Major's Chicken Journal.

Major_in_MS · Apr 13, 2024

Here are a few pictures of the new coop. It is not occupied yet, I will probably move a flock into it on Thursday.

Major_in_MS · Apr 19, 2024

April 19, 2024
Lockdown day.
Today I removed the automatic turners from my three incubators and increased the humidity and did one last candling. I saw movement in all of the eggs that made it to lockdown.

April 1 - Set Day	LF Cochin - 53 eggs SLW - 49 eggs Orpington - 21 eggs Marans - 18 eggs BJG - 7 eggs 148 Eggs set
April 6 - First Candle	LF Cochin - (-5) 48 SLW - (-5) 44 Orpington - 21 Marans - (-1) 17 BJG - 7 137 Eggs fertile (93%)
April 16 - Second Candle	LF Cochin - (-5) 43 SLW - (-1) 43 Orpington - 21 Marans - (-4) 13 BJG - 7 127 Eggs still going
April 19 - Lockdown	LF Cochin - 43 SLW - 43 Orpington - 21 Marans - 13 BJG - 7 Total 127 Eggs in lockdown

Incubator 1 - Orpington and Marans

Incubator 2 - LF Cochin

Incubator 3 - SLW and Black Jersey Giant

Major_in_MS · Apr 24, 2024

April Hatch Results:

These chicks were removed at the end of Day 20, they are the early hatchers.

Out of my total hatch of 95 chicks, two had to be culled for leg deformities and two did not survive the first night.
Everybody else is doing really well outside in my brooder pen under the "Ohio Brooder."

I'm in the process of buying my late grandfathers 56 acre farm and will be moving these chickens from the backyard to a pastured situation on the farm in around 8 weeks. Will be posting pictures of his ~80 year old chicken house and my progress in getting it ready for new chickens and fencing in part of the pasture as the work progresses. I'm excited about the new farm! I've already ordered a Starlink Kit for the farm so I can hook up some cameras and such to help me monitor things when I'm not there.

Major_in_MS · Oct 5, 2024

In my last post around 5 months ago I mentioned that I was buying the farm that my grandmother bought back in the '40s while my grandfather was stationed in Italy during WWII.

Well it took a little longer than I anticipated, but now I own a farm. It has been neglected for the past ten years since my grandfathers death. The former pastures and fields are quite overgrown. The old chicken house is in quite bad shape also.

I have been bush-hogging and trying to figure out where on the farm I'm going to build some new poultry houses, since it will cost much more money than I have to repair/rebuild the old chicken house. I will have to work on that project over time.

Here are a few pictures.

Major_in_MS · Feb 28, 2025

I've got most of my breeding flocks moved to the farm now. I still have two flocks to move, but these two need to be split into four flocks. I'm hoping to get them moved next week.

Three weeks ago I put some eggs from my GLW over SLW breeding pen into one of my incubators. The following short video is the first chick to hatch on my farm since I don't know when.
Hatch thread

Major_in_MS · Feb 28, 2025

I'm a lot further behind this year than I had intended. Back in the first week of December I had stopped at Tractor Supply on my way home from work. I was in the back of my pickup securing a new chicken pen and as I was getting ready to jump down from the tailgate my foot got hung on something but my body just kept on going.

I broke both arms and a few ribs. That set me back quite a bit. I'm finally cleared to return to work and I've been able to get some stuff done in the past few weeks with the help of one of my sons.

Here are a few recent pictures. It will probably take me all summer to get this old chicken house cleaned out and get the pasture next to it secured enough to let my flocks free range some.

Major_in_MS · Mar 31, 2025

Today is hatch day!

I have my temporary brooders set up and ready to sort my chicks into as they come out of the hatcher. I will keep them in these brooders for up to a week to make selling chicks easier.