Setting 41 on 6-15, 7-8, 7-31, and 8-23 feel free to join in at any time

[NTBugtraq]

I have my last set hatching early next week but I won't know how successful until I return home from a business trip.

Gotta hate that, but best of luck. How many?

 

[WVduckchick]

Are you looking at these eggs to hatch, or eat?

I know I was thrilled to get the first eggs outta my new layers. Back then, never had any idea I would be incubating, just very happy to get eggs.

The comets are for eggs only until I get them with my roos, which are at my camp/farm. A nice EE and a dark Brahma. Probably still wont incubate any, but maybe. My LOs, I do plan to hatch a round or two of them and see how that goes. I also have some 6 week olds (bantam cochin and polish) that will stay at my house as pets.

 

[WVduckchick]

I have my last set hatching early next week but I won't know how successful until I return home from a business trip.

Out of town on hatch day again? You got the cam running?

 

[NTBugtraq]

The comets are for eggs only until I get them with my roos, which are at my camp/farm. A nice EE and a dark Brahma. Probably still wont incubate any, but maybe. My LOs, I do plan to hatch a round or two of them and see how that goes. I also have some 6 week olds (bantam cochin and polish) that will stay at my house as pets.

Nice, sounds like fun.

 

[NTBugtraq]

WV, what is the bird in your profile pic, I got one of those outta my project breed.

 

[WVduckchick]

WV, what is the bird in your profile pic, I got one of those outta my project breed.

She's one of my bantam cochin babies.

 

[sjturner79]

I'm up to day 16. 22 of the 30 set are still in the incubator. 6 of those I'm not happy with, but will leave in case I'm wrong.

 

[rossfam06]

I am on day 17....candle and lockdown tomorrow. I started with 13. 7 were clear. That left me with 6. Somewhere around day 8 or 9 I lost 5 more. So now I just have mover and shaker in my bator due to hatch friday. :fingerscrossed

 

[bantam brood 17]

I am on day 17....candle and lockdown tomorrow. I started with 13. 7 were clear. That left me with 6. Somewhere around day 8 or 9 I lost 5 more. So now I just have mover and shaker in my bator due to hatch friday. :fingerscrossed

Good luck for your hatch

I,ve got 3 out of 6 due on the 6th the waiting is killing me

 

[scflock]

Well, enough dramatics for a little while...let's get back to having some fun. One thing that is neat this time is that I get to chew gum and smoke at the same time. With 2 more-or-less automatic bators running more or less the same eggs, I get a side-by-side comparison. They are running identically (temperature and humidity) during the first 18 days, and even day 19 will only be 0.5F difference in temperature. So day 1-19 has been where I have had almost all of my deaths (excepting the hatch I kept the chicks in the bator for 3 days, but even that hatch had late deaths in the eggs).

Now if the problem is with the nutrients my layers have had, then both should have something like 50% late deaths. If I get somewhat better than that, then it wasn't necessarily all nutrient oriented...and that will be good to hear. Regardless, I have put my layer flock back on layer mash with just a little scratch thrown in. One thing I was told at a feed mill yesterday is that if I had them on too low a nutrient food the hens should've started to molt. They haven't...

I had been feeding my 10 week olds layer mash, but have switched them to a grower/finisher.

My 34 1 and 2 week olds are doing great in the brooder, and seem very happy together. I hope to have the 1 week olds still in the brooders when I introduce whatever comes out of these 2 latest sets. I think introducing older birds to younger birds might help them accept more younger birds in the future.

Meanwhile, in other news...one of my 10 week old roosters managed to make his way into the layer flock pen. He looked identical to the red sexlink layers, and while he was in the young chicken pen his comb made it clear he was a roo, when mixed in with the 3 yr-old hens he looked just like another hen. He must of got in yesterday, as this morning I discovered him frantically trying to find a way back into the young chicken run, so I grabbed him up and threw him back in. There he instantly got picked on, and I discovered he had been wounded around his anus and was bleeding. I decided I would cull him and use him to try caponizing. Well, that didn't go well as the sun was too bright and I could not get a good view inside the cavity after the initial incision. Not having a place prepared inside to do the caponizing, I decided I would try dressing him (he was dead all the while I was fumbling around, fwiw). So I managed to skin him, dress him out, wash, and bag him. He's now in the fridge resting for 3 days. Dogs all got treats in the process of course.

So after a week of many failures (including caponizing attempt today), it ends with 1 definitely positive thing. I can dress a chicken for myself!!

Meanwhile, hanging 10,000 garlic is no small task...;-] I am finding more salvageable garlic amongst what I have already picked and have decided much of the small stuff will become seed for next year. Not ideal, but the genetics are there and there's no reason a small clove won't produce a big bulb next year if I get the soil dynamics fixed.

I am on day 4 of my 2 sets of 40, 3 more days and I will draw air sacs, candle, and weigh. I am really hoping this time I see lots of distinct veining so as to cull the clears. Everyone else who are hatching give us an update, what day are you on, what are you hatching, fertility rates...Let's get back to having fun.

Deal. I'll lay off the drama (mostly)

I did my first processing this year, too. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. You should have seen the other thread this weekend. I know how that rooster in a pen full of hens felt. I was almost caponized, too