposed to be some toggles for changing temperature which I cannot find (it is a 1588 "circulated air model" hova-bator). The incubator was at a good 99.5 pretty consistently for three days according to my manuel thermometer and then I got the eggs. I put the eggs in and added warm water and the temperature dropped. I took the water out and changed the egg cartons I'm using (they got wet) and the mechanical thermometer is back between 99 and 100 and is set close to the floor of the incubator. I purchased an electric thermometer/hygrometer yesterday that is reading at 97.3 and is close to the top of the incubator which seems very odd given the science of warm air. It is certainly possible that one of the thermometers is off but I don't know which one and I don't know how to fix that problem (is it more likely that the electric or mechanical thermometer is off?). If the temperature is actually at 97.3 then I imagine I won't get the eggs to hatch. I know this is a long explanation but I am looking for suggestions on what to do from here. I'm thinking the electronic thermometer may not be precise? Any thoughts?

First, just to nitpick, a Little Giant and a Hovabator are two different brands of incubators

However fear not - you have the better model of the two. Second, it is completely normal for the temp to drop right after you add the eggs. If you think about it, if the temp is 99.5 and you add a dozen eggs totalling a certain "mass" that is at room temp of 65 degrees or so, the drop in temp would be completely expected. Give it some time and the heat will rise again to the temp it was before adding the eggs. In my experience, depending on the number of eggs you are adding, it can take quite a few hours to stabilize back out.

You will also notice a drop in temp any time you open the incubator, exposing it to cooler air, or add water that is cooler than the incubator temperature. It should recover pretty quickly from those fluctuations. Also, keep in mind that just because the temperature that the thermometer is reading has dropped, that does NOT mean that the eggs instantly dropped to that temperature as well. The eggs usually stay a pretty stable temp even with minor fluctuations in the air temp around them. In other words, it takes a sustained temperature change to make a real difference in the temperature of the eggs.