The 7th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-A-Long!

[BantyChooks]

Thanks. I lost blue and gold partridge brahmas, a cukoo orpington, a chocolate Orpington, black copper marans and some blue cochins. I'm heartbroken, they were the sweetest birds.

OH no!!!! How horrible!!!!!

I'm so sorry.

I don't think someone who hasn't raised them, worried over them, been out in the cold, rain and heat with them can begin to understand. It's not something money fixes. Only time and you still think about the ones that have passed. 

X2

 

[cree57i]

I don't, I just use a small clamp on thingymajig with a 60 watt bulb in my brooder, that is plenty for the few I'm hatching at a time, guess if your doing a bigger brooder you could use more than one

I use the premier one brooder plates and really like them! They have seen heavy use and been great. The eco glow I have has had broken leg inserts twice and hatch before last, the transformer went out and I lost newly hatched chicks because they got too cold before I found out. It is history.

 

[JoyfulPromise]

It is one of those things that make a big difference for the minimum met of 3 times a day. You get a bit better hatch rate if you go up to 4-6. There is a diminishing return on the work after that.

I do not know where the upper limit is on turning but more than 10 is likely not going to do much for you.

Another thing to remember is the angle. Make sure that the turner is going over far enough. The Brinsea auto turner goes crazy far over...I have had eggs pop out!

I asked this question, and the reason was because my Brinsea Ova-Easy cabinet-bator has options for turning every 30 minutes, up to every 180 minutes! Even at the 180 minutes it would be turning the eggs 8 times in a 24 hr period, much more than the 3x per day that I turned them by hand in my old styro-bator. I just didn't know if it would be beneficial to have it turn even MORE frequently, like every hour, or even less!

After doing some research on previous discussions on BYC on this subject, I did change the turning frequency to every 2 hours, or 120 minutes.

I am LOVING this incubator so far though!!!

The auto turner AND auto-humidity control make it SO easy to use and much less stressful than my old LG!

 

[Lozuufy]

Our TSC is a minimum of 6 but turns out our local feed store Morrison's (an Agway) only has a minimum of 3. They have to be from the same ship date though.

Also TSC special orders chicks but minimum order of 25

AND they ship to your post office. If I was gonna do that I may as well just order them from a hatchery myself hahaha

My dad says no more than 8 but there are other breeds that I want and I want ducks so we will see...

I like going to TSCs in NH because in MA the minimum amount of ducklings TSC can sell is like 20 or something crazy like that. If you go up to NH though the minimum amount of ducklings is like 3

just in case you want a couple ducklings...

 

[nate1the1great1]

I like going to TSCs in NH because in MA the minimum amount of ducklings TSC can sell is like 20 or something crazy like that. If you go up to NH though the minimum amount of ducklings is like 3  just in case you want a couple ducklings...

Our chicken minimum is 6 and the duckling is 2, but they let me get 2 or 3 chicken and 1 duckling from time to time since I end up getting the 6 in a few weeks time.. I can't control myself...

 

[RattleCan]

Looks like my Ebay eggs might be arriving today! Which comes as as surprise-- I specifically asked the seller if I bought eggs, could she wait until Monday to ship them out and she said yes. So I was certainly surprised when I checked the tracking number just a moment ago to see if she'd dropped them off at her post office yet this morning and instead it says they just arrived at my post office this morning! I had originally asked her to hold them because they were coming a good ways across country, Colorado to Maryland, and I was afraid of USPS leaving them untouched at a sorting facility on Sunday. Instead, it looks like they used Saturday into Sunday to get them all the way to Baltimore (oh no, they took them past me XD). So I'm glad to see they haven't been left sitting anywhere and were always on the move. But now they'll have to settle for a few days if I want to keep them for the hatch-a-long. She shipped them Friday, so they'll be at least 8 days old when they go into the incubator on Saturday. I hope that isn't a problem

 

[GitaBooks]

Aww, you have a Princess too. I just got mine to quit being broody. I was going to give her some babies that I had hatching, but changed my mind..to mucky out there! And all of my other pens are taken up that I have used as a broody pen. I love that last chick, upper left one. Coloring?

Thanks.

The feather-foot chick, Rory, is the son of my Buff Brahma and has the same color and pattern look that Bub's had as a chick, so I'm hoping he'll be a buff columbian too.

We have a Princess too. Hehe. She's my husband's 14 year old cat.

I love cats. Ours aren't quite that old yet, but with how many times they have nearly died they have to have used up at least seven of their nine lives. Cats are tough cookies!

I had a hen go broody. So, I won't be setting with all of you guys on March 5th. But, I will still follow along. Good luck everyone!
@Happy Chooks

Broody hens are awesome.

And a lot of work. My broody has a chick with a bad leg and I'm not sure how to treat the leg and let it stay with its mother at the same time.

