Texas

[GFamily]

Ok, another one of my odd questions....or at least I think it's odd. My girls are about 5 weeks or so, they almost seem like a family and stick together and I've NEVER seen them peck each other. Is this just because they're still young? Now, I know about the "pecking order" and I can tell who is on the bottom of the "pecking order" because they push her out of their way when treats are being thrown to them. And I can tell who is on the top of the pecking order because the other girls just kind of stand back a few seconds until they see her go after the treats first then they'll dig in after her. It's weird. Either, way I've never actually SEEN them peck each other????? Or are they doing it in secret? lol I mean seriously, I feel like I have weird chickens or something??

 

[yinepu]

Has anyone here used a little giant still air incubator with egg turner before? If so could you give me any tips and some things you did when you used it?

I modified the ones I got.. no turner.. but I added a fan to both.. the older one was modified with foam insulation to make it taller (and also insulate it better) for hatching out emu

the main thing with those beasts is that the room temperature needs to be pretty darn stable since there is no real insulation in them.. also when you adjust temp do it ONCE.. then wait a few hours.. check temp and if it needs adjusting only turn the knob a teeny bit then wait a few hours again for it to stabilize.. also.. throw away the vent plugs unless you enjoy dead in the shell chicks

there is a entire thread on them over in the hatching section of the forum.. "tips and tricks for LG".. (or something like that)


I never use them during the summer because of the temp issue.. only during the "cooler" months (we don't use AC during the summer)

 

[yinepu]

So how does everyone do staggered hatches, if they just have one incubator? I have one set due next Saturday, one the following Friday but will be getting more eggs mid week. I dry hatch, but not sure how to balance "lock down" with the others needing their dry hatch time. Thanks!

staggered hatches need to be monitored

I do them all the time.. (I also stack eggs.. but that's an entirely different discussion)


Here are the BASICS... you may need to adjust a bit as time goes on


the main thing is there is no "lockdown" especially if you are hand turning eggs.. so depending on the incubator you are using you may have to assist a few chicks (fan placement is a killer)

anyway.. lets say you have three batches of eggs in the incubator
batch 1 went in 18 days ago
batch 2 went in 10 days ago
and batch 3 went in 5 days ago (for argument sake.. just showing a scenario)

first .. DRY INCUBATE.. do not add any water unless you are seeing that batch 1 eggs are having a difficult time retaining weight (monitor air cells or weights)


so on day 18 you notice the first chick from batch 1 hatching (pipped).. raise the humidity for the rest of batch 1 (do not "dry HATCH unless you have gotten through several dry INCUBATIONS with success and know your incubator)

as soon you are positive there are no more viable eggs left from batch 1 you will need to drop the humidity back down as low as you can get it .. so remove ALL of the water


when you see that the first egg from batch 2 has pipped.. again raise the humidity for batch 2 to hatch

Once the last viable egg (chick) has been removed from batch 2 drop the humidity back down again to as low as possible until you see the first chick from batch 3 beginning to hatch



monitoring air cells or weights is important since if the humidity has been too high for the remaining eggs and the air cells or weight loss hasn't been great enough you will need to add something to lower the humidity even more (dry white rice or silica gel packets)
It is extremely rare that you would need to add water for the remaining eggs during incubation since you will have to compensate for higher humidity during hatch for the previous eggs

when you hear that people "dry hatch" 99% of them mean DRY INCUBATE..

i have dry hatched.. the difference between the two is that for dry INCUBATION you do not add any water to the incubator DURING INCUBATION unless the air cells or weights call for it (some people insist that water needs to be added depending on hygrometer reading.. but that can be misleading if the hygrometers are off).. however water is added at hatch

for a dry HATCH.. no water is added at all during incubation OR hatch.. meaning you let the eggs naturally raise the humidity when they begin to hatch.. no other moisture is added since the moisture from the drying chicks will bump up the humidity naturally

the problem with a dry HATCH is that some incubators are just designed wrong.. meaning the fan placement is horrible and then end up drying out the hatching chicks (especially if one has a large pip).. so dry HATCHING is not for someone who has just begun to incubate eggs since you must learn how YOUR incubator acts in YOUR home during that particular season of the year and with those particular eggs.

