Illinois...

[Faraday40]

Thanks again, you made my night! My girls and guys are 4 months old. I am so excited, blue eggs soon! At least one of the boys is making a weak attempt to crow for the last couple of weeks. Now if my one maran turns out to be a hen, I would be ecstatic!

Three things to look for are:
- combs get red (no longer a pinkish red) & may even grow a bit.
- they do "the squat" when you pet them; if previously feisty, you may notice some calmness.
- you may see them "try out" the nest box by sitting there & fussing with the bedding.

If these are your 1st chickens, then get ready for the egg-citement! Most hens have an egg-song to announce to the world that they have made an egg. I have one strange girl that does it BEFORE she lays an egg. She's also the first to join in when any other hen lays an egg.

Of course as chicken owners we do our own version of celebrating. ie: Take photos of the 1st egg & email those pics to everyone we know. (egg in the nest, egg with its maker, egg compared to a store egg - Probably the last store eggs you'll ever buy - BTW). And after a few days of admiring your egg, you'll finally taste it - but not before taking a few more pics of the egg on the stove.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Three things to look for are:
- combs get red (no longer a pinkish red) & may even grow a bit.
- they do "the squat" when you pet them; if previously feisty, you may notice some calmness.
- you may see them "try out" the nest box by sitting there & fussing with the bedding.

If these are your 1st chickens, then get ready for the egg-citement! Most hens have an egg-song to announce to the world that they have made an egg. I have one strange girl that does it BEFORE she lays an egg. She's also the first to join in when any other hen lays an egg.

Of course as chicken owners we do our own version of celebrating. ie: Take photos of the 1st egg & email those pics to everyone we know. (egg in the nest, egg with its maker, egg compared to a store egg - Probably the last store eggs you'll ever buy - BTW). And after a few days of admiring your egg, you'll finally taste it - but not before taking a few more pics of the egg on the stove.

Thanks, they are not my first chickens but my first Blue egg layers! I started my small flock back in April 2014 with a Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock and Buff Orp. Everyone said listen for the egg song, but never heard it until they began laying. I soon figured out after my RIR (Dolly) began to do the squat she was laying within 2 weeks. So I continued to pet the other girls waiting for their submissive squat. And my Orp (Clara) is the egg song Queen, she sings for herself and the other 2 girls and seems to go on FOREVER some days. LOL

 

[kfacres]

Off topic question here:

Is there anyone out there who is a wool spinning/ felting/ etc enthusiast?

 

[Faraday40]

My broody changed her mind a few days ago & I can't get her back into the mood. (And, I was going to pick up my fancy eggs today!) DD wants to compare broody hen vs incubator. I thought it was a cute idea. Since the hatching is for my daughter's project (and not just to add to the flock), we'll have to wait for the next broody. I think I'm having chick withdrawal!

It's funny b/c at first I didn't want to start the project now due to the weather. Then I started reading more & decided to give it a try. Once I made the plan for the eggs, the hen changed her mind.

I put about 9 eggs in a nest box to see if we get another volunteer. My indecisive bantam broody, Cookie, went back to the flock yesterday. There were a few squabbles, but she did fine - especially for being the only bantam. (She's near the top of the pecking order & always sleeps on the upper roost.) Last night I found her sleeping UNDER the rooster. The poor guy could not squish down & had to sleep standing up. I pulled her out & set her next to the roo. She just wiggled her way back underneath him. Oh well. At least she kept his feet warm.

 

[rfreedlund]

It's funny b/c at first I didn't want to start the project now due to the weather. Then I started reading more & decided to give it a try.

I currently have two mamas together in a maternity pen raising 6 chicks. Two that were hatched by my Austra-White broody and 4 that I incubated myself but gave to a broody Australorp who was sitting on infertile eggs.

When they were going broody I thought too that it is a terrible time especially as up here not too far from Rockford we have had temperatures reach as low as -15 F. I decided to let them go through with it anyway. I lost a few that I had incubated (leaving me four) because I has a bad nesting area and some got stuck behind, but the two mamas are doing great with their 6.

