Peeps in Europe!

[maceleneo]

haha, buying a new house with more space for chickens is a good way to take chicken math to the next level!

 

[BDutch]

Yesterday morning my two broodies were in the same nest again. Eggs not cold . I think there won’t be a next time for these two little strange pirates to sit on precious fertilised eggs.

Tomorrow would be the hatch day if it hadn’t been so cold and the ladies hadn’t messed up so much. .
Normally Dutch bantam eggs = 20 days.

Please send some good vibrations!

 

[maceleneo]

three cheers for your pirates!

 

[abpatchy]

Thanks, I've bookmarked it!

Latest news is, we can return the machine and will get a full refund. Thankfully!

We want to hatch and raise chicks for meat (no antibiotics unless necessary, free range, happy chickens) and a few for eggs, but aren't sure yet what quantities we want to raise for those purposes.
And so I'm still not entirely sure about what kind of incubator to get. I like the brinsea and puisor because they have smaller size incubators (up to 24 eggs). Most of the higher end machines like MS and Hemel do seem to be for larger numbers of eggs. I don't mind spending the money if I'm sure I'll make use of a bigger machine, but they're also considerably more expensive too, of course

Fantastic!!! I am very happy to hear that you get your money back!

Here is what I have learned about incubators. Always get a larger one than what you think you need. Before you know it along comes this special hatch or this neighbor or friend who would like to add to your machine. Or you find out you would like to hatch more chicks. You can always hatch less eggs in a larger machine but not the other way around.

What kind of chickens would you like to have. How is their fertility? When their fertility is just ok... then you need to add more eggs to your incubator to get the amount of chicks you would like. In my opinion it is better to hatch more at a time than lots of hatches with few chicks. The older ones attach the smaller ones... they might keep them from feed and water and chase them around. That keeps their growth behind.
The best way to answer your question about how many.... you need to work your way up. I found out that coworkers, family and friends love my eggs and would buy them all the time if I could provide. I could keep more chickens just for that. Same with butchered chickens. It makes a little money on the side providing more feed for the chickens.

 

[abpatchy]

Yesterday morning my two broodies were in the same nest again. Eggs not cold . I think there won’t be a next time for these two little strange pirates to sit on precious fertilised eggs.

Tomorrow would be the hatch day if it hadn’t been so cold and the ladies hadn’t messed up so much. .
Normally Dutch bantam eggs = 20 days.

Please send some good vibrations!

Good luck!!!!

 

[abpatchy]

I found a dead chick this morning.. 1.5 weeks old... just dead. No injury or anything. And one that wasn't doing so well. I don't think it will survive. Other than just sitting there, eyes closed, there are no signs of anything. All others are doing well.

On a nicer subject. I got myself an electric lawnmower for the chicken runs. I just had a manual one... you push it cuts with muscle power. But this electric one...so nice!!! I cut the gras in the front yesterday. I was done fast... it was cut nice... and It collects the clippings... and the darn gras does not wrap around the tires. Since I put more gras seeds down in different areas... I thought there is no way I can do it with the manual one. I was sooo right!!!

 

[BDutch]

I found a dead chick this morning.. 1.5 weeks old... just dead. No injury or anything. And one that wasn't doing so well. I don't think it will survive. Other than just sitting there, eyes closed, there are no signs of anything. All others are doing well.

On a nicer subject. I got myself an electric lawnmower for the chicken runs. I just had a manual one... you push it cuts with muscle power. But this electric one...so nice!!! I cut the gras in the front yesterday. I was done fast... it was cut nice... and It collects the clippings... and the darn gras does not wrap around the tires. Since I put more gras seeds down in different areas... I thought there is no way I can do it with the manual one. I was sooo right!!!

Sorry to hear about the one chick.

I am thinking of buying a robotic mower as well. The reason I didn’t is that MDH still thinks it won’t work properly and is not convinced to spend money on such a toy.
A few weeks ago I bought a robot vacuum cleaner for in between. Best dog I ever had , walking around the house. Only the smallest corners and the walk-in mats he does not clean properly. So yes. You still need another vacuum cleaner on a leash. I wonder if that will be the same with a robotic mower?

 

[abpatchy]

Sorry to hear about the one chick.

I am thinking of buying a robotic mower as well. The reason I didn’t is that MDH still thinks it won’t work properly and is not convinced to spend money on such a toy.
A few weeks ago I bought a robot vacuum cleaner for in between. Best dog I ever had , walking around the house. Only the smallest corners and the walk-in mats he does not clean properly. So yes. You still need another vacuum cleaner on a leash. I wonder if that will be the same with a robotic mower?

Thank you! Well, with the chickens I would be worried about a robotic lawn mower. I wouldn't want them to get caught in it. And then... my chickens put so many holes in the ground... I can just imagine that mower caught in a hole... can't get out.
Another minus would be...they seem to hurt a lot of hedgehogs.
I would go for a vaccum though... LOL

 

[BDutch]

These robotic mowers only hurt hedgehogs at night. Just don’t let them mow after sunset!

(already did my research )

 

[LoreWalker]

Fantastic!!! I am very happy to hear that you get your money back!

Here is what I have learned about incubators. Always get a larger one than what you think you need. Before you know it along comes this special hatch or this neighbor or friend who would like to add to your machine. Or you find out you would like to hatch more chicks. You can always hatch less eggs in a larger machine but not the other way around.

What kind of chickens would you like to have. How is their fertility? When their fertility is just ok... then you need to add more eggs to your incubator to get the amount of chicks you would like. In my opinion it is better to hatch more at a time than lots of hatches with few chicks. The older ones attach the smaller ones... they might keep them from feed and water and chase them around. That keeps their growth behind.
The best way to answer your question about how many.... you need to work your way up. I found out that coworkers, family and friends love my eggs and would buy them all the time if I could provide. I could keep more chickens just for that. Same with butchered chickens. It makes a little money on the side providing more feed for the chickens.

I'm pretty relieved the seller is giving the money back, initially they weren't interested in letting us return the incubator. Now that it broke within a month of use, the situation is apparently different.

We currently have eggs of large orpingtons (buff and blue-laced) and wyandottes (black-silver laced) in the incubator. I'll know on Tuesday if any of the 23 eggs survived the cooling down (after 24 hours in the incubator) and transport to the guy who has them now.
If we truly wanna go into hatching and raising chicks for meat regularly we will probably choose a breed that grows a little faster.

Sorry to hear about the one chick.

I am thinking of buying a robotic mower as well. The reason I didn’t is that MDH still thinks it won’t work properly and is not convinced to spend money on such a toy.
A few weeks ago I bought a robot vacuum cleaner for in between. Best dog I ever had , walking around the house. Only the smallest corners and the walk-in mats he does not clean properly. So yes. You still need another vacuum cleaner on a leash. I wonder if that will be the same with a robotic mower?

My dad had a "mechanical goat"! It ended up cutting its own guide wire on accident, somehow (you put it under the soil). Saved them a LOT of mowing before that happened, though!
I'd love a robo-vacuum, but we have too many thresholds and height differences in our home.