Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

[BlueBaby]

Thanks! That’s what I was thinking. It’s not so much the temperature and humidity that’s the challenge, it’s the automatic turner that scares me. I’d hate for someone to be early and get hurt by it. I was just popping in to check the temp and humidity on my first hatch and there he was sitting in the still moving turner, a full 3-4 days early! I think mama had been hiding/sitting on his egg! My last hatch was a bit more consistent, but that was all with my own eggs.

I probably should have set them at night, and had sort of planned for Wednesday, then Thursday, but the egg pick up was later than expected and the kidlet wanted to help set them. She loves the chickens, just not the roosters! Her mom said no to Thursday night because we had a slaughter scheduled for Friday morning, so it was an early day for everyone, and of course the kiddo slept in.

I’m Starting to get that nervous ball of hatching worry in my stomach... it’s such an emotional rollercoaster for me... I was very confident going into my first hatch, and badly shaken by the late humidity issues and dismal hatch rate, along with needing to cull some chicks. That’s when I first found BYC, and It was almost a “never again” feeling. But I need more chickens to be sustainable, and chicks are expensive with shipping, so here we are again!

Fun note... I was just out on the last round of morning chicken chores, and one of Chickie Hawks babies from my June Hatch is crowing!!! (Well, sort of... “Kaw-coo??”) They are all still pretty lightweight... but that’s what I get for starting with hybrid layers that were bred to be super thrifty (small) and lay too many giant eggs...

If you are afraid of them hatching too early and getting caught in the turner, couldn't you just turn the turner off?

 

[Kris5902]

I still need to go down and candle them, and so far I’ve hatched on their sides, not in the turner or upright. I don’t actually think anyone will be early, but you never really know. I’m basically choosing between stopping the turner and laying them down 8 hrs before day 19 begins or 14 hours after it has begun, if that helps any? I’m using little the little giant incubators with the fan.

 

[Ribh]

Oh, gosh! I find your hatches so stressful! @Kris5902 Interesting~ very ~ but, oh! the stress!

 

[Kris5902]

So our fun tractor story... with the Tractor that didn’t break during Haying, not the green one that is held together by questionable welding and haystrings.

We have been working at dumping gravel into the spaces between our footings, until around noon yesterday when the tractor lost a tire, and bent it’s rim up something awful.

FIL described where the giant socket set was in his yard, DH said we would take the tires off in the evening and needed to do X,Y & Z down at the house. We had lunch, and went to the farm proper, commenced with X, and then halfway through Y, FIL tore off in the direction of the store/pub/other side of island. We finish Z and head for the tools. Over 1/2hr of searching, and nothing... his yard makes mine look clean and organized, which is saying a lot right now!

Andrew drives me up to the trailer and heads back down to the farm to see what he can scrounge there and to drive my mom up for dinner. We fight with the tractor tires for almost an hour and have the broken one completely loose and have started on the next. FIL shows up, I retreat to our trailer, he proceeds to yell at Andrew because he was “supposed to come right back with the tool and help him square something” on the house forms, though he never mentioned that to Andrew. He then produces the correct tool, which he took on a 4 hour tour of the island, to the store, gas, his friends place, and then down to the pub for a pint or two. And people make jokes about the front yards in Surrey having cars up on blocks? Well I got that beat:

 

[BlueBaby]

I still need to go down and candle them, and so far I’ve hatched on their sides, not in the turner or upright. I don’t actually think anyone will be early, but you never really know. I’m basically choosing between stopping the turner and laying them down 8 hrs before day 19 begins or 14 hours after it has begun, if that helps any? I’m using little the little giant incubators with the fan.

I have done that before. Stop the turner and lay them down. Increase humidity when it's time to. I have a Little Giant still-air one.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

So our fun tractor story... with the Tractor that didn’t break during Haying, not the green one that is held together by questionable welding and haystrings.

We have been working at dumping gravel into the spaces between our footings, until around noon yesterday when the tractor lost a tire, and bent it’s rim up something awful.

FIL described where the giant socket set was in his yard, DH said we would take the tires off in the evening and needed to do X,Y & Z down at the house. We had lunch, and went to the farm proper, commenced with X, and then halfway through Y, FIL tore off in the direction of the store/pub/other side of island. We finish Z and head for the tools. Over 1/2hr of searching, and nothing... his yard makes mine look clean and organized, which is saying a lot right now!

Andrew drives me up to the trailer and heads back down to the farm to see what he can scrounge there and to drive my mom up for dinner. We fight with the tractor tires for almost an hour and have the broken one completely loose and have started on the next. FIL shows up, I retreat to our trailer, he proceeds to yell at Andrew because he was “supposed to come right back with the tool and help him square something” on the house forms, though he never mentioned that to Andrew. He then produces the correct tool, which he took on a 4 hour tour of the island, to the store, gas, his friends place, and then down to the pub for a pint or two. And people make jokes about the front yards in Surrey having cars up on blocks? Well I got that beat:

View attachment 1876939

Sounds like you made a good call on your strategic retreat...

I still need to go down and candle them, and so far I’ve hatched on their sides, not in the turner or upright. I don’t actually think anyone will be early, but you never really know. I’m basically choosing between stopping the turner and laying them down 8 hrs before day 19 begins or 14 hours after it has begun, if that helps any? I’m using little the little giant incubators with the fan.

Hatching sounds really complicated. I think I'll just watch and learn from you Kris

 

[Kris5902]

So I thought seeing as I’m going into my third hatch, I’d share the chicks from my last one in June again. Aside from the two very black ones, these are all Chickie Hawks babies. I only had one pullet from the Columbian Rock’s eggs, which I sold. So I’m hoping for some more this round because his cockerels by her are so cute! (They are the white specked ones)

They are all the same age, even that big guy staring right at the camera ^

This guys a regular escapee ^

Look at these adorable cheek puffs

Today I finally got to fixing the wire floor on the first tractor I built (we were working out all the kinks) which was smelly, had, hot work. But necessary... now I do t need to worry about the chickens falling through, or something trying to get up in the roosting area! Much better now.

 

[Kris5902]

I should add in pic 2 of the previous post... “that there is some excellent fencing! I mean those posts are driven a good 3-4” deep in the ground!” And this somehow stops a 1800+lb bull from crossing? Psychological barrier, because really... an enthusiastic 5 year old could probably topple it!

 

[Ribh]

So I thought seeing as I’m going into my third hatch, I’d share the chicks from my last one in June again. Aside from the two very black ones, these are all Chickie Hawks babies. I only had one pullet from the Columbian Rock’s eggs, which I sold. So I’m hoping for some more this round because his cockerels by her are so cute! (They are the white specked ones)View attachment 1877359
They are all the same age, even that big guy staring right at the camera ^
View attachment 1877360
This guys a regular escapee ^
View attachment 1877361
Look at these adorable cheek puffs
View attachment 1877362
View attachment 1877363
View attachment 1877364
View attachment 1877367
Today I finally got to fixing the wire floor on the first tractor I built (we were working out all the kinks) which was smelly, had, hot work. But necessary... now I do t need to worry about the chickens falling through, or something trying to get up in the roosting area! Much better now.
View attachment 1877366

View attachment 1877365

Them's some seriously pretty birds you have there!

 

[BY Bob]

I still need to go down and candle them, and so far I’ve hatched on their sides, not in the turner or upright. I don’t actually think anyone will be early, but you never really know. I’m basically choosing between stopping the turner and laying them down 8 hrs before day 19 begins or 14 hours after it has begun, if that helps any? I’m using little the little giant incubators with the fan.

We are all nervous with you. All I can do is offer my best wishes and a best of luck to you. You are doing all you can.