***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[NanaKat]

Moved the Bantam pen to the garden yesterday and will finish moving all the equipment in when I go back out. Will take pictures when I get the birds moved in there.

Hubby started his chemo therapy night before last...oral meds 1 x a week....Methotrexate...for 4 weeks. It is for his psoratic arthritis...supposed to put it in remission. He is having some nausea so far. We are hoping he gets some relief from both the pain and the swelling in his joints.

Yesterday I was working in the garden and using the tractor to move some stuff around. Got out the garden knife (8 inch blade, serrated) to cut down some tall Johnson grass so I could find the boards for the overgrown bed I was taking out by the shed. Was actually filling a wheel barrow with the tall grass as I cut it. Well needless to say on the next to the last swipe, I hit the shin on my left leg...opened up a nice 3 inch cut with an inch of it open to the muscle. Since there was little blood, I finished my last swipe, put the grass in the barrow and went inside to bandage. We keep sterile closure strips and a well stocked med kit. Was prepared to do stitches, but didn't have to. Cleaning and bandage finished, I went back out and mowed the garden. You have to be tough to live on a farm.

 

[chrisnjenny]

Moved the Bantam pen to the garden yesterday and will finish moving all the equipment in when I go back out.  Will take pictures when I get the birds moved in there. 

Hubby started his chemo therapy night before last...oral meds 1 x a week....Methotrexate...for 4 weeks.  It is for his psoratic arthritis...supposed to put it in remission.   He is having some nausea so far.  We are hoping he gets some relief from both the pain and the swelling in his joints. 

Yesterday I was working in the garden and using the tractor to move some stuff around.  Got out the garden knife (8 inch blade, serrated) to cut down some tall Johnson grass so I could find the boards for the overgrown bed I was taking out by the shed. Was actually filling a wheel barrow with the tall grass as I cut it.   Well needless to say on the next to the last swipe, I hit the shin on my left leg...opened up a nice 3 inch cut with an inch of it open to the muscle. Since there was little blood, I finished my last swipe, put the grass in the barrow and went inside to bandage.  We keep sterile closure strips and a well stocked med kit.  Was prepared to do stitches, but didn't have to.  Cleaning and bandage finished, I went back out and mowed the garden.   You have to be tough to live on a farm. 

wow nankat tou are one tough cookie im the same way tho.... wish I lived on a farm but in the mean time ill make due with my backyard chickens, I went out this morning and made some alterations to my existing chicken pen but I have a ton of more work to get done before I take the kids swimming today when the hubby leaves for work about 2:30... im thankful for all the help everyone here has offered I have visions of the way I want things now.... gonna take some time to get the money to get the materials I need to get it all done so ill just do it a little at a time

 

[chrisnjenny]

Temperatures at the beginning of this next week are supposed to be a little cooler....might be better for reserving eggs for hatching. 

This is new info for me... im nowhere near attempting hatching yet but I didnt know the weather needed to be a certain temp. Or that the hens will quit laying when it gets too hot.... interesting.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

This is new info for me... im nowhere near attempting hatching yet but I didnt know the weather needed to be a certain temp. Or that the hens will quit laying when it gets too hot.... interesting.

Heat stresses the chickens. Stress = less eggs.

High outside temperatures mean the eggs start to grow the minute they are laid- an incubator is 99.5 so you can imagine when the temps are 95-105 the eggs are being incubated immediately! Then you collect eggs and bring them in and set them on the counter- and the cooler temps kill the embryos.

 

[chrisnjenny]

So will the eggs hatch in high temps consistant in summer time without the chicken sitting on them or will the night temp drop kill them? Also. Should i be keeping fresh eggs on the counter instead of refrigerating them

 

[BetsyOK]

Wow NanaKat!! I'm not nearly as productive or hard-working as you are, but I'm of a like mind in that I'll finish what I can if an injury isn't bleeding or hurting too much. I've long known I should have been raised on a farm. Glad your injury wasn't too bad, and sending toughts, prayers for hubby!

