How to build up chicks resistance to diseases from their day of hatching

[Sire12]

Lmao xD from left to right it's simba, snowball and fuzzy but for you I will christen one of the new litter George lol if she has any boys

 

[Sire12]

It doesn't matter that the feed turns to mush when you ferment it.  simply keep it on the dry side, like thick cooked oatmeal.  Unless your grains are very fine, I'd not give them the fermented grains until they are 3 weeks old.  Some chicks have issues with impaction if they try to eat grains that are too big for them.   You can ferment your layer pellets and will be amazed at how it improves your flock, as well as cuts down your feed bill.  

Yes, chicks can hear sounds while they are in the egg.  IMO, it's not a bad thing for the chicks to be exposed to the sounds they will be hearing during their incubation and after hatch.  Some folks play tapes of chicks chirping and it speeds their hatch.  FYI, human babies can hear quite well while in utero.  They respond to mother's voice, and even to father's voice.  Parental arguments cause the baby's HR and B/P to go up!  Babys that are exposed to classical music in utero have better math skills when they enter school.

Hi I've been adding layers to my fermenting jars, about 1/3 layers and mixed grain, as you said it turns into a consistency of like cooked oatmeal maybe slightly dryer, is it still ok since it isn't completely wet and submerged will it still get the fermented effect?

 

[Sire12]

I forgot to ask I've been feeding my hens black oil sunflower seeds and I read somewhere that you can ferment them along with their regular fermented feed is that right? Do you need to break open the sunflower shells mine just seem to eat them whole

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: Yes, the layer pellets will ferment. They don't have to have a layer of water over them.

I forgot to ask I've been feeding my hens black oil sunflower seeds and I read somewhere that you can ferment them along with their regular fermented feed is that right? Do you need to break open the sunflower shells mine just seem to eat them whole

You can put the BOSS into your ferment bucket, but IMO, little fermentation will take place because of the thick sunflower shell.

 

[Sire12]

Thanks lazy gardener my hens will be very pleased so I put the eggs in the incubator last night for my first batch, the incubator I bought is apparently not the best but I guess it wasnt that expensive so it makes sense, I have to wrap to tinfoil and a fleece around the outside to bring the temperature up to 38° so that's pretty bad.. But anyway I fill up the bottom with water because I thought that's what you had to do and now the humidity is at 78% is that ok or do I need to remove some of the water will that lower the humidity?

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Thanks lazy gardener my hens will be very pleased

so I put the eggs in the incubator last night for my first batch, the incubator I bought is apparently not the best but I guess it wasnt that expensive so it makes sense, I have to wrap to tinfoil and a fleece around the outside to bring the temperature up to 38° so that's pretty bad.. But anyway I fill up the bottom with water because I thought that's what you had to do and now the humidity is at 78% is that ok or do I need to remove some of the water will that lower the humidity?

That is bad, humidity should never get that high. Get all the water out and remove the vent plug until the humidity is down. You should use the dry incubation method. Don't add water until day 18 when you remove the turner and get the humidity up to 55%-75%. Before that the ideal range is 25%-35%, give or take a little.

ETA: spelling mistake

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

And does your incubator have a fan or is it still air?

 

[Sire12]

Ok thank you for the quick reply I emptied all the water out the humidity is still reading at 78 but hopefully I will go down soon, I don't actually know..

there appears to be a fan at the top of the machine above the eggs, I feel so stupid now I should have invested in a better one the guy had good feedback so I assumed it was a legit unit, only good thing so far is it has an accurate temp reading to .01° and it reliably turns the eggs every hour and a half, but a broody hen would have done that for me too my 2 hens are very skitttish and bullies to smaller birds so I didn't want them to hatch them and pass on any bad habits to the babies

 

[lazy gardener]

Ok thank you for the quick reply I emptied all the water out the humidity is still reading at 78 but hopefully I will go down soon, I don't actually know..

there appears to be a fan at the top of the machine above the eggs, I feel so stupid now I should have invested in a better one the guy had good feedback so I assumed it was a legit unit, only good thing so far is it has an accurate temp reading to .01° and it reliably turns the eggs every hour and a half, but a broody hen would have done that for me too

my 2 hens are very skitttish and bullies to smaller birds so I didn't want them to hatch them and pass on any bad habits to the babies

Please go to the learning center and read: hatching chicks 101. There is a lot of good information in that article. It will answer questions you never knew you had. It should be required reading before any one ever plugs in an incubator. If your bator has a fan, you want your temp to read 99.5 - 100* F. You are just a bit high. Could be that if you remove the wrapping, you'll achieve the right temo. Did you calibrate your thermometer? No matter how accurate it is or if it reads to .01* (I assume that's C?) that accuracy means nothing if it's not calibrated.

 

[Sire12]

Ah kk I will do tyvm