Okay. I've got 5 more dozen to sort and then I'll set. I think I have 14 or 15 dozen to set, and I'm going to have to dig out every incubator and broody to get this going right...and practice tetris...and maybe get an electric skillet out...
guys.. if I am a bit AWOL for the next few days it's because my husband is home from Afghanistan!
He was wounded in early March.. so they finally sent him home... now I have to catch up on spoiling him rotten
I do want to thank y'all for keeping me company and helping to keep me busy .. and i know I didn't tell most of you about it.. but it's one of those things where we just aren't allowed to say much...
so thanks again!
I just got my eggs set at 5:30. I was running a bit behind. I needed to move two trays out to the hatchers to make room.
I know we don't need proof of set, or anything like that..................I just couldn't believe that I set 54 turkey eggs!
That's 54 turkeys, 6 call ducks, 1 araucana, 5 serema and for a friend, 7 OE & 14 empordanesa.
The turkey eggs are mostly various stages of clean to semi-filthy. The worst ones marked with an 'x' are my first experiment with washing eggs and treating them with oxine. My turkeys try their best to lay directly into mud or turkey droppings.
Quote: ((clapping))) I love to cook and started when I was about 12. Not much I won't try-- eating or cooking. Eating my own birds is a new experience. I greatly appreciate the PErdue chickens on many levels ( and recognise the downsides too) and currently trying to appreciate home grown, espeically that it needs a different cooking method.
THis hen was too lean and malcourished, a far cry from the hen we ate last week where I pulled out gobs of interal fat and stuffed between the breast meat and the skin. Not very sophistacated but I fugured it was worth experiementing. I don't waste anything.
Love that you are a kitchen geek!! DH just left for work so he can make home made bread for an event at work tomorrow. His office is in an old house he had renovated to include a full kitchen bigger than our own!! He did it to encourage the staff to cook.
Ganders will adopt goslings. They are like super broodies. I'll give these too him once they are a little older and bigger. I want to bond the goslings to my ducklings so hopefully the geese will take them too. Hopefully by the time the really messy period of brooding kicks in, lol.
Oh...and I just set 382 eggs, 4 dozen of which were turkeys. Do I need that many chicks? Do I need an intervention?
When I candle in a week, I'll have enough room for them to be more comfortable...but since I put them in with the ~3 dozen eggs that are still possibly viable from my last set despite the 112* temps overnight it's a bit tetris-y in there...and I hacked my Sportsman to be 4 shelves instead of three. I used wire to hang my 4th tray from the frame of the lowest turning level on the turner, so I haven't a hatching level now. It shouldn't matter by the time we get to hatching, and if it's still packed, I'll just turn off the turner.
CAVEAT:
I will now have to sell everything laid for 3 weeks because I forgot I gave away my remaining styros and I don't want to dig the R-com out. It only holds 40 on a good tetris day, anyway.
I incubate turkeys the same as ducks and chickens.
I also roast turkeys with a piece of fatback on them. It "melts" during cooking and runs down the bird, making it delicious.
BF instead puts butter on the top in slabs with the salt, pepper and garlic, which also runs down the bird. He then uses the drippings and butter to make mashed potatoes with. Best thing I've ever tasted.
Ive been busy all day so I havent set yet. I first need to go collect todays turkey eggs from the coop. Then I need to candle all the other eggs I already have in the incubator and weed out all the clears. Then I will set hopefully 11 BR turkey eggs tonight. I will post back with my set in a short bit.
I'm setting tomorrow. Incubator is still full---need to move a few dozen into the hatcher, after the 1 due hatches.
still behind-- catch up tomorrow---- long morning at a poultry sale. Saw button quail eggs for the first time, the look unreal, looked like a marble. Darn cute.
Okay. I've got 5 more dozen to sort and then I'll set. I think I have 14 or 15 dozen to set, and I'm going to have to dig out every incubator and broody to get this going right...and practice tetris...and maybe get an electric skillet out... Oy!!
I just bought 3 Khaki ducklings, one for each of my children. My youngest is 4 and he named it Goose, but when I asked him today it was Duck. Can you tell what game they have been playing at school? Duck, duck......goose!
