***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[bardies]

I got 8 silkie eggs into the brinsea along with the sponge. - Set them a day late - this morning for a thurs hatch date. And the other 15 in my red box (the one with no windows). There is a remote thermometer for that. Imagine my panic when I looked this evening and saw it read 105! Yikes...how can I expect chicks when I keep killing them before they have a chance to hatch. Heck.
Well, I had put the remote device right under the heat element...duh.... But that's ok, I was not cooking my chicks, just making some excitement for myself.
I think I hate this part. You want to look at them every 20 min....but it should take days before anything happens.

YAY KSANE on your early pips!

It does make it more fun doing it with someone else.

 

[Kyzmette]

Pips! I'm so glad you have pips ksane! How exciting!

Mjgigax, what do your feeders look like? Do you have a pic?

I was going to make a cabinet or closet for feed storage, but for feeders I was thinking of making those no-waste bucket feeders they had in the diy forum. I thought that if I put those on a small platform with ventilation holes I could slide an osmotic diffuser, like a small mason jar with absorbent reeds, under the platform. Heck, the Secret Santa gifts I've gotten at work for the last five years could set me up for ages, but I'd rather limit the diffusion and keep bugs out of the oil.

For anybody interested, I do something else with peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils... put a pound of sea salt in a plastic container, pour in between 1/8 and 1/4 cup peppermint oil and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp eucalyptus oil (start at the low end, adjust if you want it stronger). Put the lid on the container, shake it up to mix it, and store it until you need it. The next time you get sick, sprinkle a little into boiling water and breath the steam. It'll clear you right up. I also put it into my humidifier. If you want an alternative to mineral oil based Vick's, put some drops of the essential oils into safflower oil. Just be careful with how much eucalyptus you use, because it's the real stuff and it makes Vick's cry.

 

[michaeldaugherty]

Seen some one posst abbbout lav am Jcat has thim. injoyd the storys of soaking the feed to leafs in the hen house

 

[bardies]

Ugh...had to go and look and listen. Nothing. Ever notice how there is so much 'stuff' on the eggs when you are watching them in lockdown. They could be perfectly clean going in...but somehow, once they are there - that is when you notice every single little blip, bump, scrape, spot, fluff strand, shadow, ....?

 

[lonnyandrinda]

I don't mind spraying something like that often. What would I dilute it with? Hmmmmmm?
I didn't get peppermint planted around my pens this year but will be sure to do it next Spring.

For diluting oils, you put them in another oil called a "Carrier oil." You can use another mild oil like coconut oil or eucalyptus oil, or even cooking oil or olive oil would work. Just not water for obvious reasons.

Pips! I'm so glad you have pips ksane! How exciting!

Mjgigax, what do your feeders look like? Do you have a pic?

I was going to make a cabinet or closet for feed storage, but for feeders I was thinking of making those no-waste bucket feeders they had in the diy forum. I thought that if I put those on a small platform with ventilation holes I could slide an osmotic diffuser, like a small mason jar with absorbent reeds, under the platform. Heck, the Secret Santa gifts I've gotten at work for the last five years could set me up for ages, but I'd rather limit the diffusion and keep bugs out of the oil.

For anybody interested, I do something else with peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils... put a pound of sea salt in a plastic container, pour in between 1/8 and 1/4 cup peppermint oil and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp eucalyptus oil (start at the low end, adjust if you want it stronger). Put the lid on the container, shake it up to mix it, and store it until you need it. The next time you get sick, sprinkle a little into boiling water and breath the steam. It'll clear you right up. I also put it into my humidifier. If you want an alternative to mineral oil based Vick's, put some drops of the essential oils into safflower oil. Just be careful with how much eucalyptus you use, because it's the real stuff and it makes Vick's cry.

That sounds like a great recipe! I will have to remember that!

 

[Ksane]

Ugh...had to go and look and listen. Nothing. Ever notice how there is so much 'stuff' on the eggs when you are watching them in lockdown. They could be perfectly clean going in...but somehow, once they are there - that is when you notice every single little blip, bump, scrape, spot, fluff strand, shadow, ....?

lol! I keep looking, too. I set these ones (the Silkies) on Halloween, Thursday around noon. When did you set yours? The 10 Sizzles in there were set 24 hrs later.

Nice to hear from you, Mike! I've still got that Faverolles hen I got from you 2 yrs ago. She's outlived 2 Faverolles roosters. I love her like crazy

 

[bardies]

lol! I keep looking, too. I set these ones (the Silkies) on Halloween, Thursday around noon. When did you set yours? The 10 Sizzles in there were set 24 hrs later.

Nice to hear from you, Mike! I've still got that Faverolles hen I got from you 2 yrs ago. She's outlived 2 Faverolles roosters. I love her like crazy

31st too, probably a few hours later - mid afternoonish.

 

[Cjarvis]

Wonder if it would work as a spray into the mouse holes in my pen or on the sides of the feeders?
Thanks for the tip. Most of my birds are bantam and don't chase the mice. Those rodents eat a lot of my feed!

I put out mouse bait bars, and when I find holes under the pens I place a moth ball deep in the hole. It seems to help. Last year it was real bad they had a maze under the back yard that connected all of the pens it was so bad I had to move the pens to a different area.

 

[Kyzmette]

Quote:
My oil of preference is safflower oil. Olive oil is good for the nutrients in it, but if you just want plain oil for non-consumption, safflower is one of the lightest vegetable based oils on the market. I read a couple of studies a while back on bath oils which included a large price span of products, Nivea, Olay, a bunch I've never heard of that cost $100.00 plus, and the winner was safflower oil. It was the lightest and helped the body retain the most moisture. I have terribly dry skin and in the winter I used to scratch myself crazy. If I take a bath with safflower oil at least once a week I don't get winter itches. Although, if we're talking about putting something outside for a slow release, I wonder if a more dense carrier like Crisco would work better. Would the less dense oil seep out of the mixture? I should put out a range of mixtures this year and see how they work.

 

[Kassaundra]

Todd, I saw this on another thread and thought of you and your brother