my thieving otter eggs are in the incubator- need photos of setups please

[lindy]

so far i like the rent a coop little water. I was thinking of getting some of the nipples from them and thought i can try this first. who else uses these?

 

[lindy]

It really depends on the individuals. Some get agressive early, some late. I haven't had issues before a month, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

thanks, i wont know on the brown ones for awhile. so at least half my new birds are feather sexable hoping the larger ones can go outside soon or at least in the pump house

 

[CliftonQuail]

Would this be worth 1150? Thinking preety high if you can only put like 4 birds a cage

Those look like Hatching Time cages. I think they typically have dividers that make each tier 3 individual cages so the two sets of 6 would actually equate to 36 cages. On their website, each tier is shown to be 39"L x 24"D x 6"H. If divided into 3 individual cages, each cage would be roughly 1' x 2' (2 square foot). Granted that the feeders are on the outside, but that's not a lot of room. Hatching Time recommends 3 large or 5 small birds per section. That's not really enough for a coturnix breeding covey. Removing the dividers would give you 6 square feet per tier. For non-commercial setups, I've usually seen a recommendation of a minimum of 1 square foot per bird so an undivided tier would be adequate for a 5:1 breeding covey. I'd be more inclined to use that setup for growing out meat birds since they'd only be in there for 5-7 weeks after 3 weeks in a brooder. YMMV.

As for being worth the price? Hatching Time doesn't show a 6 tier system on their site. The most I see is 5 tier which is $670. They sell an add on tier for $190. If the $1150 is for two 6 tier units, then price wise it's probably reasonable. Purchased new would be around $1700.

Edit to add: I'm personally not fond of plastic. I've got a 3 tier Wynola Ranch metal cage and prefer it over the Hatching Time for that reason. However, their 6 tier setup is $955. Their cages are roughly the same size. WR recommends between 84 Jumbo - 150 standard birds in their 6 tier setup. That's 14 Jumbos per 6 square foot tier which seems excessive to me. However, they also indicate that some commercial operations would have 170 - 200 birds in the same space.

 

[lindy]

Those look like Hatching Time cages. I think they typically have dividers that make each tier 3 individual cages so the two sets of 6 would actually equate to 36 cages. On their website, each tier is shown to be 39"L x 24"D x 6"H. If divided into 3 individual cages, each cage would be roughly 1' x 2' (2 square foot). Granted that the feeders are on the outside, but that's not a lot of room. Hatching Time recommends 3 large or 5 small birds per section. That's not really enough for a coturnix breeding covey. Removing the dividers would give you 6 square feet per tier. For non-commercial setups, I've usually seen a recommendation of a minimum of 1 square foot per bird so an undivided tier would be adequate for a 5:1 breeding covey. I'd be more inclined to use that setup for growing out meat birds since they'd only be in there for 5-7 weeks after 3 weeks in a brooder. YMMV.

As for being worth the price? Hatching Time doesn't show a 6 tier system on their site. The most I see is 5 tier which is $670. They sell an add on tier for $190. If the $1150 is for two 6 tier units, then price wise it's probably reasonable. Purchased new would be around $1700.

Edit to add: I'm personally not fond of plastic. I've got a 3 tier Wynola Ranch metal cage and prefer it over the Hatching Time for that reason. However, their 6 tier setup is $955. Their cages are roughly the same size. WR recommends between 84 Jumbo - 150 standard birds in their 6 tier setup. That's 14 Jumbos per 6 square foot tier which seems excessive to me. However, they also indicate that some commercial operations would have 170 - 200 birds in the same space.

If I bought those cages I would cut out the dividers.i was going to go towards the Wynola but they never answered my questions and then the price increase. The way my chicks look, I have four boys out of six of the feather sexable ones and the browns are too small to check.

 

[lindy]

my birds are growing well. havent lost anymore once they started feathering. around 8 weeks now. have one of the feather sexable males crowing, maybe another boy, but no one else yet. I

havent gotten my cages from bass yet. they are still in the 4x2 foot rabbit cage and the three boys that i can tell are boys, are in the tote.

My fancy little water was out of water when i got home. luckily i use wood pellets for substrate or they would of been in water. chewy sending me another one. hoping this one doesnt leak.

still cant vent sex yet. i think they are too young still. TOF said her boys are not aggressive, so i should be fine leaving them together until i can figure it out.

 

[catesquire]

I actually like leaving the boys in to get a sense of how they'll treat the girls (and who is going to crow their head off even surrounded by ladies. Sorry loud boys, to freezer camp with you.)

So glad your birds are growing up well! May all the non-feather sexable ones end up as super plump girls