Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[okallthis4eggs]

poor RK Broody, sitting so long, but at least this time it will have a happy outcome! I'm assuming that you will give her all the chicks that hatch from the incubator as well as any she hatches?

Oh yes RK Broody gets them all. Just a perfect opportunity to try my hand at hatching eggs. I took your advice and gave her eight and that gave me four to "practice" with. So when my grandson comes to visit in the spring I can have baby chicks hatching on the day he gets here. You need a incubator too cheeka for the same reason. But I am still taking this challenge serious and plan to have a better hatch rate than RK Broody who is equipped with the finest egg hatching equipment available.

 

[okallthis4eggs]

I might add that in two weeks RK Broody will have a wonderful life surrounded by her chicks and separated from everyone else so she can grow feathers and raise her chicks in peace. I will post pictures and keep everybody up to date on this story. Can't wait to see her feathered out and teaching her chicks. Almost like she knew that going broody was the answer to a better life

 

[SullyD]

W4W-I started with the little one! I learned chicken math very early with this hobby! I was getting my second batch of eggs and the first batch hadn't hatched yet! Yes, the 20 holds 20. It is very adjustable for all kinds of eggs. I like that you can get the auto turner and the humidistat with it and it makes it all auto! It took all the guess work out for a beginner. Aside from one bad batch of shipped eggs, I was extremely successful with both options. 2/3, 10/10, 3/15 (the bad batch). You can program the humidity, off time, alarms, etc. I like it better than the small model, but if you are trying to limit how many eggs you can hatch, the smaller one is great too. Now that I have chickens, I may not use the brooders again if I have an actual broody! But, like OK, I could do both to see what works better

 

[okallthis4eggs]

It is not OK to try to kill three of your sisters over a cherry tomatoe.................Roger. Now enjoy your time locked inside the coop on this beautiful day while the other girls eat scratch outside.

 

[Sallysec]

The Seramas are very docile with people, but I not sure about other birds. Like a lot of breeds, I think it's pretty individual. Know I couldn't put a Silkie in with the big girls, not with Biscuit the She-Roo out there. If the Seramas to picked on them I wouldn't have a place to keep them.

Maybe we should just get the bun.

Looks like paradise to me! Albeit a soggy one. But heck, you are in Florida. I'd take some of that summer rain anytime if you could just fan it this way please!

Is the Brinsea 20 named that because it hols 20 eggs? Are you happy with it? I'm thinking about getting the mini advance model which holds 7 large or 12 bantam eggs, so is self-limiting in addition to being idiot proof.

I think it holds 24 max of LF, but 60 Quail...and aren't quail similar in si(*** happened to my letter after y key...grrr kids) with your serama eggs. Also I know a lady in the NY board that breeds and keeps the silkies with her seramas. I have the Mini advanced...it is completely idiot proof but if I had to do it all over I would get the oct. 20...I ended up buying a second mini last week. I now have a mini eco advanced (holds 7 LF 10 Bantam)that does all for me and a mini eco that doesn't turn and can hold ten LF eggs. Just so you know it doesn't come standard with the bantam egg tray...in your case I would think that would be an important addition for you. It doesn't control Humidity more than just add water in half the pot or all. Fitting in a hydrometer under the incubator is another challenge. If you want to contain your habit...go for it. If after using it once you get addicted (like we know you will lol) get the larger model. I am so hooked on it now but the siz(my son found the z key)e makes it hard to bid on egg auctions etc. I had to always place special orders for 7 eggs...and shipping is always the same.

It is not OK to try to kill three of your sisters over a cherry tomatoe.................Roger. Now enjoy your time locked inside the coop on this beautiful day while the other girls eat scratch outside.

I wonder what revenge she will plot next during her time in isolation. Humidity is supposed to be at like 45 to start and gradually go up. I personally couldn't check this at first and just went with the instructions on my incubator. Air cell size was what I guessed by. If you need to decrease it I think most of the models have vents you can open and if you need to up the humidity add more water space (damp sponges etc). I was told to candle at day 5,7,10,14,18 ....I ended up candling at 5,7,10, and 18 I think. (This time I plan to keep more notes and pay more attention). There are a ton of graphs and charts to show you what to look for. I was able to see the embryo moving and development. I wish I would have been brave enough to do eggtopsys.

