June Hatch A Long

[CluckNDoodle]

You can put the sponge anywhere! If you have a vent hole, it’s nice to place it underneath because you can keep it wet without having to open the incubator and drip water onto it.

This! I actually used a straw and dripped water on to my sponge through the vent. Lol

 

[Compost King]

Nice - Congratulations!!! I like your broody box! Do you happen to have a picture of the outside?

I have 3 of them, can't find a picture of the outside of any of them currently. All 3 of them have a slightly different design improving off of the previous one. I shall take pictures tomorrow.

 

[jolenesdad]

That one time I was sitting with ducks sleeping on a towel on my chest.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I have 3 of them, can't find a picture of the outside of any of them currently. All 3 of them have a slightly different design improving off of the previous one. I shall take pictures tomorrow.

Cool, thanks!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

That one time I was sitting with ducks sleeping on a towel on my chest.

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Oh my gosh!!! The best snuggles!!!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

That one time I was sitting with ducks sleeping on a towel on my chest.

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OMG!!! I have to show this to my daughter tomorrow! That’s what she thought having ducks would be like... Instead ours are terrified of being touched. Our broody WH bit her hard enough to draw blood, and my daughter was SO hurt that she’d do that! Anyway, I need to show her this picture and tell her about voice imprinting!!!

 

[dougieee]

Freak out number 29 (a guess) so my humidity was high all along the incubation 80s or so. Someone here explained taht it wasn't hte amount of water in there that it was the surface that makes the humidity, suggested I let the water out. So when I put chicks in lockdown yesterday, I did just that. When I looked at it just a few min ago, humidity at 29 te temp at 98. Is that OK? do I need to sneak in some water? but its in lock down, don't open the thing! Oh what to do for this first time hatcher who really really REALLY does not want to kill chicks. HELP my chicken guru is not avail I think she's harvesting.

How much water did you have in the bator to get 80% humidity? The only reason i ask is that in nearly every incubator ive owned ive struggled to get 80%, 60 to70 is normal if i fill EVERY resevoir which means the entire floor space inside the incubator is water and i only do that at lock down.
It might be worth candling the eggs now to see what size the air cells are because if the humidity has been that high throughout incubation i would imagine they will be very small which will cause hatching problems.
Its a bit of a catch 22 because at this point you need the high humidity for the hatch, unfortunately that will just add fuel to the fire.

 

[jolenesdad]

Any idea what this guy is? He has mottled feet.

 

[Compost King]

Nice - Congratulations!!! I like your broody box! Do you happen to have a picture of the outside?

Here is the tour..

The one from the broody hen pictures is first, its the 2nd one I built and the first with he hardware cloth venting at top. I only had clear roofing material at the time so I put cardboard under it to prevent it from becoming a solar oven. The roof is a huge liability when it comes to predators because it can be easily lifted off. I fixed it by putting concrete block on top at each corner when I lock down at sunset.

Open door, It was designed for bantams but turns out large fowl can get in that tiny door way. I wouldn't expect a Jersey Giant to fit in that door.

Door shut, I found the cheapest most effective chicken door is a concrete block, too heavy for predators to move, easy for me to move.. and very cheap.

The Inside, pardon the mess its currently being lived in, I have a 5 inch lip to keep bedding from being scratched out by mama bird, and a mini stair case for chicks, although they do not need it after 2 or 3 days.

THE MOST RECENT BROODY BOX

I made this one shorter because the previous height wasn't needed, The Roof can actually lock into place to be predator proof, Its Duplex so it holds 2 different broods.

Shut Door

The inside, currently not being used so its fresh straw with a little foyer area for food and water and a 2.5 inch (2x3) lip to hold the bedding in. The doors are in opposing corners and I used potted trees on the outside when in use to guide the broods in different directions or the mama birds start fighting. It can actually look nice and landscaped when I do that but my intention isn't to make it pretty. When Mamma Birds get along I put them in the one large brooding box together.

The First one I made.

I now use it to house Cornish X that I restrict feed to for breeding. Currently not in use. Holds 3 CX's or 3 freedom ranger types. This is in my fenced in composting area and encourages foraging. It was previously a brooding box but young chicks struggled to get in an out with the sliding door being a bit too high. It has no hardware cloth ventilation but there is a small 1/4 gap between boards in the back and in the front they are tight, its how I made the pitch for the fixed roof. I stopped using it as a brooding box because the roof is fixed and I have kneel down in manure to reach in there.

 

[Bookworm0124]

Any idea what this guy is? He has mottled feet.

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My uneducated guess..... Adorable