IA here

[LadyWoodsong]

My broody hen is still sitting on her turkey eggs and a few chickens eggs. I can hardly wait 'til they start hatching! This is our first time. It will be so much fun watching a mama hen teaching her babies.

I won't be keeping the turkeys, they'll go back to the nice lady (boxermom) who borrowed them to me to hatch. But she gave us three Americauna eggs to hatch for the broody's hard work.

On Tuesday, I go pick up four Buff Orpington chicks and four Silver-Laced Wyandotte chicks. That'll take our flock from our current 13 hens to double that. Not sure what I'll do with all those eggs though, when the time comes.

 

[boxermom]

2 weeks down, 2 to go.

 

[FlashPointFarm]

Dry incubation works very well if your hatching area is humid enough. I'd like to see it at least at 25. I take a peanut butter jar lid, cut a sponge to fit, fill with water. You can keep it moist by using a straw.

Commercial corish cross genetics are highly guarded. They aren't your ordinary cornish and plymouth rocks. These strains of birds have been super bred for so long, they grow faster than we could get them. Besides, they are so expensive to feed, it's actually cheaper to buy chicks. Most of the eggs come from the same place, so no matter where you buy your cornish cross chicks, chances are they were bred at the same facility.

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[pbjmaker]

I think one of my Iowa Blues has gone broody - anyone else having this happen?

 

[oldiabird]

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Were you able to hatch any pure blues from yours before she went broody? Did you have any luck with the pheasant eggs, and what kind of eggs are you hatching from Osceola? I only hatched 2 from the eggs that I got from Ill. now have eggs in the bator from La.

Hoping for a good hatch! When is Osceolas' next sale?

 

[pbjmaker]

I have one Ia. Blue egg in the bator now - plan to add a couple more today if I can get them. I'm not sure if she is broody or not. My silver seabright is and so is Jett my most awesome 4 year old frizzled cochin X silkie. She is the one that got skinned by my dogs this winter and made a full recovery even after I thought she was going to die from shock. SHe looked like a chicken out of the freezer. Her and her sister have a home here until the day they die.

I haven't got a date yet on the next osceola auction - I usually get a post card. It should also say on their website.

We got 9 out of 12 of the pheasants to hatch (from what I hear that is great) They are growing like weeds and are entirely wild.

Right now I have some more pheasant eggs in the bator along with some ameraucana eggs. The pehasants are red golden, yellow golden and snowy.

The ducks I got from you are getting a little more trusting of me. They still won't come near me but they don't run away hissing either. They just stand and watch me.

I will go find out when the next auction is and add it as an edit.

P.S. Mike says please buy all the porcelains from me

 

[oldiabird]

Are the porcelains all roos, or he just doesn't like them?

 

[harleyjo]

Ok, I have a problem..... I have my 18 eggs laying on the rack in the still air. I rotate them several times a day. When I set the eggs the bator had been on a full 24 hours and temp stable. I had not been anywhere until this morning to get the extra thermometers. So now I am back home and I can't seem to get the aquarium thermometers to stay in a postion I can read them. The digital one that I got to set in there reads about 5 to 7 degrees cooler than the one that came with the bator. The aquarium ones read within a couple degrees of the one that came with the bator, when I can see them.

My humidity right now is reading about 40% and that is dry, just the room humidity. I have to rotate these eggs several times a day and I have to make sure to keep the pointy end down. How in the world do I set all these thermometers that they won't roll so I can read them and what do I do about the big temp difference? I have the digital laying flat on the rack. I don't know where the probe is at?

I am wondering if I am going to have to toss all these eggs and start over.

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

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Do not toss those eggs yet. Only after candling on the 4th to 7th day would I throw them. Too cool (99) won't kill the eggs but too hot!(103-4) will if for extended periods of time. Cool only slows down incubation( it may add a day or two to the hatch). You do not have to keep pointy end down unless using egg cartons. Eggs lay on their side under a hen and have hatched that way forever. I do not trust an aquarium thermometer since most are meant to be totally immersed and vertical. Use the bater one and leave the probe at the same height at the bater thermometer and see about temp difference then. Questions, you can PM me and I will try to respond quickly.

 

[oldiabird]

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Jo, You are getting way too worried, if the aquarium thermometers are close to what the original was, I wouldn't worry too much, I bought the digitals, four of them at Walmart, and there is a variation in them of possibly 5 degrees, so I just use them to get a close guess that I'm not too high or low, like the dry incubation article written by Renee says to average the 3 aquarium thermometers, as for turning, you don't have to keep the pointy end down, most incubators with automatic turners don't keep the pointy end down, I'm not an expert, just my two cents worth, you said that you were doing some cheap eggs to start with, that's the best way to start, please don't get too worried, you are supposed to have fun doing this!!! Good luck with your Hatch!!