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

[WVduckchick]

Hi all

Candled last night at lock down. All 27 looked good so they are all still in there. Now I can't stop looking at the incubator Nothing happening yet though.

I have to say it's quite packed with 27 eggs on their sides.

Polish hen still on the nest too!!

Excellent! Can't believe my polish were my best hatchers. And I thought they were slow developing all along!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Yorkshire!!!
Can't wait to see the polish babies. 25 or more and we will bring the parade across the pond
Are you sure that broody isn't a marans having a bad hair day?

She is a polish!! Honestly!! I can't wait to see them either seems ages since I've had really little chicks. As the last batch went in a week i didn't get enough little chick time really. I've still got the cross ones from the last batch but they are just not the same.

Excellent! Can't believe my polish were my best hatchers. And I thought they were slow developing all along!

Thanks, I've found them to be good hatchers too. I think it makes you think the are slow developing because you can see everything in the egg as they go along. Had some weird fluttering is all I can say in a couple eggs last night right up near the air sac, I could have sworn at least one had internally pipped it did look like it. But no action

 

[lazy gardener]

Thought I'd share a photo of my incubator...


;-)

Where is the thermostat control? Nice piece of equipment. I bet it doesn't use much electricity, either!

I wanted to share these pics while we were talking about integrated little ones in with the main flock yesterday but they are another users. I got her permission to post them. Wanted to show NBbugtraq, but I guess he's not here anymore ?....anyway, how cool are these...

You could PM and invite NB to come take a look, or send a thread page so ?she could see the original.

Here's my food porn for the day. First one of the year. Looks like BLT's tonight

What kind? Beautiful. Mine are just setting blossoms, and the plants are small. I think the biggest plant is about 10" tall.

I have a perfect example of this going on right now. I set 6 peafowl eggs, 7 days ago. The air cells on 5 of them look exactly the same. But on one egg, that is darker and much rougher, the air cell is half the size of the others! What do you do for that egg? Just hope the best for it?

Amy beat me to it: set that one in lock down upright. Keep an eye on it for pips below the carton line. Of course, you'll have to open the bator to do that. So sorry SC. Not really!

Thanks for all the answers on my boy named Sue. Yes, this Rooster was supposed to be a girl, which is why he needed to be rehomed and I took him in.

For the time being I think we will continue to push him down until he stays put. He's bit me twice since I got him, both times on my hand and just bit my husband the other day. I call it bite loosely because he doesn't draw blood but sometimes does break the first layer of skin, not much more than pinch and a paper cut. I told my husband that Sue is just a hormonal teenager so he's testing limits. When he misbehaves we push him down and hold him there in front of the girls. I've also mock pecked him if he pecks at me and chest bumped him when he's gotten too close to my face. When the time comes we won't let him mate in front of us either. If he thinks he is alpha he is sorely mistaken.

I guess in a month or so I will have to take the board down that is covering the nest boxes. Or should I wait until I see an egg hiding in a corner?

Re: Sue. If he doesn't shape up, you might invite him to dinner. Nasty roosters are a liability and suck the pleasure out of keeping chickens. Do you routinely move him around the coop and yard with a light stick? I keep Jack (and he's a very nice roo) on his toes by reaching out to grab his tail when ever he's close enough. If he's showing too much interest in the girls when I'm around, I chase him around for a bit until he forgets that he was h...y. The other day, he spent the afternoon and night in solitary. Normally, he's very good, but there are some pubescent cockrels, and I'm sure he feels the need to express his virility. He's very good with the youngsters, and tid-bits them, hangs out with them, even if they are on their side of the fence. BeeKissed has her roo trained to leave the coop on command. She'll look at him, and say OUT! And he goes!

I'd take down the nest box covers when your girls start showing signs that laying is imminent. Combs and wattles will be much redder, look fuller. They will squat if you hover your hand over their back. They may come up to you and squat and stomp their feet. (they're inviting you to play rooster) And they may sing the egg song before the appearance of eggs. You'll also see them exploring nooks and crannies for possible nesting sites. If Sue is a good roo, he'll help them find the perfect nest site, and will even try it out! During this time, IMO, it's important to have those boxes available, and looking oh so inviting. Bait them with a fake egg, or a golf ball. They like to "play house" and will be in and out of the boxes a 100 times/day, flinging straw around and squirming around to make the perfect "nest". The only down side is that you should not let them into the boxes to sleep at night. When I'm training new pullets, I like to put up a cover when I'm assured that the last egg has been laid for the day, then open the boxes up early the next morning. It's a pain, but may save you a lot of work down the road.

 

[scflock]

What kind? Beautiful. Mine are just setting blossoms, and the plants are small. I think the biggest plant is about 10" tall.

