I haVe a hatch due oct 14th...
October Hatching ... How many are in? I'm due to hatch on 10/17
- Thread starter criker99
- Start date
Mine are due on the 10th, 2 Spitzhauben, 3 Bantam Cochin (one may be frizzle) and 1 out of the Black Astralorp who's baby-daddy is unknown, could a CB Maran, Something that had cool colors, or a younger CB Maran. The cochin girls ( a blue one and a black frizzle) were with I believe a mottled roo.
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We have eggs due to hatch on Oct. 10! Barnevelders, Austalorps and Barred Rocks! It's still in the mid to high 80's here and we have many years where it's that way through December,.. I probably wouldn't do it otherwise,..
well,. maybe wouldn't
We have eggs due to hatch on Oct. 10! Barnevelders, Austalorps and Barred Rocks! It's still in the mid to high 80's here and we have many years where it's that way through December,.. I probably wouldn't do it otherwise,..
well,. maybe wouldn't
Quote:
It gave me a reason to build the bigger brooder I have been wanting! It is a 4 x 3 x 2 so I should be able to keep the first ever babies I hatch inside much longer and then move to outside brooder which is 4 x 6 x 2 with a heat lamp if needed. Why not? If I had my bator earlier I would have sat them then but I just got my bator last week. It may not be he smartest thing I have done but diffently one of the more exciting things.
Oh got my eggs today, they are sitting on my dresser as we speak the bator is sitting on 99.6 and humidity is 25% or so.
Should I add water and bring it up before adding eggs or add th eggs and let it adjust and then add water as needed?
Here's the brooder not finished yet but should be soon. I had to take it apart to get it in the door. My husband is really gonna kill me now. I made it with scraps except for the OSB and ran out of paint so will have to get more. Maybe pink as I hope to only put all girls in there and one fantastic roo. A girl can dream right!
It gave me a reason to build the bigger brooder I have been wanting! It is a 4 x 3 x 2 so I should be able to keep the first ever babies I hatch inside much longer and then move to outside brooder which is 4 x 6 x 2 with a heat lamp if needed. Why not? If I had my bator earlier I would have sat them then but I just got my bator last week. It may not be he smartest thing I have done but diffently one of the more exciting things.
Oh got my eggs today, they are sitting on my dresser as we speak the bator is sitting on 99.6 and humidity is 25% or so.
Here's the brooder not finished yet but should be soon. I had to take it apart to get it in the door. My husband is really gonna kill me now. I made it with scraps except for the OSB and ran out of paint so will have to get more. Maybe pink as I hope to only put all girls in there and one fantastic roo. A girl can dream right!
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I am in western washington which I would consider a 4 season area. I don't keep them "indoors" so to speak, but I do keep them in a battery brooder with heater in a shed and it is adjustable heat so I can reduce it over time and then put them outside when they are fully feathered and ready.
I guess there are several reasons why I do this in October (in no particular order):
4H year starts October 1 and the kids need/want to get started on their project for the year
hatching in October means I have fresh first time layers in the spring and we're ahead of all those day old chicks in the spring
and last, but not least ....
I'm just plain addicted.
So, after two years, we have just finished quite a system for my daughter's project. Incubator runs all the time, on day 18, the eggs move to the hatching incubator and new eggs put in incubator. Once they hatch and dry in the hatcher, they go into level 1 (top) of the battery brooder for 3 weeks when the next group hatches, the first group moves to the next level of the brooder (which is heated, but not as hot), and they just keep moving down the levels (and temperature) until they are either sold or if we are keeping them they move into the juvenile pen.
From the juvenile pen they are either selected for sale, for layer pen, or of if of sufficient quality for the breeder pen. And we keep this going round and round in the cycle. Truly helps the addiction! Ok maybe not helps, but it does feed it!
And, the chicken business is teaching the kids wonderful life lessons ... how to build a business, project planning, spreadsheets and budgeting, sales and marketing, responsibility and how to work together as a team.
