The Front Porch Swing

[Triple Willow]

Oh good golly I HATE spiders!!! Shiver... stomp!!!

 

[LindaB220]

IT'S SNOWING!!! IT'S SNOWING!!! It snowed 5 min last week in NW La. But it started sleeting first and then snowing at 4 pm. And it's sticking. Some of the flakes are ping pong ball size. I'm laughing because we have groceries, supplies and I don't have to go anywhere for days.

 

[Beekissed]

Think about it BF.......with a broody....those eggs are warmed through I would guess........she spreads her body over the whole number.....wouldn't you think the heat would warm everything nest and all?

Yep, I think so. When I put my hand under that pad, it feels just like reaching under a broody.....very warm and a little humid. Perfect. Did you know that their brood patches only heat up to 95 degrees? Why then do we hatch at 99.5? I'm curious about such things.

What I meant to add.....isn't that a partial reason why she turns them? Geesh, I feel like poop! When you see Stephen, hit him for me, will ya?

Awwwwwww, Hon!

I'm sorry....

I'll add that to my prayers for you tonight.

Be sure to remind Jake to turn those eggs at least once/day. LOL

Yeah...he'd turn them alright.

He'd turn them into coat conditioners.

The think that I wonder about most of all is what those hens think about while they're sitting there 24/7 for 21 days...??? lol

I think they are rather enjoying the movement of the chicks under them and the flush of the hormones...maybe those hormones act like endorphins and keeps her in a blissful haze until someone disturbs her high. No wonder they get cranky about that.....

 

[Beekissed]

Sitting on a perfect 99.5 right now!!!

That's on the highest setting, so I'll be watching if it creeps up so that I can turn it down.

 

[LindaB220]

Quickest snow ever. Stopped after about 1/2" Now it's raining. Hum...

 

[Beekissed]

Awwww....sorry! Want I should send you some snow?

I figured out what was missing from my experiment.....a weight. A broody weighs something and my insulating pad was too light. I looked all around for something that would add some weight to the pad, thereby pressing the heat source down onto the eggs and finally found the perfect thing!

My dad's big ol' soft cover, flexible and worn out Bible.

It immediately caused more heat transfer to the eggs when I laid that big ol' book lightly on the fake chickie mama, so I turned the setting down one and will monitor things further.

 

[Triple Willow]

Bee, you need one of those remote thermometers. Set it in the pile of eggs and keep the part you read close by or even in your pocket so you can check it from wherever you are. I use one in the incubator and in the brooder with the chicks. When I use it in the brooder I wrap it up in a paper towel so they won't fill it up with poop. The little ones like to roost on it I guess. lol They even have them with the doo dad to check the humidity.

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, you need one of those remote thermometers. Set it in the pile of eggs and keep the part you read close by or even in your pocket so you can check it from wherever you are. I use one in the incubator and in the brooder with the chicks. When I use it in the brooder I wrap it up in a paper towel so they won't fill it up with poop. The little ones like to roost on it I guess. lol They even have them with the doo dad to check the humidity.

I don't know that I would trust anything other than the old fashioned kind. I've heard so many stories of the digital ones not reading right or going bad. This one's very easy to read as it's on the outside of the box. Plus, I'm trying to hold the cost down on this experiment so it can be done by folks with just stuff they would normally have at home...that's pretty much my whole livestock paradigm~use what you have to keep overhead down.

It suits my style to be able to incubate eggs with a heating pad, meat thermometer, a cardboard box, a trash bag, dirt, grass, water, feathers from processing free roosters, scraps of cloth and a Bible.

You won't believe this but that temp is holding steady at a perfect 99.5 degrees!!!! The nest is doing the trick! That added weight was the last component it needed and I now have it on the 5th setting on the pad, though the night temps are falling and the windowsill temps have fallen by 8 degrees in the past half hour.

 

[LOVEIGEE]

Awwww....sorry! Want I should send you some snow?

I figured out what was missing from my experiment.....a weight. A broody weighs something and my insulating pad was too light. I looked all around for something that would add some weight to the pad, thereby pressing the heat source down onto the eggs and finally found the perfect thing!

My dad's big ol' soft cover, flexible and worn out Bible.

It immediately caused more heat transfer to the eggs when I laid that big ol' book lightly on the fake chickie mama, so I turned the setting down one and will monitor things further.

That'll do it.......Nite nite everyone.........waking up to ice in the morning....not fun!

 

[Beekissed]

That'll do it.......Nite nite everyone.........waking up to ice in the morning....not fun!

Sis, sleep with the vaporizer going and Vicks on your feet. It will help tremendously!