German Giant. That is actually one of the average sized ones, there are some monsters on the way. This is the first year I have ever planted indeterminate. Holy cow, those plants are huge! The German Giants are over 8ft if I stand them up straight. I've actually started pruning the ends off them. I have the Germans, Black Krim, Celebrity, and Better Bush. I can't wait to see the Krims. I've heard they are very good, and have never had them before

 

[sideWing]

In other news: I got all the batten up on the coop. The tin is on the roof, but needs to be cut even on the overhang and it still needs braces to support underneath. (My landlord does everything a$$backward and wrong.) And since it's reused tin, I'll have to fill the nail holes. Then I can throw up the roosts, throw down the bedding and kick em out. Almost- there's a couple small things I want to go back and redo or fix. Everything should be done tomorrow hopefully and I can move them out Friday and then I will struggle with setting up the run Saturday. I'm thinking about trying my special needs roo out with them and see how it goes.

I'm glad you got a day to work on it. I love building things and especially coops.

I'm still waiting for it to stop raining long enough to get anything done!

You folks have had a LOT of rain!

I have seen this when temps were too high for too long, but not to a quite fatal level, and the yolk "cooked". The chick/poult cannot absorb this.

That was my 108F day where I named the LG Easy Bake.

Easy Bake!

More food pics for your enjoyment. I am prepping for the extended family to come for Father's Day, so I am making a variety of sausages to grill up.

Done - Venison Cheddar Jalapeno smoked sausage
Done - Chicken with sun dried tomato and basil
In progress - smoked kielbasa. Rounds are made and preparing for smoking tomorrow morning.
To do - Bratwurst, and maybe some Italian Sausage. Depends on how much pork I feel like chopping up.

Plus a trip to the meat market downtown yielded the usual result...a whole bunch of things I didn't plan to get, but looked too good to pass up.

I didn't realize you were making them.

We have been eating elk burger for quite a while now from our blessed hunts and it's delicious.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cppeace

Whew! Woke to incubator at 108 according to main thermometer, other two both read lower, all the eggs are still alive though but that was scary

How long was it at 108?

I'm so busy working It's unreal and more work coming every day. I try to price work so high they will get someone else . it's just not working. the good thing is I get paid the same if I'm talking or working .And builders love to talk. tomorrow the building inspector is coming that's an automatic two hour talk down. I may have to get a smart phone just to keep up. don't worry I'm always reading. I just don't get started until way after dark. and there never seems to be a shortage of new people coming and going on this thread. It get's more post all the time and members just seeing what all the hype is about . I Love it and new it would be like this.

Sometimes I don't try to read everything if its been too long. Don't make it a chore! Just jump on in the last few pages whenever you have time.

I wanted to share these pics while we were talking about integrated little ones in with the main flock yesterday but they are another users. I got her permission to post them. Wanted to show NBbugtraq, but I guess he's not here anymore ?....anyway, how cool are these...

Nice!

Did we just get blown off?

Here's my food porn for the day. First one of the year. Looks like BLT's tonight

Ah man! I just replanted after a mule deer ate the tops off of ours. That being said we don't get maters until Sept/Oct. Well done!

Thanks for all the answers on my boy named Sue. Yes, this Rooster was supposed to be a girl, which is why he needed to be rehomed and I took him in.

For the time being I think we will continue to push him down until he stays put. He's bit me twice since I got him, both times on my hand and just bit my husband the other day. I call it bite loosely because he doesn't draw blood but sometimes does break the first layer of skin, not much more than pinch and a paper cut. I told my husband that Sue is just a hormonal teenager so he's testing limits. When he misbehaves we push him down and hold him there in front of the girls. I've also mock pecked him if he pecks at me and chest bumped him when he's gotten too close to my face. When the time comes we won't let him mate in front of us either. If he thinks he is alpha he is sorely mistaken.

I guess in a month or so I will have to take the board down that is covering the nest boxes. Or should I wait until I see an egg hiding in a corner?

I read that you should keep them covered until the pullets are 17-18 weeks old. I'm about to open mine. I like the idea of open and closing, but I know I can't do that consistently and the boys don't wake up that early.

 

[WVduckchick]

She is a polish!! Honestly!! I can't wait to see them either seems ages since I've had really little chicks. As the last batch went in a week i didn't get enough little chick time really. I've still got the cross ones from the last batch but they are just not the same.
Thanks, I've found them to be good hatchers too. I think it makes you think the are slow developing because you can see everything in the egg as they go along. Had some weird fluttering is all I can say in a couple eggs last night right up near the air sac, I could have sworn at least one had internally pipped it did look like it. But no action

I could have sworn that I heard they were hard to hatch, but my sister-in-law said they were easy. And yes! Seeing everything in the shell was awesome! The strong blood vessels forming and all. I do think that's why they appeared to be behind though. I'm going to post pics of mine soon.

Where is the thermostat control? Nice piece of equipment. I bet it doesn't use much electricity, either!