I am in western washington which I would consider a 4 season area. I don't keep them "indoors" so to speak, but I do keep them in a battery brooder with heater in a shed and it is adjustable heat so I can reduce it over time and then put them outside when they are fully feathered and ready.
I guess there are several reasons why I do this in October (in no particular order):
4H year starts October 1 and the kids need/want to get started on their project for the year
hatching in October means I have fresh first time layers in the spring and we're ahead of all those day old chicks in the spring
and last, but not least ....
I'm just plain addicted.
So, after two years, we have just finished quite a system for my daughter's project. Incubator runs all the time, on day 18, the eggs move to the hatching incubator and new eggs put in incubator. Once they hatch and dry in the hatcher, they go into level 1 (top) of the battery brooder for 3 weeks when the next group hatches, the first group moves to the next level of the brooder (which is heated, but not as hot), and they just keep moving down the levels (and temperature) until they are either sold or if we are keeping them they move into the juvenile pen.
From the juvenile pen they are either selected for sale, for layer pen, or of if of sufficient quality for the breeder pen. And we keep this going round and round in the cycle. Truly helps the addiction! Ok maybe not helps, but it does feed it!
And, the chicken business is teaching the kids wonderful life lessons ... how to build a business, project planning, spreadsheets and budgeting, sales and marketing, responsibility and how to work together as a team.
@ criker99 Can I move in
Quote:
I bought my first 3 day old chicks in October, 2009, because that's when I finally finished the coop I built by myself. Wasn't gonna wait until Spring, dagnabbit! The chicks didn't go outside full time until January 1, 2010. As a new chicken keeper (anxious mother of baby chickens!) I wanted to make absolutely sure the chicks were feathered out - and I mean ALL their feathers, since I didn't know exactly what "feathered out" meant - and I had 4 groups of 2 or 3 chicks of different ages. Wanted to put them all out at once, only deal with New Location Pecking Order a single time. So they went out when the oldest were 12 weeks old and the youngest were 8 weeks old.
So.... I started in October and I know it can be done.
However, here in this part of California, there really aren't 4 seasons. And winter isn't horrible here. Only a few days of below freezing weather. Chicks can go out around 5 or 6 weeks old, and they can actually be brooded in a coop with a heat lamp. Don't need to start 'em in the house at all. (But I do, because... they're so cute and I love 'em.)
Now that I have become addicted to incubating and hatching, my initial "Winter experience" with baby chicks lets me know I can do this allll winter long, if I so choose to do it. I was a newbie then, I know a lot more now, and I have better resources.
I bought my first 3 day old chicks in October, 2009, because that's when I finally finished the coop I built by myself. Wasn't gonna wait until Spring, dagnabbit! The chicks didn't go outside full time until January 1, 2010. As a new chicken keeper (anxious mother of baby chickens!) I wanted to make absolutely sure the chicks were feathered out - and I mean ALL their feathers, since I didn't know exactly what "feathered out" meant - and I had 4 groups of 2 or 3 chicks of different ages. Wanted to put them all out at once, only deal with New Location Pecking Order a single time. So they went out when the oldest were 12 weeks old and the youngest were 8 weeks old.
So.... I started in October and I know it can be done.
However, here in this part of California, there really aren't 4 seasons. And winter isn't horrible here. Only a few days of below freezing weather. Chicks can go out around 5 or 6 weeks old, and they can actually be brooded in a coop with a heat lamp. Don't need to start 'em in the house at all. (But I do, because... they're so cute and I love 'em.)
Now that I have become addicted to incubating and hatching, my initial "Winter experience" with baby chicks lets me know I can do this allll winter long, if I so choose to do it. I was a newbie then, I know a lot more now, and I have better resources.
Quote:
I am in western washington which I would consider a 4 season area. I don't keep them "indoors" so to speak, but I do keep them in a battery brooder with heater in a shed and it is adjustable heat so I can reduce it over time and then put them outside when they are fully feathered and ready.
