I'm from Northeastern Kansas (marysville), currently have 8 hens, and 5 eggs in the bator!!! This thread looks pretty neat!!!, glad i found it.
Welcome!!! Glad to see another new face!!!
Sounds like a fun day visiting! That's kind of like our tank-less water heater. We LOVE it. Not only does it not take up much room anymore (it's a small box on the wall where the huge tank used to be)-- but if it goes bad, supposedly, you just replace a part inside and you're back up and running again.
I wanted a tankless water heater when I bought mine but I had no way to vent it from my basement the way things are set up with the plumbing. So we had to opt to go back with electric again. This was the only one that had a seer rating and it is so insulated that it hold the heat without loosing temperature for several days. Not the best option but as close as I can get. I have been pretty happy with it.
I have found most of my friends are definitely not thrilled with my chickens. They don't understand how I can enjoy the crowing, either. We've had people over and they thought it was "quaint" that my roosters were crowing, but then said that if they had to hear that in someone's yard near them, they'd go nuts. I just don't understand that at all. Sheesh. Glad that your friend go to see a chick hatch. It is very exciting if you ask me! I love watching it!!
I have had people look down their noses at me when I say I have chickens etc. It's like they associate chicken farmers with filth. Okay so maybe in my case there is quite a bit, but with many of them free ranging it's not like it accumulates all over. The only time it seems offensive is after a rain when they smells come out.
My broilers (cornish cross) will be 2 weeks old on Wednesday... I would like to put them out in the hutch on that day (the lows for the first week will be between 57 and 71). They will have access to an enclosed boxed area within the coop that will have pine shavings and dried cattails. I would like to keep them in there for about 2 weeks before putting them in the grow-out pen for their last 2 weeks before harvest. Will they be ok going out Wednesday based on the lows? (I do not have a heat lamp - but there are 27 of them that can huddle.) They are so fat right now - not really growing persay, but getting fat - they can already barely not stand and most of them just lie down in front of the feeder and just eat - eat- eat... it's kind of sad to see them like that.
I don't think I'd put them out in the hutch that early without some supplementary heat. They do use each others body heat to warm but they can also suffocate each other. This time of year temps are so iffy. Even a normal light bulb would add some heat if you don't want to invest in a heat lamp.
Here is a legend to tell you how to feed them to get them to butcher size quickly. Most people have no idea how to bring a Cornish to butchering size fast. I never do this cause I like the flavor in a chicken that takes longer to grow. I'm just posting this to help anyone who wants to know how to bring them to size within 6 weeks.
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Start your Cornish Rock broiler chicks just as you start any baby chick. Start them on a 20-22% Chick and/or Broiler Starter. Keep them on that ration for the first 4.5 to 5 weeks. At that age, switch them to an 18% Chick Grower. Please make sure you restrict the feed as we outline below! Provide 3 inches of feeder space and 1 inch per chick of watering space.
You will "full feed" your broiler chicks around the clock for the first 5 days of age. At 7:00 p.m. of the 5th day, make sure your broiler chicks are completely out of feed. That means there is positively no feed from 7:00 p.m. of the 5th day of age until 7:00 a.m. the following morning. You want them out of feed for 12 consecutive hours. Water, yes, but no feed for 12 hours. Continue this "minor feed restriction" program, removing the feed every night, until time of slaughter. Failure to follow this feeding program may result in heart attacks. Sudden Death Syndrome or "flip" as it is sometimes called can result because of the very rapid growth of your broiler Chicks. Following the above restriction outline, religiously, every night commencing the 5th night of their 5th day of age, will reduce the "flip" thing substantially.[/FONT]
My kids and I just put a group of adorable chicks in the rabbit cage/ brooder with a heat lamp and watched them all get a drink before snuggling down for the night at their new circus home
It is so sweet to hear them cheep! Even is they aren't girls, the kids really enjoy this stage. Mom does too
Thanks Danz! My kids and I live you, and your zoo and your dogs
too! A drive down to the bird zoo has become quite a favorite family jaunt, now complete with traditions of stopping for hot pickles and a frosty. Kids!!
They are finally showered and getting in bed and Mom is crashing too. Yes.... Fall is always crazy busy.
Love this picture. What she doesn't tell you is right before this picture was taken, both of the dogs had Sera down licking her in the face!!! They love her!
