**~~>>Second Annual Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatchathon<<~~**all poultry welcome!

[Arielle]

Quote: I know I've lost a few chickens to the coyote-- inevitable as we are right on a deer-coyote path. Generally I don't give eggs to a broody bc/ it is too much work to keep her safe and happy. Love that you made a little hoop coop to keep yours safe and happy. BRoodies are a lot of work , for us! lol

I usually kick the ducks out of their house and into the hen house so the broodie can have a secluded place to raise her brood for a few weeks, then let them out for an hour in the evening, increasing the time. Eventually she took them to another barn where I suspect she had hatched them under the building. THey spent the day at the barn ( at the edge of the wood), and back to the duck house at night until they were 4 months old. Can you imagine a couple 4 month olds trying to get under broodie hen???

THey were bigger than her!!

 

[Wisher1000]

You folks all speak in some sort of a strange code. What the heck. Have fun.

Pkillian, not laughing at you, but at us. YOU are right, we do prattle on in our "chicken speak" but you will to, if you stick around for a little while! Join us and we'll teach you how!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...le-contest-cinco-de-mayo-hatch-a-long-contest

Since I don't have eggs to egg bomb people with, the winner will recieve a new Brinsea Spot Check Thermometer (Can't have too many of those!)

NOW you have my attention!

THey spent the day at the barn ( at the edge of the wood), and back to the duck house at night until they were 4 months old. Can you imagine a couple 4 month olds trying to get under broodie hen???

THey were bigger than her!!

My broodies all got tired of the babies after two weeks and went back to the roosts with the others. The babies couldn't get up there, so they slept on the floor. I took them in and finished the brooding inside under a lamp.

 

[Razadia]

Quote: I will!


Eggs are going into the bator in just a bit. Then I have to pull out the big brooder (a storage container) for the Easter chicks. They've been staying in a box to be tutors for younger chicks (and they are fantastic at it), but they've gotten into the habit of perching on the sides of the box.

 

[HEChicken]

My broodies all got tired of the babies after two weeks and went back to the roosts with the others. The babies couldn't get up there, so they slept on the floor. I took them in and finished the brooding inside under a lamp.

Oh, how sad - I've never had a mama hen give up that soon. My first raised hers until they were 15 weeks old. They didn't try and get under her at that age but did stay with her all day everyday and sleep beside her on the roost at night.

Wow - that Brinsea spot check thermometer as a prize is a very generous offering!!!

 

[yinepu]

Just got in today's mail
44 total
26 Euskal Oiloa eggs
18 Ancona Duck eggs

 

[ronott1]

OMG! I just unexpectedly got 27 more tutor eggs in the mail and my incubator's full!

I've been on a waiting list for these for a while and thrilled to finally get them, but had no idea they were coming TODAY. Might have to make a quick trip to Tractor Supply this afternoon to buy an emergency incubator. Anyone know if they sell straightjackets there too?

That is a fear of mine. I have a couple of replacement shipments coming and an order from January that was supposed to shipped out mid April. I am supposed to get a two week notice but One never knows....

When I come home from work I expect to find a box or two of eggs ready for me or if USPS works, a message saying the eggs are at the PO.

 

[debs_flock]

Quote:
You can??? Oh wow, that's what I've been doing wrong

Actually, I just sold 9 of my 12 feedstore hens. I'm collecting 4-5 dozen eggs per day, plus quail & turkey. I couldn't see any point in feeding those girls. I don't sell that many eating eggs, I cook 10+ dozen eggs to feed back to the birds at a time, so I saw no point in feeding them anymore. It was nice having those jumbo eggs with nothing written on them when I was cooking. Now most every egg I cook with has the breed name written on it (when you collect that many, you have to write on them).

For breakfast yesterday, I ate a Cream Legbar egg and my DH had a couple of BC marans................it was almost painful

I'm probably going to miss those feedstore girls in my egg flock this winter when I'm only getting a couple of eggs out of the 35 pens full of birds. Oh well, I had to cut back somewhere. next is about 50 roos/cockerels. I already did a purge of that many a few months ago and it certainly seemed quieter around here. I'm just afraid to put on my big girl panties and make this next round of culling decisions.

 

[HEChicken]

You can??? Oh wow, that's what I've been doing wrong

We actually eat most of our eggs around here. I have enough chickens so didn't to hatch any more of those. I'm incubating duck and turkey eggs and that's it - and that's because we're going to eat the offspring.