I guess there are several reasons why I do this in October (in no particular order):
4H year starts October 1 and the kids need/want to get started on their project for the year
hatching in October means I have fresh first time layers in the spring and we're ahead of all those day old chicks in the spring
and last, but not least ....
I'm just plain addicted.
So, after two years, we have just finished quite a system for my daughter's project. Incubator runs all the time, on day 18, the eggs move to the hatching incubator and new eggs put in incubator. Once they hatch and dry in the hatcher, they go into level 1 (top) of the battery brooder for 3 weeks when the next group hatches, the first group moves to the next level of the brooder (which is heated, but not as hot), and they just keep moving down the levels (and temperature) until they are either sold or if we are keeping them they move into the juvenile pen.
From the juvenile pen they are either selected for sale, for layer pen, or of if of sufficient quality for the breeder pen. And we keep this going round and round in the cycle. Truly helps the addiction! Ok maybe not helps, but it does feed it!
And, the chicken business is teaching the kids wonderful life lessons ... how to build a business, project planning, spreadsheets and budgeting, sales and marketing, responsibility and how to work together as a team.
Thanks everyone for your input...
criker99, I am also in Washington. We live in Lewis County. Interesting about the 4h stuff. When can kids start? My twins will be 4 in Oct (plus a 21 month old) and I know they would love it. I don't know beans about it because I was raised as a city slicker
Maybe I will try out Oct hatching next year. After all, it doesn't take too much to convince me! I already put away all my hatching stuff for this year. But it seems like you have it all worked out. Very interesting. I didn't even know people would buy chicks at this time. I hatched out 4 different breeds of chicken plus some mutt goslings this year and I had a blast. My kids loved it too. I definitely want to do it again! Now if I gather enough reasons and excuses maybe dh will put up with my incubating problem, spring summer and fall ... ya'll are a bad influence on me!
I am in western washington which I would consider a 4 season area. I don't keep them "indoors" so to speak, but I do keep them in a battery brooder with heater in a shed and it is adjustable heat so I can reduce it over time and then put them outside when they are fully feathered and ready.
I guess there are several reasons why I do this in October (in no particular order):
4H year starts October 1 and the kids need/want to get started on their project for the year
hatching in October means I have fresh first time layers in the spring and we're ahead of all those day old chicks in the spring
and last, but not least ....
I'm just plain addicted.
So, after two years, we have just finished quite a system for my daughter's project. Incubator runs all the time, on day 18, the eggs move to the hatching incubator and new eggs put in incubator. Once they hatch and dry in the hatcher, they go into level 1 (top) of the battery brooder for 3 weeks when the next group hatches, the first group moves to the next level of the brooder (which is heated, but not as hot), and they just keep moving down the levels (and temperature) until they are either sold or if we are keeping them they move into the juvenile pen.
From the juvenile pen they are either selected for sale, for layer pen, or of if of sufficient quality for the breeder pen. And we keep this going round and round in the cycle. Truly helps the addiction! Ok maybe not helps, but it does feed it!
And, the chicken business is teaching the kids wonderful life lessons ... how to build a business, project planning, spreadsheets and budgeting, sales and marketing, responsibility and how to work together as a team.
Thanks everyone for your input...
criker99, I am also in Washington. We live in Lewis County. Interesting about the 4h stuff. When can kids start? My twins will be 4 in Oct (plus a 21 month old) and I know they would love it. I don't know beans about it because I was raised as a city slicker
Maybe I will try out Oct hatching next year. After all, it doesn't take too much to convince me! I already put away all my hatching stuff for this year. But it seems like you have it all worked out. Very interesting. I didn't even know people would buy chicks at this time. I hatched out 4 different breeds of chicken plus some mutt goslings this year and I had a blast. My kids loved it too. I definitely want to do it again! Now if I gather enough reasons and excuses maybe dh will put up with my incubating problem, spring summer and fall ... ya'll are a bad influence on me!
Mine in the incubator will be due from the 12th to the 14th of October "the 12th being 19 days". I also have a hen just starting to sit on a nest of eggs yesterday so should be due around the 19th of October.
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