"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[mixedUPturk]

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.

You should take some pics for us!

 

[Ron Skekel]

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

I charge 4 a doz. check your store prices. Pam

 

[Ron Skekel]

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.

Miss you so much my dear friend! Would love pics. Hope life is getting better for you. Love you! Pam

 

[Ron Skekel]

Your such an active woman! Fingers in everything! I have to hand turn right now, and i have to right down when i did as well as having an alarm set To do It

Im afraid im not making myself clear, what im reffering to is the use of a seperate machine that doesnt turn, for the last three days of incubation, and the Hatch. When the eggs shouldnt be turned. That way you could set 10 eggs, and then on day 18 move them to the hatcher. Setting smaller clutchs, 10 or so, would mean you could then Add ten one week from the initial set and continue, until you hatch every week... The hatcher means you can hatch without bumping the humidity in the main bator during the later eggs incubation, comprimising their growth rates.


Have i told yall im nuts?

That's not a bad Idea. I will think about it. Coby I'm fixing to ship 4 adult birds to various locals. If you want the rooster I'll get a shipping price for you. Pam

 

[Ron Skekel]

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 am organic and fixing to go up from 4 bucks. Pam

 

[Ron Skekel]

I've been setting Bielefelder eggs from my flock and am having terrible fertility. That's why I've had the bator running for so long. Been trying to get enough chicks together for my uncle.
I usually give my eggs away to one of my sisters. My birds have been stingy lately and don't really have enough to be selling.

Read above post. Pam

 

[Ron Skekel]

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
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?
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??

I forgot you can add to my list beekeeper. My hive was lost in Katrina. I have everything set up with new bees this spring. So yep a lot on my plate. Can't wait for retirement from the Masonry business . It's been very good to us but is hard on the body. Pam

 

[Cody A]

I like to run "dry" the first 18 days, and that keeps me at about 40% humidity.

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?

See I think at 40% in the cabinet I have they would be too dry. All bators are different so you have to find the sweet spot for each brand/design.

If your gonna have

100's of cockerels then you may not need the CX. If you do raise them be sure to get the Broiler Booster or something equivalent. https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/broiler_booster.html The extra vitamins and minerals are recommended cause they grow and gain weight so extremely fast. You have to mix it in their water. I raised 15 and they drank two-three gallons of water a day. It was in the hotter time of the year though. You have to ration their food also. Limit access for a number of hours a day after they reach a certain age. You'd need to look up the recommended hours per day Also I fed mine a high protein game bird starter. I'll tell you 15 birds doesn't seem like much but these guys crap like you wouldn't believe

. I had to lay down extra pine shavings several times. I let mine go to 12 weeks old and they were the size of small turkeys........literally. I usually bake two dual-purpose birds in a 18 quart magnalite roaster. These at 12 weeks you can only fit one at a time. I think/thought is was fun and a good experience raising them and I would do it again but you almost need a designated coop/area for them to be in. They are food hogs and will push your other birds out of the way especially younger ones. They're like little bulldozers.

 

[Cody A]

That's not a bad Idea. I will think about it. Coby I'm fixing to ship 4 adult birds to various locals. If you want the rooster I'll get a shipping price for you. Pam

Ohhhhhh why do you tempt me PAM

Right now I think I need to pass on your offer. I really appreciate it though. I'd hate to have to cull the boys I have.

Thank you for thinking of me

I would be curious to know what it would cost to ship from you to Ruston though.

 

[Ron Skekel]

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 .


The Bresse eggs Turk got from me were porous and hatched so you can rule that out. Pam