INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

"Hey, are you trying to sleep?"

love it!!!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Editing to add, I nearly forgot the pictures of the incubator and partitions as requested! Sorry about the mess, I haven't cleaned the incubator yet. I had 5 eggs, so I just divided the incubator evenly into 6 spaces. The sixth slot worked out so that I could put my heat sinks in it. I put warm water in little zipper baggies to help stabilize the temp in the incubator since there were so few eggs in it.

The divider itself. It was just kind of slapped together so it's pretty rough.

A couple close ups of the zip ties. I ran my finger over all these edges to make sure none were too sharp for the babies before I used it. I hope this is what you wanted to see?

@Faraday40 You posted while I was editing. Here's the incubator divider pictures.

 

[Indyshent]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo the dark one looks like a partridge rock at that age. May be a "double laced" or "laced" partridge genetically. The chipmunk ones look more like normal partridge colors, and the lightest one will probably just be red. Looks a lot like red sex links I've had.

@t marsh I have had predator losses before but I don't know anyone who wants a opossum skin coat. I live close to downtown Indianapolis but have seen more foxes here than anywhere else. Don't like other people in my yard and don't like complicating my life by inviting strangers into said yard and having to rely on said person to check traps and catch predators. The trappers I have met make me hesitant to invite them into my yard wholesale.

 

[Faraday40]

@Faraday40 You posted while I was editing.

Here's the incubator divider pictures.

Thanks for the ideas.

I used modified strawberry containers to help keep track of each hen's eggs & chicks. It worked fine, but did waste some space. My chicks like to go egg-climbing shortly after hatch.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo the dark one looks like a partridge rock at that age. May be a "double laced" or "laced" partridge genetically. The chipmunk ones look more like normal partridge colors, and the lightest one will probably just be red. Looks a lot like red sex links I've had.

That's exactly what I was saying to my mom! The dark one looks identical to my Partridge Plymouth Rocks at that age (though, admittedly maybe a bit darker overall), the lightest one reminds me of my red sexlink girls as chicks, and the two medium ones look quite similar to my Welsummer at that age, though they don't have very distinct chipmunk markings, especially on their heads. It's pretty interesting considering their parents are both red! I was expecting them all to look like the reddish one, maybe a bit darker than that even. Still, it's a pleasant surprise and gives me a lot to look forward to as they grow!

Thanks for the ideas. I used modified strawberry containers to help keep track of each hen's eggs & chicks. It worked fine, but did waste some space. My chicks like to go egg-climbing shortly after hatch.

Haha, mine was less innovation and more desperation--it came down to day 18 and I thought, crap, what if the chicks knock around their unhatched siblings after I went to all the effort to sit them in just the perfect position for lockdown? So I grabbed some scrap hardware cloth from the deck build over the summer and that's what I came up with. P.S. Is that an egg with a cord plugged into it in this picture?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

So, on the topic of babies, if I haven't already flooded the thread too much with them... I took a video of them earlier because they were all 5 out from under the EcoGlow. They are so precious!



[VIDEO]

 

[Faraday40]

P.S. Is that an egg with a cord plugged into it in this picture?

Yes. I actually needed a new digital thermometer & rather than deal with bags of water or finding a water worm into which to slide a thermometer, I splurged & got a pre-made egg-o-meter.

 

[Faraday40]

Funny quail moment of the day:
I heard a different quail noise coming from the living room area. When I went to check, I found Albert happily crowing in the dining room next to the cage & the 2 girls (Sadie & Penelope) rolling in the middle of the living room carpet !

How did they get out? They certainly looked too comfortable & relaxed being free-range, house quail. Even our big lazy dog didn't seem to mind as the birds were right next to where he was sleeping. I do NOT approve of tiny quail poop deposits throughout the room, so the quail are not permitted to wander un-escorted through the house. Bad, naughty quail! At least Albert (my good boy) stayed near the cage & was probably trying to call the girls back home. And, how was I going to get them back into their cage?

Well at least the 2nd part was no trouble. I just put my hand down & Albert jumped onto it. Then I walked up to the girls, who took a pause from their dust bath to look up at me, and I scooped them up. No running or chaos. Most people say that quail frighten easy & to not pick them up from above (since predators attack from above). I expected a little jumpiness, but thankfully their retrieval was very uneventful. Pretty much the same as picking up one of our docile chickens. DD has done a good job training them so far. I like how they do not fear humans, but I don't care for the way they feel entitled to use my living room as a barn. LOL


Also enjoying the cute little eggs. We' got our 1st quail egg on Monday & we're trying to save up for a sandwich!

 

[Andrew10]

Hi I am starting my first flock in late March with new hampshire reds but l can't find a rooster

Please help.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Hi @Andrew10

Can you let folks know where you're located in a PM. And do you only want that particular breed rooster?


Edited by Staff