You could PM and invite NB to come take a look, or send a thread page so ?she could see the original.

What kind? Beautiful. Mine are just setting blossoms, and the plants are small. I think the biggest plant is about 10" tall.

Amy beat me to it: set that one in lock down upright. Keep an eye on it for pips below the carton line. Of course, you'll have to open the bator to do that. So sorry SC. Not really!

Re: Sue. If he doesn't shape up, you might invite him to dinner. Nasty roosters are a liability and suck the pleasure out of keeping chickens. Do you routinely move him around the coop and yard with a light stick? I keep Jack (and he's a very nice roo) on his toes by reaching out to grab his tail when ever he's close enough. If he's showing too much interest in the girls when I'm around, I chase him around for a bit until he forgets that he was h...y. The other day, he spent the afternoon and night in solitary. Normally, he's very good, but there are some pubescent cockrels, and I'm sure he feels the need to express his virility. He's very good with the youngsters, and tid-bits them, hangs out with them, even if they are on their side of the fence. BeeKissed has her roo trained to leave the coop on command. She'll look at him, and say OUT! And he goes!

I'd take down the nest box covers when your girls start showing signs that laying is imminent. Combs and wattles will be much redder, look fuller. They will squat if you hover your hand over their back. They may come up to you and squat and stomp their feet. (they're inviting you to play rooster) And they may sing the egg song before the appearance of eggs. You'll also see them exploring nooks and crannies for possible nesting sites. If Sue is a good roo, he'll help them find the perfect nest site, and will even try it out! During this time, IMO, it's important to have those boxes available, and looking oh so inviting. Bait them with a fake egg, or a golf ball. They like to "play house" and will be in and out of the boxes a 100 times/day, flinging straw around and squirming around to make the perfect "nest". The only down side is that you should not let them into the boxes to sleep at night. When I'm training new pullets, I like to put up a cover when I'm assured that the last egg has been laid for the day, then open the boxes up early the next morning. It's a pain, but may save you a lot of work down the road.

Excellent info. I'm still learning about the teen-to-adult stuff, and I'm discovering how lost I would be without you guys! I have a wonderfully experienced SIL, but she does some things differently than I do, so the more info I get, the better prepared I feel. I love the fact that BeeKissed trained her roo!! OMG that would be fabulous. Now that I know it "can" be done, if I ever need to, I will know its possible. I'm a fairly small woman, and I try very hard to not feel intimidated, and especially to not let them know, if I ever do feel intimidated. Raising them myself is helping a lot. My turkey is getting big now, but she doesn't scare me. I have to know that I can control a rooster too!!

So thanks.... and thanks to everyone!! (I'm feeling mushy today for some reason...

)

 

[WalnutHill]

German Giant. That is actually one of the average sized ones, there are some monsters on the way. This is the first year I have ever planted indeterminate. Holy cow, those plants are huge! The German Giants are over 8ft if I stand them up straight. I've actually started pruning the ends off them. I have the Germans, Black Krim, Celebrity, and Better Bush. I can't wait to see the Krims. I've heard they are very good, and have never had them before

I love heirloom tomatoes. I made a stop in Amish country last year and brought home some oxheart Amish Paste tomatoes...they have almost no pulp and are wonderful sliced or canned or sauced. I also have San Marzano Redorta, Black Sea Man (aka Black Krim), Beaver Lodge Slicer, and Italian Tree. The Italian Tree were by far my tallest tomatoes last year, they reached 10' with huge tomatoes like yours. My supports were not up to the task.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I need your help people. Everything I have read and seen says that ventalation is the key to keeping from having missing toes and frostbite on your chickens in the northcountry. I need someone(s) to look at my venting above my door and tell me if that is too much. (I do plan to add a little door later on that can be closed if it needed to.) I have that area as well as a slightly smaller area at the back, (pic there too). Is this too much or too open?? Remember I live in upstate NY where we do get 30 below days.

 

[WalnutHill]

I didn't realize you were making them.

We have been eating elk burger for quite a while now from our blessed hunts and it's delicious.

Elk is wonderful. I like bison too but I can't hunt them here unless I go to a farm...and they might notice. With the way beef prices are climbing, bison may be cheaper soon enough.

I got into making the venison jalapeno cheddar sausages a couple of years ago. It just keeps getting better. So many recipes, so little time...

 

[scflock]

I love heirloom tomatoes. I made a stop in Amish country last year and brought home some oxheart Amish Paste tomatoes...they have almost no pulp and are wonderful sliced or canned or sauced. I also have San Marzano Redorta, Black Sea Man (aka Black Krim), Beaver Lodge Slicer, and Italian Tree. The Italian Tree were by far my tallest tomatoes last year, they reached 10' with huge tomatoes like yours. My supports were not up to the task.

Yeah, I love these tomatoes, but I will definitely have to rethink my approach to supports next year