New Jersey

[sunnychooks]

It depends on which Agway. I think TS has a better selection than the one in New Egypt (which is very good) because there is a wider variety of the types of things for sale.

 

[NJchixs]

Thanks! I hear it mentioned a lot here. Is it worth the drive to check it out or is it similar to an agway?

TSC in Allentown is where I go. It's Its about five more minutes down 195 past the exit you get off for me. I think it's better than agway, but they only get supplies in once a week and more than once they have been out of things I need.

I got a new kitchenaide stand mixer. I always wanted one but thought $350 was a bit much to spend on a mixer. I came home the other day to this huge box on my steps that i could barely move. Opened it up and wallah! My husband totally surprised me. He did great on the color too. He's buttering me up for something and it's obviously going to be big.

And here was my first creation


so yummy! Some were salted and some were pressed into cinnamon and sugar.

Very nice. Enjoy and the pretzels look awesome. Where they hard to make? My kids would love them.

I am testing out my new incubator, so I threw whatever eggs I have in there. I have a handful of NN/showgirl eggs in there. I don't know if you're looking for purebred NN's or if a mix is okay. I set them last night, so they'll be due to hatch in 3 weeks, assuming my incubator does its job!

How are the temps holding? I'm hoping mine will be here next week.

 

[kahlua]

How are the temps holding? I'm hoping mine will be here next week.

So far it's perfect. It came on Wednesday - I plugged it in and let it run for 2 days. I put my own thermometers in there and it held within 0.5 degrees of 99.5. Our house temp is about 60-65 degrees so a tiny bit lower than "normal," the box suggested 70-80 degrees, but it's fine.

I didn't realize it was styrofoam - I pulled it out of the box and was a little surprised, in the pics it looked more like plastic. But...oh well.

I put the eggs in last night and it's still holding nicely. I also stacked a bunch of extras on top of the eggs in the turner - a lot of the eggs were old and I didn't mark them with the dates they were laid, so I figured extras would be a good thing. I will candle in a few days and get rid of any that aren't developing.
I think I will still lockdown and hatch the chicks in my homemade incubator - it will help keep the new one clean. Hatching is MESSY!

 

[NJchixs]

How long after you ordered it did it ship? I told putty I was going to pick up some eggs around April 1st. I'm wondering if it will be here in time.

 

[NJchixs]

How long after you ordered it did it ship? I told putty I was going to pick up some eggs around April 1st. I'm wondering if it will be here in time.

Lol. It came today. Do you do any staggered hatches? I'm bummed this cant do that. I don't know how I would handle that other than trying to make a hatcher out of a styrofoam cooler.

 

[GAIL328]

I got a new kitchenaide stand mixer. I always wanted one but thought $350 was a bit much to spend on a mixer. I came home the other day to this huge box on my steps that i could barely move. Opened it up and wallah! My husband totally surprised me. He did great on the color too. He's buttering me up for something and it's obviously going to be big.

And here was my first creation

so yummy! Some were salted and some were pressed into cinnamon and sugar.

I



I love mine. Makes lots of cookies at Christmas.

 

[kahlua]

I do have a staggered hatch going on right now LOL I have a handful of marans and two OE's that are hatching right now. I just left them in my big cooler incubator while the others locked down and were hatched. They didn't get turned, the humidity was a little high for a few days, but they seem to be fine, they were all peeping this morning.
My homemade incubator is a BIG cooler - not a styrofoam one though, it's plastic. It's got a thermostat wired in to a light bulb, and also a computer fan. I have a few holes for ventilation, and I keep some water bottles in the bottom to hold heat. My temperatures holds very steady - but I'm thinking it could use a second fan, I have a feeling there might be some cooler spots. It's pretty big for one fan to keep ventilated! But other than that I can't complain. I think it'll be good for lockdowns, a little bit of fluctuation in temperature will be okay for the last 3 days, I'm just thinking it might cause issues if it's going on during the full incubation.

The cooler might have been $40, the thermostat and light bulb setting maybe $10-12, the computer fan about $8. I used some wire from an old box fan for the thermostat/light bulb. And I had to get a 12V plug for the fan.
I think this is the guide I followed for the wiring
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/home-made-incubator

I don't have a turner - I just turn them by hand.

This is mine - but I have made a couple of changes, this was when I first built it.




The back of the thermostat needs to be 1-2" from the light bulb. So I had to move it - I mounted it on a dowel and have it next to the bulb. Also the big pan was WAY too much water - I put the water bottles in the bottom now (to hold heat) and I just use a small bowl of water for humidity. For lockdown I use a bigger bowl with a sponge to increase surface area.
I also hatch in a wire basket I made out of hardware cloth - this keeps the chicks safe from the water, and from getting stuck in the PVC pipes.

 

[llandry]

Allentown. It's about a half hour from here, but super easy to get to. You just go down the parkway and when you get off the Allentown exit, it's literally right there. Uh oh! Now that I've told you, and it's chick days....

lol my husband would take my mixer away if i came home with chicks i think. Plus i finally got him to cave about njchix's GLW. I don't want to push it. Have you ever been to Rogers Feed & Supply in Brick? I've been a few times and was really impressed with all of their chicken stuff.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

lol my husband would take my mixer away if i came home with chicks i think. Plus i finally got him to cave about njchix's GLW. I don't want to push it. Have you ever been to Rogers Feed & Supply in Brick? I've been a few times and was really impressed with all of their chicken stuff.

I have, but I don't go there anymore because I have had bugs in my rabbit food twice from them.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

I was just at TSC in Allentown. If anyone is interested, here's what they have left:
White Leghorns
Red Layers
Dark Brahmas
Ducks (Pekin I think)