High Desert, California!!

[kian]

Hi everyone! I am SO excited to find this thread! We've lived in Palmdale/Lancaster for 8 years now and just got our first chickens two weeks ago.

We bought ours from Odyssey Ranch (4 Cuckoo Marans and 4 New Hampshire Reds all 7 weeks old at purchase). We were so happy with OR and we are loving the girls.

We're right in a regular neighborhood in East Lancaster, so far no neighbor issues at all, but one neighbor is never home and the other neighbor doesn't care about much of anything. And of course, the chicks are pretty darn quiet anyway!

I grew up in San Diego's North County so this thread is just all sorts of fun for me

 

[perchie.girl]

Hi everyone! I am SO excited to find this thread! We've lived in Palmdale/Lancaster for 8 years now and just got our first chickens two weeks ago.

We bought ours from Odyssey Ranch (4 Cuckoo Marans and 4 New Hampshire Reds all 7 weeks old at purchase). We were so happy with OR and we are loving the girls.

We're right in a regular neighborhood in East Lancaster, so far no neighbor issues at all, but one neighbor is never home and the other neighbor doesn't care about much of anything. And of course, the chicks are pretty darn quiet anyway!

I grew up in San Diego's North County so this thread is just all sorts of fun for me

Hi Kian

and welcome to BYC

from San Diego East County high desert. Past Boulevard.

deb

 

[HiDsrtChick]

Hi Kian! We are also located in East Lancaster in a regular old neighborhood. Fortunately we have a large yard and great neighbors as well

We started with 4 chickens last year and after losing one we decided we had to have more because they are such a joy. We now have a flock of seven, 3 Barred Rocks, 1 Easter Egger, 2 White laced Wyandottes, and 1 Delaware. We bought our four original girls from Odyssey Ranch as well and added the other girls from a local needing to relocate her girls. Loving backyard chickens and backyard farming!! Keep in touch!

 

[kian]

Hi! Thank you both for the welcome!

I wanted to get Easter Eggers and Wyandottes when I went to Odyssey Ranch but they weren't available yet. After reading about introducing new girls to the flock, I may be holding off for a looooooooooong time!

I'm so excited to be here and to find NEIGHBORS!

 

[mbfarms]

Hi all. I'm in Quartz Hill. I have 6 LF hens (RIR, BO, JJ, SS, BR) and a quad of LF Ameraucanas from Noseychickens. We will also have a trio of peacocks after Santa brings them to my 7yo, lol.

I recognize some of you from the CPP list on FB. I have a specifically desert-related question so I hope you guys can give me advice.

With the low humidity here, can I get away with an incubator WITHOUT a humidity pump? I'm only planning to hatch LF hens' eggs, both at home and in the classroom. I'm hoping I can control humidity adequately by filling the reservoirs provided in the Brinsea Mini Advance? I'm just not sure I can justify the cost of the pump, especially since I'm not starting any kind of breeding program, just hatching birds for fun and education. It would totally bum me out, tho, if I was doing this for kids and had terrible hatch rates. What to do? What to do?

Any advice?

 

[perchie.girl]

Hi all. I'm in Quartz Hill. I have 6 LF hens (RIR, BO, JJ, SS, BR) and a quad of LF Ameraucanas from Noseychickens. We will also have a trio of peacocks after Santa brings them to my 7yo, lol.

I recognize some of you from the CPP list on FB. I have a specifically desert-related question so I hope you guys can give me advice.

With the low humidity here, can I get away with an incubator WITHOUT a humidity pump? I'm only planning to hatch LF hens' eggs, both at home and in the classroom. I'm hoping I can control humidity adequately by filling the reservoirs provided in the Brinsea Mini Advance? I'm just not sure I can justify the cost of the pump, especially since I'm not starting any kind of breeding program, just hatching birds for fun and education. It would totally bum me out, tho, if I was doing this for kids and had terrible hatch rates. What to do? What to do?

Any advice?

I don't know anything about Brinsea but I used a Genisis 1588 this past summer with just the included reservoir. I did buy a humidity meter and used that as a tool to sense humidity in order to regulate it. I checked it once a day and probably had to add water about every two days. If you find you cant keep the humidity up increase the surface area of the water. You can do this with a sponge sitting in the reservoir sticking up above the surface. I was hatching Guinea eggs so they needed higher humidity at lock down but I didnt have to do it. We get down to 15 percent relative humidity on occasion but probably not as regularly as you do.

Oh and out of four eggs kicked out and around the pen sitting in FULL sunlight when I gathered them I hatched three guineas. Two Royal purple and one Pearl.

Oh and Welcome to BYC

from a teeny patch of the Sonora Desert in San Diego County

deb

 

[WildflowerJLH]

When we were in Tehachapi, we had friends that successfully hatched chicks with a basic incubator, no pump. It required more regular input, but was not a big deal.

Good luck! and Welcome!

 

[mbfarms]

Thanks, you two. Adding water, increasing surface area, etc is doable. Handturning isn't because the incubator will sometimes be in a school, where we won't have access on the weekends. Thanks for all the input.

 

[kian]

Hi mbfarms! Welcome and good luck on your hatch!

 

[ellandeeranch]

I'm out in Neenach, out in the very western end of the AV. I'm also on CPP on Facebook quite a bit. The humidity thing is bad. Now that I'm learning more about the hovabator, it does seem to want water every couple days.

I also own some nice Martin guitars, and each of them has a humidifier in their case! Otherwise, they'll crack on the top board. The low humidity is wonderful for telescopes, though, and with our nice skies, that's a great thing.

I tell people that it's so humid out here, if a drop of sweat falls from your forehead, a grain of salt hits the ground! Or...sometimes you can drink a full glass of water out here and not have to swallow. It just sorta soaks in!

Richard in Neenach