***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[CayuseRanch]

Well my first hatch in Grace's Sportsman that I bought was so so. I am going to give it one more day just in case but I am quite sure it is done. None of my shipped CCL or SFH hatched. The two Olive Eggers (shipped) that made it to lockdown had to have assistance (which are the ones in question below.) 2 Salmon Faverolle (shipped) out of 8 in lockdown hatched and my own eggs were about 50% when in the brinsea they were running closer to 90%. I think my problem is humidity. The two that were assisted and lived had the shells caked and stuck to them. They were atleast a day late. I run my temps at 100 and my 2 humidity readers were reading 60% for lockdown up to 70 when a couple were hatching. Any thoughts?

 

[Sagetown]

What does everyone use as nesting material in their nest boxes....straw, hay...wood chips?

I use pine wood chips, the small, fine kind. I use hay outside when it's really wet to cover mud puddles, but I don't generally use it in nest boxes.

I found that the pine wood chips does a much better job than straw.
I prefer the regular chips over the small compressed chips, do to the fact that the small chips are very dusty and gets dustier from the poultry scratching in it all the time. At least 3 to 4 inches of chips prevents unpleasant ordor in the holding pen, and the coop. I use it in my nest boxes too.

Don't confuse the Pine chips with Cedar chips. Strong aromatic Cedar causes breathing problems for young chicks. Farm stores sell both. The Cedar is used for flea and tick control on animals.

 

[muesky]

i heard that if guinea fowl sleep in tree owls will land next them and then kill them also.

I rely on my peahen to keep the owls away.. If there is an owl in the yard or near the yard she starts honking and fussing until it flies away.. Guess owls do not like grumpy peafowl yelling at them..

@true I'm so glad your letting me have the little boy back. Sometime this morning between glancing out the window at 6 am and doing chores at 9 am my extension cord to my brooder got loosened. Lost 16 chicks, mainly isbars but also a cream legbar pair I had tagged to keep, one black copper, and one barnevelder.

at least I didn't lose any chicks marked for other people. Makes me sick. I usually check brooders first but didn't today.

Sorry about your chicks! I know how much that really sucks!

Last month I found out how smart my hens are.. We came home from town and had bought feed as we were out, it was still in the car. I was on the computer, it is by the back door and no one can get to the door, because of the chicken pen. All at once I heard 3 knocks at the door, I got up and looked out and there stood 3 Australorps, guess they knew there was feed in the car. Had to go out and get some feed and make them happy.

Kathryn

I think it is so funny when hens fuss over eggs. Last year I had three hens fighting over one nesting box.. Finally one gave up but the other two came to an arrangement. One would sit on the eggs while the other ate, puttered around then switch so the other could go out.. It worked great and all but one egg hatched..

hotcurlr the Coweta auction will be next Friday night, the 21st. I've been told it is going to be a BIG one. If you contact Robert Crozier who runs the auction he can tell you if anyone has consigned any geese yet. Not everyone consigns of course but some do and it might give you a better idea of whether or not it is worth the trip.

I sure wish I could go to this one but I don't get off work until 4 pm and it is quite a drive for me.

Hey lonnyandrinda: Keep an eye on your pup, and discipline him every time he even thinks about messing with your chickens. Once a dog gets a taste of live chicken blood he ain't worth two cents to a chicken owner. Chicken killing is very addictive. An old wives tale says to tie the dead chicken around the dogs neck till he gets sick of the odor, and it'll break him from chasing chickens. I wouldn't want to try that tactic myself.

The dead chicken around the neck did not work for me.. Plus it was really gross...

Wow...so many losses! So sorry for you all.

We used to have a few guineas...I never got used to their chatter. Our neighbor has them now and says they are great guardians...alerting the layer flock to run and hide.

I decided to put eggs that are due to hatch on the 16th under the broody hens instead of trusting the Little Giant. Found a loose wire near the temp register. I had 9 large fowl egg that I put under a hen that has been broody for almost 3 weeks. I moved her to a wall cage with plenty of hay for her nest. She settled down quickly just humming her song.
The four bantam eggs, I put under the two Delaware hens to hatch along with their little clutch. The hens are sharing a nest. When I put the eggs just in front of them, one hen started to pull an egg under her. The other hen raked that egg back out and attempted to pull it beneath her. The first hen grabbed her egg back and the second reached all the way beneath her to recover the egg. I decided I better divide the eggs between them. They then settled down to business. One of their eggs is pipped and will zip this afternoon sometime. They already have four in the brooder box that I will give back to them when all are hatched.

