Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

[rjohns39]

Good morning Kris

 

[BY Bob]

Italy was really great and quite scenic. Of the European Countries I visited, it and Ireland were the only two I felt at ease in.

When we were in Italy running around looking at wedding venues for my daughter, I told my wife I could live there. I loved everything about it including the people. Wonderful country.

 

[Kris5902]

I hope all your cunning plans come to fruition Kris! Do you think the house can get to lock up stage in a month?

Is the D&D weekend part of a campaign or a one off adventure? Either way, I hope Andrew has a good time and good luck with the interview!

It’s a one off weekend, but with most of the people from the regular campaign. Our GM from our city house moved to the nearby Island Andrew works on. We used to host when we were in the city, but we never quite made it to the goal of a floating table for the hot tub for hot tub D&D. The game has moved online with a Skype like app thing to accommodate the geographical separation of everyone. Andrew will also get to visit with our old Roomate from our house, his best Friend. And the GM bought a house with hot tub. I’m jealous. I haven’t rejoined the campaign and I can’t go to the weekend because... chickens and my mom. Andrew closes the bedroom and plays in there after dinner on game nights, and Mom and I watch X files episodes (Andrew doesn’t care for it) in the living room. It usually works out ok, though he did get a little overly loud last time... something about fighting a dragon and half the party deciding to just screw around.

 

[Kris5902]

Good morning Kris

Good morning Bob
Today is an early start for me, and you’re still first

I’ve got a semi lunch date with a friend today, so I’m going to hitch a ride to the store with Andrew on his way to his weekend D&D engagement. As soon as the sun is out I’m going to release the chickens... but they aren’t moving today, because they have been spilling far too much feed and need to clean it up better.

Any thoughts on my egg fertility/viability issues?

 

[mixedUPturk]

A not-so Hatching update

So, today was day seven on my incubation and I candled. I don’t know if it was the weather, Chickie Hawk not getting his spring hormones in, or something else entirely... but I only kept 10 of the eggs in the incubator, mostly from Mr Marans and a sapphire girl (I believe teensie or princess).
Only one of the seven eggs from the CX showed any signs of development. I think I’m going to have to change up my Rooster for them... just the size of both parties involved may be the trouble there.

Also, while candling I noticed that most of the girls shell quality has gone to poop. Horribly porous. I’m going to supplement with more Oyster shells, in addition to their high calcium layer feed. I popped the dozen “eating eggs” I had on hand for dropping off to the girls owner in the incubator, and will bring my backup eggs down and set them in tomorrow evening. It looks like I’m doing a staggered hatch for the first time!

Any thought on chilling the eggs before incubation and if that might have been the trouble? None froze, but it wasn’t exactly warm out the past three weeks.

The temp of the shelf of your fridge where the eggs were stored would give a better idea of how ideal that circumstance is but the recomended temp to store hatching eggs at is 55*. Often if it doesnt get too cold in there they do fine. My fridge gets too cold personally.

I havent set any of my own eggs yet even down here in southern lousiana because last year when i set this early only 2 of the 24 eggs were fertile. I think its a mixture of being too early in the laying cycle, not enough hormones to really get busy and didnt you say when you collected those eggs that they may have gotten too cool before your collection? Like almost to frozen but not split?

Staggered hatchs arent bad if you have a second incubator for the hatching. I do it all the time and last season for Months i hatched a clutch each week.

 

[rjohns39]

Good morning Bob
Today is an early start for me, and you’re still first

I’ve got a semi lunch date with a friend today, so I’m going to hitch a ride to the store with Andrew on his way to his weekend D&D engagement. As soon as the sun is out I’m going to release the chickens... but they aren’t moving today, because they have been spilling far too much feed and need to clean it up better.

Any thoughts on my egg fertility/viability issues?

I've found that it may take a couple weeks up to a month after my girls start laying again to have decent fertility rates. Which doesn't bother me because by then I'm usually out of eggs for eating and it's generally too early in the year for me to hatch.

 

[BlueBaby]

The temp of the shelf of your fridge where the eggs were stored would give a better idea of how ideal that circumstance is but the recomended temp to store hatching eggs at is 55*. Often if it doesnt get too cold in there they do fine. My fridge gets too cold personally.

I havent set any of my own eggs yet even down here in southern lousiana because last year when i set this early only 2 of the 24 eggs were fertile. I think its a mixture of being too early in the laying cycle, not enough hormones to really get busy and didnt you say when you collected those eggs that they may have gotten too cool before your collection? Like almost to frozen but not split?

Staggered hatchs arent bad if you have a second incubator for the hatching. I do it all the time and last season for Months i hatched a clutch each week.

I never refrigerate my egg's before I incubate them, so I can't help with that. This time before I put egg's from my flock in there, I had broken open one egg from each of the hen's to see who was fertilized. Even the younger pullet's that just started laying egg's were fertile, but I didn't set their's because they are still too small.

 

[Kris5902]

Oops, to clarify, I don’t refrigerate the eggs I plan on hatching... yes my fridge would definitely be too cold! They were stored in the coolish trailer though, and I rotated the tilted cartons daily. It was dipping fairly cold outside though when I was collecting them, and I’m wondering if they may have chilled too much post lay but pre collection, despite my checking for eggs 2-3 times a day. The ones I put in last night weren’t rotated though, they were stored flat, and not handled with the usual TLC my hatching eggs get. The ones I’m bringing down to set today were collected and stored with the usual care though.

 

[Kris5902]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions @mixedUPturk @BlueBaby and @rjohns39 I think it is a little early to be hatching for me as well, temperature and weather wise. I’m going to order some more red ranger meat chicks as soon as we have the cash on hand for the feed and chicks. I think with the CX it’s Roostie missing the mark of the very large ladies, as most of the eggs I’ve cracked (for eating) of theirs haven’t looked promising. The Summer Markets start up in May, so I am hoping to have chicks in March so I can roll out my chicken earlier, and get staggered orders going on those for a more consistent product flow. And there is also an Easter market and possibly a BBQ completion before then (we are trying to make it a local oriented annual food event)

 

[BlueBaby]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions @mixedUPturk @BlueBaby and @rjohns39 I think it is a little early to be hatching for me as well, temperature and weather wise. I’m going to order some more red ranger meat chicks as soon as we have the cash on hand for the feed and chicks. I think with the CX it’s Roostie missing the mark of the very large ladies, as most of the eggs I’ve cracked (for eating) of theirs haven’t looked promising. The Summer Markets start up in May, so I am hoping to have chicks in March so I can roll out my chicken earlier, and get staggered orders going on those for a more consistent product flow. And there is also an Easter market and possibly a BBQ completion before then (we are trying to make it a local oriented annual food event)

They had a guy that's a member here @Compost King in the states before that was crossing the Red Ranger's with the Silver Grey Dorking's. Then he also crossed those offspring with some of the CX. I have one pullet here that I hatched from shipped egg's from him of a Red Ranger/Silver Grey Dorking/NN mix, but it has a fully feathered neck. My plan is to breed her with Roger my NN rooster later. She has 4 toes on one foot, and 5 on the other. I named her Five. @Compost King had moved, so I don't know if he has started another flock back up again or not.