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

[WalnutHill]

Essie Frock/Amy, I got a question about the Brinsea.

So the expected delivery date is next Tuesday. Let's say its ready to put eggs in next Wednesday. I have 2 choices, start 40 anew in the Brinsea, or transfer the 41 from the Styrofoam bater into the Brinsea (they will be on Day 9), and put 41 anew in the Hovabator. I have to try and get the 2 bators in synch, its a long and expensive process for me to get to the meat processing plant and I want to do it with 2 sets at a time, albeit of different ages. I had thought too be taking 2 sets with 4 weeks age difference (say 9 and 13 weeks, or 10 and 14 weeks). I have to make 2 trips, each two-way, 50 miles to process meat birds. It means I might have 50-60 in the brooder at one time...hmmm, I'm rambling now...;-]

80 mile round trip for me. Processing at home isn't bad in cooler weather. Summer they get the long ride. Turkeys are the same trip and right now I have 60+ to process.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Nicely said, and nice choice of consolatory beverages.

To help with the next batch, I'd suggest tracking egg weights on a few so that you have a weight at lockdown, then weigh chicks and shell at hatch and compare. The total weight loss from laid to hatched should be about 15% +/- 1%. If you find your chicks when pulled from the incubator are considerably underweight, then you are losing too much moisture at hatch or before moving to the brooder, causing dehydration.

Besides light weight for the size, dehydrated chicks will show signs of vertical wrinkles in the shanks, a slim belly, and small or glazed eyes.

On your next hatch, to be safe, have a warm, draft free brooder at 95F ready and move the chicks as soon as a few are mostly dry. A paper plate or white container lid with a sprinkling of chick starter will attract them, especially if you tap on it. For water, I prefer to dip my finger in it and hold it next to their beaks, they will lap it up and then look for more.

All planned already WalnutHill, but thanks for the reconfirmation. I track all egg weights on a jewler's scale (to 0.01 grams), and in fact did my last hatch using a gram scale. Nobody was ridiculous far away from the ideal. But your 15% conflicts a little with Amy's 13/14%, and another person's (Pete55?, Sally Sunshine??) 16%. Isn't it wonderful to have a number that nobody agrees upon, but none of which are wrong...

I never weighed the guys once they were chicks, cause I had no point of reference any more. Every egg is numbered, so unless I take them out as soon as they finish hatchin (and before they dry), I have no way of knowing who was whose original weight.

I had the brooder ready, but it was ready for 22 chicks or more. Next time I will cover all the wood chips with paper towels before chick #1, so I can, as you say, make the food obvious.

I never realized just how stupid chicks are...like no sense of survival at all.

 

[scflock]

Essie Frock/Amy, I got a question about the Brinsea.

So the expected delivery date is next Tuesday. Let's say its ready to put eggs in next Wednesday. I have 2 choices, start 40 anew in the Brinsea, or transfer the 41 from the Styrofoam bater into the Brinsea (they will be on Day 9), and put 41 anew in the Hovabator. I have to try and get the 2 bators in synch, its a long and expensive process for me to get to the meat processing plant and I want to do it with 2 sets at a time, albeit of different ages. I had thought too be taking 2 sets with 4 weeks age difference (say 9 and 13 weeks, or 10 and 14 weeks). I have to make 2 trips, each two-way, 50 miles to process meat birds. It means I might have 50-60 in the brooder at one time...hmmm, I'm rambling now...;-]

I would put the 40 anew in the Brinsea, then you can compare the results directly to what happens in the hovabator

 

[RubyNala97]

My biggest sellers are the cuckoo marans and silkies, both sell out within days. I like the cuckoos, because I can sell them sexed as soon as they come out of the brooder, and silkies sell pretty well as straight run young. I can get a really good price for silkie pullets if I keep them that long. I have 7 pens, but I could see me downsizing to 3 or 4 breeds in the next couple of years

Do you mind if I ask how much you sell the silkie pullets for?

I'm hoping 27 are still good. When I candled day 14 they were all good and on track barring one that had a slightly larger air sac but the egg looks more porous than the others. It's obviously lost more moisture with having a porous shell. Chick looked good though with lots of movement so fingers crossed on that. Just the one clear at day 7 candle. I sure hopes she gets to hatch some too, she's a lovely friendly little bird and I think she would make a great mother hen. If she can see here babies, this is her when she was a little younger ~

LOVE the picture!! I hope she's a good mama and hatches some beautiful babies!

