Incubators Anonymous

[Arielle]

well, i'll let you know when i've got everyone set back up and i start getting eggs again. 8).

i'm going to try some 'broody breaking' so we'll see.

My copper that laid all winter went broody, I took the eggs everyday. I think she finally gave up. Took 6 weeks or more!

 

[Arielle]

I saw this and I had to share it with my chicken friends lol

 

[gabrielle1976]

They are so cute. Its intersting though some seem more brown with yellow and some seem more yellow with brown,

 

[ki4got]

HaHa, let me know how that goes for you. Every time I turn around another hen has claimed a nest box some where and I have a whole line of girls waiting and complaining that "So -and-So" is on their favorite spot. Not like there aren't plenty of other nest boxes, we have nice metal 5 x 2 units and they only lay in like 3 of them. I have a White Cochin who just hatched 5 guineas for me and the rest of the girls are sitting on what ever they could steal. The Partridge Cochin on infertile guinea eggs, the gold laced Wy on 3 of unknown origin, the other GLW I keep kicking out of the favorite spot in the hay shed, 2 Cuckoo Marans, and an EE that I am keeping on "air". I have shipped guinea eggs in the bator, if the air cells are stable when I candle at day 7 I'll give them out to a couple of the girls. I have a couple of ducks getting ready to hatch too, so I may stick them under someone just to watch them follow the hen around the yard. We found the white turkey hen, she had hijacked the guinea nest w/ about 20 eggs, no mature male guinea tho so she's out of luck. It's a cute idea, guineas following a turkey, but I'd rather have her laying anyway.

actually i haven't had any problems breaking them... i put them in my top brooder/quarantine/hospital cage. the goal is to actually get them to be broody in the house so i can monitor and control what she sits on/hatches... some transfer ok, others don't. if they don't sit, they get to stay inside for 24 hours then go back outside to free range again. so far none have gone back broody immediately.
the other thing i've done to break the broody is put them in someone else's pen for a few days. everyone's ranged together, so i don't have problems with girls being beaten up, but there's enough commotion in the pecking order that the broodiness goes away quick.

i've got 2 cochin girls i'm letting sit (on wooden eggs, 1 each LOL) and contemplating giving them some chicks for a couple weeks. did that with my oegb, she saved me $ in heating the chicks for sure. LOL they were outside roaming much faster and seem to be growing and feathering better than the brooder babies.

actually contemplating giving one of them a few quail eggs that are due to hatch, along with some chicks and maybe a few slightly older chicks too...

 

[ki4got]

They are so cute. Its intersting though some seem more brown with yellow and some seem more yellow with brown,

the brown with yellow stripes are browns and the ones more yellow with brown stripes are goldens.

here's a pic of a pair of adult hens and 2 hatched june 7th

 

[DMRippy]

I find moving them to a new pen works really well. Unless they are really serious then they get eggs. So far, I have not had a ton of broodies. My black copper tried to go broody a SECOND time in a month or so, She got moved and is so over it now.

 

[gabrielle1976]

the brown with yellow stripes are browns and the ones more yellow with brown stripes are goldens.

here's a pic of a pair of adult hens and 2 hatched june 7th

aww thanks for the pictures. They grow really fast that was not even 3 weeks ago. Do they still need heat when they have that many feathers ?
Can you sex these guys as chicks? What are the All yellow ones gonna be ? Well two of them have a speck of brown on there heads but mostly they are brite yellow

 

[gabrielle1976]

Here is one of the three yellows.
Here is one of the ones I think looks a little more golden/yellow then brown
I think there dang cute sorry for all the pictures . Proud new mom and all

 

[ki4got]

aww thanks for the pictures. They grow really fast that was not even 3 weeks ago. Do they still need heat when they have that many feathers ?
Can you sex these guys as chicks? What are the All yellow ones gonna be ? Well two of them have a speck of brown on there heads but mostly they are brite yellow

the mostly yellow ones will probably be white or white with some black markings.

they're sexually mature at 6-8 weeks old. LOL so either they will crow or lay eggs. but typically the brown and gold roos will have rust colored breast where the hens' will be speckled.

 

[Darlagips]

Who woulda thought? The incubator I gave up on? I now have hatching chicks. At least 4 or 5. I guess with the temps lower than they should have been almost contstantly, they are just hatching out a couple of days later than they should. I'm really surprised. Has this happened to anybody else? I can hear peeping in a couple of the eggs, and a couple more are rolling from side to side.

Maybe the LG isn't that bad. Or maybe it gets easier the more you do it. At least now I have a baseline to go by.

Thanks for all the replies.

Darla

Spoken like an IA member

But you still need to regulate the temps. Can you get a new thermostat?

Originally Posted by Darlagips

I am giving up on the Little Giant incubators. My first batch - not one hatched. Second batch - the darn incubator keeps spiking temps off and on. I gave up and ordered a Brinsea Octagon 20 ex yesterday. I'm so disappointed.

Use your lg as a hatcher so you can keep adding eggs to the incubator!
Spoken like an IA member

But you still need to regulate the temps. Can you get a new thermostat?