Sorry for not announcing bantam duck set time. In my defense, I am on vacation right now in Washington DC.

Don't worry, everyone needs a vacation.

We are going to be picking up 2 kittens tomorrow. Do you have any experience with introducing kittens to chickens? I am thinking do it while the kittens are young so the chickens are bigger and can teach the kittens not to mess with them, but I don't know if that is the best approach or not. Any advice?

Awesome! Congrats!

Our kittens mostly grew up around chickens from a young age and so they respect (even fear) them. If the kittens are young enough then a good peck from a chicken will teach them that chickens aren't to mess with. The more time they spend around chickens the more they will consider them something other then a prey animal. Or only problem with a cat was a stray tomcat that came to our land and he only went after chicks and silkies, so make sure you keep chicks away from a cat until you are sure they are good around them. Cats have instincts that sometimes come out when there are no angry momma hens around to protect their babies.

Best of luck!

Woo-hoo! Just had one of my Japanese bantams go broody, as I had hoped. (After incubating in an incubator and buying day-olds, both of which required me to be mama and raise chicks in a brooder - talk about high-maintenance babes, especially when introducing to the rest of the flock! - I've decided that broody hens doing the incubating and chick-raising is SOOO much easier! My bantams have been great mamas! ) I'll give my future mama a few days to settle into the nest that I want her in. Then I'M IN!!!

Awesome!

Ok guys I WON the Orust egg auction. I'll be hatching this rare breed for the hatch along. Supper excited!!!!!

So cool! Congratulations!

Ms Princess stays in the house but we have several outside cats too. Two were kittens when we got chickens for the first time. They all grew up together and get along great. I often call them our livestock guardian cats. The cats stick with the flock while they are free ranging. We have never had a problem with daytime predators. We have two other outdoor cats that were adults (and feral) when we got the chickens. They don't bother them but they aren't friendly with the chickens either. They just coexist. All the cats are spayed/ neutered so they don't have to worry about feeding kittens. They are also well fed so they aren't motivated to take on our chickens. They do seem a little too interested in chicks though. I just keep the chicks away from the cats until they are about 8 weeks old. Those newly hatched peeping chicks are just too tempting...

Our cats have killed a few weasels before and keep the rats, mice and voles away too. Larger cats might even scare opossums or raccoons away, but ours are pretty little. Our dogs help to keep coyotes and hawks away. They will bark and chase any birds of prey that fly too low, since they know they could go after are smaller dogs.

Started collecting my eggs for the hal today. 12 from my hens and 12 Dutch bantams from a local breeder. Super excited to get local eggs, I've not had good luck with shipped eggs in the past.

I hope to get Dutch Bantams one of these days. What color are they?

Ya 115 bucks for eggs. I might be crazy. But I felt better when I saw silver laced orpingtons going for 300 for 8 eggs. But I'm really happy to get this breed.

$300! Wow!

Of course, I know people are willing to pay $100 for one imported chick so getting a dozen eggs seems like a bargain in comparison.

Ok, had to look up silver laced Orpintons. They look like silver laced Wyondotte to me.. I know, there will be some that go..NOT!

But, then I saw this one!

Love this color!

Gorgeous! Now where did I put that $300? Oh yeah, I don't have $300. Come to think of it I don't even have $5. LOL.

Hello fellow hatchers.
Sorry I've been pretty busy so I didn't check in last week. Sorry also but I've failed to keep up with a that's going on also.

Here's a shot of some project Naked Necks I hatched on the 2nd of February.



These surprised me. I didn't expect the mottling on this generation, but it's a good surprise.
Sired by my Spangled Aloha rooster out of some Red NN hens.



Also from the same rooster out of Barred NN hens. They are Sexlinked. Notice the front one, it's the cockerel, he's barred but also looks like he's going to be mottled also. Can't really te on the pullets yet if they'll turn out mottled.

Nice birds. Congrats on the mottling. I love mottling in chickens.

Thanks. I lost blue and gold partridge brahmas, a cukoo orpington, a chocolate Orpington, black copper marans and some blue cochins. I'm heartbroken, they were the sweetest birds.

I am so, so sorry. I can't even imagine what that would be like. You gave them a great life though, so don't forget that.

I'm also very sorry for your loss. Neighbors that don't contain there animals are a real pain. My neighbor hat a huge pit bull and doberman pinscher. And they break lose all the time. I'm always telling my girlfriend get my shotgun. Iv always had success with just shooting it in the ground. But I don't trust that one day they will go after my free Rangers. I now have a 4 month old German Shepard already 48 pounds. That patrols the yard and is very protective of her chicken buddy's. They leave there dogs chained up all day and night. And I just think when they get loose there looking for trouble to get into. So I pray I don't have problems with them one day. The sad part is I live on 8 acres and they still get in my yard from time to time.