Today was considerably milder so they spent a lot of time running around. It's cute to see when one of the chicks from one mother take advantage of warming time from the other mama, but at night time it's each chick with its own mama on opposite sides of the brooding area. On colder days, the mamas have them covered more time, though the chicks are feathering out more now.

Winter is a bad time, but the mothers still do a good job. It's harder on me than them because changing out the water and feed in the cold and dark at by flashlight isn't fun when it's super cold, but the mamas know what they are doing. I wouldn't hesitate to give a broody eggs or chicks during the winter if they are separated well enough from the rest of the flock, but I would limit the number of chicks each one is allowed.

 

[JustHenny]

Hello Kfacres! I knit, crochet, spin (drop spindles. top whorl and bottom whorl) and dye. I have tried felting a couple of times, so have the basics. What's up? You can message me if you want.

I had a Buff Orpington (I hate putting BO, lol) go broody right when the winter really settled in. Out of her five hatched, we have four that are nearly all feathered out and doing great. She did a wonderful job even though I was soooooo worried about the weather and her abilities. First time broody. And we don't heat the barn. We don't have power out there at all. I made a little nest on the ground in a turned side old milk crate and covered the sides with an old towel to block wind. The chicks could get in and out easily even when first hatched. I think four was a good number for her to fit under her. And I agree freedlund, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again! Not to mention it is great for me to see the little ones and think of spring, even when it's 10 degrees out!

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Okay since I ended up with only 2 roos from my last hatch of 7 marans eggs, I just bought some blue maran eggs from ebay and am going to try a dry hatch. Has anyone else tried a dry hatch before?

 

[Faraday40]

Yes. It worked for me, but I tried for 30%. I always added water to the incubator - just used a smaller bowl. I traced the air cell progress each week to make sure they were OK.
Increased the humidity to 65% (as high as I could get it) at lockdown. The BYC article "Hatching 101" has many details.

One important trick is to let the eggs rest for 24 hours before incubating. If air cells look detached or rolling, you can even wait on turning them during the 1st 2-4 days of incubation. (This can sometimes help them reattach.) Incubate air side up is also important.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Yes. It worked for me, but I tried for 30%. I always added water to the incubator - just used a smaller bowl. I traced the air cell progress each week to make sure they were OK.
Increased the humidity to 65% (as high as I could get it) at lockdown. The BYC article "Hatching 101" has many details.

One important trick is to let the eggs rest for 24 hours before incubating. If air cells look detached or rolling, you can even wait on turning them during the 1st 2-4 days of incubation. (This can sometimes help them reattach.) Incubate air side up is also important.

So when you used this method, how was your hatch and what did you hatch? Fantastic link with lots of information. Thank you! My only worry, is heat loss, having to open the brinsea bator to hand turn the eggs. I wish I spent the extra money on a automatic. I also let the eggs rest for the 24 hrs before incubation. Here is another thread I had come across about dry hatching. They say no water in incubator for the first 4-7 days depending on incubator. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-incubate-hatch-eggs-using-the-dry-incubation-method

 

[Faraday40]

So when you used this method, how was your hatch and what did you hatch? Fantastic link with lots of information. Thank you! My only worry, is heat loss, having to open the brinsea bator to hand turn the eggs. I wish I spent the extra money on a automatic. I also let the eggs rest for the 24 hrs before incubation. Here is another thread I had come across about dry hatching. They say no water in incubator for the first 4-7 days depending on incubator. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-incubate-hatch-eggs-using-the-dry-incubation-method

Another great detailed article. Thanks.

I found that 1-2 TBSP water gave me only 10% humidity. Perhaps my house is very dry. I was too nervous to go that dry.

Is there a way to gently tilt your whole incubator? The eggs inside will then be turned w/o opening it.

For me the hard part was keeping the humidity up at the end. I had to keep adding water 2xs / day or it would quickly drop to 50% or lower. (Next time I'm going to add more tubing (w/ funnel) to quickly add water w/o opening it. I currently have one going to the water tray but want to add water to the sponges as well) I made my incubator so I'm always trying something different.