North Carolina

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

Good Morning folks

it's Friday at last

hope it's a good one for you

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

Good Morning folks

it's Friday at last

hope it's a good one for you

And next week is a short one! Yay!

 

[BHep]

And next week is a short one! Yay!

My kids have off from school today, next Friday & then Spring break the following week.

Plans for spring break include.... putting up 300 ft of fencing to add to the chicken/duck/goose/horse yard. Digging a trench to run electric to the pool and shed and whatever else I can think of to keep the kids busy and out of trouble.

 

[wildriverswolf90]

Say hello to the newest memebers of my farm, 2 4 week old orphaned squirrels ! My neighbor's dogs killed the mom and they found the babies hidden in the dead wood! Looks like my wildlife rehabilitators class is paying off!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Say hello to the newest memebers of my farm, 2 4 week old orphaned squirrels

! My neighbor's dogs killed the mom and they found the babies hidden in the dead wood! Looks like my wildlife rehabilitators class is paying off!

Aww i hope they make it!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Okay wheres NH? could it mean?

 

[LukesCityHens]

And next week is a short one! Yay!

Did you talk to george? My roommate said she didn't want anything that "Fancy" so I got denied =( the 3 buffs you have....all hens? can I see pictures? I might take them off your hands!

 

[marlowmanor]

First: I would avoid an LG incubator. They are a waste of money.

Second: First eggs can be fertile. Rooster hitting the mark + laying hen = fertile eggs. Testing can be done a couple ways. One is to incubate and see. Second is to let eggs get good and warm for a day and then open them. Look at the yolk for the blastoderm, which is a tiny spot on the egg. A tiny blob is a dud, while a good shaped bullseye means the egg was fertile. Then eat the egg. Waste not, want not.

Once fertility is verified you can start collecting eggs for your setting.

Matt

Thank you for your answer Matt. I know I've heard the LG aren't the best but I figure it's a good place to start for us. We can't afford to put hundreds of dollars in an incubator and DH is not sure if he wants to attempt to build one. We've been looking on CL and found nothing that works for us either. There was one ad we found for a Brinsea at a good price but it was too far away for us to go get it. I want something so my kids can watch a chick hatch and we can have chicks at a cheaper rate than buying them off others all the time. Plus I figure if we end up with more chicks hatch than we can keep we can always sell them. I can also get the breeds I want to add to our flock easier with hatching eggs.

I had heard about the bullseye being in fertile eggs I just hadn't seen it before so wasn't sure what to look for. I'm glad you said to leave it out too as I would have tried one right from the fridge.

So I guess today I will leave the eggs out when we gather them and try to look for the bullseye in the morning. Now the fun part of our flock is figuring out which rooster did the deed. We have the possibility for barred chicks from our BR rooster or just lots of EEs from our EE rooster, or a combination of both!

 

[greeneacre]

Are these standard or bantam size?

They are standard. I'm working on pictures.

Beth, again I feel like I am looking at my own house and eggs!!

I was looking at the number of eggs at my house, while not the same numbers asyou guys get, still 14 or more a day and I sell them but sometimes I get a fridge full. It stuck me that there are so many soup kitchens and food pantries and churches that might love to have the eggs. I'll be looking for one close to me that will take them when I get too many.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

Thank you for your answer Matt. I know I've heard the LG aren't the best but I figure it's a good place to start for us. We can't afford to put hundreds of dollars in an incubator and DH is not sure if he wants to attempt to build one. We've been looking on CL and found nothing that works for us either. There was one ad we found for a Brinsea at a good price but it was too far away for us to go get it. I want something so my kids can watch a chick hatch and we can have chicks at a cheaper rate than buying them off others all the time. Plus I figure if we end up with more chicks hatch than we can keep we can always sell them. I can also get the breeds I want to add to our flock easier with hatching eggs.

I had heard about the bullseye being in fertile eggs I just hadn't seen it before so wasn't sure what to look for. I'm glad you said to leave it out too as I would have tried one right from the fridge.

So I guess today I will leave the eggs out when we gather them and try to look for the bullseye in the morning. Now the fun part of our flock is figuring out which rooster did the deed. We have the possibility for barred chicks from our BR rooster or just lots of EEs from our EE rooster, or a combination of both!

(I too can't stand them and think they are a waste of money, I wouldn't put important bought hatching eggs in them until you've gotten good at monitoring the LG and have had a few successful batches of eggs with it)

Theres a thread on another site just for LG still air bators, but powers that be of BYC block the site now I think...

copy and pasting some of the info for you :


If you are starting with a brand new incubator, never hatched in before, you can skip the cleaning step

Step 2: place it on a hard surface, elevated by wood strips or something of that nature. I use wood strips DH had on hand…I think at they are actually furring strips. (you want it atleast 1/2 - 1" elevated)
Add water to the two outside chambers..the ones that are straight lines. Do not add water to the inside chamber that is round. I marked them with pencil dots in this picture.

Place the wire bottom in position. Cover it with rubbery no slip shelf liner, cut to fit.
If you are using a turner, put it in now. Place the thermometer on top of the turner. If you are not using a turner, just place thermometer on the liner.

If your incubator is new, turn the knob on top to turn it on. Otherwise, turn it to a position and let it come to temp. Check it again in 4 hours, then in 8 hours. Once it reaches 99 degrees empty you will want it to hold that temperature for at least 24 hours. If using a turner, with the thermometer on top of the racks, you should have it 100. I prefer to run mine at 99-100 at the top of the eggs to start off. The eggs and the turner motor will both give off heat. I find I have had better hatches by staying a little low on temps when using a turner. A good sign you are close to that temp – the thermometer will read the temp you want and the red light will be OFF.