"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[mire0042]

Oh and lakones, I need to charge more for eggs. I charge 2.50/dozen. And we give some away to in laws and friends every now and then. I save the money in a jar to buy feed with. I might would have a surplus if I started charging more

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Oh and lakones, I need to charge more for eggs. I charge 2.50/dozen. And we give some away to in laws and friends every now and then. I save the money in a jar to buy feed with. I might would have a surplus if I started charging more

You definitely need to charge more! $5.00 a dozen is the going rate here.

 

[mixedUPturk]

If u really want it I will get it for u and when I come your way in about a month or so I can bring it to you. Pam

Im sorry i missed this earlier! Your so kind! Thank You! Im tryin to talk hubby into it, its not so much the trip, its the bills! End of the month worries :/ everything coming along though and he promised that if i make enough off the chicks i can go get it

Turk, that is where a Dickeys 2x2 incubator/hatcher comes in handy. You can do staggered hatches setting a clutch of eggs on 7 or 14 day cycles. So you can hatch and incubate at the same time. I have a third clutch getting ready to hatch tonight. It's been going for about a month and a half. Sorry if I 've showed you this before.

I dont remmeber if ive Seen it But its nice! You told me you had that, and i dont understand how the humidity works, could you please explain it? Sorry to hear about your fertility problems, do you know the root?

Wow, y'all are some hatching peeps! How much are y'all charging for eggs? I've been charging $3/doz but I see other folks around here doing $4 and $5/doz. I'm not organic, but neither are they.

I ask 4$ ive had neighbors try to haggle for 3.50 and ill do it once for them as a hook but not a second time. "The Chicken Man" Mr. Naquin off of Port Hudson Pride has charged four since spring. Did i miss anything??

 

[Cody A]

I made a short video of my flock the other day.

Get a good look at those guineas, Cody! At the end of the video they're all bunched around their "mama."

She adopted them when I let them out for the first time.

Hey that's cool! Is that Emily that adopted them?

 

[campingshaws]

I made a short video of my flock the other day.

Get a good look at those guineas, Cody! At the end of the video they're all bunched around their "mama." She adopted them when I let them out for the first time.

Hey that's cool! Is that Emily that adopted them?

No, it's Eloise. She was broody earlier in the summer but lost all her babies. I think she was still feeling a little motherly.

Emily is still doing good! She's desperate to be out of the tractor and with the flock, but I worry about her free ranging because she's so much slower. My aunt has expressed an interest in chickens for the grandmas (her mother and mother-in-law) share a house in the backyard) so I'm hoping she'll want Emily and Pigeon, the sussex that was born with a crooked neck that has been so sick with fowl pox. Of she sets up fast enough, I can get her started with some POL mixed pullets.

 

[Cody A]

I dont remmeber if ive Seen it But its nice! You told me you had that, and i dont understand how the humidity works, could you please explain it?
Sorry to hear about your fertility problems, do you know the root?

You just keep the pan in the top filled with water, very simple. Dickey suggests running at 54-58% humidity for entire time. With the pan supplied it pretty much stays in this range You can add water pans or put in smaller pan depending on humidity of room the bator is in. I tried dry hatching the first two hatches because that's what everyone suggests but had dry and shrink wrapped chicks. I've had great success running the humidity per instructions. You don't have to raise the humidity like other bators suggest when they hatch. If you set eggs on cycles and if you want to raise the humidity a few days for the eggs that are on "lockdown" it won't affect the eggs that are say a week or two behind. At first I freaked out about the humidity but now I just candle on days 7,14,18 and judge the air cells which is the most important telltale sign that your humidity is in the correct range. If it's a little high or low the first 7 days or so then no sweat you can adjust but you can't put the moisture back in the eggs. Your looking for an average humidity the whole 21 days so if it drops to say 40% or raises to 60% it's no big deal as long as it doesn't stay there for too many days.
You can buy a "automatic humidity system" that sounds fancy but it's just a bucket that sits on top of the bator with a tube that goes into the water pan and has a float like in a commode. It keeps the water pan filled without having to open the door and fill it by hand. I didn't buy it cause it's no big deal to just open the door and fill the pan every few days.

I'm extremely pleased with this bator. All the parts are readily available when something needs to be replaced. Earnest Dickey has been selling bators for like 50-60 yrs or so and when you call to ask questions you talk to him personally and you can basically call anytime. It's not made of plastic or particle board which is a major plus to me. I looked at the Brinsea Octagon before I bought and the prices........I just couldn't buy a plastic bator for 6-700$ that has to be sent in and calibrated when for around 800.00 you can get a Dickeys. I also looked at the other big name brand cabinet bators but chose to buy from an American made little man if you catch my drift.

