NY chicken lover!!!!

[JLaw]

How long can you wait on a fertile egg before starting incubation? I have one silkie egg that I'd like to try and hatch IF I get some eggs from the bigger ladies. This is the egg I got on the 25th. I'm going away next weekend and didn't want to start the incubator until after I come home, so that Monday. that egg should be fine right if I get others by then right? It'll be 11 days by then since it was laid.

If you store it correctly you should be able to hold it up to about 10 days after that from what I read chances of hatch start going down. You can try googling "how to store an egg before incubation". might net you some results on the correct way. I've looked it up before but don't remember how and don't want to ruin your egg by giving bad advice.

 

[Cass]

If you store it correctly you should be able to hold it up to about 10 days after that from what I read chances of hatch start going down. You can try googling "how to store an egg before incubation". might net you some results on the correct way. I've looked it up before but don't remember how and don't want to ruin your egg by giving bad advice.

Some people say you have to "turn" the egg while waiting for incubation. Some say only 7 days before incubation. Some say a LOT of things. I will tell you that I had an egg customer who only bought a dozen a month take my REFRIDGERATED who knows how old eggs and put them under his broody hen (He only had 2 hens which is why he bought eggs from me once in a while) and had 5 of 6 hatch. LOL Soooo....try it, it may work, whatever you think you can do. It's a "free" egg, if it doesn't hatch you aren't out much, are you?

 

[JLaw]

Ok so I made 11 of my chickens eggs and these are what they look like. some of these look fertile to me but the cam makes it a little blurry dang phone cam. They was little flat white rings on a few. If so I think in a few weeks I maybe trying to hatch some of my own chicks.






edit next time I wont take pics under the stove light didn't notice till posting the glare it made

 

[ke5hde]

Morning everyone. One of our EE's is going though her first real molt. Poor girl, she looks so nice when she has her feathers. She was just a year old in March.

 

[armorfirelady]

The ratio of carbonaceous (new word for me) material and nitrogen ( in chicken manure). Anyhow what I learned is that when there is an imbalance you get the ammonia smell.

So I guess that means to add more carbonaceous material right? (leaves, wood chips etc. etc. brown stuff ) I have been considering just taking the straw or hay spreading it out on the lawn and running it over with the lawnmower with the bag on. Then dumping it into the run all nicely chopped up. I'll keep you posted as to how that works out.

While the article did mention not using hay due to a molding, it did say he was trying a mix of oak leaves and straw. (the straw I get at Country Max is nice and dry and I like it much better than what I got from a guy on CL. I like to use it in the run to keep things dry.)
Rancher

Just make sure you check the straw before you take it home. Straw can carry mites.

I have used hay before. The only thing I didn't like was it held moisture so much. It was nasty this spring with the torrential rains we had. I ended up taking it all out and using a little bit of shavings and dried grass clippings. (I had to move the coop to higher ground so it was sitting on top of grass) It might work better chopped up in smaller pieces though.

I use grass clippings, shavings, leaves, peat moss, ashes, & just about any weeds I pull up get thrown in the coop. Hens love to scratch through it.

Ok so I made 11 of my chickens eggs and these are what they look like. some of these look fertile to me but the cam makes it a little blurry dang phone cam. They was little flat white rings on a few. If so I think in a few weeks I maybe trying to hatch some of my own chicks.

You need the halo around the spot to be fertile. Its hard to see if there is a halo around them or no
t
Hope some of them turn out to be fertile for you

 

[miquwid]

Lynzi, I want Muscovy ducks.

Jlaw I got a BR and 6 Amber Links that are loud because they can be, the BR yes will sing all day. I think the Ambers do because she does they aren't laying yet though 20wks old. Also I don't have a roo so part of that could them taking on that role as well.

Rancher I did here about this from my local people composting, I add everything I can stuff grows out of control. Hay I'm unsure of with the DE. I just stick straw because of all the used. Jam sounds so good.

Lynzi n Jlaw try some hatches and see can't hurt. Good luck.

Back to work

 

[suleo]

Hello NY I'm in Ulster County NY, Town of Lloyd. Had 6 hens lost one when I went away to Europe. She wasn't eating well and had a boney crop but seemed to be doing better when I left. Any ideas on that? Have all hens. 3 RED Star and now 2 Barred hens (had 3). Only getting 2-4 eggs in the summer days. Has been really hot here but days seem cooler. Have 1 in a light molt but can't figure out why they aren't all laying. Have had some soft eggs in the coop. Give them oyster shell, kale, spinach, egg laying mash, meal worms,flax seed, sunflower seeds, corn, lots of greens and fruits everyday. Any ideas on the boney crop or why one of my hens is not laying and another keeps passing soft shelled eggs with all those supplements?

 

[rancher hicks]

If you store it correctly you should be able to hold it up to about 10 days after that from what I read chances of hatch start going down. You can try googling "how to store an egg before incubation". might net you some results on the correct way. I've looked it up before but don't remember how and don't want to ruin your egg by giving bad advice.

If you can keep it cool and the humidity right 55 %, 10 days is the recommended time. At least that's what I've read. Now me? I'm apt to try anytime I feel like giving it a shot. Though not Silky eggs of course.

Don Schrider said if someone accidentally puts the eggs your holding in the fridge stick them in the incubator anyhow. Not sure whether he was saying they would hatch or "what the heck, why not try it", but that's what he said.

 

[Breella]

6 hours with no new posts, whoa.

Sadly, Vader got out of his crate and someone, I don't know if it was Duane, the hens or maybe that stupid dog hazed him bad. He has several spots where feathers were removed and two spots where his skin is broken. Any advice?

 

[armorfirelady]

6 hours with no new posts, whoa.

Sadly, Vader got out of his crate and someone, I don't know if it was Duane, the hens or maybe that stupid dog hazed him bad. He has several spots where feathers were removed and two spots where his skin is broken. Any advice?

Cover them with Nustock or blue kote