Incubators Anonymous

[DMRippy]

I set 180 eggs yesterday. I had some for orders some are shipped eggs some are mine some are for sale some are sexlinks so maybe the roos can go right away. I didn't expect to set 180 eggs

I also put eggs in lockdown. I took babies out of the hatcher too. Had a good hatch. All of mine hatched except 3-4 eggs of mine. The rest were shipped egg. I got 11 GSBR chicks and 6 SWL 3 choc wyandottes some olive eggers, marans and sexlinked Marans and a few others too.

I had a guy come and take all my little roos and said he would take more... he even paid me some for feed

 

[Flowerbh]

Candled everything in the bator tonight; whew! a lot of eggs! most of them looked pretty good; pulled a few clears and have a couple questionable ones I left in there for a bit longer.

What's left:
12 Muscovy duck. due April 21
9 Welsh Harlequin duck due April 14
46 EE and OE due April 7
7 Welsh Harlequin due April 21
29 EE & OE due April 14

And crazy chicken lady that I am, I set another 33 eggs!
6 WH duck due April 27
27 EE & OE due April 20

so that's ....... OMG! ......136 EGGS!

OMG! I can't even imagine all those cute little fuzz balls to look at! How fun! What do you do with them all????? I want to keep everything!

 

[maryhysong]

I set 180 eggs yesterday. I had some for orders some are shipped eggs some are mine some are for sale some are sexlinks so maybe the roos can go right away. I didn't expect to set 180 eggs

I also put eggs in lockdown. I took babies out of the hatcher too. Had a good hatch. All of mine hatched except 3-4 eggs of mine. The rest were shipped egg. I got 11 GSBR chicks and 6 SWL 3 choc wyandottes some olive eggers, marans and sexlinked Marans and a few others too.

I had a guy come and take all my little roos and said he would take more... he even paid me some for feed

HOLY COW! 180 all at once? Mine are from several settings; and I'm trying not to do shipped eggs anymore, unless i can find someone with really great looking Buff Orpingtons that wants to send me some ;-) I cannot find anyone here in state that has really good ones.

 

[maryhysong]

OMG! I can't even imagine all those cute little fuzz balls to look at! How fun! What do you do with them all????? I want to keep everything!

Well I eat chicken ;-)
All of the ducklings will be for sale, have to buy feed and pay for this big incubator! The first hatch of EE & OE are for me, they will be my first generation. The ones set after that from this breeding pen will all be for sale. After I get the new chicken house finished I'll be moving some birds around and will set some more for me from different breedings. In the meantime by about 4 months I can usually start weeding out the roos, there's always some that you just know at a young age are not what you want. I do a few every 2-4 weeks so I'm not overwhelmed getting them into the freezer. Although June will be a big dress out month because I have about a dozen BCM boys growing out and will be thinning them down a lot when they are 6 months.

 

[Flowerbh]

Well I eat chicken ;-)
All of the ducklings will be for sale, have to buy feed and pay for this big incubator! The first hatch of EE & OE are for me, they will be my first generation. The ones set after that from this breeding pen will all be for sale. After I get the new chicken house finished I'll be moving some birds around and will set some more for me from different breedings. In the meantime by about 4 months I can usually start weeding out the roos, there's always some that you just know at a young age are not what you want. I do a few every 2-4 weeks so I'm not overwhelmed getting them into the freezer. Although June will be a big dress out month because I have about a dozen BCM boys growing out and will be thinning them down a lot when they are 6 months.

Ugg. I just couldn't send my birds to freezer camp. I only have about 24 and they all have name plates on the coop door! For me it would be like eating my dogs! I don't have a problem eating chicken from the store, but I didn't know those chickens. I think if I gave my roos to someone to grow out and they didn't tell me who I was eating, I could do it.... And, I know they are so much better for you and they say they taste better.... good for you!!!! If I had tons of birds that all looked alike I might could have someone dress them out for me....but right now, they are all pets. Love eating all the eggs!

 

[Overoberyl]

Ugg. I just couldn't send my birds to freezer camp. I only have about 24 and they all have name plates on the coop door! For me it would be like eating my dogs! I don't have a problem eating chicken from the store, but I didn't know those chickens. I think if I gave my roos to someone to grow out and they didn't tell me who I was eating, I could do it.... And, I know they are so much better for you and they say they taste better.... good for you!!!! If I had tons of birds that all looked alike I might could have someone dress them out for me....but right now, they are all pets. Love eating all the eggs!

