Is incubation time for eggs the same when they're under a broody hen as when they're in an incubator

[annanimal]

Your brooder sounds nice, as long as it works and the chicks like it it doesnt mater how it looks, like they say dont judge a book by its cover.

I know the eggs should be on lockdown but i have to candle them because i am going to put them under the chicken that already has 12 eggs under her and she is a small chicken so i have to see which ones have chicks in them because remember how i told you that other chickens go and lay eggs in her nest so there are 22 plus the 12 that is 34 under a small hen. Do you think anything will happen to the chicks if i candle the eggs that are supposed to be on lockdown??? This is just a mess...

I am probably going to order the brinsea stuff next week. The chicks will have to stay in our garage with insulator on the floor so the moisture doesnt cause coccidiosis or whatever that is called.

Then i am going to take a couple of cardboard boxes and staple them together like a wall and put woodchips down but newspaper over top for the first couple of days so they dont eat them and put the brooder and waterer and feeder in and voila.

How much did those little chicks cost???? I am sorry to hear about the 3 houdans.
I hope Ginger isnt like my white one that is due on the 27th and leave the eggs a couple days before they are due.

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Suerly candling them won't hurt the chicks? I have no idea!

As long as the eggs don't get cold while you're doing it I don't see what it would hurt. Right?
I wouldn't worry about the coccidiosis as long as you keep the bedding clean. I changed mine everyday but I had 27 chicks in there and I kept them in the house so I didn't want any smell. Also, I use dry grass clippings and herbs from my garden in mine because I have more than I could ever use(our yard is like 3 or 4 acres) and it actually works pretty good. It smells good and it gives them something to scratch about in and it's alright if they eat at it(I never had any problems with picking each other either). I used a piece of cardboard that I ripped one side of the paper part off of(so one side was the bumpy part) and that's what I put their food(medicated chick starter, that probably helped too) on that first day, but they figured out the feeder pretty quick. I worried that they'd slip on the newspaper that's why I tried the cardboard. I was going to do like you said and staple cardboard together for the brooder walls and set it in a kiddie pool, but then I thought of that dog crate just sitting out there(our dog is too big for it!) and figured that'd be easier to clean since it's plastic. Hey if you could get one of those little kiddie pools you could use that for your floor. moisture proof and easy to clean! Just dump it out and rinse it out!

I ordered 25 chicks and it was just over a hundred dollars.( I know that probably doesn't sound like much but I haven't had a regular job since I had my kids, so it's hard to save back money.) I got 2 freebies with them but lost those houdans and two salmon fav roos within the first day. I think they got chilled during shipping, it was cold that weekend they came. I was pretty upset since those were the two breeds I was most excited about. I wanted to breed them and sell some. I still have the salmon fav pullets tho so that's something at least. Except they are SO dark. I'm going to try and find a breeder to get some quality salmon favs and the houdans too. But who knows when that'll happen. I can't drive to get them and it costs so much to ship! Plus I have to fanagle around that chicken limit the DH set!

I hope Ginger doesn't do that either! I'd have to figure out a homemade incubator! I lost one of the new little chicks too! I went out this morning and it was laying on the ground! What could have happened? Maybe it got too cold? No more have hatched but Georgie won't let me look under her to see if she's hiding anyone new. So I'm back to 2 little chicks out of 9 eggs. Bummer.

I can't believe I've gone on like this! Sorry to talk so much! Can you tell I don't get out much?

Let me know how your brooder turns out! Sounds like a good setup!

 

[annanimal]

Eh i will candle them all tomorrow see how it turns out, i am not stressing to much...
I was at a wedding so i didnt have time to candle them today, it seems like i never have time anymore.

