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

Oh, and so, the S&G girls haven't been let out of their coop yet because I need to build a secure paddock first, and the area they are in is more shaded but more dicey than the others (closer to that brush pile) and needs more care to set up safely. (That's what I'm doing tomorrow/Thursday.) I went by their coop to ensure they had water (they do), and look what I found on the ground INSIDE their LOCKED coop...
wtf-gif.554989
I was like, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU GIRLS DOING IN HERE?!

MysteryObject061317.JPG


Not sure, but it looks like in their scratching of the soil under their litter they found an old gas burner lid or something (anyone else know what it is?)

I swear, somebody used my back yard as a dumping ground for household trash in the 1930s-1960s. I also keep picking up pieces of glass and broken pieces of old dishes in the S&G boys' paddock - fortunately they are old (with worn edges) and also my chickens have so far been too smart to try to eat them. This is actually one of the reasons I don't have geese - weird stuff they would probably eat (and then get sick from) shows up after every heavy rain. :confused:
 
I wanted to give an update on what happened with the chick. She was ok for a day or two and then just faded out and we euthanized her. The hen and all the other chickens knew she wasn't well. So, I'm learning. My personal policy henceforth will be that if eggs are under a broody, the hen decides if eggs are viable or not, and if she gives up on an egg, then it's hands off for me because she knows what she's doing. For incubations, I will no doubt still give assistance because it's not a natural environment and things happen that aren't the chick's fault. I don't expect to incubate but things do happen, I have orphaned guinea eggs in my incubator right now. Thanks again for your help on this.

I know how hard that is - been there myself. Sometimes you have to learn that yourself, and then you are more secure in your decisions not to help (instead of second guessing yourself). I've had mixed outcomes when I've helped - all incubator chicks (some full saves, but more losses and putting them down was a horrible experience for me, personally, though it had to be done - no strong ones kept for breeding out of the ones helped). That's why I am at peace with not helping, as I know I have my own reasons for not doing so, based on my own experiences (and chicken keeping goals). I suspect that if I just said "I don't help out" because someone told me not to, I would probably second guess myself and doubt and feel bad... I guess I'm just saying that it's part of the learning process of raising them (certainly using incubators, but as you have shown, also with broodies.)

:hugs:hugs:hugs
 
Oh, and so, the S&G girls haven't been let out of their coop yet because I need to build a secure paddock first, and the area they are in is more shaded but more dicey than the others (closer to that brush pile) and needs more care to set up safely. (That's what I'm doing tomorrow/Thursday.) I went by their coop to ensure they had water (they do), and look what I found on the ground INSIDE their LOCKED coop...
wtf-gif.554989
I was like, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU GIRLS DOING IN HERE?!

View attachment 1041771

Not sure, but it looks like in their scratching of the soil under their litter they found an old gas burner lid or something (anyone else know what it is?)

I swear, somebody used my back yard as a dumping ground for household trash in the 1930s-1960s. I also keep picking up pieces of glass and broken pieces of old dishes in the S&G boys' paddock - fortunately they are old (with worn edges) and also my chickens have so far been too smart to try to eat them. This is actually one of the reasons I don't have geese - weird stuff they would probably eat (and then get sick from) shows up after every heavy rain. :confused:

Looks a little like the bottom of a pressure cooker pan to hold the jars up. :idunno
 
Guys I built a chicken coup and I don't know what materials I should put in the run,nesting box,and they're indoor area/sleeping area. I have red mulch but I don't know if it would be the best for the chickens, any suggestions.
 
Thank you

I know how hard that is - been there myself. Sometimes you have to learn that yourself, and then you are more secure in your decisions not to help (instead of second guessing yourself). I've had mixed outcomes when I've helped - all incubator chicks (some full saves, but more losses and putting them down was a horrible experience for me, personally, though it had to be done - no strong ones kept for breeding out of the ones helped). That's why I am at peace with not helping, as I know I have my own reasons for not doing so, based on my own experiences (and chicken keeping goals). I suspect that if I just said "I don't help out" because someone told me not to, I would probably second guess myself and doubt and feel bad... I guess I'm just saying that it's part of the learning process of raising them (certainly using incubators, but as you have shown, also with broodies.)

:hugs:hugs:hugs

Thank you. Yes, I definitely did have to learn this for myself. I've actually had great success with helping in the times I've done it. This is the second failure out of a number of assistances (all others were with incubations that were too dry). So, I do think that in general my intuition about when and whether to help is pretty good. But then a person can get overconfident, or, just have to learn that no one is perfect. But for sure, and I really appreciate your pointing this out, I would have been second guessing forever if I hadn't tried. It's just that the poor little chick did suffer for it, and that's why I pledge not to interfere with a broody again.
 

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