Actually as a person who loves chickens I would think it would be difficult to support the commercial chicken industry, where they live horrible, short, miserable lives. When you buy chicken from the supermarket you're essentially supporting that. Every time I process one of my own birds I think about how they have had a great life, living like a chicken should. I never name the birds I know I will eventually process, which makes it easier for me. I will never buy chicken from the supermarket again, simply because I don't want to be part of that machine. You're not alone though, most people simply don't want to know where their food comes from, or they don't care.

 

[ChickNmamma]

Quote:
I have always had a hard time eating any of my birds. However, when I get too many roosters - I will choose to eat them. They are chicken. I paid for their feed to grow up and I can't afford to give them away when they could feed me in return. They had a very good life, much better than those chickens in the store - and it is much better food for me too.

One thing we did do when I was growing up we had a friend who raised chickens -and we used to trade roosters - they would process ours and we would process theirs. It was much easier when you didn't know the bird.

Now I don't have that situation, so I have to do it myself. If I am going to hatch chicks then I am responsible for their lives, and deaths. At least I know they have a good end too. It would be really tough to process a hen though - so those probably will either be sold for layers or will live here until they keel over from old age.

You can check if there are people who would process in your area - you could give them the roosters and they would give them back cleaned. I thought about that too - if I have any more than a couple I will be looking. They won't "grow them out" for you though - you will have to do the feeding until they are big enough to eat.

 

[Flowerbh]

I have always had a hard time eating any of my birds. However, when I get too many roosters - I will choose to eat them. They are chicken. I paid for their feed to grow up and I can't afford to give them away when they could feed me in return. They had a very good life, much better than those chickens in the store - and it is much better food for me too.

One thing we did do when I was growing up we had a friend who raised chickens -and we used to trade roosters - they would process ours and we would process theirs. It was much easier when you didn't know the bird.

Now I don't have that situation, so I have to do it myself. If I am going to hatch chicks then I am responsible for their lives, and deaths. At least I know they have a good end too. It would be really tough to process a hen though - so those probably will either be sold for layers or will live here until they keel over from old age.

You can check if there are people who would process in your area - you could give them the roosters and they would give them back cleaned. I thought about that too - if I have any more than a couple I will be looking. They won't "grow them out" for you though - you will have to do the feeding until they are big enough to eat.

You guys are right. The chickens out there being processed do have terrible lives. I took my Girl Scouts to an egg production farm once and saw how awful it was. 3 hens to a small 2 X 3 foot cage. Fed chemical pellets. Sad. Anyway, I think I could only do the roosters. Will think about it. Right now, I only have one 2 month old rooster that I am thinking about keeping. So, don't have to worry about it for a while, but I will be hatching some eggs soon and will see. Was lucky enough to sell my two 7 week old Naked Neck roos for $10 each. I already have a buyer for my Blue Laced Red Wyandotte chick that I think is a male....so maybe I will just have luck selling the chicks and I won't have any left to have to decide to eat or not.

 

[Overoberyl]

You guys are right. The chickens out there being processed do have terrible lives. I took my Girl Scouts to an egg production farm once and saw how awful it was. 3 hens to a small 2 X 3 foot cage. Fed chemical pellets. Sad. Anyway, I think I could only do the roosters. Will think about it. Right now, I only have one 2 month old rooster that I am thinking about keeping. So, don't have to worry about it for a while, but I will be hatching some eggs soon and will see. Was lucky enough to sell my two 7 week old Naked Neck roos for $10 each. I already have a buyer for my Blue Laced Red Wyandotte chick that I think is a male....so maybe I will just have luck selling the chicks and I won't have any left to have to decide to eat or not.

It took me awhile to work up to it, but afterwards I felt so empowered and liberated. Wished I hadn't waited so long, lol. Let's just say, you won't ever regret taking the leap, I promise!

 

[Overoberyl]

So excited, I have a full hatch of just my own eggs going! Dark Brahmas and Sulmtalers. It's so nice to hatch my own eggs and not have to deal with the stress of shipped egg issues