EDUCATIONAL INCUBATION & HATCHING CHAT THREAD, w/ Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs

[kajira]

I guess I've been doing that for the past 15 years here. Perhaps accidentally but nonetheless those that survived are the ones I've been hatching. With the exception of lots of shade and lots of water I havent done anything this year to help. I did try the ice thing a few years back but they didn't care for it. I have used sprinklers on the outside of coops before to help but that hasn't been necessary for the past few years.

We did the ice thing last summer and it was just WAY to much of a PITA. We hose them down once, in the late afternoon to cool them off with cold water when we fill all the waters. MY silkies have been the smartest of the bunch and learned from our pig to sit in the pool of water to get themselves wet on their own to cool off.
Our polish crested, have done the worst in this heat so far.

 

[dan26552]

@shawluvsbirds
Here she is.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

We live in southern Louisiana in the middle of a very large forest with a creek running through our property. I have spent the last 2 months looking for this thing. It has taken several baby chicks and well over a dozen eggs that I know of. We moved out all the stationary nesting boxes thinking it was hiding under them. Cleaned out all the hay, litter, and bedding in the coop and the run but found nothing. I moved a "temporary" nest box yesterday and noticed it felt too heavy. This thing had burrowed under the hay in that box and was hidden until I took the lid off and dumped the hay out.

Wow! Scary - and glad you caught it! (Glad you came by - Sorry, I really should have tagged you when I used your picture. )

I do have a scan down here on the 27th!! I'm guessing you don't want to drive 6+ hours round trip for a 40 minute scan though.

Odds are, we'll do a repeat scan in a week or two, after this next friday... so I'll let you know dates as soon as they give me the next one.

No, no thanks on the drive, but I'll catch you for one of them!

Morning Mike. Temps down here. Only to be 102 here today.
After 95 all outside workers go home.

Agreed with the humidity. This heat wave has been 50% humid as well. We are usually in the 30# range

It's coming UP to 102-103 today... It's supposed to cool off next week, though. High of maybe 90 tomorrow.

We did the ice thing last summer and it was just WAY to much of a PITA. We hose them down once, in the late afternoon to cool them off with cold water when we fill all the waters. MY silkies have been the smartest of the bunch and learned from our pig to sit in the pool of water to get themselves wet on their own to cool off.
Our polish crested, have done the worst in this heat so far.

I tried ice as well and they didn't care for it. But I have a "spare freezer" (a freezer I don't trust as it has failed a few times, but keep for non-spoiling stuff like ice and flour and the ice cream maker bowl), and so I try to keep some ice frozen in some bigger blocks in there for their water pans, and will probably put some gallon jugs in there, just in case. I select for heat, and when picking cockerels to keep, that's a deal breaker if they seem to suffer too much. But if it gets a lot more hot than they're used to I'd like to be prepared. I don't have the misters set up yet, but that's on the list. I might also try that frozen treat thing...

How long is vacation, do you have any plans? It's too darn hot there.

Through the 10th of July, although I have a few days I have to go back in in-between. I have all kinds of stuff that needs to be done outside - I just have to suck it up with the heat.At least it's supposed to cool off some next week.

Having breakfast, then heading out to try to get a bunch of stuff done before it gets too hot. And I have some shade cloth to rig on the fronts of a couple of those new tractor coops - direct sun shines in for an hour or two for some of them, and that's too much at these temps. They can go out to other shaded areas, of course, but still. And one of the girls in Khan's group is now laying - found an egg on the ground next to the water pan. So I need to get in some nest boxes and rig an egg door.

I mulched the apple trees yesterday - and of course, Puppy came along and "helped" (sigh). I wonder if anything will be left when I go out there this AM (she was at it again bright and early). I remind myself that at least it's better than the deer were.

I also weeded around the blackberries (extremely overgrown), and need to also mulch them. I've sort of done the benign neglect thing with them, and there were so many tall weeds in around the thorned canes. Ow! There was also a hornet nest in there near ground level. I got lucky - threw a bucket over it and kept going, never got stung. Once I was done, I kicked the bucket over and ran. (I have what's called a large local reaction allergy to them - but I have a steroid pack in the medicine cabinet for that purpose.)

 

[BantyChooks]

Cute, Dan.

Kristin, why again are you cultivating blackberries?? I have about a couple million plants you could have... Pesky things....

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Cute, Dan.

Kristin, why again are you cultivating blackberries?? I have about a couple million plants you could have... Pesky things....

Because blackberries are delicious.

 

[BantyChooks]

Because blackberries are delicious.

They're delicious, yes, but after them taking over your yard and hiding under grass for bare feet to step on, they get a bit tiring.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

They're delicious, yes, but after them taking over your yard and hiding under grass for bare feet to step on, they get a bit tiring.

I guess so...why not wear shoes?

 

[BantyChooks]

I guess so...why not wear shoes?

Shoes somehow go missing all the time. Barefoot is easier---you can't lose your feet.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Shoes somehow go missing all the time. Barefoot is easier---you can't lose your feet.

This is true. Do you have a puppy or little kids? lol

 

[BantyChooks]

This is true. Do you have a puppy or little kids? lol

Rugrats, and sometimes puppies too.