First Annual Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatchathon- Join us! Set Day: Easter

[dsqard]

Arielle look on the upper right hand corner of your screen. You should either see the word "Tools" or you will see something that looks like a cog. Click on that and in the drop down menu you should see Pop Up Blocker. You should be able to turn on the blocker there. Hope this helps!

 

[dsqard]

Well not real good news today. I lost another poult over the night. I don't know what went wrong. Yesterday it was looking a little droopy so I did give it some vitamins and looked for pastey butt. No issues on the "back end" and the vitamins seemed to perk it up some. This morning it was gone.

When I told DH about it he said well why don't you collect up some more and try hatching some more? Gotta love that guy, he knows I was disappointed with the results of this hatch and losing another one has not helped. Soooooooooooo today I start collecting more of Lurkey's eggs. I am just not sure if I am going to go the broody or bator route. Tempted to do the broodies since it might be easier but on the other hand, not sure about doing broodies since I haven't ever let any of my hens hatch eggs.

 

[yinepu]

Well not real good news today. I lost another poult over the night. I don't know what went wrong. Yesterday it was looking a little droopy so I did give it some vitamins and looked for pastey butt. No issues on the "back end" and the vitamins seemed to perk it up some. This morning it was gone.

When I told DH about it he said well why don't you collect up some more and try hatching some more? Gotta love that guy, he knows I was disappointed with the results of this hatch and losing another one has not helped. Soooooooooooo today I start collecting more of Lurkey's eggs. I am just not sure if I am going to go the broody or bator route. Tempted to do the broodies since it might be easier but on the other hand, not sure about doing broodies since I haven't ever let any of my hens hatch eggs.

sounds like he wasn't eating/drinking on his own.. some poults take a little longer to get the hang of it.. that's why I like to use the marbles in their water and food.. after a few days of pecking at the "shinies" they decided that the food tastes good too

 

[dsqard]

sounds like he wasn't eating/drinking on his own.. some poults take a little longer to get the hang of it.. that's why I like to use the marbles in their water and food.. after a few days of pecking at the "shinies" they decided that the food tastes good too

I think you are probably right. With the other poult taking so much of my attention, I am not sure if the other one was eating or drinking. I had three BS poults hatch (the one that died last night was a BS) and I saw them eating and drinking just not sure if this one did but probably not. Of course my tutors hatched late so if I go the bator route this time, I think I will set the chicken eggs to hatch a day or so earlier so that they are in the brooder by the time the poults hatch. When I put the late tutors in the brooder last evening, they knew exactly what to do with the food and figured out the water pretty quick too. I have some dragon tears too so I could put some of those in the food and water next time as well.

 

[Wisher1000]

Mimddh - I will check that book out, did you like it? Are there any revelations as to how to keep the plants safe other than fencing them in?

Dsqard - Thanks for showing me up with your computer skills in front of Arielle! (JK)

I lost a chick too this morning. Try the broody, it's wonderful! The hen does all the work with temp and humidity, they are so sweet together, and it will make her happy, too! If she quits on you there's always the bator as a back up. Try it, you'll like it! Even I can have sucessful hatches with a broody! HA!

 

[Arielle]

Which one do you have?
I have IE (Windows Vista) and all you do is click on the browser icon on the desktop, go to "tools" and then "pop-up blocker"... try that....if it is a different system....I don't know.

I use google chrome, but also have IE. Found the pathway on IE, will see if chrome has a similar one. TY

 

[dsqard]

I have gotten good advice from SCG on using a broody and I am really tempted so I don't have to keep watching the eggs. Another bonus would be that I wouldn't have to "set" any tutors although would you recommend it so that if the hen is not a "good mommy" they would have some tutors with them if I had to take them away from the hen? My other concern is that one of the broodies has been trying to hatch a golf ball for weeks (I make her get off the nest at least once a day to eat and she must be getting off a little more often since I have not found any broody poo in the nest box) and I am worried about her weight now, let alone five weeks from now.

 

[Wisher1000]

I think if you could hang some food and water close enough that she can eat on the nest, she may be able to last that long. I might supplement with scrambled eggs and other tidbits to tempt her and to keep the weight on. Then I would throw in five or six chicken eggs about 5 days after turkey eggs and she will have some of both! Go for it! I put chick starter in for my broodies so that they will keep up their weight during set.

 

[dsqard]

Thank you for the advice Wisher! SCG likes to put up a screen so that they are separated from the flock in a way and to keep the others from laying more eggs in the nest. Do you cage/separate your broodies while they are sitting or only after the hatch?

 

[yinepu]

Thank you for the advice Wisher! SCG likes to put up a screen so that they are separated from the flock in a way and to keep the others from laying more eggs in the nest. Do you cage/separate your broodies while they are sitting or only after the hatch?

my mother used to have a bunch of little teeny "broody hen sized dog houses" that my dad made for her.. she would put her broody hens in those (one per house) .. each had a tiny pen so as the broodies hatched out their eggs they had their own private run... these were all connected to the main pen so the other chickens could always see the broody and her chicks.

I'm not set up for it.. so i let the broodies have a few eggs and if they manage to hatch them then they have their chicks... otherwise I depend on my incubators for chicks. When we free ranged the hens did a better job.. but even then there were few chicks that they raised that managed to make it to adulthood .. most of them thought the horse's dry pen would be a good place to take their chicks.. bad idea since they always decided to do it when the horses were coming in there for their evening feed.. we lost a lot of chicks to "accidental hoof misplacement"