We have to hire people to do anything very heavy at all because we don't have the equipment nor the strength and energy anymore. Vashi is not an outdoor person, but will do what he can that HAS to be done! He does more than his share inside the house, though.

We've hired a couple of neighbors to take out a lot of heavy brush and smallish trees in front of our property along the road. They're going to leave it in condition that we can mow there, which has been my intent all along.

 

[Kyzmette]

Quote:
So what day will you be picking them up and what day will you be setting them in the incubator? I can stalk my chickens over the weekend and pull them out as soon as I can after they're laid. Most of them will be large brown eggs, but I might have a blue egg or two in there.

 

[Kassaundra]

Nank, be careful w/ those sharp objects and

for even thinking about giving yourself stitches!!!!!!!

I have to lay down to keep from passing out if I get a paper cut! (not even kidding) I can look at your blood all day long, poke you w/ needles, look at your insides, but let me see one drop of my blood and I'm tapping out!!!!!



Got my most important project for today done! and it is hot out. I had to get a secure spot for the young buns so I can take them away from mom today, she is preggers again and should deliver in a week or so and I needed a spot for this batch and another spot to put the male away this time before she gives birth so he can't do that again, until I want.

 

[NanaKat]

Quote: Quote:

So will the eggs hatch in high temps consistant in summer time without the chicken sitting on them or will the night temp drop kill them? Also. Should i be keeping fresh eggs on the counter instead of refrigerating them

Good questions...

Not only do temperatures over 95 stress the hens, it affects the fertility of your rooster. Eggs, as already mentioned, begin to incubate in the high temperatures and embryos die when brought to cooler temperatures. There will be a drop in fertile eggs when temperatures rise.
I stop collecting eggs from my breeders when temps reach 90 degrees....unless they are in the barn under the swamp cooler.

Eggs for hatching go onto an egg turner and can be held there for up to 10 days. Viability goes down the longer an egg is stored for incubating. The turner keeps the embryo from attaching to the inside of the shell wall. These eggs are not rinsed in water as that removes the "bloom" from the hen that protects the egg from bacteria. I do use a soft brush to remove the soiled spots and spritz my eggs with a 10% Oxine solution. Some people are successful in holding their eggs in a cool basement or refrigerator...I have not.

Eggs for the kitchen are rinsed, allowed to dry and go into an egg carton for the refridgerator. You can leave them out a day or two...in fact an egg from the counter will hard boil better than a chilled egg....in my experience.

As for eggs hatching on their own...no. A hen is needed to keep the temperatures consistent for hatching. During the high heat of the day, a broody hen, will rotate her eggs from underneath to the outside edge. Sometimes she will actually sit beside her eggs....instinctively they know how to regulate the egg temperature. Cooler night time temperatures can delay or stop the incubating process.

The cooler temperatures next week might make it better for collecting eggs....I'm emphasizing the might...because there is no guarantee that the rooster's virility will return completely.
For fall hatching, I like the temperatures to be consistently 85 or lower for a couple of weeks before I start collecting eggs for incubation.

 

[HeyBigRhondaq]

I need input/help!
I bought a coop on craigslist. It's a little larger than 3X6. So, that's big enough for 4 or so chickens, right? It's raised up (like on stilts). If I enclose the bottom, that's only another 18 square feet, or MAX of 2 chickens if you adhere to the 10 square foot rule for run space. If I convert it into a tractor, do I still need the 10 s.f. per chicken? I know bigger is always better (lol), and I am not opposed to adding on a larger run, but it's gonna get heavy. I have the space to move it daily and can let them free-range. So, how much ground space per chicken does a tractor need if it will be moved daily? Seriously, I'm not trying to be lazy or cheat the chickens. It just seems I see a lot of tractors that can't possibly be adhering to the space requirements I've seen. My intent for the tractor will either be for a breeding trio (or quartet) or for roosters I can't seem to give up/send to freezer camp. Thanks!