INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[twoacrefarm]

I only know IL laws & there are several rules that make it too difficult/expensive for small farms to sell eggs. (Must be candled, graded, weighed, washed, refrigerated during storage, transportation, and distribution, packaged in only brand new egg cartons, dated, and the area where eggs are processed must be regularly inspected.) However, for small family flocks - under 1,000 birds, there are no restrictions to sell eggs from your home (aka -location where flock is kept).

I found this site : https://www.in.gov/isdh/files/Farmers_Market_Guide_-_Animal_Products_jan_2013.pdf

I am seriously hoping that this is as easy as it sounds. I'm not sure though. I will call the office on Monday. I have donated some this week, but today alone I got 51 eggs. How did chicken math add up like that?!?!

 

[Nyla]

I went from 5 Muscovy Females and 1 male and within 2 months ended up with 95 Muscovy's, 25 chickens, 600+ quails. Sold all chickens and quails 2 months ago and ended up with 5 hens 1 rooster and 50 quails again plus my 95 Muscovy's! Stuff happens! and none of the muscovys were ducklings lol

I found this site : https://www.in.gov/isdh/files/Farmers_Market_Guide_-_Animal_Products_jan_2013.pdf

I am seriously hoping that this is as easy as it sounds. I'm not sure though. I will call the office on Monday. I have donated some this week, but today alone I got 51 eggs. How did chicken math add up like that?!?!

 

[kanina]

@kanina So you know that "neck of the woods" eh? Yes... Dixie Way North, etc. etc. etc. etc.

Did you grow up in this area?

Yes, near Locust and Kern, my grandpa ran AAA Stamping Co behind Big C Lumber up there.

I need hatching help. I'm at a complete loss and feeling slightly overwhelmed/frustrated.

I had a kid hatched when I got home Friday night (day 20) and another pipped. I happened to check in the middle of the night and I had a second one. Both Fibros and gorgeous I might add.

Right now we're almost five hours into day 21 and I don't know if I'm anxious or excited or impatient or dumb but nothing is going on. No new egg movement, no pipping, no peeping. I'm losing my mind.

I do remember last time I had late hatchers but I remember they were continuously hatching. Like there were always at least a pip somewhere.

Styro, circulated air, 99.5 degrees and 67% humidity.

I pulled them both out so I can keep the bator closed until Tuesday without worrying about these two. One has feathered legs. Both appear to be blue, but I don't know much about this breed.

 

[Nyla]

Your Chicks Are Very adorable!

View attachment 1248512

I checked fertility in my chickens eggs today! Got 4 eggs from 5 hens. Sadly 1 egg was cracked from rooster matting hen inside nesting box.. But was able to check all 4 eggs and confirmed fertile! So starting tomorrow I will collect eggs and try out my new homemade Mini fridge incubator!


Here is my first batch of quails I bought as day old chicks!

Here they are again at 3-4 weeks old


And here is my newly hatched chicks from the eggs.. 120 eggs to start with 86 eggs were cracked only 28 chicks hatched. All eggs from my very own local seller. Which is giving me 10 free chicks and replacement hatching eggs now! Wooohooo! More eggs to test out my incubator!

 

[Faraday40]

I need hatching help. I'm at a complete loss and feeling slightly overwhelmed/frustrated.

I had a kid hatched when I got home Friday night (day 20) and another pipped. I happened to check in the middle of the night and I had a second one. Both Fibros and gorgeous I might add.

Right now we're almost five hours into day 21 and I don't know if I'm anxious or excited or impatient or dumb but nothing is going on. No new egg movement, no pipping, no peeping. I'm losing my mind.

Cute chicks!

You're doing fine. The temp & humidity sound good. Although they say all chickens take about 21 days to hatch, I've found that when incubating bantams & LF orps together, the smaller breeds always hatch 1st. The eggs from my 9+ lb hens always take the longest. In other words, hang in there for at least a couple more days.

If you're worried about smell / bacteria, you can remove the shell debris with the chicks. (Also remove any rotten, smelly eggs if you have any.) I don't open the incubator more than once a day to remove chicks. Must be done very quickly. You can spray a mist along the wall of incubator to get the lost humidity back up quickly.

The last egg candling was so/so. The eggs will either hatch or they will not. Candling at this stage could chill them too much. My advice is to let them continue incubating until you're ready to pull the plug. That's when I candle for internal pips & tap on the eggs for a response. (Any chirps or tapping = life.) If I'm pretty sure it's dead, I practice an "assisted hatch" autopsy. I like to figure out when death occurred &/or look for cause. It may sound gruesome, but we can learn more from mistakes.

You have 2 adorable chicks, so that alone is great news!

 

[Faraday40]

Your Chicks Are Very adorable!


