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

[Cowpoke]

Hello Bee,

I think you have the right idea. I would not disturb them and be patient, listening closely for peck or peep and carefully controlling heat and humidity.
I feel sure you will have a successful hatch over the weekend or by Tuesday nite.
I'm sure rooting for You!

 

[Beekissed]

Thank you! Maybe we should have a "guess when they will hatch" pool and see who gets the closest? Time and date of hatch.

 

[fisherlady]

Bee, I don't know how I managed to miss this thread.. just found it yesterday and just finished reading tonight... your grandbaby is adorable!! Congrats!

Fingers crossed that the hatch goes well, I will be looking forward to seeing some fluffy butt pics soon!

I told my DH of your experiment and I could see his wheels turning almost immediately...so I see a nest incubation in our future if we ever have a lack of broodies, since we don't own an incubator, but are on broody #6 already since Mid January!!

and I love your broody impersonator heating pad for the new chicks!! We currently have 12 meaties in the brooder and I think will be devising something similar for them when we move them outside to the shed shortly.

And while reading today I was fascinated by the conversation about the broody temps... so I got curious and headed to the coop to bother my best broody (Gracie) who is currently on day 6...

I used a meat thermometer, first pic I placed the probe between the upper part of the eggs against her broody patch...
temp varied from 104.7 to 105.2 in the 3 minutes or so I left it there (she shuffled a bit)
and then I repositioned the probe to be on the underside of the eggs, not quite at the true bottom of the nest.


This poor hen puts up with so much BS... she is about as tolerant as I can imagine any bird to be!

and Bee... if you are interested in LF broodies... I have 4 of my 5 Silver Pencil Rocks which were broody hatched last May which are now either on eggs or have chicks already of their own. They are a decent bodied bird and the roos are very large.

 

[LindaB220]

I was a SAHM and loved every minute of it. I also homeschooled my children through elementary and high school. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I felt sorry for parents who were counting down Summer Break until their kids went back to school. They really didn't know what they were missing out on. If their kids were that bad to be around, maybe they should have looked at themselves.

Lisa

Sorry, sorry, I plead guilty. Couldn't wait until Sept. My 3 girls were like little ducks following me everywhere. (Except I had a lock on the bathroom door)

We were a very small and very close family.

 

[Beekissed]

What a great experiment!!! Thank you for temping an actual broody....how neat!

You know, I had heard that about those pencil rocks and they are quickly becoming a favorite breed out there. Beautiful birds also. How blessed to have that many broodies at one time...the possibilities are endless when you have that many brooders that do not have to be tended or plugged in....my favorite kind!

 

[fisherlady]

and better yet Bee, the line breed line I have I hatched from Dick Horstman who is in SW Pennsylvania... I only have hens right now, no roosters yet (though I do have 4 more chicks hatched, just don't know boy/girl yet)

If you are interested in them at least you have a source within reasonable distance for them.

 

[fisherlady]

I do have one SPR who is just now setting on (fake) eggs, haven't gotten her a clutch to hatch yet, since she just finally committed a couple of days ago... She is much, much bigger than Gracie, so I will have to check temps on her tomorrow to see if a larger broody makes any difference.
Broody moods are epidemic in our coop right now... I had a hatchery Black Giant hatch out a clutch in February at the age of 10 months... but I love the thoughts of doing a 'broody incubator' in house....
If I got 15 eggs, and split them half and half between the real broody and the incubator nest and let them develop for 10 days I could pull the duds and then the real broody would be able to cover the remaining eggs herself. Usually out of 12 eggs there are 3 or 4 which never start, sometimes more if eggs are shipped in... a set up like this would allow us to get more to start with and have the hen finish the hatching for us, and then raise the chicks. Win/win! LOL

 

[Beekissed]

That's an excellent idea! I wish I had a good broody or two but I've gotten so far away from my original flock base that I now just have rag tags of this or that spare breed or bird but no focus or drive to my flock at all. I even have a rooster I'd never really pick for a flock master and I often wonder just how I got here!

I was so hard core! Now? Nothing much going on in this flock of mine....just a few queens amongst some mutts and a few senior citizens with a foo foo rooster. Al would be kicking my butt all over this place.....

 

[Cowpoke]

Bee, You seem endless with Great Possibilities! Who else would have thought....must be a NCCA basketball thing...ha-ha.
Wishing You the BEST!!!!!

 

[RoseMarie1]

That's an excellent idea! I wish I had a good broody or two but I've gotten so far away from my original flock base that I now just have rag tags of this or that spare breed or bird but no focus or drive to my flock at all. I even have a rooster I'd never really pick for a flock master and I often wonder just how I got here!

I was so hard core! Now? Nothing much going on in this flock of mine....just a few queens amongst some mutts and a few senior citizens with a foo foo rooster. Al would be kicking my butt all over this place.....

you taking it as it comes to you and rolling with the punches.

heck mine are mutts to but they give me plenty of eggs.