Hens make the best incubators.. I gave up on using an incubator several years ago..

I use pine wood chips, the small, fine kind. I use hay outside when it's really wet to cover mud puddles, but I don't generally use it in nest boxes.

I use shredded paper from work then compost it.. The chickens love it and it is easy to clean up... Not to mention it is free...

 

[Sagetown]

I really like them myself. Got started when I was 14 years old. Spent a week-end with a friend who lived way out in the boonies. We spotted a wild Guinea sneaking through the underbrush, and he knew she was heading for a nest, so we laid low and waited. When we found the nest it had 50 eggs in it. We took off our shirts and put all the eggs in. His Mom candled them and I got about twenty eggs to put under a big ole red brooder hen my Mom had. We had guineas all over the farm after that. Think I've got a picture somewhere of them. I'll look for it.

I found the old Kodak photo I took of my guineas. I count eleven here, and the ole hen is still tutoring them, as they are hard headed .

 

[Ksane]

I really like them myself. Got started when I was 14 years old. Spent a week-end with a friend who lived way out in the boonies. We spotted a wild Guinea sneaking through the underbrush, and he knew she was heading for a nest, so we laid low and waited. When we found the nest it had 50 eggs in it. We took off our shirts and put all the eggs in. His Mom candled them and I got about twenty eggs to put under a big ole red brooder hen my Mom had. We had guineas all over the farm after that. Think I've got a picture somewhere of them. I'll look for it.

I found the old Kodak photo I took of my guineas. I count eleven here, and the ole hen is still tutoring them, as they are hard headed .

That is so awesome!!! Oh how I wish I'd have been your sister lol But I suppose between the both of us there'd have been too many critters for "Mom" to deal with :-D

 

[Sagetown]

That is so awesome!!! Oh how I wish I'd have been your sister lol But I suppose between the both of us there'd have been too many critters for "Mom" to deal with :-D

Naw; she loved animals and poultry as much as anybody. I found some pheasant eggs once, and she took an old wicker basket that they used to serve hamburgers in, added some rags inside it with the eggs on top. Took a damp wash rag and laid it over the eggs with a little light bulb hung over it. She'd turn them eggs ever so often, every day, and those eggs hatched. She put them under a hen that had just hatched a clutch of chicks, but the ole bird wouldn't take them.

 

[bardies]

Well my first hatch in Grace's Sportsman that I bought was so so. I am going to give it one more day just in case but I am quite sure it is done. None of my shipped CCL or SFH hatched. The two Olive Eggers (shipped) that made it to lockdown had to have assistance (which are the ones in question below.) 2 Salmon Faverolle (shipped) out of 8 in lockdown hatched and my own eggs were about 50% when in the brinsea they were running closer to 90%. I think my problem is humidity. The two that were assisted and lived had the shells caked and stuck to them. They were atleast a day late. I run my temps at 100 and my 2 humidity readers were reading 60% for lockdown up to 70 when a couple were hatching. Any thoughts?

Check the temps in the sportsman.... they might not be the same where the eggs are as where the installed thermometer is. Temps that are too low will result in a low hatch rate and chicks that are a bit weak. I would also certainly up the humidity at hatching.

 

[bardies]

Quote: That is really cool! thank you for sharing!

 

[bardies]

Has anyone heard of splash wyandottes?

I got what I thought were siblings and two of the 6 birds are not blue laced red wyandottes.

Here is the splash pullet:


Here is her again but with a 'black' cockerel hatchmate laying below her:


Then, finally, her with another hatchmate in the foreground to the left - normal!


So is this a real color for these, or just a mistake? Eitherway, I think she's beautiful!

 

[Ksane]

Quote: That's just amazing that your mother was like that. Even more amazing those pheasant eggs hatched lol

Bardies, I don't know Wyandotts but that color is definitely Splash and that's a beautiful chicken. A pullet, no less!

Cayuse- Missed your humidity question but I'd definitely up the humidity those last 3 days. I keep the humidity in the 30's-40's the 1st 18 days and get it as high as possible the last 3 days. Usually the 80's is as high as I can manage to get it. The Brinsea incubators are really good. I didn't have much luck with my styrofoam one.