I will buy my woodchips in bulk so that i dont have to keep going to the store, i will try the cardboard thing, i have lots of cardboard boxes lying around in the garage and i will have to throw them out because i have to clean the garage for the chicks (that will take at least two days) and i might as well put them to use instead of buying newspaper. Holy cow 4 acres that must be a lot of work... I had a plastic dog house but i gave it away because it got to small for my German Shepherd, what kind of dog do you have? I dont have a kiddy pool but i will go buy one if it will help, thanks.
I can understand the money thing, all the brinsea things cost a lot to and i have been saving up for the past year.
I am so sorry to hear about the chick.
I dont mind reading long things, i actuallly like it it keeps me from worrying about the chicks, as you can see chickens are basically 55% of my life!

Once i get the brooder and set it up i will send you some pictures.

 

[DuckiesGarden]

I hear you about never enough time! My girls played softball and tball this year and I feel like all I've done is run back and forth for two months! That and I raised some baby bunnies, two batches of kittens, the chicks, and starting my veggies and flowers...plus just keeping the house and yard up and feeding all the animals and us. Phew!

LOL. A wedding sounds like fun tho! I don't envy you having to clean out a garage! Especially if it's a two day job! That cardboard definitely comes in handy! You don't have to go out and buy a kiddie pool! I just figured it might make clean up easy on you and they're easy to slide around with a rope tied on. I have extras laying aroung that's why I was going to use it. I use them for water for the chickens and the dog to play in when it's hot.
He's a german shepard/lab mix by the way

Good dog too, he's out by the chicken coop and yard and protects them from predators. He killed a possum that had been skulking around the coop a few months back. I fixed him a steak for that!

That possum had killed two of my hens before we figured out how he was getting in! (From a tree hanging over the roof of the house. My coop is a shed attached to the house) His name is Rinty(after Rin Tin Tin). I'll try to post a pic of him. I've got a good one on my facebook page but not sure how to get it from there to here.What's your dogs name?
The brinsea stuff IS exspensive but I think if you can afford them they're worth getting. Look like they're good quality stuff, not cheap junk.
LOL, chickens are definitely a big percent of my life too! Everyone around here is sick to death of hearing me talk about them! I just get so excited about them, they're so much fun to have!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Rinty Dog

 

[BakinInAZ]

A protective dog is a great help-those chicken killing varmints can really break your heart.

 

[annanimal]

I decided i wasnt going to clean the whole thing out because i dont have time for it so i am just going to clean a little corner and set the brooder up there, its much easier.

This year my dog had puppies, she is a malteze-shih tzu and she mated with another maltese so that was a handfull, i had a stray cat have kittens in my garage (they are old now and have left

), i had tried to get them used to me but i was afraid if the mama smelt me on them she would move them and i didnt want that because i was putting food and water out for them and now with all this chicken stuff, i dont have time to even sleep...

This is Roxy

And this is Balto young

And now

He is on the chain because some workers are coming to take so things from our garage, yay, some work is finally getting done around here.

Because he is still so young he is not really used to being around chickens, because they like to peck him, so we put him on the chain at night to.

Yeah i heard that the brinsea stuff last for a long time so that is why i am getting them.
I got to go feed some animals...

 

[annanimal]

YEEEESSSSSSSS, i am at Chilling with my Peeps!!!

 

[annanimal]

By the way, your dog is gorgeous!!!!!
So i went out to the garage and i can actually walk to the little corner were i am going to set up the brooder.

 

[DuckiesGarden]

A protective dog is a great help-those chicken killing varmints can really break your heart.

Amen to that! We live out in the middle of cornfields and woods and the predators just never stop! Coyotes, skunks, possums, weasels, rats from the silos, owls, bobcats, the list just goes on and on. It seemd like everytime we thought it was airtight something else would find a way in. But now I've got 8 cats and counting on the prowl for the smaller varmits and good ol' Rinty dog keeps the bigger ones at bay. And anything that gets past them won't get past me! I go out and check now even if I know he's just barking at a deer or one of the cats. Better safe than sorry! I've learned not to skimp on chicken wire and concrete too! I'm determined not to lose anymore animals!