MAY 2016 "Land of the Free Because of the brave!" Hatch-a-Long Hosted by, Mike & Sally

[Sally Sunshine]

We have some requests for two more contests,

WE WILL NEED YOUR DONATIONS!

Our plans are for a "POULTRY HEAD SHOTS"

*MAY HAL MEMBERS ONLY

&

Another Random winning thread for LAUGHS!

*Open to all members BYC


BUT AGAIN WE NEED YOUR PRIZE DONATIONS!!!!
please PM @mlm Mike with your donations!

​

No item too small! ​

​

Hatching Egg Donations, ​

Poultry themed items: ​

new/used in good shape, ​

BYC GFM's, ​

Amazon Gift Cert,​

BYC Certs, ​

ANY TYPE OF GIFT CERTIFICATES, ​

THESE COST LITTLE TO MAIL TO THE WINNER!​

all great items to donate! What some of us do is purchase an item from Amazon and send it directly to the winner, just make sure they have plenty of the item in stock, example chicken rooster fowl mugs are always cool! ​

 

[TJordan]

LOL aww thanks, that's true but really!? You seem so talkative and nice on here! I HATE shopping. Or I used to. I find it so boring. But oddly, I like grocery shopping lol I think it was always just cause my mom likes to shop and would drag me along for hours

I'm really awkward/shy in person though ha
LOL I know you were quoting Sally's post but I'm like Sally too, hate shopping, find it boring, but oddly enough the one thing I do like is grocery shopping. I think it's because it's fun and I can buy whatever food I want. Especially now that I have my license. Usually this involves tons pf junk, you know, like cheese puff, zebra cakes, ice cream, cookies, fruit snacks, candy, cheez its, cupcakes, etc. Etc. You get the picture. But my mom just took me tonight since they're leaving and I bought like basically everything I'm gonna need/want. But anyways, oddly enough I did not buy amy junk food whatsoever. Not one single thing. I got entirely bagged salads and fresh fruits and vegetables, orange juice, milk, bread and peanut butter, fruit cups, yogurt, chicken, oats, etc. Heck, I even went in the organic and gluten-free section of the store (it's a decent sized area and selection in a front corner, I usually never venture into it. It's an adventure let me tell you. ) and happened up the seeds and bought them. I fall for packaging telling you it's the best thing ever, okay?

flax seeds, flax & chia seed blend, flax & hemp seed blend. Did I need all 3? No. But I figure they're good for me and I can put them in smoothies or give a tiny bit to the chickens (not too much, that **** was expensive lol). Amazing. I almost bought zebra cakes cause they're on an end cap with other little debbie products and I was thinking, as I often do, "well, I'm getting all this healthy stuff. I can buy one unhealthy thing" but then right after that I told myself "I am trying to be healthy and completely cut this stuff out" obviously if that's the case "just one" defeats the purpose and also for me it turns into the whole box. LOL so I sadly resisted although I'm not sure if I'm just nervous or cold or what cause it is kinda cold in this room but I think I might possibly already be craving sugar and junk food and if there is withdrawal almost experiencing it but I'm probably being a hypochondriac lol i didn eat junk today unless you count syrup on the French toast but normally i wouldnt even eat breakfast.
I buy Nutrena too. Used to buy it at TSC. Had no idea TSC feed was old!!!
I have been feeding starter/grower for a while as it's higher protein but Nutrena also makes Feather Fixer which is the closest ratios to layer. BUT. I also found out last week that Nutrena makes a higher protein layer feed!!! Our local feed store carries it but TSC doesn't. It is in their NatureWise line like the current starter/grower I feed now and like the other layer I bought one time before going back to starter/grower. The regular layer, as with almost all other brands, is 16% protein but this one is 18% !!! It's fantastic because I don't have to feed starter/growet anymore or all flock or anything like that. I heard layer is supposed to be the sole ration so if you feed a lot of treats and such you should feed something else as it lowers the protein but I am hoping that ths higher percent protein layer will be okay since protein seems to be the main concern? Sorry for babbling. The feed is called NatureWise Hearty Hen. And it is made by Nutrena and is 18% protein.
Sounds interesting lol
Was wondering too. I was just about to ask that myself lol but they look smaller like alpacas. Llamas are huge

OLD FEED AT TSC!!!! I need to watch that.

