Mahonri's 3rd Annual, BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[gryeyes]

You know, it's not too hard to make the spreadsheet. I just put the month at the top then the days of the month in a column below that. I put three months on each page so I can print it if I want. Each day I type in the number of eggs collected in the column to the right of the day and in the next column to the right I keep a running total...like this....

January February March
Day Eggs Total Day Eggs Total Day Eggs Total
1 6 6 1 1
2 3 9 2 2
3 7 16 3 3
4 10 26 4 4
5 8 34 5
6 6 40 6
7 7 47 7
8

Then for the feed, I just list the type, weight, cost, and date purchased. I really just track what I buy so that I can see the monthly expense of keeping my birds. For the birds, I have a column for Hatched, Aquired, Deceased, (all dates) Gender, Breed, Color, Name and Distinguishing Features (all text fields.) It helps me keep track of total number in all categories (total number of birds, hens, 10 month olds, etc.)
You can make the totals update automatically with Exel, but that is a bit more complicated. Go into Excel and play with it if you are not familiar with it. Exel will do everything that Word will do and then some! Any problems you have will be covered online if you google the issue. Try it!

I didn't want to destroy that lovely formatting by <snippity do dahhing> to reduce the quote to the parts which triggered my posting response. But I use Excel at work all the time and it's pretty amazing. I SO could do this too IF I WANTED TO but that would give me far too much information.

I think I even hyperventilated a little bit, just reading the post. I tell myself the data would be no good, as I didn't start at the very beginning of my Chicken Keeping Lifestyle. Yah, that's the ticket, too much data lost, wouldn't mean anything now...

Right?

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
I'd go through the bank account and see what hubby just spent money on.... just sayin'....

 

[Arielle]

Well...I think my eggs are done for. I'm not going to stop or anything. But the other day temp dropped to 96, eggs were warm, brought it back up. Shot to 103....brought it back. Stable for a few days. Didn't check my temps last night as I got the Kids' cold and my own temp was up around 103. Soooo..who knows how long it was like this...but found the eggs at 93 degrees and they were cold.

found out hubby might be home in the next few weeks!

So I didn't tell him I was hatching 100+ eggs...so if this kills my eggs...my disappointment will be replaced by relief that I don't have to explain the 100's of eggs. which I was doing the math and I had some seriously jiggly air cells as it were and didn't expect that many to hatch. But he'd never understand...he'd not good at chicken math. Plus, I already have to explain that I bought bee hive equipment and a bee nuc that will be here around may....after he said no.

The way I figure it is this...I want to be a farmer and live off the grid...we can't do that do to the military lifestyle. If I have to sacrifice everything i've wanted to follow him around the world, and on top of it I have to raise the kids, take care of the yard, take care of the house, learn how to do plumbing, building, home repairs and everything all by myself and only see him a few months here and there....then I can I have bees. And chickens. And the one more dog that I will get (which btw is a husky

). mwahahahahah!!!

Don't give up on your eggs yet!!

I hear you about DH. It's all part of the husbands that travel syndrome. You run everything , until he comes home. Then he's gone again . . . We want to do bees this year, too!! DH took a bee keeping class a year ago to prepare. GO for it--the bees need our support!

 

[Razadia]

A couple of people were asking about tilting the incubator, so I have a pic and some advise.

When you tilt the bator the temps will go crazy on one end and low on the low end. It evens itself out when you think about. High temps on one side for a while and low on the other. When you tilt it it ups the temp on the side that was low. I'm doing my own kind of dry hatch. I don't have to add any water until day 18 due to the very high humidity in my house at all times of the year. I have to be very careful when it rain because the bator fogs up. Day 18 comes, no more turning and it's safe to add water.

Here's a pic of my tilted bator. I have a small wooden jewelery box under it to prop it up.

 

[Pinx]

Oh and I candled again last night

. I only have 6 days left until lock down. (I set early) Out of my 45 eggs 16 of them are Bantam eggs and are the only ones I can see in. So I will report on those. A couple of them I think are bad, they are a lot darker then the others, no weeping or smell yet so they are staying in. I think 2 of them looked kind of clear, they were set on the 17th though. All the rest I can see veins and in most I saw the little shadow floating around. I've decided they will stay in until the bitter end unless they weep or smell. Makes candleing a lot easier and not stressful at all.

 

[debs_flock]

A most excellent idea! (Mind if all of us borrow it?)

Thanks, I would be honored!

I am happy to announce that my husband (who gripes about all the chickens) came in today and threw money on the bed and said "Go buy your self another incubator."

I mentioned needing a hatcher and my DH insisted I buy a third incubator! Just take it and run, then start discussing the difficulties of staggered hatches

Hmmm, maybe I should have gone with a cabinet style to begin with, but I can't imagine the trouble I'd get into then.

I didn't want to destroy that lovely formatting by <snippity do dahhing> to reduce the quote to the parts which triggered my posting response. But I use Excel at work all the time and it's pretty amazing. I SO could do this too IF I WANTED TO but that would give me far too much information.

I think I even hyperventilated a little bit, just reading the post. I tell myself the data would be no good, as I didn't start at the very beginning of my Chicken Keeping Lifestyle. Yah, that's the ticket, too much data lost, wouldn't mean anything now...

Right?

