North Carolina

[HenThymes]

Quote:
Here is a picture of what we did in the fair last year, even the hay! I should be thinking about it soon and preparing for this coming season as it will be here before we know it.

It is not hard at all to hatch eggs with a Brinsea incubator. They really do make it, for lack of better words, "dummy proof".

I love my brinsea, small compact and very little hands on till they hatch. To top it off they really aren't that expensive either.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Why would you rather hatch in the bator instead of the ole fashioned way? except you can get chicks just about anytime you want them. which is a big plus, And boy you did do well at the fair. Yep before we know it it will be spring, something nice to think about since it's 17 outside right now.

 

[vfem]

Quote:
Here is a picture of what we did in the fair last year, even the hay! I should be thinking about it soon and preparing for this coming season as it will be here before we know it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/49849_dsc03821.jpg

It is not hard at all to hatch eggs with a Brinsea incubator. They really do make it, for lack of better words, "dummy proof".

I love my brinsea, small compact and very little hands on till they hatch. To top it off they really aren't that expensive either.

SHOW OFF!!!!!!!!

 

[vfem]

HenThymes, if you have extra marans after your hatch let me know... we'd be really interested. Would be an awesome gift for hubby. His first venture into Chickens... as he had no interest until now. He also wants them for thier gorgeous eggs.

HE still wants that bee hive and I don't know WHAT to do about that yet. I just had to fix my car again, so I don't think there is any $$$ money left to get him one now even though I've put it off for months and months.

 

[Matt A NC]

Quote:
I love AG fairs. I enter all I can gather up for the Burke County and Drexel fairs. Ended up with a boat load of ribbons and some $$. Drexel I won $44.50 and $55 at Burke County. Most of this years was flowers. I try to plan planting specifically for the fair. I racked up with my Dahlias at Burke County. I wonder if out of county folks can have enteries in the Hickory fair?

They wanted me to bring birds for display at the Burke fair. I can't leave my birds in a cage for that long and I don't trust what would happen to them there.

Matt

 

[HenThymes]

Quote:
For me, believe it or not in almost two years of having these chickens not one of my orpingtons has gone broody.

I did let a couple of serama's go broody but the one hen was a great setter, not so great as a mother. She stepped on two of them and killed them while still trying to set on the others as they hatched out, one pipped and never zipped and died in shell so I let another hen that was in the same pen with her raise the two surviving chicks,now she was a good mom. The other serama hen hatched three out and after a week of being a mother decided she had up and done her part now it was my turn so I had to bring them into the brooder anyway. I have had one serama hen hatch out several of my lavender orpingtons, there was no problems as they were LF eggs and she was a great mom. It's just not everyday that they like to go broody and never when you really want them too!

So, for me an incubator is the best way to make sure that most are well cared for from the very beginning and I hatch at the right time. Right now I am hatching some of my bantam orpingtons so I can start to show them this coming year, yeah!

 

[HenThymes]

Quote:
Shannon, you will be the first one I let know about extra's, I really hope to have some available for you.

I am just crossing my fingers that I get a good hatch rate out of these 11 eggs

They are soo dark that I have had a hard time seeing what's going on in there.

I absolutely love those top bar garden hives!

I want one myself, maybe this will be the year I can afford one.

 

[Miss Lydia]

And the wonder of watching those chicks hatch out, I have only watched online, Would love for my Grandkids to see the hatching, they are city kids, would be a wonderful experience for them.

 

[HenThymes]

Quote:
Our neighbor brings her grandkids down to watch them hatch out, they are city kids too! They just think that is the coolest thing.

 

[HenThymes]

Quote:
I love AG fairs. I enter all I can gather up for the Burke County and Drexel fairs. Ended up with a boat load of ribbons and some $$. Drexel I won $44.50 and $55 at Burke County. Most of this years was flowers. I try to plan planting specifically for the fair. I racked up with my Dahlias at Burke County. I wonder if out of county folks can have enteries in the Hickory fair?

They wanted me to bring birds for display at the Burke fair. I can't leave my birds in a cage for that long and I don't trust what would happen to them there.

Matt

You sure did clean up at the fairs Matt! I made enough to at least buy a bag of chicken feed.

I would enter plants if I had a green thumb, I tend to kill everything that comes in my path that's not in the garden and can fend for its self.

I don't think I could enter birds in a fair either, though Hickory doesn't have any poultry. I would be too worried that something would happen to them in that time frame too.