NY chicken lover!!!!

[rancher hicks]

Use the search on top of this page and there are a LOT of threads regarding this problem. Some use pliers, some say cut them with dremmel, one even used a hot potato to loosen them and just pull them off with their hand. Seems easy enough. Catching the rooster? Now that's an whole nother problem.

thanks I did find a thread about this. Ugh! I don't own a dremel, but I do have a hack saw and that will most likely be what I use. The hot potato leaves a delicate spur and I'd rather not do that. Better a blunt stub. I'll take pics. Nasty looking things they are.

 

[rancher hicks]

Well I'm never using my LG incubator again. I don't know what's wrong with it but it seems to cause bad development in chicks. Out of 15 silkie eggs I've locked down, four have hatched, and one I had to help. This is out of 35 eggs to start with. The other ones that hatched on their own aren't drying right. I never ever have this problem when I incubate in my homemade bator. Now that it's happened several times in the LG I'm going to have to assume it's the incubator doing something to addle the chicks, even though I keep the temp and humidity perfect I always have bad hatches when I use it, shipped eggs or eggs from my own flock.

I'm hoping my faverolles that are due tomorrow do okay and hatch out well. I did this batch in the LG too but I've locked them down in my homemade bator so we'll see. The last batch of chicks I did entirely in my homemade bator hatched with no problems, and were from the same shipper, so fingers crossed.

Lots of things can affect a hatch. Not just temp and humidity but placement of the incu. You want a room with little traffic and an even temp of between 70-80* . While the temp may read 99.5 some areas of the incu may not be that high. Especially if you turn your house thermostat down at night.

With my Genesis I run the temp at 100.4/5. Seems to be better. I use my office which is small and stays warmer than the rest of the house. Door always closed, no drafts.

I think you just need to tweak how you use the LG. Find your groove and you should be okay.

I had a friend who insisted on using hers in a bad area of her house and never had a good hatch. It was in area from the dinning room into the living room. She never did listen and move it to a better spot in the house. You CAN NOT go by the thermostat on the wall. It may be one temp in one area of the house and another in another part of the house. I keep a thermometer on the wall in the office.

 

[miquwid]

Trick or Treating was fun,

Stony cute ducks, I can't wait to get mine next year.

Rancher I can't wait to see what these spurs look like geesh they must be insane. You should take before and after pics.

Pyxis I hope all goes well with this hatch. hopefully soon I should have my incubator up and running and will try my hand at hatching some eggs.

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

I had the hardest time breaking my D'uccles from the habit of laying outside in the run. I had to resort to leaving them locked inside the coop until Dusk, let them out for a few minutes and lock them back in. FOR A WEEK. Made my life harder, cuz it was summer and I had to keep the pop door closed until the week was over.

I have 1 D'uccle and she is 31 weeks today. I thought that she layed an egg a few weeks ago, but then nothing. I would have thought that she would have been laying by now. Maybe I should start looking around the run to see if she is hiding them somewhere.

 

[JLaw]

Well wed I moved the 2 month + old chicks to big coop and turkeys locked in small. while at work wife and kids had to put them away in big coop. Well today I kicked them out of big coop to go play bad move on my part. Tonight when kids and wife got home from tricker treating all the chicks was out side in the rain standing in a big puddle. She couldn't find my brabanter. When I got home I spent like 30 min looking for her. She finally did her little horn sound and I kept calling and she answered a few more times before finding her. She was so soaked I thought I was going to find a dead body till she sounded off. I walked over her like 3 times I think before she sounded off. Needless to say I aint kicking any chicks out tomorrow and this little girl seems to like me alittle more just roosting on my arm while watching tv.

On the bright side I bought some plexi glass to cover two of my windows and I took what rancher was talking about with x-mas lights and I ran them in the rafters under over hangs of coop so they are shining inside and outside. Wife was able to do head count without a flashlight. I have it set on a timer to start jump the day some. It's a soft light so should be a nice wake up call for them. Will have to get pics when it's not 30-50 mph winds and raining.

 

[Metella]

Pyxis - prob what the others say is true - but with any machine you can get a lemon .... But WOW - 2013 has been bad luck all around !

I will be so glad when I get to toast in the new year !!! I'm just glad you and Bakin helped me to get my flock restarted with connections to my loved pet chickens. Now if you could just hatch out pullets and not cute roos ......

 

[rancher hicks]

Good morning star shine.

 

[Breella]

I was not prepared for how fast the girls would start eating more. That frost must have killed most of the bugs they were munching on.

 

[miquwid]

I was not prepared for how fast the girls would start eating more. That frost must have killed most of the bugs they were munching on.

Yeah my hybrids are monsters of food and yes the lack of bugs, made me up the protein a bit. Thank goodness i got lots of table scraps as well. I actually over bought on feed and put it in air tight containers but since this is my busy time at work i wont have to worry about feed.

 

[miquwid]

Morning everyone, I REALLY HATE HOMEWORK. And i had slight stomach bug. I know im almost 32 but how does any teacher expect me to do homework on Halloween. LOL yup i will never grow up. Its funny watching the chooks blow around in the wind. The silkies are staying in their runs today no free ranging they need a time out from teaching my girls annoying habits.

Jlaw glad you found your brabanter.