Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

Despite the eye of the typhoon travelling to the east, its dragging heavy rains right over us.

Not much work is being done today.

Be safe and hope it is over soon with very little damage done.

 

[ozexpat]

Be safe and hope it is over soon with very little damage done.

we are very safe but thanks for your concerns.

The winds they experienced yesterday have abated. Apart from the fence - no other damage. We are going to sure it up with some eucalyptus posts till we have the budget to replace it.

There will be lots more hurricanes/typhoons this year. You have to take the bad with the good.

 

[ozexpat]

I managed to get hold od 100 of these trays



At 48 eggs a peice - I could have the capability if 4800 eggs in the bator at eny given time.....

 

[piglett]

I managed to get hold od 100 of these trays



At 48 eggs a peice - I could have the capability if 4800 eggs in the bator at eny given time.....

chicken egg size by the looks of it, they should work well.

I have some like those but i am using cardboard egg flats at the moment (hold 30 eggs each)

because i need to slide mine from back to front on the 3 turner racks

the cardboard ones slide better for me than the plastic ones do

 

[vehve]

chicken egg size by the looks of it, they should work well.

I have some like those but i am using cardboard egg flats at the moment (hold 30 eggs each)

because i need to slide mine from back to front on the 3 turner racks

the cardboard ones slide better for me than the plastic ones do

Would candle wax on the bottom help? The plastic ones would be easier to clean, I'm just not sure if candle wax will stay put at 38 deg C.

 

[piglett]

Would candle wax on the bottom help? The plastic ones would be easier to clean, I'm just not sure if candle wax will stay put at 38 deg C.

the bottom of each of the 3 turner racks are made of wire mesh

the plastic racks get hung up when pulling them out

so i went with the cardboard egg "trays"

 

[vehve]

the bottom of each of the 3 turner racks are made of wire mesh

the plastic racks get hung up when pulling them out

so i went with the cardboard egg "trays"

Now I'm envisioning plastic skids underneath, but you've probably got the most convenient set up up and running already.

 

[piglett]

Now I'm envisioning plastic skids underneath, but you've probably got the most convenient set up up and running already.

or i could start trimming all of the sharp plastic egdes on the underside of the trays

they gave me a hard time so i changed up

i may have to take a second look at them when i get a chance


thanks
piglett

 

[ozexpat]

the bottom of each of the 3 turner racks are made of wire mesh

the plastic racks get hung up when pulling them out

so i went with the cardboard egg "trays"

I had 12 of them and like them because they hold 48 eggs rather than the 30 eggs of a traditional paper mache or plastic tray.

I use the 30 egg trays for extra large chicken eggs and suck eggs. I also have the same size plastic trays that hold 20 eggs for jumbo duck, large turkey and peafowl eggs.

The white ones are great because of the air flow and the pegs permit double stacking with a good size gap between eggs.

If we move to commercial incubation quantities, the more eggs that I can fit in the bator, the better.

The bator I built while I was there last trip holds five rows of two trays. Double stacked it can handle 960 eggs.

The next one will hold five rows of six trays. Double stacked it will hold 2880 eggs. I wont use and mesh in it but aluminum angle bar to support the pegs. This will allow the back trays to be slid forward to remove. This one will use a linear actuator to turn the eggs.

Then all I need is a hatcher thats can handle 1000 ish eggs.

I will produce a page on the making of the bators after my next visit.

My goal is to only hatch those sorts of quantities if and when I have orders for day old chicks. I dont want 1000 chicks in brooders.

So the next consideration is what to do with the eggs that I dont hatch. I have to find a store or two that wants to sell a thousand eggs a week but not consisitently.

Following my first commercial size sale of chicks, I am considering a diesel generator as back up. Our current back up is 3000 amps of truck batteries with a 2000W 220V inverter. It gives us 4-6 hours of run time.

 

[piglett]

I had 12 of them and like them because they hold 48 eggs rather than the 30 eggs of a traditional paper mache or plastic tray.

I use the 30 egg trays for extra large chicken eggs and suck eggs. I also have the same size plastic trays that hold 20 eggs for jumbo duck, large turkey and peafowl eggs.

The white ones are great because of the air flow and the pegs permit double stacking with a good size gap between eggs.

If we move to commercial incubation quantities, the more eggs that I can fit in the bator, the better.

The bator I built while I was there last trip holds five rows of two trays. Double stacked it can handle 960 eggs.

The next one will hold five rows of six trays. Double stacked it will hold 2880 eggs. I wont use and mesh in it but aluminum angle bar to support the pegs. This will allow the back trays to be slid forward to remove. This one will use a linear actuator to turn the eggs.

Then all I need is a hatcher thats can handle 1000 ish eggs.

I will produce a page on the making of the bators after my next visit.

My goal is to only hatch those sorts of quantities if and when I have orders for day old chicks. I dont want 1000 chicks in brooders.

So the next consideration is what to do with the eggs that I dont hatch. I have to find a store or two that wants to sell a thousand eggs a week but not consisitently.

Following my first commercial size sale of chicks, I am considering a diesel generator as back up. Our current back up is 3000 amps of truck batteries with a 2000W 220V inverter. It gives us 4-6 hours of run time.

i know the have some nice diesel generators that are also welders

last time i checked (a few years ago) they were $6k over here

you better sell lots of chicks