New Member Post

[THEcluckClan]

Hey guys my names Tyler im 27 my wife's name is Karson she's 25. Were from SW Mo, and live on 20 acres. We live on the back end of a 1000 acre Prarie reserve so I've battled hawks constantly. We've done chickens a couple times but always failed in the long run by not having adequate fenced area for them once they're grown. Space isn't the issue trying to figure out an easy, relatively cheap, and long lasting fix is. I'm an army combat vet that had TBIs so my problem solving skills have went down a bit because of that but I can't still function. That being said we got our first run in about 2 years in our cabinet which I believe is a 1950s roebuck redwood 600 egg cabinet incubator. We have 200 eggs in it right now, about 120 to 30 in auto rotate trays, and about 70 in the original wooden tray rotating by hand 4 to 5 times a day. Our egg varieties include lavender orpington, lavender wyandotte. buff orpington, barred rocks, silver laced wyandotte, black austrlorp and maybe a couple easter Eggers and Ancona. I'm super excited to see them hatch, but also really interested to see our hatch rate because the last few times we've done it we didnt have a method of controlling humidity well which resulted in terrible results like 35 to 40 percents. This time I have a hygrometer controller and a humidifier that I'm gonna hook up during lockdown to ensure we get the humidity we want. As of now we are using the stock water pan that they were using in the 50s, there's something nostalgic about using this cabinet. I paid 100 bucks for it some year back and its always been one of my favorite peices I've picked so far. Anyways just wanted to see how active the community is still as this is a decently older forum. Than you guys that are still here and around, owning chickens has been a step into something much larger for our family so I hope it has for yours too God bless! And yes I use the wet bulb lmao

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, Tyler and Karson, and welcome to BYC!

Wow, that's a cool incubator! That must be so fun to hatch so many! Glad to hear they won't become prey this time around too!

Make yourself at home! We're glad you're here!

 

[muddy75]

 

[Bsmac]

Hello Tyler and Karson! Welcome to BYC! First thanks for your service to this country! That is one cool incubator! I hope your hatch goes well and that you are able to keep the predators at bay!

 

[Kiki]

Welcome!
Humidity levels are important through out the whole incubation period, not just at the end.
What is the humidity level in the incubator now? Do you have multiple thermometers placed around inside the incubator right now to make sure you don't have any cold or hot spots?

Did you build a secure coop and run this time around?

Good luck!

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC, Tyler & Karson!

 

[N F C]

Hi Tyler and Karson, best wishes for a good hatch! Hope you'll post an update when it happens. Thanks for joining us!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. This is a great place to explore and hang out. Hardware cloth you new best friend.
You can plant fast growing plants for them to take coverage in.

 

[KtheChickenGal]

Hey guys my names Tyler im 27 my wife's name is Karson she's 25. Were from SW Mo, and live on 20 acres. We live on the back end of a 1000 acre Prarie reserve so I've battled hawks constantly. We've done chickens a couple times but always failed in the long run by not having adequate fenced area for them once they're grown. Space isn't the issue trying to figure out an easy, relatively cheap, and long lasting fix is. I'm an army combat vet that had TBIs so my problem solving skills have went down a bit because of that but I can't still function. That being said we got our first run in about 2 years in our cabinet which I believe is a 1950s roebuck redwood 600 egg cabinet incubator. We have 200 eggs in it right now, about 120 to 30 in auto rotate trays, and about 70 in the original wooden tray rotating by hand 4 to 5 times a day. Our egg varieties include lavender orpington, lavender wyandotte. buff orpington, barred rocks, silver laced wyandotte, black austrlorp and maybe a couple easter Eggers and Ancona. I'm super excited to see them hatch, but also really interested to see our hatch rate because the last few times we've done it we didnt have a method of controlling humidity well which resulted in terrible results like 35 to 40 percents. This time I have a hygrometer controller and a humidifier that I'm gonna hook up during lockdown to ensure we get the humidity we want. As of now we are using the stock water pan that they were using in the 50s, there's something nostalgic about using this cabinet. I paid 100 bucks for it some year back and its always been one of my favorite peices I've picked so far. Anyways just wanted to see how active the community is still as this is a decently older forum. Than you guys that are still here and around, owning chickens has been a step into something much larger for our family so I hope it has for yours too God bless! And yes I use the wet bulb lmao

Welcome to BYC! That's so cool!

 

[BoundlessLove]

Hello, Tyler, and welcome to Backyard Chickens!
Nice incubator.
Wishing you well with your hatch!