NY chicken lover!!!!

[tao chick]

I think you deserve an early Christmas present from Santa - don't u??

YES!

Christmas in July!  My LG came with a fan, but built a computer fan to install in case it fails.  It did get gummed up once and needed to blow out the dust.  Santa brought me a turner.  The heat/humidity at this time of year will be a struggle.  Make sure the room temp is steady, as that will greatly influence the incubator.  Is it running too high or too low?

The humidity jumps from 35% dry to 65-80% with water. Our house is temp and humidity regulated, so baseline should be controlled. I think I have just the right combination, but it took a full 24 hours of my attention. Hopefully the chicks survived the mess.

Humidity does go up as they start hatching ..
Do you have it in a sun free room ? where the temp doesnt change as much ?

No sun. Regular temps and humidity. Today is day 18 for the last eggs I set and Day 19 for the first eggs I set. All 38 eggs looked ok at final candling. I did put a fancy incubator on my Amazon wish list. The incubator I'm using is borrowed, so it is the perfect price for us.

Chicks and chickens are doing well. Question: layer mash says 16 weeks old (which is this Friday), but my ladies haven't seemed ready to lay. Which comes first, the feed or the egg?

 

[Lapeerian]

YES!
The humidity jumps from 35% dry to 65-80% with water. Our house is temp and humidity regulated, so baseline should be controlled. I think I have just the right combination, but it took a full 24 hours of my attention. Hopefully the chicks survived the mess.
No sun. Regular temps and humidity. Today is day 18 for the last eggs I set and Day 19 for the first eggs I set. All 38 eggs looked ok at final candling. I did put a fancy incubator on my Amazon wish list. The incubator I'm using is borrowed, so it is the perfect price for us.

Chicks and chickens are doing well. Question: layer mash says 16 weeks old (which is this Friday), but my ladies haven't seemed ready to lay. Which comes first, the feed or the egg?

For my humidity control, I used a couple small glass dishes with old clean white socks in them. I had a baby medicine syringe fitted with aquarium tubing to fit in the through the vent holes to moisten the socks. I found that worked better, didn't dry out as quickly and didn't spike it as quickly either. And no opening the lid to add water. When the egg turner was in, I put cotton balls in the empty cups and used the same method.
As for feed, it isn't a hard set rule. You will want to slowly transition them from one feed to another. Keep the chick starter but add increasing amounts of layer feed till they are switched over completely to layer.

 

[tao chick]

For my humidity control, I used a couple small glass dishes with old clean white socks in them. I had a baby medicine syringe fitted with aquarium tubing to fit in the through the vent holes to moisten the socks. I found that worked better, didn't dry out as quickly and didn't spike it as quickly either. And no opening the lid to add water. When the egg turner was in, I put cotton balls in the empty cups and used the same method.
As for feed, it isn't a hard set rule. You will want to slowly transition them from one feed to another. Keep the chick starter but add increasing amounts of layer feed till they are switched over completely to layer.

The glass baby jar and baby washcloth with a baby medicine syringe is exactly what helped me get everything regulated. I wish I had started that way. If I did then the coffee filter nest idea might have worked too.

I'll open the layer feed on Friday and add a scoop with a scoop of starter/grower. They don't eat a lot of feed right now because they figured out how to forage and every once in a while they get kitchen scraps. Thanks for the advice!

I looked through my incubator window tonight and a few of the eggs are wiggling. The chicks must be doing ok after all my stress.

 

[rancher hicks]

EVERYONE HIDING OUT ?

You know I'm not. I don't have the sense to I guess.

Anyhow, found a broken egg in the nest box where the C. Rock is sitting. She was off the nest. So I took that out and tossed it. It looked like it might have been good but such is life.

One egg was messed so I took it and washed with warm water from the water tub in the yard and used my shirt to dry it off. Clean the straw in the nest box and put the eggs back. She's on them so we shall see. What have I to lose, right.

Now to the Marans. I told you I pulled the four hens in one box and they're pretty much done broodiness. BUT one is trying to shove herself in the a "bucket nest" with one of the other hens.

I will toss them all out again tomorrow and hopefully she'll break.

Is anyone here on the canning thread? Or the Homestead thread.

Oh saw a guy today at TSC, I was there with my Nutrena coupons, anyhow I asked him if he knew about BYC and he didn't so I gave him a card and with BYC written on the back and about Chickenstock. I hope he comes on and joins all us crazy chicken people.

I didn't tell him that we would fix his "six" chicken problem.

Six chickens?

Night all, sleep tight don't let the bed bugs bite,

Rancher, pain in the butt, Hicks

 

[rancher hicks]

For my humidity control, I used a couple small glass dishes with old clean white socks in them. I had a baby medicine syringe fitted with aquarium tubing to fit in the through the vent holes to moisten the socks. I found that worked better, didn't dry out as quickly and didn't spike it as quickly either. And no opening the lid to add water. When the egg turner was in, I put cotton balls in the empty cups and used the same method.
As for feed, it isn't a hard set rule. You will want to slowly transition them from one feed to another. Keep the chick starter but add increasing amounts of layer feed till they are switched over completely to layer.

I looked at the hygrometer in the basement where I moved my incu and it's 80 something or other. If I decided to hatch I'd have to move it for sure. It gets pretty damp down there. Temp is about 68 or so I think.

