***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Tony O]

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I'm sitting here pondering something. Is this gonna be a problem on down the road? I just noticed the other day, I have pullet laying strange backward eggs. Not weird looking or anything on the outside. Just normal looking, pointed on one end, rounded on the other like any normal looking eggs.
It's the air sack. A very large one compared to normal.

And . . . It's at the pointy end instead of the round end. Has anyone else had a hen that did this? I'm wondering why and what causes it.

I have always set my eggs rounded end up, pointy end down. Now if I were to set it in the incubator, what end would go down? Every once in while I'll have a chick hatch up side down.

You think that may have been the problem?

 

[lonnyandrinda]

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I'm sitting here pondering something. Is this gonna be a problem on down the road? I just noticed the other day, I have pullet laying strange backward eggs. Not weird looking or anything on the outside. Just normal looking, pointed on one end, rounded on the other like any normal looking eggs.
It's the air sack. A very large one compared to normal.

And . . . It's at the pointy end instead of the round end. Has anyone else had a hen that did this? I'm wondering why and what causes it.

I have always set my eggs rounded end up, pointy end down. Now if I were to set it in the incubator, what end would go down? Every once in while I'll have a chick hatch up side down.

You think that may have been the problem?

I see this occasionally but not often enough to pin it down to a single hen. I assumed it was just a random accident.

I was told to incubate with the air cell up. Because when they pip they need to pip into the air cell. So if the air cell is on the side, you incubate on the side and rotate instead of turning the egg. But the chance they will need assistance is much greater especially if the air cell is at the narrow end.

 

[iPeanut1990]

The sudden temperature changes shouldn't be a problem.
As for the cold, I may be a bit extreme, but for my hens I rarely use heat unless the temps reach low 20's and below. If you have roosters with large combs, they can get frostbite. So my roosters get heat lamps. Some say you can coat the comb with Vaseline. The only time I tried that, it was so cold that the Vaseline froze and I couldn't get it to spread...

For the water, if you don't have the electric heated water founts, you can use an open container. If it freezes, dump the block of ice and add fresh water. If the temps are very cold and don't get above freezing all day (or for several days), I'll use a gallon plastic ice cream container (a fine excuse to eat a gallon of ice cream!) Fill the container a third or half up, then just add fresh water in small amounts a couple of times per day. Dump the block of ice the next morning and start over. Obviously it's easier to use a heated waterer, but not always possible, and you'd miss out on the ice cream!

Thanks! Don't have roos. I'll have to get an open water container!



Anyone know if Vaseline actually works?

 

[artsyrobin]

Anyone know if Vaseline actually works?

the idea of vaseline is to prevent moisture on the comb, so it does work, i keep it in the house so it won't be cold- anyone with a large comb or wattles gets it- spending the weekend getting temporary areas set up in the main coop, normally have 16 in there, they will have to share with the porch crew, and will probably be bringing in the cross beaks since they can close their beaks, don't want frostbitten tongues

 

[iPeanut1990]

What do you do for greens in the winter time? I've been reading about alfalfa hay. Some people seem to swear by it and others don't at all. I know I'll get more of those opinions but trying to make an educated decision.

 

[Poco Pollo]

Checked on the flock and herd (do three piggies make a herd?) before heading to Collinsville to attend the Fall Bazaar at Saint Therese Catholic Church. The piggies wanted a little exercise, so I let them run to the porch and back to their pen. We're still looking for names for the two girls. The male is Sir Francis. He's the friendliest of the three. Sir Francis is front left in both photos.




Oops! Here's what happens when you ask a two-year-old to "Hold this egg for a second," so that you can close the gate.

I'm still trying to figure out how my granddaughter managed to carry the egg safely from the barn to the power pole, but from the power pole on, gravity was mysteriously overwhelming. The egg fall less than twenty inches, but it made a CRACK noise so loud that the capons came running from the barn to investigate.

 

[kelielliott]

Incubating and have two thermometers, one on the machine and one inside. I went by the one inside. I got a digital dual temp/humidity yesterday. It says I was a few degrees to low at about 96-97. Can that cause issues? When I candled I didn't think they looked as far along as my research showed for day 11. Will they just hatch a day or so late? They were very active.

 

[Kyzmette]

Coral, what breed of capons are those? They're gorgeous!

And your piggies are too cute, too!

 

[Kyzmette]

Junebug just seized. I picked her up and cradled her, she opened her eyes, looked right at me, then laid her head over on my thumb, gave one last, soft chirp, and died. How is it I can lose a bird last week and just hope the poor thing didn't suffer, but this one dies and I'm so tore up? I'm really going to miss her.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Incubating and have two thermometers, one on the machine and one inside. I went by the one inside. I got a digital dual temp/humidity yesterday. It says I was a few degrees to low at about 96-97. Can that cause issues? When I candled I didn't think they looked as far along as my research showed for day 11. Will they just hatch a day or so late? They were very active.

YES. Low temperatures can cause slow hatching, lower hatch rate, birth defects.

Are you sure it is the incubator and not the thermometer? Do you know how to calibrate a thermometer? Do it with the new one so you know how well to trust it. http://www.foodsafety.unl.edu/haccp/helpful/thermcalibration Use the ice water method, put the thermometer in a plastic ziplock so it stays dry. (Boiling water method may melt the plastic housing on a digital thermometer!)

If the ice water method shows you above or below 32, then you know how many degrees "off" it is. I have digital temp/humidity thermometers that each have a different swing- I write the "real temp" on a piece of masking tape and stick it to the thermometer. For instance, one thermometer is actually at 99.5 when it reads 103, so I write "103" on the tape and keep that incubator at "103" which is really 99.5. I have another that has "101" on it's tape.

You can also do this using a known trusted thermometer. Gold standard: if your chicks hatch right on time at day 21, your temp is perfect. Early or late hatchers mean your temperature is a little too high or two low.

Junebug just seized. I picked her up and cradled her, she opened her eyes, looked right at me, then laid her head over on my thumb, gave one last, soft chirp, and died. How is it I can lose a bird last week and just hope the poor thing didn't suffer, but this one dies and I'm so tore up? I'm really going to miss her.

So sorry you lost your sweet sweet girl! Let yourself grieve, it's not JUST a chicken!