Simulated Natural Nest Incubation~Experiment #1 So it begins....

[RoseMarie1]

Me too! I'm almost obsessively checking the eggs each night to see if there is still movement going on in there and thanking God when I see movement, veins, etc. I so really want this experiment to be a success.

I hear ya, I would be to. I'm gathering up eggs now to stick in the incubator. Bought my nephews bator and going to fill mine to, so I'll have 2 going. Got a lot of stuff I want to do around here as in making pens and making what I have better so I figured I would incubate some to sell.

 

[RoseMarie1]

How in the world did I miss these??? They are good sized and lovely looking chicks! Great color to the legs on those birds! Thank you for posting these pics, Pete. I love to see other people's chicks to see if mine are on par. Yours have enormous big heads!!!! They say that's a good thing and if it is, your chicks have it in spades, Pete.

soooooooo cute Pete!

 

[RoseMarie1]

Thank you BC. I think you diagnosed it perfectly! That was such an odd experience. Thank you for the photos to show the same.

I did put the carcass as well as all the broth into the trash today. Just didn't know what to think about it all and didn't want to take any chances. Glad it isn't something contagious!

man I hate that about your chicken. Can't blame you on throwing it away. Sure do hate that though for you. How old a bird was she?

 

[Lacy Blues]

man I hate that about your chicken. Can't blame you on throwing it away. Sure do hate that though for you. How old a bird was she?

She was 3 years old.

 

[aart]

Thanks Lacy Blue and BCMaraniac for the education...glad to hear it wasn't something disastrously contagious.

 

[Cowpoke]

Day 11. Twenty eggs in the nest box, temps holding steady at 100* on the #2 setting. Still turning three times a day. Have added no water to the nest since immediately prior to setting up the clutch. Airing out the nest every other day for 10-20 min. each time. When I fiddle, turn or candle they get another airing out, so plenty of fresh air to the eggs.

Sounds Good. Hoping for a Great hatch! Thanks for the update!

And you are absolutely right............"I wish more folks would do broody hatches and see what it's like to have chicks raised as nature intended."



Great pics fisherlady!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Thanks Lacy Blue and BCMaraniac for the education...glad to hear it wasn't something disastrously contagious.

You're very welcome. That contagion issue certainly had me uptight! I'm very relieved that it isn't.

 

[sarahsunshine]

That's the problem.....this dog ain't little.

I'm having a flair up from herniated discs right now and I have a 5 ft nothing 79 yr old ma that can't afford to be knocked around by a big dog that has nothing in its head except his hormones. I'll see....some dogs can think past that problem and some cannot. My first dog was uncut when I got him and he was the best dog...but the first time I went to bath him and was on my knees running water in the bath tub while he was standing nearby, he saw the perfect opportunity to say "Howdy, I'm a guy!".

I was not amused.

Then later on the kids were wrestling in the yard and he was jumping in there trying to ride anybody he could. Those dew claws are no joke. Then he took off after the neighbor's 2 lb yip yip that was in heat and wouldn't respond to calling him back.

The next day he was at the vet's getting his mind cleared up and helping him to fit in better with the family. He was the best dog I ever had but I'm thinking it wouldn't have worked out that way if I hadn't had him neutered.

It will cost $70 at the local SPOT clinic to get him fixed, so we'll see if we can do it if we actually take this dog on.

LOL! Our 'fixed' dog still likes to see what he can dominate when he can - coem to think of it, our female dog would too on occasion...

And to me, $70 is a deal! It cost about $140 here last spring. But I wasn't gonig to be responsible for having any extra puppies around...

 

[RoseMarie1]

She was 3 years old.

man that seems young.

 

[AmericanMom]

Here is my version of an Unnatural incubation method... Long story short, I had a few eggs in an incubator that was four days behind the eggs my broody was sitting. I was able to get some turkey eggs and needed the incubator for them so I moved 5 of the incubator eggs under the broody and hoped she could get them to catch up.. Well she didn't and Saturday her eggs started hatching, out of the 5 she was sitting 4 hatched by early Sunday morning.. I knew she would leave the nest eventually and I was going to be away from my house all day Monday and Tuesday so I made the decision to move the 5 late comers into the house, below is the crude set up I devised on the fly... Much to my amazement I have been able to keep the temp pretty steady at between 98-101 degrees and when I candled the eggs this morning 2 of them have internally pipped!!! BTW.. I removed two eggs, One that she was sitting had died before pipping and one that was in the incubator looked to be an early quitter.. So now we have these four.. I have no way of measuring the humidity or of even raising it so these eggs will or will not hatch, I am just amazed they have made it this far!!