I have 3600sq ft that I'm free ranging on right now, but I need to separate for pens come fall. How do you manage your pens? How big of coop? How many chickens per pen/coop and how many cocks per hen is ideal for production and selling? For instance, if I want to sell fertile Marans eggs do I need 4 or 8 hens to get a dozen within a 5 day window?
Now the bator says its 97.5, but checks with my temperature gun say 99.5-100.5 (left side, right side). It would be great is this is the reason...no wait, I am going to say this is definitely the reason for my massive last hatch failure, its been nailed, no doubt about it...full steam ahead!!
Don't ever trust bator gages w/out checking and never trust manuals to correctly tell you how to incubate. That's my theory.
Beutiful coloring, but that "cyst" is really weird.Here is a picture of Bubbles today.
Great. How many total did you set so I can let you know the parade requirements? Might as well make you too big for your britches, too
I aim for 30% but I don't worry about it unless it drops below 25%.
I think incubator differences really matter. I had a girl trying to get the humidity up in her home made cooler bator to 75% like I run. (Her hygrometer had been checked.) She got it there, but when she posted the pic of the bator it looked like a rainforest in there...lol. It really showed the difference in bators. I run up to and past 80% with no condensation. I know, thanks to WV that the low humidity method does work outside of styro bators, and even the 40-45% is still low humidity (in comparison with the old standard of 50-60%).
Yuck on the staggered hatches...yay on the red team!!
Hope everyone is well and things are good for you all? 
Hoping they are all still good. 
Yes that's right a broody polish 
Never thought one would go broody but she has. 
Hey up everyone
Far too much to catch up on hereHope everyone is well and things are good for you all?
Quick update on my eggs. Lockdown tomorrow for the incubator eggsHoping they are all still good.
Other news too is that I have a broody polishYes that's right a broody polish
Never thought one would go broody but she has.
Third day for her and she is not doing bad, has managed to damage an egg though getting up from the nest today so she is down to only 4 eggs now.
My first ever broody and I feel more worried than incubator hatching!
How quick as it come round, it doesn,t seem 5 mins since your last hatch. Best wishes for your broody and your incubator hatch. Your broody looks beautiful what is her colour its gorgeousHey up everyone
Far too much to catch up on hereHope everyone is well and things are good for you all?
Quick update on my eggs. Lockdown tomorrow for the incubator eggsHoping they are all still good.
Other news too is that I have a broody polishYes that's right a broody polishNever thought one would go broody but she has.
Third day for her and she is not doing bad, has managed to damage an egg though getting up from the nest today so she is down to only 4 eggs now.
My first ever broody and I feel more worried than incubator hatching!
I lucked out on lumber. I have a local business that gives away scrap that is perfect for coops and pens. I shoot for at least 10sqft/bird in the pens, and 2.5/bird in the coops, but really my coops have much more room than that. I built them to handle larger flocks if I want. I have 6-7 hens/rooster with a very high fertility rate. My goal this year is to get 10-12 girls /rooster. The polish rooster is wearing his girls out, and the cuckoo marans girls are starting to look a little beat up, too. I have 7 cuckoo marans hens, at about 97% fertility, and those 7 girls lay 5-6 fertile eggs every day in the summer. 6 polish hens lay 3-4 eggs. The bantams are pretty prolific layers, but also go broody if the wind changes direction, so I lose some of their production a good bit. My cuckoo marans are also starting to brood, and so far I'm letting them hatch in the pens, but my egg production suffers for a few months, so next year I may start breaking them. Since they are the big sellers, I need them to lay and let me do the incubating.I have 3600sq ft that I'm free ranging on right now, but I need to separate for pens come fall. How do you manage your pens? How big of coop? How many chickens per pen/coop and how many cocks per hen is ideal for production and selling? For instance, if I want to sell fertile Marans eggs do I need 4 or 8 hens to get a dozen within a 5 day window?
I love building but lumber is expensive here.
A broody polish?Other news too is that I have a broody polishYes that's right a broody polishNever thought one would go broody but she has.
How many do you have going into lockdown?
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.
I get condensation at 65-70%Don't ever trust bator gages w/out checking and never trust manuals to correctly tell you how to incubate. That's my theory.
Beutiful coloring, but that "cyst" is really weird.
I aim for 30% but I don't worry about it unless it drops below 25%.
I think incubator differences really matter. I had a girl trying to get the humidity up in her home made cooler bator to 75% like I run. (Her hygrometer had been checked.) She got it there, but when she posted the pic of the bator it looked like a rainforest in there...lol. It really showed the difference in bators. I run up to and past 80% with no condensation. I know, thanks to WV that the low humidity method does work outside of styro bators, and even the 40-45% is still low humidity (in comparison with the old standard of 50-60%).