 

[TJordan]

2 more days then LOCKDOWN!!!!! I'm so eggcited

 

[Birdrain92]

We have some requests for two more contests,

WE WILL NEED YOUR DONATIONS!

Our plans are for a "POULTRY HEAD SHOTS"

*MAY HAL MEMBERS ONLY

&

Another Random winning thread for LAUGHS!

*Open to all members BYC


BUT AGAIN WE NEED YOUR PRIZE DONATIONS!!!!
please PM @mlm Mike with your donations!

​

No item too small! ​

​

Hatching Egg Donations, ​

Poultry themed items: ​

new/used in good shape, ​

BYC GFM's, ​

Amazon Gift Cert,​

BYC Certs, ​

ANY TYPE OF GIFT CERTIFICATES, ​

THESE COST LITTLE TO MAIL TO THE WINNER!​

all great items to donate! What some of us do is purchase an item from Amazon and send it directly to the winner, just make sure they have plenty of the item in stock, example chicken rooster fowl mugs are always cool! ​

If this was 8 years or later I could help but I'm not large enough yet. If did have the poultry farm I want I would donate peafowl hatching eggs or juvenile peafowl.

 

[mlm Mike]

At the moment I have 6 eggs from my April hatch that will be staying in the incubator until May to see if they are just running a few days late. Then on Tue I am due to lock down 5 turkey eggs to hatch the 6th. Then on May 14th runner duck and turkey eggs I got on the 24 hour crazy auction thread. Then chicken eggs to hatch around the 19th of May. I am not sure I am going to know what to do with myself when the incubators are empty after that LOL.

God luck!!

Wow, finally caught up! So happy to see some familiar faces have joined!! Pyxis, congrats on the 40! And Sally that is a LOT of eggs!! Tell me about stacking them...how does that work at hatch time? I need all the space I can get right now! Good luck to everyone!!

Here's my updates:
I didn't realize that broodys counted. I have a 6 month old silkie that has gone broody for the first time. I really don't need anymore chicks but I hate depriving them of what they want. So I stuck 5 very OLD eggs under her. (And dang it, I forgot to write down the day!! A little over a week ago). I candled them and of course they are all developing!

5 shipped call duck eggs still going strong (1 still has a very wobbly air cell) in my brinsea mini due 5/10.

29 of my own silkie eggs (all 29 looking great) in my brinsea 20 Eco, due 5/13.

New incubator should be here next week and I'll set more!

So I officially set 24 dorking eggs and 2 silkies on Friday. (Silkies were a random "either take them or we are tossing them" from my daughters friend. (They don't eat the silkie eggs so they toss them if they aren't hatching them.) Dorkings are for my daughters dad so hoping they hatch well.) Last hatch I had a 75% hath rate. Would have had dang near 100% but somehow 11 of the 12 that didn't hatch died fully formed in the shell. (I think my humidity for hatch was too high...had it good during incubation, great air cells, but not a single internal pip on 11 of them. Plus the last one to hatch was sticky and blind...so something was off. (He/she (Moran) is doing well with the silkies. Their siblings keep running her Sammy (blind Moran) over, so I put her with the 4 days younger silkie chicks and they are all getting along well. She's figured out the food dish and water and peeps like a homing beakon when needing guidance. Lol.

Hello! Family brought us some eggs to try hatching for them. Black Star, and we are hoping to get a few more backyard mix of our own. Would love some new breeds, maybe next year we will order some.

Good Luck!

I'm going to be incubating peafowl eggs. Right now I have two eggs from my White peahen. The male is a White peacock as well. I'm still waiting for my other White peahen and Indian blue peahen paired up with my Indian Blue male to lay eggs. I'm going to be incubating 5 eggs from each hen hopefully. I don't use any auto egg turners. I turn my eggs all by hand.

Wonderful!

