INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[ellymayRans]

So I had Cuckoo Silkies due to hatch today. Woke up with 5 chicks out. The last 2 eggs had externally pipped. Left for work at 8am and came back home at 6pm. Found the incubator up to 120F and all the chicks dead! Just when I thought Id have a 100% hatch rate with shipped eggs! This was with the new Little Giant model 7300 I believe with the forced air fan (digital controls and thermostat). That thing will be going in the trash! I had been planning all winter to buy a sportsman, but decided last minute to hold off and just use the little giants as I didnt want to go crazy on hatching as Im not home as much as I was last year due to new job. After this, I think I will be changing my mind and getting the Sportsman on order!

OMG brad that is a gut wrenching story! I'm so sorry! Led me right into it, oh new hatched babies, awe...and now cooked babies! Eeek!!!

 

[Acornewell]

Oh and our water valve has frozen 4 times today!

This summer we will be bringing the bladder tank inside to the basement, not outside in an underground bunker.

It is CAAAAAREEEEEPY down there...and gross!

Sorry to hear that! It's pretty nasty out there!

It may be creepy, but the important question is this: once the bladder tank is out of it, can it be converted to a coop?

HA!!! You read my mind. I had to get in there once for putting a heater while Hubby was out of town...It is actually pretty warm down there. Not to mention it is underground, so they would be safe from tornadoes too!

Candy for my girls is bananas. They practically attack me when they see bananas (Ieap straight up to try to get at them before I can even peel them and break them into pieces). I think they love bananas even more than tomatoes. They're bananas for bananas (sorry, had to do it!). The more overripe they are, the more they love them. There is no fruit they don't like, but 'nanners are definitely the best.

I've never tried bananas with my girls, either! We really like our bananas here, and the ones that do go overripe go into banana bread.

We do have to fence our tomatoes, though, or none are left for us.

They inevitably go for the the ones that we've been watching closely because they're just about ripe. Next thing we know, there are beak-shaped bites out of them!

My girls are super picky. They have never liked bananas. Now my Redbone Coonhound Duke...LOVES BAnaNAS and tomatoes.

I was holding one of my Cochins yesterday and put on chapstick.... she decided to take a quick bite out of that. WEIRDO

 

[raisinemright]

My family are looking to add boar goats to our herd. If anyone has info for breeders that might have a 1 or 2 boar doelings for sale we would really appreciate it thanks hope everyone has a good day today!!

 

[birdman55]

morning everyone...have a wonderful day

 

[ChickCrazed]

Incubator update! I believe I figured out what the problem was. I included two large fans in the incubator and they were getting hot and putting off too much heat. The thermometer knew it was hot and was not putting the lights on, but the fans were still causing the temperature to go up. Once I unplugged one of the fans it seemed to solve the problem. I need to play around to make sure there are not any cold spots without the second fan running, but I think the problem has been solved! I did put the 2 40 watt bulbs in and they are doing well. I'm not sure if I should go back to the 60 watts now that I know the bulbs were not the problem. It seems like the 60 watts would get the temperature up more quickly after opening the incubator up.

Now if only the weather would cooperate so I could gather some eggs!!!

 

[racinchickins]

wanting to buy a new incubator....was thinking of a gqf incubator but heard bad things about the motor ...needing to be replaced..one guy said he replaced it once a year for five years straight...any thoughts on which cabinet incubator i should get...i love the coolerbators but they only fit so many eggs....and im not sure how well the fridgebator is going to work after alll the work is going to be done

I bought a used Sportsman cabinet. The guy said it worked perfectly for the years he had it, and it is going on year 2 with me and no issues! I'm still learning how to fine tune the humidity (high and low is easy, it's trying to get it stable somewhere in the middle that is tougher). But heat is rock steady. I don't use the hatching tray, I have an incuview I use in the living room so I can watch them hatch.

I'm toying with putting in an order with Sand Hill Preservation Center if anyone wants some super rare breeds but can't meet the 25 chick minimum. Let me know if you are interested in adding to my order!

I'm looking at getting some Salmon Favorelle, Black Dorkings and Wheaten Marans.

They have a pretty cool list of birds available.

http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/pages/poultry_catalog.html

I will go in with you! But will have to spend some serious consulting time with the catalog to decide what I want. I get the catalog every spring, but also don't want to order 25 birds.

Quote: Mine came with the sponges, so that is all I have used, but they don't seem to be anything really special.

morning everyone...have a wonderful day

You too. Hope it gets warmer!

 

[ChickCrazed]

I will go in with you! But will have to spend some serious consulting time with the catalog to decide what I want. I get the catalog every spring, but also don't want to order 25 birds.

Sounds good! Let me know when you decide and I will mail the order/check and you can paypal me for yours.

For those that are unfamiliar with Sand Hill, they are more about preservation than being a hatchery. Because of that they have some limitations, but they are really trying to breed for hardiness, which is very unusual today. I also like that they only hatch to order and don't kill the males that they hatch (which is what happens when you order sexed chicks from a normal hatchery). They do not sex, something to keep in mind. A pretty cool effort to support in my book and they have some really cool breeds!

 

[Leahs Mom]

My family are looking to add boar goats to our herd. If anyone has info for breeders that might have a 1 or 2 boar doelings for sale we would really appreciate it thanks hope everyone has a good day today!!

I REALLY LIKE these folks and the way they raise their boers:

http://roosterridgeboergoats.com/

My husband and I went to visit them a couple years ago and they gave us a tour and taught us A LOT about the goats in the couple hours we were there. Highly recommend!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Oh...and I also know another gal down that way that was trying to reduce her herd last year. Had some nice does at that time and they were really trying to reduce. Not sure how they are right now for numbers. If you want her contact info you can pm me. I also visited there to see their operation.

(Her prices are lower that RR and she has nice stock.)

 

[birdman55]

thanks for the input...made my decision and im getting the digital cabinet incubator...and the hatcher unit...placing the order at the end of the week