Oh, I think the fertility issues could be due to inbreeding but not sure. Many, many of the eggs my birds are laying look to be porous. I don't know what causes this maybe genetics. I feed my birds Scartch-n-Peck layer with free choice calcium available and they also free range everyday .

 

[Cody A]

No, it's Eloise.

She was broody earlier in the summer but lost all her babies. I think she was still feeling a little motherly.

Emily is still doing good! She's desperate to be out of the tractor and with the flock, but I worry about her free ranging because she's so much slower. My aunt has expressed an interest in chickens for the grandmas (her mother and mother-in-law) share a house in the backyard) so I'm hoping she'll want Emily and Pigeon, the sussex that was born with a crooked neck that has been so sick with fowl pox. Of she sets up fast enough, I can get her started with some POL mixed pullets.

I'm glad Emily is still doing good.

I can't believe you'll give her away to someone else

 

[mire0042]

 

[mixedUPturk]

You just keep the pan in the top filled with water, very simple. Dickey suggests running at 54-58% humidity for entire time. With the pan supplied it pretty much stays in this range You can add water pans or put in smaller pan depending on humidity of room the bator is in. I tried dry hatching the first two hatches because that's what everyone suggests but had dry and shrink wrapped chicks. I've had great success running the humidity per instructions. You don't have to raise the humidity like other bators suggest when they hatch. If you set eggs on cycles and if you want to raise the humidity a few days for the eggs that are on "lockdown" it won't affect the eggs that are say a week or two behind. At first I freaked out about the humidity but now I just candle on days 7,14,18 and judge the air cells which is the most important telltale sign that your humidity is in the correct range. If it's a little high or low the first 7 days or so then no sweat you can adjust but you can't put the moisture back in the eggs. Your looking for an average humidity the whole 21 days so if it drops to say 40% or raises to 60% it's no big deal as long as it doesn't stay there for too many days.
You can buy a "automatic humidity system" that sounds fancy but it's just a bucket that sits on top of the bator with a tube that goes into the water pan and has a float like in a commode. It keeps the water pan filled without having to open the door and fill it by hand. I didn't buy it cause it's no big deal to just open the door and fill the pan every few days.

I'm extremely pleased with this bator. All the parts are readily available when something needs to be replaced. Earnest Dickey has been selling bators for like 50-60 yrs or so and when you call to ask questions you talk to him personally and you can basically call anytime. It's not made of plastic or particle board which is a major plus to me. I looked at the Brinsea Octagon before I bought and the prices........I just couldn't buy a plastic bator for 6-700$ that has to be sent in and calibrated when for around 800.00 you can get a Dickeys. I also looked at the other big name brand cabinet bators but chose to buy from an American made little man if you catch my drift.

Oh, I think the fertility issues could be due to inbreeding but not sure. Many, many of the eggs my birds are laying look to be porous. I don't know what causes this maybe genetics. I feed my birds Scartch-n-Peck layer with free choice calcium available and they also free range everyday .

i was taught a different way to incubate. You know what works for you, and im glad you did your research. I understand where your coming from in that as long as the aircells are on target then your doing okay. I measure the water loss as weight loss on a scale. Im a huge nerd and the numbers were the only way i could be Sure that theyre on target.

That being said;

I like to run "dry" the first 18 days, and that keeps me at about 40% humidity. Then i bump the humidty for hatch by adding water to one water tray, only need one little tray because its only for three days. The hatchlings contribute to the humidity and it runs about 70% those final days. This procces brings me to the targeted 14% weight loss that chicken eggs need, and it allows no shrink wrapping. Of course ive only hatched twice, my technique might change. My rates were 84% and 88% so theres tweaking to be done Also, of course, you work with what you have. If it works...

Also, I understand wanting the American Made products, and i thank you for supporting our economy. I bought the first good thing that came across craigslist if i was going to go online and prepare to buy a cabniet? I would most likely buy the parts and build my own coolerbator.

My plan is, come spring, smaller hatchs are easier to maintain, and easier to collect. So, i am eventully going to have a second machine for only hatching. Then i will only set 10-20 at a time. on day 7 i can remove clears and add the next set of 10-20, then on clutch ones day 18, remove the first clutch to the hatcher at 70% AH, then add another clutch to the bator, and so on and so fourth...

Of course all that depends on the selling game... We can only eat so many by ourselves right?

Ive got a contact who wants to order and raise CX next year. Im positive you just proccessed some right? What would you advise to me about them? Should i even consider it with the 100s of roosters that ima end up with?

 

[LindaB220]

Hey folks, still loving the scenery up here in WA, fall leaves are insane. Pinks, reds, yellows.
Jenny has said that if I want to live with them permanently, I can place a smaller coop in the backyard. What do you think? Banties? Ha. I'm open for it.