Okay now I've officially caught up. I rally went through and read a the posts.

On the feed thing. I switched to a 22% Game Bird layer feed, about three months ago, maybe it's been 4, anyway, my birds love it. After about a month and half their laying had picked up and seems like the eggs have gotten bigger. I have noticed that there are a couple if hens that their shells are still a littke thin. The calcium in this feed is the same ad the other layer I was feeding, so maybe some hens need way more calcium than others, I do give them baked egg shells. The feed is called Caldwell Feeds, it is milled in Rosebud, Arkansas.

Now, yesterday afternoon I picked up some NN eggs that are grossed with a Polish rooster. Gonna try to put hats on some of my Naked Necks ( Turkens).

Getting the eggs a ready to set on Wednesday night Kaye or maybe Thursday. I'll post what and how many after I figure it all put myself.

I want to see pics of the "hats" on naked necks!

So of my leftover aprils eggs I have 4 that look like quitters. Two peeping. And one of those has pipped. I may have a may day easter egger.

Help! I'm a first timer and its day 22 and I have no pips, no rocking eggs, no chirping. I'm using a Brinsea Mini Advanced and its held temp at 99.6 except for the daily cooling period. Humidity is 75% right now and I'm not sure what it was for the first 18 days. I only bought a hygrometer before lockdown. I'm able to sort of candle the eggs with a maglite through the side of the incubator and I've seen movement. Any ideas why they are so late and what is going on? I'm starting to freak out a bit!

Late is usually low temp.

Still on the hunt for more hatching eggs. E mails have been sent, need to send 1 more and make a phone call. The 7 under my broody hens are hanging in there. I need to candle them soon.
Does anyone ferment feed? I have just started to this past week and I am doing a half mix of layer and game bird feed. I am curious as to what others put in their mix.

Good luck with your search for eggs!

2 more days then LOCKDOWN!!!!! I'm so eggcited

 

[BrieCheese23]

I don't see the problem???

Heheh!

April's hatch finally made it outside today. Eight quails out of 24 eggs, 26 chicks out of 48 eggs (with 6 being won in a chick raffle), and 10 ducklings out of 12 eggs. *knock on wood* This batch seems to be developing much better. If things keep progressing this well, I'll have a lot of white laced little cornish bantams

Anyone in Maine looking for a couple pounds of breast meat on legs?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

2 more days then LOCKDOWN!!!!! I'm so eggcited

Quote:

your so sweet!!! thank you, I love your positive outlook!!!

Quote: nope not close enough!! lol

 

[BrieCheese23]

Quote: Pity

Forgot mah picture I took of the "new" outdoor brooder. It's not the prettiest, but it fits everybody and it's warm and now the ducks can't spill water everywhere...as easily! We'll see if it holds up to tonight's temperature drop with that 250watt bulb and the plastic. I have two more light fixtures I can put in if I need to.

 

[Birdrain92]

your so sweet!!! thank you, I love your positive outlook!!!

nope not close enough!! lol

Thank you! I like to look to make future plans and try and do what it takes to get there. Right now I only have Indian Blue and White peafowl. When I get a large enough farm I hope to be breeding 14 varieties. I would like to be breeding Indian Blue, Black Shoulder, Pied, Silver Pied, Cameo, Peach, Bronze, Charcoal, Purple, Opal, Taupe, Violeta, and Java Green peafowl. I hope to have three trios per variety so I would have 126 breeding peafowl. I would like you to look at photos of all 14 varieties and then let me know which do you think people would like to have a pair or trio of. I just like planning out the future. The Java Green I would probably not donate because they are not a good choice for beginners. Green peafowl are very weather touchy. They don't do well with temps below 40 degrees so the person would need heating, hens tend to be more protective of their nests and males can be more protective of their hens compared to the Indian species. Or I would do a certificate of some sort.

 

[BertandMary]

4 of these hatched this morning. We are setting eggs again next weekend. Currently we are waiting on 4 late eggs to hatch. In the interim we are hand turning 2 peacock eggs which are nearing a week since set. With a little luck we'll have 3 hatches in May.