But some of that could be that all my chicken eggs will only produce mutts at this point anyway. Now, next year, when I am producing some ringlet BR's and some Good Shepherd New Hamps, I'll take a very different attitude.

How debs_flock - how are you turkey eggs coming that you set 26 days ago? Hearing any peeping from them? (Do poults peep in the shells like chicken chicks?) Mine are under a broody hen and I don't want to disturb her to find out, but when I knelt down to peer in at her, I noticed she was talking, so I'm thinking she's hearing them and responding. She hasn't talked like this the whole rest of the time she's been sitting. She also has 3 chicken eggs under her, due to hatch the same time so perhaps she's only talking to them.

 

[SilkieSensation]

I'm really surprised your Muscovies aren't laying yet. I got my first egg on Valentine's day and within weeks was swamped with eggs. Currently two of the four are broody though, so laying has slowed down.

I've heard so many people say that. We have so many predators here that I'm sure they would find her way before her eggs hatched and that would the end of that. So for their own protection, I built a hoop coop just to use as a broody pen. The first duck to go broody hated the idea of being in the hoop coop and naturally she won, so she is brooding in the main coop, with a little wire pen as cover over her to prevent the other hens from laying in her nest. But the rest of them accepted the move to the hoop coop with grace and there are currently 2 broodies in there, along with a Silkie raising her chicks.

I got my quad of older scovies a little over a month ago & had to quarantine them in a small cage due to lack of space. They weren't laying yet before I got them because we were still getting snow here. Now they are finally out in the pen but haven't settled in to laying yet. The younger trio just isn't old enough to lay yet.

I will!


Eggs are going into the bator in just a bit. Then I have to pull out the big brooder (a storage container) for the Easter chicks. They've been staying in a box to be tutors for younger chicks (and they are fantastic at it), but they've gotten into the habit of perching on the sides of the box.

They tend to do that when they out grow their box.

Just be happy they haven't decided to explore further.

You can??? Oh wow, that's what I've been doing wrong

Actually, I just sold 9 of my 12 feedstore hens. I'm collecting 4-5 dozen eggs per day, plus quail & turkey. I couldn't see any point in feeding those girls. I don't sell that many eating eggs, I cook 10+ dozen eggs to feed back to the birds at a time, so I saw no point in feeding them anymore. It was nice having those jumbo eggs with nothing written on them when I was cooking. Now most every egg I cook with has the breed name written on it (when you collect that many, you have to write on them).

For breakfast yesterday, I ate a Cream Legbar egg and my DH had a couple of BC marans................it was almost painful

I'm probably going to miss those feedstore girls in my egg flock this winter when I'm only getting a couple of eggs out of the 35 pens full of birds. Oh well, I had to cut back somewhere. next is about 50 roos/cockerels. I already did a purge of that many a few months ago and it certainly seemed quieter around here. I'm just afraid to put on my big girl panties and make this next round of culling decisions.

I don't even mark our LF eggs with anything other than the date since they are all in the same pen & it's an EE roo over them. You sound like me with the extra birds though. I have about 200 needing to go & 3 more bators full hatching & more eggs on the way. I'm looking for the nearest swap meet for THIS weekend. Wonder how close I can find 1 to the St. Clairsville, OH/Wheeling, WV area

 

[SilkieSensation]

We actually eat most of our eggs around here. I have enough chickens so didn't to hatch any more of those. I'm incubating duck and turkey eggs and that's it - and that's because we're going to eat the offspring.

But some of that could be that all my chicken eggs will only produce mutts at this point anyway. Now, next year, when I am producing some ringlet BR's and some Good Shepherd New Hamps, I'll take a very different attitude.

How debs_flock - how are you turkey eggs coming that you set 26 days ago? Hearing any peeping from them? (Do poults peep in the shells like chicken chicks?) Mine are under a broody hen and I don't want to disturb her to find out, but when I knelt down to peer in at her, I noticed she was talking, so I'm thinking she's hearing them and responding. She hasn't talked like this the whole rest of the time she's been sitting. She also has 3 chicken eggs under her, due to hatch the same time so perhaps she's only talking to them.

Yep, poults will talk from inside the shell too. So will ducks & quail. And guineas...and...and...