Thanks for giving me all the details HEChicken, this hatching thing is becoming more and more like serious business. I can't lock things down and just leave it closed because I'm hatching eggs that will span a few days. I'm scared to cool them and put them all in at once because I have no way of knowing the temps, so I need more thermometers. Adding that to my list now. I'm going to talk to my boys about building something better. I have to open the incubator to turn the eggs, that's twice per day. I've been watching the dates to see when to stop turning them but then I still have to open it to turn the ones that still need turned. I think they humidity is high enough now since there is condensation on the window, but I really think they're all dead now, it's been a rough ride this time for sure. I have second chick that has the unabsorbed yolk and isn't fairing so well. The sack ruptured and it was so messy and I about passed out seriously because it happened as I was moving it out of the incubator to a new little heated box i made just for him, I was scared of it rupturing because he was walking all over the incubator and it was dragging on the wire. He just laid there like he was dead for a while, and we got the bleeding to stop but he bled so much. He seems so weak now. I keep making him eat/drink but I just feel unsure that he will make it through the night. Also, the styrofoam incubator doesn't have any sort of fan. Can it be added to it somehow? Is the heating element strong enough to take out of the incubator and use it to build another, I like the idea of not having to open it to turn the eggs. My list of what I need keeps getting longer. I keeping thinking of things that maybe we could use to make an incubator. What's hardware cloth? I'm definitely not hatching again until we have things set up better, I'm so upset about this hatch I want to throw away the incubator. I feel like a chick murderer. Shame on us for not being better prepared and learning before diving in.
Welcome ChicknBaron.
I purchased one fan for one of my stryro bators. Then on the second one I actually bought a small computer type fan for under $5 that ran on 110v and hooked it into the top of the incubator. It works every bit as well and cost a whole lot less!!!
In addition to HeChicken's post, you can open your incubator and turn your eggs without a problem as long as the temp can return to normal within 20 minutes or so. As long as the internal temperature of the egg stays consistent they will be fine. That is why a mother hen can get up and go eat, drink, and poop without harming her eggs.
So, here is a story for you. Would like your imput on how I should handle this.
Judging team is at the state fair. All judging is over. Scores are calculated.
Kicken Chickens Senior team. Won.
Ribbons handed to the team members.
Hands were shook, congradulations said.
Team was told they would be able to go to nationals, and compete.
Were walking out the door to leave and come home.
Two other teams jumped up as our team was leaving, started screaming demanding a recount, were all behaving very bad.
Calcutations were redone with the teams standing over the judges.
Our kids were told they did not win, one of the other teams coachs came over jerked the ribbons out of our kids hands, handed them to their kids, and said" NOw can we have pictures with the real winners"!!!
I think heads need to roll.
Our kids stood there in shock were very gracious, about the whold thing.
Kinda doubt if we will send kids to state poutlry judgeing again.
Now this is what I have been told. If anyone was there and can tell me something different, please do. Sounds like someone needs to get something straingtened out? Don't you?
That is so wrong! I am afraid I would have to express my opinion about the example the adults are setting for the children. It goes hand in hand with adults acting like jerks at sporting events for the kids. What kind of message is that sending to the youth? I would certainly write someone and get some official ruling on this and the time period allowed to protest.
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OH YAY!!! I'm so excited for you! I agree, even if you don't win, it's not a wasted trip. Just to say you've gone and had a great time is worth more than an award! I feel the SAME way about going to the ASBC Eastern Nationals in October!!! I can't wait to go!! I don't expect to win anything either! But can't wait to meet up with everyone.
I will be bringing more cockerels than pullets-- so maybe I'd have a chance with them. hehehe!! My cockerels this year are really good. How far is Ark from you? Since you're already down in SE Ks, it's a lot closer of a drive, isn't it? I wish you much luck! You never know, you could come away with something! I bet your birds are just as nice.
Question-- how do you transport your birds? I think I am going to take mine up in a wire dog kennel, but I would sure love to have one of those multi holed bantam carriers!
I just feed of the excitement you guys have for the shows. It really makes me want to get into it. I just really can't take the time though. I guess I should stick to breeding birds for other people to win with.
Well I had a puzzling but gruesome discovery yesterday and am very confused about what transpired. I had a mom Phoenix that hatched 10 chicks the day before. We had actually rescued two of them from the top of the barn. They had been hatched up in the ceiling space and the others had managed to jump down to the Mom. But the other 8 were under her care. Yesterday DH couldn't find the chicks anywhere . When I was out feeding I found some feathers (but not excessive amounts) and the mama hen's head only. Everything else was gone. It was right in the center of the yard where the dogs should have absolutely stopped any ruckus going on. I assume whatever it was had grabbed the chicks and the mother had died trying to defend the babies.
I am very confused about what it could have been. We have had some predator owls steal a few birds recently but never found any body parts or feathers. Do you think an owl might have snatched her head off and took the rest? There is no way any kind of ruckus could have occurred that at least one of the dogs wouldn't have intervened. DH was out last night every couple of hours and the only thing he saw was an owl which he frightened off with shot in the air.
I've been shutting up most of the birds at night because of the owl and hawk activity but this girl was staying in the barn with her chicks. I can't figure out why they would have been out in the yard unless they got chased out of the barn and I am just not sure if it was a owl or what. It really bothers me that my dogs didn't prevent this and what for sure the predator was.
I may borrow a couple of game cams from a friend and focus on that part of the yard. I need to know what is going on.
At least I have two of her babies. Maybe I should have taken them all and they might all still be alive.
I lost one of my new Swedish flower hen chicks this morning to pasty butt. I never had a single case of it in the last hatch. I'm not sure why there would be any difference this time. I found 3 others that were getting it so I need to watch them really carefully. I guess I've been gone too much the last couple days to notice it.
