She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[WVduckchick]

There needs to be a crow every once in a while or the cackling will drive you insane

 

[scflock]

 

[AmyLynn2374]

There needs to be a crow every once in a while or the cackling will drive you insane

 

[sideWing]

No, Flexwatt is very low wattage per surface area. It would be GREAT for a brooder plate heater. It's a challenge for a really small incubator as it would be hard to get enough wattage. But cooler size or bigger would be good, very gradual and gentle heating.

I'm glad you cleared that up Walnut. Less power than a 250 watt bulb I suppose? I wish I could download your brain into mine.

We were just looking up alternatives for providing just a little heat in the coop for my little ones. Looking at panels and tape and such.

Could the heat tape be attached underneath the coop, like sub flooring heat tape, and actually radiate through the wood? I think its just thin plywood.
It is possible, I think I've had it happen once or twice in the last 8 months.

Boa keepers use it under their plastic cages, but often on top of wood bases. May not be a good idea, but they do it all the time.

 

[sideWing]

My wife thinks this is the meanest thing ever, but I just can't stop laughing every time I see it. The video is hilarious.

 

[WalnutHill]

So when collecting eggs for hatching, do you have any tips or tricks? Do you store your eggs on a turner while gathering? How selective are you on size, egg shell quality, etc. Do you have your hens on supplemental vitamins prior to collecting?

I've set old eggs (> 1 month) stored at room temp...FAIL
I've set shipped eggs (about 50%)
I've set refrigerated eggs (about 40%)
I've set infertile eggs from dishonest sellers (0%)
I've temperature controlled and humidity controlled eggs
I've turned eggs and not turned eggs
I've kept eggs in the dark, and eggs in the light
I've set porous eggs (work best in cabinets), bumpy eggs (no issue), pullet eggs (tend to hatch early but need less humidity than old hen eggs), eggs of different size (hatch at different times), and eggs of different breed (bantam hatch earlier than LF).
I've set turkey eggs a week ahead of chicken eggs, and same day as chicken eggs for a staggered hatch.

Set the freshest, best quality eggs of the same size and you improve your odds of success, but eggs are designed to hatch so it's likely some will as long as they are fertile and not rotten.

 

[WalnutHill]

So, I watched a video on caponizing. My question is do they do that to turkey Tom's as well?

No need to caponize turkeys as they take a minimum of 36 weeks to reach sexual maturity (heritage) and only 29 weeks to marketable size and weight (heritage) or 20 weeks (broad breasted).

 

[WalnutHill]

Quote:
Flexwatt is 20-40 watts per linear foot depending on width. So if you wanted to build a 4' brooder panel out of an old 4 tube shop light hood, it would use 160 watts. A 2 tube hood would be about 80 watts, not enough. The fluorescent fixtures ripped out of old dropped ceilings would make nice enclosures for flexwatt for brooder hoods. Cover the top with a waterproof surface and protect with a hardware cloth screen or heat proof panel.

 

[WVduckchick]

Flexwatt is 20-40 watts per linear foot depending on width.  So if you wanted to build a 4' brooder panel out of an old 4 tube shop light hood, it would use 160 watts.  A 2 tube hood would be about 80 watts, not enough.  The fluorescent fixtures ripped out of old dropped ceilings would make nice enclosures for flexwatt for brooder hoods.  Cover the top with a waterproof surface and protect with a hardware cloth screen or heat proof panel.

My hubby has a possibility of getting one of those warmer tables/carts like they use for buffets... There are two heating elements in the bottom, and its made to put food in a pan and sit it down over the element. I assume there is a thermostat on them. We're might play around with it and see if we can come up with something to provide some coop heat with it.

 

[chicapee]

They look great!! Makes me miss the peas! (But not the crying!)
Good luck! Hopefully fertility will be better next set. I did my 14 day candling (it was only my second time candling!...can you believe that????) last night and so far all 11 eggs I set are looking good! for is both!
I think turkey eggs are a little harder to hatch then chicken eggs. Walnut would know better. But I think the larger fowl tend to have a harder time getting out of the shell.
I keep them on the counter and try to turn them twice a day. I was reading an article that said if the eggs are 1-7 days old, they really do not need to be turned. It's more beneficial on eggs that are older. But I still try to do it, just to be on the safe side. I do not give my girls any supplements but they are spoiled! Besides chicken feed crumbles, I give them fermented feed, table scraps, fodder, and either yogurt or buttermilk. So far I've had great success with hatching their eggs.

Do you think that you can give chickens whey after making yogurt?