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

[BantyChooks]

Incubating eggs in the middle of winter in climates that cold, then keeping them in the house 'til they're feathered enough to be outside. Then having to integrate them. Not my idea of fun. Now, if you have a broody hen you can rely on.......

It's a balance between too late (winter arrives again before they're ready) and too early. If I set on March 1st, say, it's May before they're ready to go out. By then they can just pile to keep warm since they're 4wks anyway. Might be some snow then but not too much. Also, hens often take a lot longer to lay if they're hatched Mayish.

As for integration both I and the chooks have done it so much that it's never a big deal.

Broody hens are a bunch of work, plus you don't get to watch chicks hatch.

 

[daxigait]

Oh wow it just gets better. The buck is all Copper Hill too so she is all four sides Copper Hill!!!!!

 

[kwhites634]

It's a balance between too late (winter arrives again before they're ready) and too early. If I set on March 1st, say, it's May before they're ready to go out. By then they can just pile to keep warm since they're 4wks anyway. Might be some snow then but not too much. Also, hens often take a lot longer to lay if they're hatched Mayish.

As for integration both I and the chooks have done it so much that it's never a big deal.

Broody hens are a bunch of work, plus you don't get to watch chicks hatch.

I don't envy you. I'd have to have a heated building to keep them in 'til they could handle the Canadian temps.

 

[BantyChooks]

I don't envy you. I'd have to have a heated building to keep them in 'til they could handle the Canadian temps.

Meh, 's not too tough. Them birdies aren't as delicate as many make them out to be. Especially when they pile up at night---it's like an electricity free heater!

 

[mlm Mike]

Broodies are a headache too. Sometimes the chicks wander off and get stuck, and they need separate quarters for brooding unless I want to go to a lot of effort keeping the hens where they are supposed to be. Then I have to make sure waterers are safe, put up ramps so they don't get stuck outside, and feed the pricey chick feed to everyone until they grow up.

You have different setup than I do. Mine are free and wild from the time they hatch. The only thing I do different when someone hatches chicks is make certain the low rimmed waters are out there and filled.

 

[kwhites634]

Duckling got glasses today.
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The closest she came to having leaves to play in.
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God! She's getting big, and cute as a bug! Love the glasses on her, too.

 

[BantyChooks]

You have different setup than I do. Mine are free and wild from the time they hatch. The only thing I do different when someone hatches chicks is make certain the low rimmed waters are out there and filled.

I keep 'em separate for a week because all my broodies are bantams and they have a hard time protecting the littles from the giant hens. After a bit they're tough enough to be with the flock.

 

[daxigait]

Hi Abi!!!!!! I have missed you!

 

[mlm Mike]

They got most of the electrical taken care of yesterday. I have 2 houses on my lot, but the other house has too much interference from some trees, so both systems are going on the main house. We had to dig a trench over to the other house and under a walkway and put in conduit for them to run the wiring. We weren't scheduled until next week - thought we'd take care of the rest of the conduit work this weekend. But the solar company called on Wed, and bumped us up to yesterday - they had a delay on another project. So, they ended up finishing the conduit placement for us. We decided to get the battery backups, so those were installed in both houses. Panels should start to go up today I think.

I hope that you don't get too much rain! Did they plan on lowering the lake during the storm in order to work on the ramp? Or, was it just bad timing?

@Christinecam I'm sorry she died!

I hope they are getting the panels up!

No, they lower the lake for winter every year, So they have room for snow melt and rain in the spring. They were supposed to do the ramp last fall, but the right hand forgot to get the permit from the left hand, so they had to wait a year.

 

[mlm Mike]

Hi Daxigait!!! Nothing too exciting! I did get a chance to drive cross country this summer and FINALLY stay in the house I've owned since 2005 - I had never even seen it before that.

How have you been? I love reading all your goat updates! I've learned a lot from them!

Wait, you drove across the country and didn't visit all of us! For shame