I don't have any showgirls or sizzles but I would love to have some. I lost a Turken last week to the heat. He was so pretty solid black with brown barring. I've never seen one quite like him. It may be common to ya'll but I'm still new to this. My other one Chrissy is lavender and Buzz is black and white (& yes, he looks like a buzzard hence, the name). They're 8 weeks old now and are very calm and shy. I love them. I think they are one of the birds that either you love them or you don't. But you're right. When I hatched mine, it was the first time I'd hatched them let alone seen them up close so, I was really anxious to see what they looked like. And yes they were so ugly they were cute.I have seen some pretty ugly TurkensMost of them are so ugly they are cute...especially the chicks
I have people requesting them constantly, so even tho I don't care for them personally, I buy or hatch any I can get my hands on because I know I won't have them long & can double to triple my money on them easily. The only Naked Neck in my coops is a little white Showgirl growing out to be part of my Silkie/Si22le/Showgirl pen. I've been looking for more Showgirls...they have kinda grown on me...also because everyone wants them.
I don't go in other pens of people that have chickens. I knew that was bad practice. I will invest in some oxine just to have on hand. No one other than my immediate family has entered my pen. Even the person that came over the weekend or the roofer, they looked through the fencing of the run. I can't risk losing my babies. I've grown so attached to them. But you know something that I did not think about when we built our coop/run? I didn't think that you can see our coop/run behind our house from the road. We live in the country on 46 acres in the middle of no where so that was not really a concern. But now I'm worried. People pass by here all the time. I've never had anyone just stop and ask about them.My sale chickens are in the shop on concrete so I just spray everything down with Oxine. I don't let anyone WALK in my pens EVER. That would be very bad indeedI also, don't show them my breeding pens. They are kinda hidden. That way if they come back to steal something, they don't get my GOOD BIRDS LOL.
When I have bought from NPIP people they will let me go up to the pens, but that is as far as I get to go. I also use Oxine on MY shoes BEFORE I get near their birds and when I leave.... that is just me.
my best suggestion would be buy another incubator to use as a hatcher. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/reptile-incubators/ has the best prices on hovabators IMO... get a still air one and add a computer fan powered by an old cell phone charger, and voila! circulated air at half the price.Could you all give me some tips on making the best of a staggered hatch with ONE incubator? (it's a hova 1588 I think) I bought some eggs and they shipped a day apart, but one batch should be delivered today, while the tracking on the other says MONDAY or TUESDAY (not happy about that) although I suspect it should be Friday or Saturday. I know that it can be/has been done, but there's so much conflicting advice that I'd rather get ideas from some die-hard hatchers.
In my experience, staggered hatches that are only a few days apart such as yours will be aren't really a big deal. My suggestion would be to run as low of a humidity as possible for as long as possible & only raise it when you get that 1st pip (either internal or external). That way you don't have overly high humidity for your 2nd batch any longer than absolutely necessary. From my experience, in a styrofoam bator, humidity will rise rapidly on it's own without adding any water once the 1st chick pips & begins to 2ip. It will stay up as long as there are wet chicks in the bator & the more wet chicks the higher the humidity goes. If humidity begins to go much over 65% I reach in & begin pulling chicks even if they aren't completely dry because the higher humidity makes the hatch harder on the remaining chicks. They will finish drying just fine under the brooder light & actually dry faster without the excess humidity. I have gone to a completely dry hatch. I do not even add water at lockdown since my bators are in the basement & it's rather damp down there. I have found they run around 40% thru incubation & jump to 60%+ when that 1st chick pips. No need for additional water. You will need to check your percentages & adjust accordingly however since our conditions obviously will be at least somewhat different.Could you all give me some tips on making the best of a staggered hatch with ONE incubator? (it's a hova 1588 I think) I bought some eggs and they shipped a day apart, but one batch should be delivered today, while the tracking on the other says MONDAY or TUESDAY (not happy about that) although I suspect it should be Friday or Saturday. I know that it can be/has been done, but there's so much conflicting advice that I'd rather get ideas from some die-hard hatchers.