Here is the chart I think I referenced (or close enough to the one I had).

If a wet bulb thermometer or hygrometer is not available, the size of the air cell in each egg can be used to estimate whether the humidity should be increased or decreased (see candling instructions). The air cell increases in size during incubation at a rate that depends on temperature and humidity as moisture evaporates from the egg. The drawing shows the normal size of an egg's air cell at 7, 14, and 18 days of incubation.

 

[Sallysec]

P.S. My eggs are shipped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Too bad I will be working when they are due to hatch

.

 

[cheeka]

I don't see an incubator in my future... not as long as I have Peach anyway. I like letting her do all the work, and then I don't have something else to forget to check on... I've managed to time chicks within a week of Mylee's arrivals and I do have my local wonderful "hatchaholic" - I really do call her that with the utmost love... she's very very good at hatching and she has gorgeous birds, and so far, she has always had chicks when I've needed them... Peach just blows my mind that she will take any and all so easily. Right now, she is behind the lilac with her entire family, the oldest are now 13 weeks, and it is very rare that Peach chases them off. she only does when they try to take something she's dug up for the babies, and then it's not very far... they get the message... I am hopeful that these girls will want to brood like their Mama. that would be so cool. her first hatch, Pebble, is doing great, I visited with him last week, but I had forgotten my camera, the good cell phone only had 5% battery remaining, and it needs 7% for the camera to function... so I had to use my pay-as-you-go phone which is crappy and I don't have any cable (yet) to get them up on the computer. I'll get back over soon. he's beautiful and very sweet. my BR Betty is his Mother, she almost has blue eyes, Wilma has brown. Pebble has almost blue eyes. and I really think Si is his Father. he's not very large... he's big... just not as big as Archie or Royce by the same age and his personality is the bomb! which really makes me think it's Si... my friend who has him... his Mom is 86 and she adores both the birds, she has collected 16 eggs so far from Winnie, says they are as delicious as my girls eggs, and she showed me that Pebble will crow on command for her. I have to get a video of that!

I have to do my time outside with the flock, Mylee just came in and told me it's my turn... and she is doing dishes.

 

[Sallysec]

Okay so my Dad wanted to see the little rooster today and he ofcourse let the big girls out too...so I was in the garden and he is laughing hard so I come over to have him tell me that he believes I may be right that the little one is a rooster. He said that Charlotte went at the little girl chick and the EE put out his wings and ran right at her. He is not even a month old and he was trying to fight with my GLW. Either way it had my dad laughing and me shaking my head and ignoring them all. After that though the chicks actually came out and grazed with the big girls around. It was kind of funny. My dad was walking around with one of my Older girls feathers in his hair.

I am so excited for my eggs. I hope they don't take too long to get here. Now I need to find a home for this little EE Roo because if he keeps up this behavior no one around here will be willing to eat him and everyone will convince me to keep him.

 

[cheeka]

lol Sally, good luck with hatching!! I love my EE boys... they're pretty friendly overall, great yard alarms, nothing gets in the yard without them spotting and alarming, they should be used to deer, but they still sound off. I had a nice 8 point buck in the yard tonight, but poor broken camera got broken again today. Mylee tripped over Ruby, kersplat! camera went skidding across the floor. so lots of missed photo ops tonight. Peach had her babies out in the middle of the yard, it was so cool, they were perfectly happy and none of the flock was interfering. I showed Mylee to watch from a distance so as not to upset Mama, she was good. but when it was time to round everyone up she was tearing around the yard, screeching... sent the birds scattering in 25 different directions. thankfully, Peach and the chicks were already put away.

ended the day with 11 Eggs, 6 cream and 5 blue/green

 

[okallthis4eggs]

She was let out of jail within two hours. If she had a lawyer pleading her case he would be crying "insanity". And I would have to agree. So jail is really useless. And I get tired of hearing her scream bloody murder while she is in jail.