Ok, a few pics of the 4 that have been moved to the brooder. They are so super tiny. I love them already

Thanks for posting pics! I hope the others hatch!! They are the same size as my silkie babies!

Sorry to be flooding this thread but I just had to share some more pics of my little fluff balls lol

Don't be sorry! Keep the pics coming!! They are so beautiful. When are you shopping for that incubator?

Have you hand fed those disobedient chicks? I find nicely warm, peanut butter watered down to a thick oatmeal works well.

You can also mash up some warm hard boiled egg yoke and sprinkle it on the floor. They usually start picking at it.

 

[NTBugtraq]

80 mile round trip for me. Processing at home isn't bad in cooler weather. Summer they get the long ride. Turkeys are the same trip and right now I have 60+ to process.

By law I cannot sell to the public if I do not use a Provincially approved processor. I do plan to cull some myself for my own use, but for those I plan to skin them not "process" them. What I hate is that I must have my chickens to them before 8:00am, and I must pick them up at 5:00pm. I just wish their town had something in it to do for a day...;-p Like even Wi-Fi

 

[NTBugtraq]

You can also mash up some warm hard boiled egg yoke and sprinkle it on the floor. They usually start picking at it.

Ruby, feeding chickens to chickens doesn't bother you? It bothers me.

 

[RubyNala97]

I have a question for someone on another thread. Shipped eggs, day 11, I believe, air cell fixed in the pointy end. All have live moving chicks in them. Pic has been posted. What the heck?? I'm at a loss. Anyone have any advice??

 

[WalnutHill]

All planned already WalnutHill, but thanks for the reconfirmation. I track all egg weights on a jewler's scale (to 0.01 grams), and in fact did my last hatch using a gram scale. Nobody was ridiculous far away from the ideal. But your 15% conflicts a little with Amy's 13/14%, and another person's (Pete55?, Sally Sunshine??) 16%. Isn't it wonderful to have a number that nobody agrees upon, but none of which are wrong...

I never weighed the guys once they were chicks, cause I had no point of reference any more. Every egg is numbered, so unless I take them out as soon as they finish hatchin (and before they dry), I have no way of knowing who was whose original weight.

I had the brooder ready, but it was ready for 22 chicks or more. Next time I will cover all the wood chips with paper towels before chick #1, so I can, as you say, make the food obvious.

I never realized just how stupid chicks are...like no sense of survival at all.

That is simple as most only track weight until the last candling at lockdown. Few weigh the chick and shell at time of hatch after they've spent another 3 days or so in the incubator, yet if you do candle, the drawdown of the air cell is evident. 15-16% are the most commonly published figures for at time of hatch. If yours are 20% light, then there is obviously an issue.

The mother hen normally acts as tour guide for the young. As we are interrupting the process, it's really not asking too much to point them in the right direction. Compared to robins, dogs, cats, rabbits and humans, chicks aren't too bad off. They are quite low maintenance. At least we don't need to teach them to fly.

 

[RubyNala97]

Ruby, feeding chickens to chickens doesn't bother you? It bothers me.

LOL... This question came up in my house! As long as the egg is not fertile no, it doesn't bother me. Good protein!

 

[WalnutHill]

By law I cannot sell to the public if I do not use a Provincially approved processor. I do plan to cull some myself for my own use, but for those I plan to skin them not "process" them. What I hate is that I must have my chickens to them before 8:00am, and I must pick them up at 5:00pm. I just wish their town had something in it to do for a day...;-p Like even Wi-Fi

Mine is while you wait, but no wi-fi and rarely cell service. My appointments are generally at 8 but some at 6:30 and occasionally at 9. I am out of there and on the road home by noon or 1, load them into tubs of ice, then come home to package.

Yes, skinning is a fast way to do it but there is a better way. Like fileting a fish, it's not necessary to eviscerate...just cut the thighs loose from the hips, the wings from the breast, and the breast meat from the breast bones. Quick and easy and a lot less mess. Unless you want giblets or backbone, just toss the rest.