Picked up my babies yesterday!

[allidew2]

WOW! I cannot believe how much they have changed just in one week's time!
(last week)



(this week, 8 days old)



Where have my tiny babies gone? But they are still SO cute!

 

[deek]

Amazing how they've changed so quickly! Thanks for sharing.

 

[PeepsCA]

They look great allidew, congrats on a healthy flock of adorable babies!

 

[JLeigh]

Peeps, Your set up sounds great! Unfortunately, I don't have anything like it. I'll figure something out, since my eggs haven't hatched yet. I don't live on a farm. I have an almost rural (but not quite) 6 acres, and have to build whatever structures I need. We're going to build a guinea coop since the chickens won't let the guineas in the one we have. That's our next project, but I'll get something built for the older keets. Just don't know what yet.

Wish I had a real farm - these things wouldn't be a problem. Sigh.

 

[PeepsCA]

I don't have the best set ups, but they work... I drool over so many of the coop and run set ups I see here on BYC, if only I had those kinds of set ups!!! (Then I'd have 10 times the number of birds I already have, LOL).

The 10'X10'x6' dog kennels reinforced with either 1" poultry wire or hardware cloth and some added perches work really great for older keet grow out pens during the Summer and Fall! You can usually find them pretty cheap, used on craigslist. And I've used silver reflective tarps or a few 2"x4"s and corrugated tin roofing for a tops on mine to keep the keets shaded (and contained).

 

[JLeigh]

It's funny, because I drool over the "made a home for 50 birds out of duct tape and pencils" (like the McGyver show...) kind of setup. Ours is growing nicely, and will function well, but the cost!!

When my husband built our first coop, I swear I could have put in a window and slept there myself. He's an excellent builder and wanted it to be "right". And we have a great coop as a result. The guinea coop we're planning won't be quite as well-built though. It'll be more than adequate, but I think since he saw how much chicken poop accumulates in a few days, he's lowered his aesthetic standards. Good. We save money. I said to him a number of times, "But honey, it's a chicken coop. Do you know how dirty it's going to get?" Ha. He does now.

We are very much into reusing and recycling. I envy you your setup, and those who have barns, etc., they can use to keep critters. Oh well. We have one helluva well-built coop. That's where we'll go in the event of a tornado.

By the way, my eggs are in the 'bator. The humidity seems to be fluctuating from 48% all the way down to 39%. I'm reluctant to fidget with it. Should I fidget?

 

[PeepsCA]

LOL @ all piling in the coop when the tornado warning goes off!

I'd leave your humidity alone if you can, it takes a while for it to stabilize again once the eggs are in and warming up. 39%-48% is still a safe range, but it should stop fluctuating in a day or so.

 

[daylily]

I keep looking at the pictures of those sweet keets and can hardly wait for mine to hatch! We are on day 18 now. I had to move them to my other homemade bator and they are so warm and happy and moving inside their little shells when I candled them before putting them in. Rechecked the 6 I thought we quitters and think maybe only one could be as I saw movement and all seem to be about the same size. A little "C" with a dark spot an eye obviously. I'm wondering if the one I have that is almost dark completely except for the large air sac might have been a double yolk? Is that possible? It is so far ahead of the others. When rechecking to see what they should look like on day 18 all my other eggs look right, but this one looks way advanced! Any Ideas why?

How and if these eggs hatch out will be a pure miracle from GOD, the temps all along have spiked then fallen in early stages. Then it did it again yesterday and the heat lamp went out intirely. Luckily I had been running and improving on the other one for two days hoping to get the temps and the humidity adjusted. Well about two am I made the switch as they were cold in the other. The temps stayed very well all night and throughout the day and I can adjust the temp by either fan or by raising the lid slightly I am one more comfortable now that they are in this one!

A a party of neighbors today we were comparing how many bugs and ticks they had last year to this year. Well the three houses (including mine) where the guineas forage the answer was two or three, the other 8 neighbors was 20 to 30! Yikes!!!!!

So these three have done quite the service for these neighbors and our place! I mentioned that I may have keets soon if they would won't to try them, No they want me to keep them but train the new group to come to their yards! No

now let's just pray I get the keets I promised!

 

[JLeigh]

Thanks, Peeps, I'll leave the incubator alone............................................I hope. I will. I think. Oh, man, this hands-off is so hard!

daylily, I'm so glad you have little keets on the way. I'm inspired by your success. It's too soon for me to candle yet (June 1 is day 14) but the thought goes through my head every day, "I'm probably incubating what could have been breakfast." I'm staying positive though.

 

[PeepsCA]

Leigh... if I were you (Ms Impatient, lol), I'd candle at 7 days, and then again at 10 days... you don't have to wait til day 14. Plus you'll want to watch/experience the development changes/progress while you can... because once the eggs fill up with developing keets you don't get to see much. Candling is sorta like a doing a sonogram on your embryos