I love, love, love Excel, but I've always been a numbers geek (maybe why I'm an accountant type). I've always said you can prove/disapprove both sides of any argument with numbers.

I think you just need to put a "start date" at the top of your data

If you want you can put in that $5K starting debit

But then just amortize the building costs......... Or make the first egg price $5K, the rest are just the cost of the feed and replacement stock. You can't factor in a cost for labor, that is the payment you receive in pleasure of working with the birds. Although, when you're sick and don't want to do it, the costs may be different.

Deb

 

[Arielle]

Its time to announce a winner for....

1. CayuseRanch's

Total Number of Eggs Set Contest
This contest is open to all participants to guess the total number of eggs that will be set by all participants in Mahonri's 3rd Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long! Each participant is to fill out the spreadsheet with their guess as to the total number of eggs that participants will be placing in their incubators for this hatch. All "guesses" must be submitted no later than Midnight EST, Sunday March 11th. Please submit your total number of eggs set to the spreadsheet by Midnight EST Tuesday, March 20th so we can tally up what was set and declare a winner. The person who comes closest to guessing the total number without going over will win a beautiful rooster egg basket.


Drum Roll Please.........

With a guess of 11,000 the winner is JEH1984
Total number of eggs set was 11,187!
Congratulations JEH1984, you will receive a PM Shortly!

GREAT JOB AT GUESSING!!

Just so you all know, I guess I was a couple of hours late with my submission... and guessed 11,111.

Don't be late!

(as host I wasn't really eligible anyway)

Laree just wanted you to know I'm thinking about you and I hope you made it though the day. Sorry about your friend.

x2

 

[Pinx]

Quote:

I'm honestly suprised I haven't done this yet lol. I am the spreadsheet queen around here.

For anyone that wants to try it: To have it add up the totals etc, if you go into the help part of excel it explains it. It takes a little while of playing around with it to make sure you are doing it right. Just remember that where ever you type the equation, is where it will put the answer... unless you specify that the answer goes in D6 or where ever. Once you get it, it is cake.

I think I'll go make a spreasheet now....

 

[gryeyes]

I have told the stories before, but my DH wasn't happy when the chicken math kicked in. He walked around with a chip on his shoulder once he thought I had bought two many chicks. He said angrily, "You spend all your time out there at the coop, and when you are not at the coop, you are sitting at the computer, reading about chickens!" I said calmly, " Okay, Honey, I'll find a new hobby, I've been thinking of taking up bar hopping." I didn't get any more attitude about my birds.

Then there was the time he tried to play the money card. In reference to the 12 straight run chicks I brought home from the feed store, he said, "Just how much did all those chickens COST?!?" To which I again calmly replied, "A dollar each, so $12 - How many game cameras do we own?" He turned around and walked off. The answer is somewhere around 8, at $150 +, each. Poor man.........

Oh, you're GOOD!!

You might be a hatchaholic if:
Unless I am leaving the house, I rarely look in a mirror. And some unfortunate days, not even then.

Crap. Hair. Yah, I guess I oughta brush it. Thanks for the reminder. Dang. What did the neighbors think earlier when I said Howdy to 'em??

Laree just wanted you to know I'm thinking about you and I hope you made it though the day. Sorry about your friend.

I am very uncomfortable trying to express myself in addressing others' losses, for some unknown reason, so I don't. I'd rather folks think I was thoughltless than lame. I know how loss has affected me and it's just incredibly tough to say the right thing. Kim said it perfectly. Laree, you are in my thoughts.

Thanks, I would be honored!

I mentioned needing a hatcher and my DH insisted I buy a third incubator! Just take it and run, then start discussing the difficulties of staggered hatches

Hmmm, maybe I should have gone with a cabinet style to begin with, but I can't imagine the trouble I'd get into then.
I love, love, love Excel, but I've always been a numbers geek (maybe why I'm an accountant type). I've always said you can prove/disapprove both sides of any argument with numbers.

I think you just need to put a "start date" at the top of your data

If you want you can put in that $5K starting debit

But then just amortize the building costs......... Or make the first egg price $5K, the rest are just the cost of the feed and replacement stock. You can't factor in a cost for labor, that is the payment you receive in pleasure of working with the birds. Although, when you're sick and don't want to do it, the costs may be different.

You should be honored! Even I, who has only shipped eggs once before (two sets), am in awe of your simple but inspired solution!!!

I got my second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh incubators to avoid staggered hatches. I've since divested myself of a couple of them in "Here, take this!" gifts so I wouldn't continue to go bat crap crazy (to borrow a term from Mahonri). I often think a cabinet incubator would have been best but - oh my goddess, can you imagine the trouble I'd get into then????

Deb, you are not helping me stay ignorant, y'know!! I just dragged two more 50# bags o' feed to the coop. Surprisingly, the "starving flock" which surrounded me still had feed left in three feeders - so this confirms which three are the "favorite" feeders. I even had feed left in the first bag I opened. These chickens have GOT to stop lying to me!

 

[The Chickeneer]

Theres at least 100 posts every time I check this thread!! I'ts Hatchaholic Central in here. Well, my eggs are doing good, I just keep getting temp spikes for no reason.....I wish I could get at least a Hovabator, this LG is starting to get faulty. But all seems well so I'm happy.