Texas

[mamawolf544]

I dont know if the vet in Alvarado does it or not, but I know they do all the health certificates for 4H and such, so they probably do.

And I hatch eggs pretty much year round, very addictive.

 

[Silver Spring Waterfowl]

Deana,
Maybe it is too cold for chickens. I raise geese only. I also have a couple of super-mammas. American Buff geese are very good parents and seem almost to be hard-wired to fostering children. I don't necessarily have to coincide an incubator hatch with a naturally brooded one. I keep the incubators in the kitchen, I also have one set aside as a hatching basket. We get that going close to when we expect the new arrivals.
This time of year, the house is an extension of the barn. We go from eggs, kitchen incubators, to the tub in the spare bathroom, then out to a brooder room in the goose barn. This time of year, they get a fostermom. When it's warm, we raise them ourselves.

We started incubating because we had no idea what we were looking at when we had to candle eggs. We threw out a lot of good ones the first year because of this. (We knew there was a klinker in the nests, but couldn't find it.) I recommend you get a copy of The New Incubation Book by Anderson and Robbins before starting. Read as much as you can, but no picture in any book looks like the Real Thing. We use a couple of GQF Hovabators with circulating fans for incubation. They're inexpensive and you can get replacement parts (and the incubators) directly from the company. I also recommend that you purchase spare parts like a thermometer and a wafer -just in case! You can also buy just the styrofoam housings and liners, and they are not expensive. We replace these every couple of years to prevent sanitation issues.

Shesaredroan is right, though. It is addicting. Be warned! Guess it's easier to place excess chickens than geese, though. I really wouldn't be worried about starting now if it were my Toulouse, but these eggs have potential, so I don't want to lose them.

Have spent the whole morning trying to clean up the goose yard! What a mess! And just in time for more wet weather!

It's discouraging at times how much manure they produce in one night!

 

[Colie <3]

Does anyone know a place in Texas or anywhere really that makes and ships coops or coop kits? Ive searched the internet for weeks and I'm not finding what I want really. Just thought I'd see if anyone know an independent person that builds and ships that I haven't looked at yet.

I really am not handy except when following instructions to assemble and my sweet hubby is even worse! lol

 

[ROCKIN R FARM]

Quote:
OH yes I was hooked when we got our first set of chickens for free off of craigslist. We bought home a really sweet banty named sammy. We have sense lost him. I did have 30+ chickens at one point and was going to start adding till a stray dog from somewhere figured out how to get a hold of most of them. He was hungry i guess. I have not really added any till a few weeks ago before we knew about the ice storms and snow. I want to get me some more EE's when the weather gets better. Really miss my EE's. I have some that laid the pink, blue and greens.
What do you do with your chicks once they hatch. Do you have a room in your house you keep them in till they are big enough to go outside, or the weather is
better.
That is what i keeping me right now from hatching any eggs and the fact i do not have many to hatch right now sense the cold snap and only have 4 hens now. I really do not want to keep them in the house to long it starts to stink it up after a while and really no place to put them all. Looking forward to when my Bantams and Silkie starts laying I do need to get a female/ male silkie to go with my other silkie. need to see if its the male or female i have left.

deana

 

[Jennmom2three]

Hey Rockin, I had also lost some of mine due to a dog that got out...I want more eggs, hence the eggs in the incubator...and eggs on the way. What type of incubator do you use? Where do you get them from ? I currently have a lg9200 with the egg turner and a pc fan that dh put in for me, it's doing well with holding temp and the humidity...I am seriously considering getting a second lg just for my hatcher...that way on day 18 they come out of one bator and go into the other one!!! My incubator is in my walk in closet on an old aquarium stand!! Mine fuzzy butts will start off in the house in a brooder and from there depending on how cold it still is with this snow/ice crap they will go to the garage brooder...

 

[mamawolf544]

Ok I am glad to see I am not the only one that broods in the house.

Mine go from a brooder, to the barn in raised pens with lights, to outside in raised pens and no light, then to what I call the baby yard, and then let loose. What a mess.

 

[easttxchick]

Quote:
Heck no, I have some chicks out in my sunroom that are practically college age and growing beards.

It's just been so cold I can't kick their little fuzzy butts out yet...I have issues.

 

[Miss Red]

Quote:
Heck no, I have some chicks out in my sunroom that are practically college age and growing beards.

It's just been so cold I can't kick their little fuzzy butts out yet...I have issues.

I brood in the house unless one of my hens is raising them, and then I only take them away if she's doing a bad job. The mess is a pain but worth it in the end I do believe. I'm on my way to deliver one of my extra roosters to a young man who wants a pet for his kids. XD we all know how this will end up... He will soon be coming back for hens!

or, at least he hopefully will. The poor roosters only friend will be an 11 year old rescued mini dog.

 

[Colie <3]

Quote:
I've never hatched eggs before so this might be a silly question but if you get a incubator with a turner and maybe a fan or what-not can you set it all up and not have to do anything with it the whole time or do you constantly have to make adjustments and such?

 

[ROCKIN R FARM]

Quote:
I am guessing that LG is for Little Giant. I have the little giant not sure of the model i do not have it here a friend borrowed it. I do know it had no fan, or turner in it. And it did just fine for me. Beginners luck i guess. My eggs that time were from my own hens and a friend gave me a few of hers as well. when i am ready to hatch i am hoping my silkie and bantams will have eggs then they should they are only 5 months old. And i have my hens here. I have a bator that dh got me from trade days in canton last month that was never used. Its from the 50's i think. I need to find the paper wrk to tell you the name of it and model. It is a nice wooden cabinet one sits low on the floor, has windows on the side for viewing, and 2 racks for the eggs. I have to look more at it. Been sitting in my living room for 2months now. I will get a few of my barnyard eggs to test it out with. I have not bought any eggs yet. I want to make sure I know what I am doing before i invest the money for good eggs.

when mine hatched i just left them in there for 3 days and took them out when thier 3rd day was up and put them in a brooder made from a tote. That worked out great for me. but dh is going to build me a brooder that i can have in the house till i am ready to put them out in what i call my chick yard. I will have to take pics and get posted when the weather is nice enough to go outside. i have 3 diff yards that are attached to my coop. the main yard for the big chickens, medium yard attached to that is for the juvies, and on the back of the large run is for the babies when they can go out. But i am planning on redoing it all just not sure how yet.
deana

ps no garage here