 

[yinepu]

Muscovy are hatching.. dorkings are starting as well.. still have a goose egg waiting to internally pip..


ancona ducks and mandarins are due out this weekend...

 

[yinepu]

Ok, another one of my odd questions....or at least I think it's odd. My girls are about 5 weeks or so, they almost seem like a family and stick together and I've NEVER seen them peck each other. Is this just because they're still young? Now, I know about the "pecking order" and I can tell who is on the bottom of the "pecking order" because they push her out of their way when treats are being thrown to them. And I can tell who is on the top of the pecking order because the other girls just kind of stand back a few seconds until they see her go after the treats first then they'll dig in after her. It's weird. Either, way I've never actually SEEN them peck each other????? Or are they doing it in secret? lol I mean seriously, I feel like I have weird chickens or something??

oh I'm sure someone has gotten pecked here or there

once they get older and you add more birds then the pecking order will become even more apparent

 

[GFamily]

oh I'm sure someone has gotten pecked here or there

once they get older and you add more birds then the pecking order will become even more apparent

Thank you. We only have 15, but the city ordinance is 20 hens and 1 rooster for every 10,000 sq ft. So I don't think we'll be doing more than 15, but if we do it definitely won't be more than the city ordinance. Now that we have chickens I keep telling my DH I think we should move again and get some farm land! He thinks I am crazy.... I am guessing as they get older I'll be noticing more, but I just wanted to make sure we're on track. They're doing good and I am thankful for that!


Also, our girls are pretty flighty when we want to hold them. There are two that will let you hold them without problems, but the other 13 just flap and chirp when you hold them. It's hard to have sit down time and hold ALL 15. It's just not feasible everyday to hold all 15 girls for an extended period of time. So my daughter and I will pick a couple each day to hold now that they are in the coop and run, but who is to say we're holding the same ones everyday...I don't know? The runt is my favorite so she gets held a lot and she is still flighty too. Do they ever become more docile after holding them? And I am guessing there will just be those girls who don't want to be held?

 

[StelleKitten]

my phone is giving me issues. i have lots of pics to share. i would like that white roo, and the homestead is coming along. we have killed two weed eaters and a lawn mower. the chicks are growing great and the puppy is sick . he spent last night puking his guts out. think he got something that disagreed with him. congrats to all those with chicks, sorry for ask the loses, and wonderful pics. the ones i could get it to load.

 

[Cockle-Dood]

Thank you. We only have 15, but the city ordinance is 20 hens and 1 rooster for every 10,000 sq ft. So I don't think we'll be doing more than 15, but if we do it definitely won't be more than the city ordinance. Now that we have chickens I keep telling my DH I think we should move again and get some farm land! He thinks I am crazy.... I am guessing as they get older I'll be noticing more, but I just wanted to make sure we're on track. They're doing good and I am thankful for that!


Also, our girls are pretty flighty when we want to hold them. There are two that will let you hold them without problems, but the other 13 just flap and chirp when you hold them. It's hard to have sit down time and hold ALL 15. It's just not feasible everyday to hold all 15 girls for an extended period of time. So my daughter and I will pick a couple each day to hold now that they are in the coop and run, but who is to say we're holding the same ones everyday...I don't know? The runt is my favorite so she gets held a lot and she is still flighty too. Do they ever become more docile after holding them? And I am guessing there will just be those girls who don't want to be held?

I put small colored zipties on the legs of mine so i can tell them apart. definately has helped me with that same issue of holding the same ones all the time! Some you can tell by markings, but breeds like my BO's are almost impassible to tell the difference in

 

[kkidsmom]

Mick Nugget my light brown leghorn.

I so excited. This is this first time the upload tool has worked from my phone. Now I will be able to share lots if pics.

 

[bnjrob]

I have one pen with three and the second has two. I've plucked all of them and watched them breed. It looks as though he makes good contact. I haven't been keeping up with the pen number the eggs are coming from until the group that's in the bator now. Hopefully, I will know something on the 16th when I candle. Unfortunately, one girl in each pen is currently sitting eggs. That could skew the result.

Well that sucks. They should be getting great fertility with low ratio and plucked....hmmmm, that is a dilemma.