 

[tao chick]

The last rooster from my first batch of chickens is learning how to crow. The other three learned and we ate them. I'm not sure how long we will tolerate it. Any tricks to convince roosters to let us sleep in?

 

[Glasshen]

I am on the canning thread. I love to preserve for the winter. But I still have stuff from last year, this year less pickles and sauerkraut, hopefully more tomato stuff...salsa...sauce...

Chickens seem pretty happy lately, except for the huge reassignment of quarters a few days ago. It started with the barred rock girls insisting they lay in the broody's nest. I took a different nest and put it outside and locked the door so broody could have some peace. Later when I got home I move the broody and her nest to the small coop the littles had been in. They were not happy. They got to move into a spacious dog crate weatherproofed with feed sacks and duct tape, with open flooring. They are not happy, but oh well. They still visit their old home and wish they could go in, but things are calmer. I think the new chicks may start on the 5th.

I am struck by how unnurturing the adult chickens are. It is definitely not the village raising the children.

I also made the discovery that the feed one gets for meat birds is the same ingredients as flock raiser for $5 a bag less.

Edited to respond to Tao, in time you may become used to the rooster. We enjoy hearing our Earl, but if I'm sleeping I usually don't hear him. DH gets up around 4:30 lately due to work, and I love it when he is up before Earl! Then I go back to sleep, since that is a bit early for me.

 

[BakerzDozen]

I am going to try an the velcro anti-crow collar for my cocks as I would like to get 1 or 2 of them to an edible size. I can let you know how this works.

Also I have a noisy fan in my room year round pointed at the wall, it drowns out all the neighborhood noise and occasional traffic noise too. The white noise really helps me sleep through anything. Even my husbands snoring.

just checking in and saying "hi".

 

[rancher hicks]

The last rooster from my first batch of chickens is learning how to crow. The other three learned and we ate them. I'm not sure how long we will tolerate it. Any tricks to convince roosters to let us sleep in?

An air conditioner can help. I have about 6 roosters and I can't sleep when they start at 4 am. I have a hard time sleeping anyhow. I'd get up and start my day but everyone else in the house is sleeping and gets upset by my noise. Heck I have lights in back and I'd weed whack in the night if not for the mosquitos. Course then I would and have fallen asleep in the middle of the day.

I am on the canning thread. I love to preserve for the winter. But I still have stuff from last year, this year less pickles and sauerkraut, hopefully more tomato stuff...salsa...sauce...

Chickens seem pretty happy lately, except for the huge reassignment of quarters a few days ago. It started with the barred rock girls insisting they lay in the broody's nest. I took a different nest and put it outside and locked the door so broody could have some peace. Later when I got home I move the broody and her nest to the small coop the littles had been in. They were not happy. They got to move into a spacious dog crate weatherproofed with feed sacks and duct tape, with open flooring. They are not happy, but oh well. They still visit their old home and wish they could go in, but things are calmer. I think the new chicks may start on the 5th.

I am struck by how unnurturing the adult chickens are. It is definitely not the village raising the children.

I also made the discovery that the feed one gets for meat birds is the same ingredients as flock raiser for $5 a bag less.

Edited to respond to Tao, in time you may become used to the rooster. We enjoy hearing our Earl, but if I'm sleeping I usually don't hear him. DH gets up around 4:30 lately due to work, and I love it when he is up before Earl! Then I go back to sleep, since that is a bit early for me.

I have considered moving the nest box to the run but I can't leave them there all night and they'd just go broody there anyhow. I really need a designated coop though I'm not sure it will help with so many hens in the different coops going broody.

Too I wouldn't mind if they hatched chicks but most eggs don't hatch.

 

[Gramma Chick]

The last rooster from my first batch of chickens is learning how to crow. The other three learned and we ate them. I'm not sure how long we will tolerate it. Any tricks to convince roosters to let us sleep in?

I am struck by how unnurturing the adult chickens are. It is definitely not the village raising the children.
this is may be true if they are unrelated or hatched without a hen .as I thought the same thing ...when we had our ducks ...they would come back in the yard & chase the baby chicks like they wanted to kill them . the chickens that were raised by TT ( my Sumatra hen )( they were not physically related to her - they were not sumatras) also defended & attacked the ducks when TT was defending them .
I also made the discovery that the feed one gets for meat birds is the same ingredients as flock raiser for $5 a bag less.Where ? what brand ?

respond to Tao, in time you may become used to the rooster. We enjoy hearing our Earl, but if I'm sleeping I usually don't hear him. DH gets up around 4:30 lately due to work, and I love it when he is up before Earl! Then I go back to sleep, since that is a bit early for me.You do get used to them ..My advise stay up late you wont hear them ...they almost never wake me up ...Seriously - you could put them in a box or a dark incloser so they dont see the sunrise ( it starts at about 4:30) or it will muffle them somewhat

Originally Posted by rancher hicks
Too I wouldn't mind if they hatched chicks but most eggs don't hatch.
Do you manually turn the eggs once a day for them ? I do ...coz I am not sure they do it ..
Man has so messed with the breeding of todays chicken it is a wonder they even can act somewhat like a normal bird .