Texas

[PSJ]

I really want to get into meat chickens and rabbits. I respect everyone who raises their own meat.

 

[Cockle-Dood]

I really want to get into meat chickens and rabbits. I respect everyone who raises their own meat.

100% with you! I get so excited when i scoop up my 2 eggs from the coup! Cant wait till that number jumps!
But yeah! Meaties and rabbits are next for me too! Dw is even on board! Gonna need some hutches and a broiler pen so gots some thinkin to do yet, but it will happen!

My batch of silkies that a bought from a lady nearby that was incubating is due to hatch this week, probably friday-ish! Supposed to be from some quality birds from a blue/black/spsh/ white pen with one partridge wild card! So plan on using these as broodies as soon as im able! But that means ANOTHER pen, chiken math leads to alot of new projects!

 

[Zootopia]

I glanced at the several milk crates full of guinea eggs (yeah.. they had a lot).. they were marked by color.. didn't bother to write them down though since I didn't know of anyone here other than Kili that wanted them!

Wow!! Milk Crates!! I really, really need to get a Sportsman. Just afraid I'll try to fill it up. I am already stacking guinea eggs in the Hova. Good time for the turner to go out. Melissa Rose, what do you think. How long does it take to fill a sportsman? HaHa!!

 

[Zootopia]

I really want to get into meat chickens and rabbits. I respect everyone who raises their own meat.

Just a heads up. Meaties Stink!! You should go over to the Fermented Feed for meaties forum. It will also make a big difference in feed consumption ($$$)

 

[NickyPick]

Quote:
??? Where else should you go? I've tried every way I can think of to candle my eggs, but have yet to ever see anything in them, much less be able to accurately track an air cell.

 

[Kilsharion]

I glanced at the several milk crates full of guinea eggs (yeah.. they had a lot).. they were marked by color.. didn't bother to write them down though since I didn't know of anyone here other than Kili that wanted them!

Every colour was represented....the whites sold for $42 a dozen. The lavendars sold for $26. There were slates and pearl greys and "mixed".

I really was interested in the ringnecks; but, they went up to $30 something each ...and, I wasn't that interested.

And, I have no control over my husband...

He had made the purchase before I was even brought into the loop. I just didn't know it. **sighs** I sure hope he gets that beast working or it's a ton of money flushed down the toilet. I coulda bought two Reptipros for that price.

I did get the SLWs. I swear to gawd a couple of them have leg and wing structure like a modern game, not a wyandotte...but, whatever. I bought them solely because they were the only ones there that had a few very close to Lucky's age.

They had some Brahma eggs, Barnvielder eggs, Araucana eggs, Ameraucana eggs and Easter Egger eggs as well. Oh and tons of quail eggs.

I nearly got the sebrights....

I twitched on the cotournix but someone outbid me and brought me back my sanity...

Overall, I left the auction paying $17 for 15 chicks....and an incubator that I don't know how to use and am not sure works

added $$ onto that that I don't want to think about, right now. Mike loves his projects.

 

[yinepu]

Quote:

??? Where else should you go? I've tried every way I can think of to candle my eggs, but have yet to ever see anything in them, much less be able to accurately track an air cell.

Where should you go?.. to the very same eggs that are in YOUR incubator.. they will tell you everything you need to know

But other than that.. what I meant was over in the incubation thread you will find 500 different answers.. none of which will do you much good unless you duplicate everything they do / have ..right down to home environment.. there are also people there giving advice.. then coming back a few weeks later saying they had dead chicks.. drowned chicks and so on.. so most of them never really TRIED to figure out how their bator works on their eggs in their home. They just followed parroted advice as if it should work for everyone

if you can't see into the egg (through the shell) especially on white or light shells.. then you need a brighter light. a good LED works wonders
and there are more expensive candlers out there that will use very bright lights plus also magnify the image (or even hook up to your computer). They are pricey .. which is why I recommend the good LED first
The other option is weighing the eggs.. weight loss will also tell you if the eggs are on track (varies by species of bird.. so you would need to know which species and then the percentage.. figure length of incubation and calculate % of weight loss needed per day or week)

The basics are this:
Go dry.. humidity can always be raised.. drier will do less damage than too high of humidity throughout incubation
candle the eggs and monitor air cell growth.. OR get a decent gram scale and weigh the eggs then adjust humidity as needed
make sure the eggs are fertile
make sure that you have temps under control and appropriate for the species
practice good hygiene of eggs, the incubator and your hands (bacterial infection can kill embryos in the last few days of incubation).. and just because it LOOKS clean.. doesn't mean it's a sterile environment
make sure you have good airflow (leave vent plugs out throughout incubation as well as hatch or leave vents completely open) otherwise chicks can die from carbon dioxide poisoning
don't try to incubate badly damaged eggs (or if you choose to do so be sure to monitor them for issues)
if the eggs are from your birds.. make sure your birds have adequate nutrition for reproduction.

if you can do all of those.. you should consistently get 100% hatch rates on your fertile undamaged eggs

But the key is learning how YOUR incubator works in YOUR home with YOUR eggs

 

[yinepu]

Quote:

just be sure to remind him later that it was HIS idea!

 

[CatKai]

But the key is learning how YOUR incubator works in YOUR home with YOUR eggs

 

[jnntefend]

Just a heads up. Meaties Stink!! You should go over to the Fermented Feed for meaties forum. It will also make a big difference in feed consumption ($$$)

They sure as heck do stink! Good grief! especially in the last few weeks. They made ten times the mess of my other chickens. Seriously. Poop machines!