New member, 'new' incubator, new experiences

[SpaceHen]

Hi all, I'm Sayward and I'm new to BYC.. Have been lurking on here forever but decided to go ahead and sign up. I am pretty bad about keeping profiles and stuff up on member sites but chickens are something I am really interested in so I'll probably be on here a good bit. I could talk all day about chickens. lol.
I have a mixed flock of about 20 birds, had 8 originally (Rhode Island Reds and Americana) but got some Black Copper Marans chicks (straight run) so the boys are going to go back to the farm (when I find out who the boys are!) Anyway, I also keep rabbits and do a LOT of gardening with heirlooms, so if anyone likes heirloom vegetables, let me know..I'll trade with you.
Have a chicken house made from a converted greenhouse, and a home made chicken tractor (that I still have to put wheels on it.lol). Buffy, my prized hen, lives in the tractor with the baby Marans. I have a few different chicken and gardening albums on my facebook page. That's about all I use facebook for is the chicken and gardening groups. lol... I am also over run with fresh eggs, a nice problem to have.
Anyway, I had been talking about getting an incubator, but didn't want (or need) a huge expensive one as I have NO experience with this type thing. My husband looked at the feed store but they were out. He told me that was what he was going to get me one but they weren't available locally and it wouldn't be here on time if ordered online. I told him it wasn't a big deal and that would just come later. It happened sooner than later when I found a used one on Craigslist. It was bigger than the one my husband was looking at, at a fraction of the price. We went to get it and the man threw in a temp and humidity thermometer and 10 fertile heritage Rhode Island Red Eggs for free.
As any chicken enthusiast could imagine, this is a real treat, being able to get started right away. I wrote down everything that the man told me (his method which had a high success rate) and have read and re read the manual that came with it a few times. LOL. I have a better idea as to what I need to do. Hoping it all goes well. Right now, I am regulating the temperature inside the incubator. Once that is stable (according to the book, 6-8 hours) I can mark my eggs and put them in.
I figured I would go ahead and start my account on here with this endeavor. I can update and I hope to learn and others can learn from my mistakes / successes.
Anyhow, I hope to meet some chicken friends on here. This is one of the Black Copper Marans chicks - they are almost 2 months old now.

 

[farmgirl44]

I'm fairly new too! I just set some eggs thursday night and yesterday so we can incubate and hatch together!!!

love the chick picture, too cute!

 

[SpaceHen]

That's so cool, Farmgirl44! I candled on day 13, which was a few days ago, I may candle again tonight and try to get better / clearer pictures... my camera doesn't perform well in the dark and I kept the lights out while candling to get the best contrast. Yes, please keep me updated, always love to see what's going on. This is my first time doing this and I was AMAZED to see the baby chick inside moving around!
Those chicks are my now full grown laying hens. The little yellow one in the middle is Buffy, she was supposed to be a Buff Orpington but she turned out orange. lol... she's my buddy. All of them will be a year old next month.
Here is a very recent picture of Buffy....she's such a sweet girl. Gentle, quiet, we've totally bonded. lol

 

[Sally Sunshine]

That's so cool, Farmgirl44! I candled on day 13, which was a few days ago, I may candle again tonight and try to get better / clearer pictures... my camera doesn't perform well in the dark and I kept the lights out while candling to get the best contrast. Yes, please keep me updated, always love to see what's going on. This is my first time doing this and I was AMAZED to see the baby chick inside moving around!
Those chicks are my now full grown laying hens. The little yellow one in the middle is Buffy, she was supposed to be a Buff Orpington but she turned out orange. lol... she's my buddy. All of them will be a year old next month.
Here is a very recent picture of Buffy....she's such a sweet girl. Gentle, quiet, we've totally bonded. lol

Hello! I LOVE that picture!! PRICELESS!! COOL!!! you candle tomorrow then?

 

[SpaceHen]

I just candled- literally- and have three new videos. All good movement...I stop turning Thursday (day 18) so I will probably candle every day up until then. So yes, I will tomorrow, too. I hope they hatch safely...we've come this far. Come on, guys! lol

Here is one of the videos I took- this little guy was ACTIVE!!! - please let me know if it plays proper. If not, here's the link to my Youtubes channel.... there are a few other egg and other videos on there.

 

[farmgirl44]

Those videos are awesome!

So how many eggs do you have going into lockdown?? I have my 10 lav orp eggs going into lockdown tomorrow, then my showgirl eggs a couple days after that!!

Keep me updated!!!

 

[gabrielle1976]

Im very excited to find your thread and see your pictures and videos. Do you let your chickens help you garden , I have reads some stuff on people that let there chickens till the soil , eat bugs and larva and weed seeds and help fertilize the soil befor planting and during composting and after the plants have been grown and are getting ready to get pulled up put dorment ect . ITs awsome how many jobs a chicken can help with when gardening if you get a bit inventive.
Just curious what kind of bator did you end up with ?

 

[SpaceHen]

WIll do, Farmgirl44! I have 6 out of the 10 eggs that have babies in them. The other four are not doing anything. Two sort of got started but died or something and the other two were just empty, so probably never were fertile. SO, 6 in lockdown. lol.

Gabrielle1976, I don't let the girls out of their henhouse as I am in the city with close neighbors, but I do have some chickens in a chicken tractor, which I will have to post pictures / video of. We need to move it as they have made quick work of clearing that patch of land. The henhouse gets a good scrape down every 2 weeks or so and the manure is used in the garden. If you want a fantastic garden, use chicken manure. I also have rabbits so I use that manure as well, but the chicken manure is really good for greens. I had always heard you have to let it sit and age, but I am always experimenting and have found as long as the poo doesn't touch the leaves or stems, and is watered in well, it can be used directly from the bird. If it touches the leaves / stems and is not watered in it will totally burn your plants up. lol.... the weeds always take over every year so this season we are converting the garden to raised beds and planter boxes. I mix the poo in with the soil before putting it in the box. Any pests I find the girls get. I don't use pesticides or chemicals. I grow a lot of things, we eat a good bit from the garden but I find the girls love the fresh greens and stuff as much as I do so they get a lot of what I grow. It helps cut the feed bill, too.

I will definitely keep you posted. I'm happy to have found this group!

 

[gabrielle1976]

 

[SpaceHen]

Hi all, I just posted a thread about the candler I made from household materials for free if you are interested. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/735048/my-home-made-candler

Here is today's video, day 16.
I used that home made candler and was able to see 'inside' the egg perfectly.
Gabrielle1976, I completely didn't even register your question of what kind of incubator I got; sorry. It's a Little Giant Still Air Incubator. The man I bought it from used it twice but didn't need it anymore as his chickens went broody and started doing all that work for him (it doesn't have a turner so I turn them by hand.). LOL. This is where the eggs came from, also, he threw them in the bargain as well, to get me started. And here we are. The last time I turn is Thursday morning. So we'll see what happens.