Yeah, some people seem to get dogs and then stop caring. With the breeds they chose they must be using them as guards. I know our dogs have escaped and run off but we did all we could to prevent that. They would slip under the fence, jump over the fence, climb the fence, run off during a walk, ect. We had to build up a taller fence, put shocker collars on two of our dogs, and fill in plenty of holes. Thankfully they have never caused any problems with the neighbors and our neighbors dogs that sometimes sneak onto our property haven't caused anything besides some arguing with our dogs.

Its hard to blame the dogs, I've pet-sat a number of dogs that tried to kill our chickens, so I know its just instinct bred into them for years and years. Even our dogs sometimes can't help themselves and will chase the chickens a few seconds.

Well, my ducks finally got their act together with the warmer weather and laid 4 eggs yesterday morning. I let them sit in the house for a bit to warm up and popped them in the incubator along with the dozen from Saturday. I think a twelve hours' time difference should be fine. So up my count to 16 duck eggs!

Awesome!

I am so sorry to hear that @hawk12
I had the same thing happen to me at the end of last summer. I had my gqf brooder on the floor in my shed, and left the door open because it was hot out. The dog came, knocked the top off, and just crushed the birds. Didn't eat any, was just "playing". He killed 5 peachicks, 8 Bourbon red turkeys (which was an entire new bloodline) and some other chicks. I found out whose dog it was, and confronted them about it. Turned out to be the pearcher two houses down. They offered to pay for the chicks and apoligised, but never did give me any money.

I'm so sorry to hear that. It can be so hard to loose birds to a predator. We lost some of our chicks to a cat we had taken in. You want to be loyal to the chicks but you also want to be loyal to the cat. We ended up finding him a good rescue to go to so he could find a good home (he was very friendly). The dogs owner can be loyal to their dog but they should always be willing to correct any damage they can. I mean, I'm a dog person so I love dogs, but I'm also a chicken person. Sometimes I think people don't know how special chickens can be to owners.

 

[GitaBooks]

So, an update on my chicks:

Princess and her four chicks are doing well and enjoying the slightly warmer weather (above freezing at least). Susie is also doing okay, though one of her chicks, Buttercream, has a bad leg. I'm going to have to work on that when I get home. Right now I'm at the doctors office with two newly hatched chicks tucked under my shirt. Yeah, its kind of weird, but they were assisted hatchers and so they are too weak to be under a hen, too lively to be in the bator, and I didn't have a brooder set up. They are both sleeping happily and strengthening well. There are three other eggs in the incubator, including one that is starting to hatch (I named her Canary because I'm pretty sure she is Dove's baby).
The two new chicks are a standard and a bantam. The bantam is a silkie mix and was backwards in its shell, so when I opened up the airsac to let it get some fresh air I began to realize I couldn't see the beak. I saw a foot and then realized that when I opened the membrane it was near the belly and it began to bleed. When I opened up a hole near its beak it bled also, however, it seems to be doing pretty well. I didn't get much sleep last night as I kept peeling a little shell away, then placing it back for 30 minutes, then doing it again, all the while trying to take care of the first chick I helped, who I was afraid was shrink-wrapped. He's just now beginning to open his eyes and lift his head, but hopefully he can go under Princess when I get back.

I named the standard chick Agent 13, but I think its a boy so I'm just calling him Agent. The smaller one I named Coulsen.

Go Marvel.

I'll try to get some pictures up. Like I said, I spent most of the night holding a chick on my belly, trying not to fall asleep and crush it. My floor is covered in egg shell, my hands have blood on them, and I didn't have breakfast yet. What we do for our chicks.

 

[generaldsherman]

Looks like my Ebay eggs might be arriving today! Which comes as as surprise-- I specifically asked the seller if I bought eggs, could she wait until Monday to ship them out and she said yes. So I was certainly surprised when I checked the tracking number just a moment ago to see if she'd dropped them off at her post office yet this morning and instead it says they just arrived at my post office this morning! I had originally asked her to hold them because they were coming a good ways across country, Colorado to Maryland, and I was afraid of USPS leaving them untouched at a sorting facility on Sunday. Instead, it looks like they used Saturday into Sunday to get them all the way to Baltimore (oh no, they took them past me XD). So I'm glad to see they haven't been left sitting anywhere and were always on the move. But now they'll have to settle for a few days if I want to keep them for the hatch-a-long. She shipped them Friday, so they'll be at least 8 days old when they go into the incubator on Saturday. I hope that isn't a problem

Put them in 2 days before; it'll still count.

 

[TJordan]

I don't have any eggs or $ to get hatching eggs for the hatch a long. I'll still cheer everyone on but I'm not going to be able to take part. My egg provider fell through.