Illinois...

[Justso]

I put my order in with Sunset Barn Farm today for chicks. I should have a pickup date soon.
I'd be happy to pick up anyone else's order at the same time! Just let me know.

 

[Faraday40]

I put my order in with Sunset Barn Farm today for chicks. I should have a pickup date soon.
I'd be happy to pick up anyone else's order at the same time! Just let me know.

You're really, really tempting me. I want more blue eggs! (My EE is 7 years old. Still going strong, but her cycles are slowing down.) I tried adding a CCL last year. I liked the wild little thing, but just as she started to calm down and prepare to lay, she was taken. She just disappeared.

 

[Justso]

You're really, really tempting me. I want more blue eggs! (My EE is 7 years old. Still going strong, but her cycles are slowing down.) I tried adding a CCL last year. I liked the wild little thing, but just as she started to calm down and prepare to lay, she was taken. She just disappeared.

More than anything I think I'd like a midget white turkey. But I can't justify getting one, I'm not a big turkey eater.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

I'd be happy to pick up anyone else's order

I need to place mine too. Would love if you would be able to pick up. Will keep you posted.

Now I need all y'alls advice on your best treatments for lice and mites. I found lice last Sunday and upon reexamining today, also found mites. I treated all 20 chickens last Sunday evening with DE while inside the coop. So all the bedding and pretty much everything, myself included, looked like a snowman by the time I was done. So everyday I clean up in the coop, I keep stirring up the dust. I figured this would help kill whatever is in the cracks and crannies and then I could clean out the coop completely in a week or two because the dust is hard on everyones lungs, although they really haven't seemed too bothered by it. I could be seeing what has hatched since then, or it just may not be working. The chicken chick says it's just not a helpful product and suggest using Elector esp which is poultry vet reccommend and can be used on bedding as well. One treatment. But the stuff on Amazon is 139 bucks and who knows when I would actually get it. I don't think that is an "essential" item. What have you guys used that works well? There's no telling how long I've had them. I have a double white recessive that has had a naked butt for over a year. I had checked for mites way back, but never found anything. She still has a naked butt. The only reason I found this is because Lacey and one of my chocolates refused to go out in the morning. I checked for any mating wounds on their sides, but all I found were bald spot on their lower rears. You can't even see it with all their butt fluff. Didn't see anything. Checked last week and just barely saw a lice scrambling. My egg production has been down for about a month now, so I'm guessing it's been bad for at least a month. It's just the orps. Spitzies don't seem to have any nor do the little ones in the garage. I'm open to suggestions. I'm going off shopping today.I need to do a reno on the serama coop. Broody mamas giving scratching lessons has destroyed the plastic flooring and I need to come up with a solution. My dad and I think we've got one, but I need to go get some wood. Also need to see what the grocery stores don't have. I'll have my phone on me, so any responses will come through. I have a new TSC just down the road.......I will not walk out with baby chicks. I promise.

 

[Molpet]

1 lb of elemental sulfur to 10 of dust bath.

https://entomologytoday.org/2016/07/18/battling-chicken-mites-with-bags-of-brimstone/

 

[bellaisa]

I am going to order an incubator. My 10 year old is missing school and friends so I was hoping to find something we can both do together and what is more fun than baby chicks. My rooster is close to a year old and I have 13 hens so I hope the eggs will be fertile. I have no brooder hens so that is not an option. Does anyone have suggestions for a good incubator that will hold approximately 12 large eggs? I plan on ordering on line. Thanks in advance for all suggestions I have never hatched before.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

tsc doesnt have that. They do have gardstar poultry dust which chicken chick did have as one.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Look ducklings! Includong some gray ones I haven't seen before!

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Thats pretty cool for ducks!

 

[Faraday40]

I am going to order an incubator. My 10 year old is missing school and friends so I was hoping to find something we can both do together and what is more fun than baby chicks. My rooster is close to a year old and I have 13 hens so I hope the eggs will be fertile. I have no brooder hens so that is not an option. Does anyone have suggestions for a good incubator that will hold approximately 12 large eggs? I plan on ordering on line. Thanks in advance for all suggestions I have never hatched before.

Brinseas have the best reputation.... but also the highest price tag.

I just bought this one because it had such great reviews:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0793HHZ1L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1I'm collecting eggs to try it out, so I'll post my progress here.

I also like this one (maybe even a bit more) but it's too pricey for me right now.
https://incubatorwarehouse.com/incuview-advanced-combo-kit.html
The most economical incubators are still the Hovabators / GQF. They hold a lot of eggs and can often be found used / cheap on Craigslist. They are also very easy to keep working. (I have one from early 1990s that was my sister's. She found it in her attic about 6-7 years ago and it worked! I added a computer fan and had to replace the thermostat wafer 2 years ago. Avoid other "look alike" Styrofoam incubators. Many of those only work for a couple hatches before something goes wrong. Very sad if you accidentally "cook" or kill your chicks. The biggest downside is that Styrofoam doesn't clean as easily as the plastic models.

BTW- I'm not a farm or business - just an incubation addict. LOL I hatch a lot of eggs in our local schools and that's why I have used so many incubators. My son did a 4H project last year testing out some of the incubators used at the different schools. Surprisingly, my home-made manual cooler-incubator had the best hatch rate and the Brinsea Octagon Advanced came in second. The Incu-view came in a very close 3rd (but I think the teacher may have opened the lid a bit too often during hatch, so a couple chicks got shrink wrapped.) 4th place was the Hovabator Genesis with 80% hatch. (Still 80% hatch isn't considered bad.)