I'm in, Mike was so kind and hooked me up with some lovely turkey eggs. I got to meet his wife, Debbi, very nice folks, They let me hold their new goat, so cute
Part of the reason for this is that commercial birds are soooo fat, so there's a larger volume of stuff. Part of the reason is that they brine them prior to the packaging. This is a solution of salt-water that (if done correctly) causes the protein fibers of the meat to absorb water and this increases the tenderness (and sales weight) of the bird. I always brine my home-raised poultry for tenderness because it makes a huge difference, but also because you can add spices to the brine for flavor. It doesn't require a lot of salt, and if you use sea salt, it also doesn't increase sodium measurably. I usually put a 1/4 c salt (per gallon of water I'll need), 2 T molasses, plus bay leaves, garlic, onions, savory, sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme, etc. in 2 cups of water, heat and stir until salt is disolved. This goes into the pot with the bird in cool water. YOU MUST LEAVE IT FOR AT LEAST 7 HOURS FOR THE PROPER EXCHANGE TO OCCUR FOR TENDERNESS & FLAVOR. Most folks don't leave it long enough, and the first part of the osmosis process in this is to LOSE moisture in the fibers before absorbing it...so you can really wreck meat by brining for a short period. I sometimes add beer, or white wine, or lemon or orange juice, etc. Also, if you use a couple of tablespoons of oil in the bottom of the roaster, you'll be able to keep it from burning. Spread it around like you're oiling the pan for a cake. It changes the way the drippings evaporate. (I'm a kitchen geek...used to be a sous chef)
Oh...and I just set 382 eggs, 4 dozen of which were turkeys. Do I need that many chicks? Do I need an intervention? When I candle in a week, I'll have enough room for them to be more comfortable...but since I put them in with the ~3 dozen eggs that are still possibly viable from my last set despite the 112* temps overnight it's a bit tetris-y in there...and I hacked my Sportsman to be 4 shelves instead of three. I used wire to hang my 4th tray from the frame of the lowest turning level on the turner, so I haven't a hatching level now. It shouldn't matter by the time we get to hatching, and if it's still packed, I'll just turn off the turner. CAVEAT: I will now have to sell everything laid for 3 weeks because I forgot I gave away my remaining styros and I don't want to dig the R-com out. It only holds 40 on a good tetris day, anyway. *sigh*
Welcome to all the new joiners! I incubate turkeys the same as ducks and chickens. I also roast turkeys with a piece of fatback on them. It "melts" during cooking and runs down the bird, making it delicious. BF instead puts butter on the top in slabs with the salt, pepper and garlic, which also runs down the bird. He then uses the drippings and butter to make mashed potatoes with. Best thing I've ever tasted.
I leave for the entire day frequently & just turn before I leave & as soon as I get back. Some days my eggs only get turned once. I'm not overly meticulous with turning & mine have always done fine (except when my temps flux 80-120F in 24 hrs
I don't use a turner, just one more expense. And I can fit more eggs in if I lean them fat side up against each other.
( The benefit of a cooler bator is I can stack ! LOL)
Never too soon to candle!!
My one broodie, with the original name "Broodie Hen" stopped being broody just ehn I was going to give her a dozen speckled sussex. I need her to go broody again.
SHe raised 12 chicks last summer, those were her choice, now it is my choice on eggs.
No turner here, just me & JJ.
I have an EE bantam hen who was broody & had 11 eggs under her when I bought her, nest box & all. Her name to this day..."Broody Momma"
So here's one of my eggs from the high temp spike this morning
I'm not sure what sort of damage I might notice at this point since they were only in the bator one night (about 9 hours) before I noticed the spike. This picture was taken about 15 minutes ago, or 12.5 hours after the spike. Anyone notice anything I should be concerned about? I know it's not much to look at right now. This is one of the bantam eggs by the way. I sort of figured that being the smallest they'd heat up to a lethal temp more quickly, and if they looked ok then the odds were that the bigger (LF chicken and turkey) eggs would have a slightly better chance. Of course, this is just my assumption and my reasoning may be off entirely. I'm just trying to find any glimmer of hope that I didn't ruin 30 eggs
Anyway, I set 31 eggs total last night. and after opening this one they are as follows
6 golden palm turkeys
9 blue or black turkeys
11 BLRW bantams
4 mixed breed chickens
Never count eggs out until you see proof of NO life, like stationary black spots, etc. That egg looks perfectly viable to me, and if I have ~3 doz eggs that survived 112* overnight...well, you get it.
Heat spikes really have to be very high and prolonged to off the eggs. In the summer, my hens get off of the eggs, leaving them exposed to the 110* weather while they go eat and drink and wander around for an hour or two. They are fine, despite this. Likewise, they get up in the winter and do the same thing. Fortunately, they're designed to be forgiving...
I incubate turkeys the same as ducks and chickens.
I also roast turkeys with a piece of fatback on them. It "melts" during cooking and runs down the bird, making it delicious.
BF instead puts butter on the top in slabs with the salt, pepper and garlic, which also runs down the bird. He then uses the drippings and butter to make mashed potatoes with. Best thing I've ever tasted.
guys.. if I am a bit AWOL for the next few days it's because my husband is home from Afghanistan!
He was wounded in early March.. so they finally sent him home... now I have to catch up on spoiling him rotten
I do want to thank y'all for keeping me company and helping to keep me busy .. and i know I didn't tell most of you about it.. but it's one of those things where we just aren't allowed to say much...
so thanks again!
I have a TON of mud I can send your way. All I ever get is muddy eggs that I have to wipe off. My birds (& my fiance) like to play in the water too much.
Ganders will adopt goslings. They are like super broodies. I'll give these too him once they are a little older and bigger. I want to bond the goslings to my ducklings so hopefully the geese will take them too. Hopefully by the time the really messy period of brooding kicks in, lol.
Rain finally made it this way too.
I'll have to remember that. I have some goslings hatching this week.
Think I found a cabinet bator. A friend has had 1 for sale on craigslist for a couple months now & I saw it but didn't know it was his until I was talking to him tonight about getting peachicks. Looks like he's going to let me make payments on it.
Within a couple months I will no longer have to worry about unstable styro bators!!!