I checked fertility in my chickens eggs today! Got 4 eggs from 5 hens. Sadly 1 egg was cracked from rooster matting hen inside nesting box.. But was able to check all 4 eggs and confirmed fertile! So starting tomorrow I will collect eggs and try out my new homemade Mini fridge incubator!
View attachment 1248536 View attachment 1248537 View attachment 1248538 View attachment 1248539 View attachment 1248540 View attachment 1248541

Here is my first batch of quails I bought as day old chicks!
View attachment 1248519 View attachment 1248520 View attachment 1248521
Here they are again at 3-4 weeks old

View attachment 1248522
And here is my newly hatched chicks from the eggs.. 120 eggs to start with 86 eggs were cracked only 28 chicks hatched. All eggs from my very own local seller. Which is giving me 10 free chicks and replacement hatching eggs now! Wooohooo! More eggs to test out my incubator!
View attachment 1248525 View attachment 1248526 View attachment 1248527

Love the new incubator! How did you cut through the door to add your window?

Those quail are cute. I like the variety you have. Mine are all common brown coturnix quail & some A&Ms. They're finally laying again!!!!! A week ago I jumped for joy when I got my 1st 3 eggs. Today I collected 10 quail eggs! I'm hearing all those cute laser gun crows every time I walk through the garage. One has a very high pitched call, which makes me laugh. Quail are a lot more fun when they're actively laying. Also now that they're "active," I can confidently get the number down.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Been away quite a while, hope everyone is doing well with the harsh winter. Not really a lot of huge changes here. Just incredibly busy with the house remodeling. Have missed you all very much!

 

[Nyla]

I used a Reciprocating saw to cut off the shelving on the door to make a flat surface, then used a scrapper to scrap away all the foam, then used a drill to drill 2 holes and then a jig saw to cut out the window. Used 100% silicone to hold the window and seal it.
If you want some variety to your group, I'm more then willing to share! I will be getting my Fancy Celadons, Silver, and Pastels soon!
The mini fridge was only a couple months old and perfectly working when I destroyed it lol... We bought it from Kmart for $150 using Kmart rewards points. So We didn't loose any money destroying it .
This is what it use to look like:

Love the new incubator! How did you cut through the door to add your window?

Those quail are cute. I like the variety you have. Mine are all common brown coturnix quail & some A&Ms. They're finally laying again!!!!! A week ago I jumped for joy when I got my 1st 3 eggs. Today I collected 10 quail eggs! I'm hearing all those cute laser gun crows every time I walk through the garage. One has a very high pitched call, which makes me laugh. Quail are a lot more fun when they're actively laying. Also now that they're "active," I can confidently get the number down.

Welcome back! We all have missed you too! How are you liking the remodeling? Is everything going as you planned?

Been away quite a while, hope everyone is doing well with the harsh winter. Not really a lot of huge changes here. Just incredibly busy with the house remodeling. Have missed you all very much!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I have been diligent this year tracking expense compared to production. Of course, egg laying is way down. Taking a hard look at what I really want to continue with. Been at it 6 years now (this time) I have learned hogs are a challenge, quit keeping them a year ago last October. I am really still enjoying my cattle and goats. My chickens, I still have the same leghorn, EE/OE, OEG Standard, RIR and Buckeye flocks. Restarted scovys, guinea and turkeys. And of course will always have my Brown Chinese geese.
Whats your plans this year? I would love to hear your thoughts!

 

[Nyla]

Seems like a lot is on your plate!
Well this year I have restarted on chickens for main purpose of brooding my Muscovy's, but sadly they are more egg laying then broody. I restarted quails again. I also received 65 new Muscovy's from a couple dropping them off on my front yard in boxes on a day that was -7 F outside. I plan to sell most of them at an animal swap or locals when I get test results back on them.
I plan to hatch a ton of ducklings this summer well over 300+. All extra left over male muscovy's I have will be fattened up and processed to go to a homeless shelter along with extra eggs. We might breed our Border Collie pup when she is around 9 months old only once before we have her fixed. Her pedigree is coming in the mail any day now. She was born September 24th, 2017 in Wisconsin. Hoping to find a Blue Merle Male to breed to her. She is a black and white border collie.

I have been diligent this year tracking expense compared to production. Of course, egg laying is way down. Taking a hard look at what I really want to continue with. Been at it 6 years now (this time) I have learned hogs are a challenge, quit keeping them a year ago last October. I am really still enjoying my cattle and goats. My chickens, I still have the same leghorn, EE/OE, OEG Standard, RIR and Buckeye flocks. Restarted scovys, guinea and turkeys. And of course will always have my Brown Chinese geese.
Whats your plans this year? I would love to hear your thoughts!