The Front Porch Swing

[Beekissed]

I've been studying up on artificial incubation and that too seems to have went around the bend into overthinking land! WOW!

Did you know you need to wash your hands before turning eggs in the incubator so that no germs will get on the eggs? I know that broody hens have little hand sanitizer wipes they use to clean their feet and bottoms to keep the eggs from getting any bacteria on them.

By the time a broody is near the end of her sitting, the eggs look like someone rolled them around in the manure and mud and some egg yolks.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to go against the accepted wisdom on this little adventure as well and see what happens. Will be doing a test run on some of my own flock's eggs before doing the do on good eggs, just to see if I can make it happen.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Bee, best of luck with your w r project. I am guessing that w r is White Rock, right?

My planning for the year involves selling our house and buying a new place that meets our list of wants. I want a mudroom at the backdoor, a pantry, an area to put an office, and a kitchen with a decent layout because I love to cook. We need land - I am saying 5 acres minimum. DH needs a workshop. We need a place to park the tractor, the ATV's, other toys and sttill have room to use his woodworking tools. Not looking for much, are we ...

Probably no birds this year, but I will be planning for next year. If nothing else, I have learned from BYC that the coop should come before the chickens!
I will be researching breeds, thinking Buckeyes but maybe a mixed flock would be fun. I am really drawn to the Marans for a dark brown egg. Really want to stay with small combed birds for a northern Wisconsin climate. Cold hardiness will be key. I am not planning to heat the coop, but also have to make sure I have enough ventilation for the hot, high humidity days in August.

 

[Beekissed]

Sounds like you have a sensible grasp on your needs and that's always refreshing to see....not many folks getting into chickens right now that prepare well before hand. That preparation can mean the difference between a good, solid experience that's stress free or complete disaster and a feeling of failure.

 

[Beekissed]

I ate that big egg this morning and it had two giant yolks in it....bigger than the yolk in the large egg next to it in the pan. Someone's awfully ambitious out there!

I'm cooking up another amazing, common sense, natural experiment, y'all. I'll document it well and show results but I'm not going to go into it yet until I see the results...could be a major FAIL~which I will report. Or it could be a major YAY~which I will report with much glee!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

LJ, I can only say that this whole poultry thing has gotten way out of hand and over thinking things is the culprit. We raised turkeys on whole corn and free range when I was young and they finished out at good weights. Why not just use chick starter per normal and then free range the birds and feed fermented scratch grains with some kelp meal added for mineral content? Or just an "all flock" feed for everyone and not stress about protein percentages? You don't have a deadline on getting birds to size, so just let nature happen!

I've heard argument from those who raise broilers that they use high pro feeds so they can finish a bird faster because the longer you have to feed a bird, the less the profit....but isn't the price of feeding high pro already cutting into the profit margin the same as if you fed regular feeds for a longer period of time? I call that six of one, half dozen of the other. Same-o, same-o.

I don't have years of experience to fall back upon,

so I need "a system." And I also need a foolproof system cuz ... other people.

I want just one feed, fermented, and then it gets mixed with "whatevers" (or not) before it goes into the feeder in front of the birds.

We grow grains here, so my dream system involves a concentrated feed pellet that is *supposed* to be cut with grains to get it down to the right balance. I *think* that would be less expensive overall, and also would be more self-sufficient-ish because we grow wheat and sometimes other grains right here on the farm, so enough for the birds would be "free." We haven't been using our own grains to feed the birds and instead go to the store and buy formulated feed. This seems dumb to me. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

We also have space for pretty good forage, we just need to upgrade the pastures and then the feeding question will be exponentially less important. This is such a huge factor it is impossible to estimate how much "easier" it will be on us when we have room for lots of human error because the birds are making up for it by foraging.

One problem we have NOT encountered is having any meat bird not grow fast enough. This year our "Thanksgiving" turkeys were oversized for our customer base by ... oh ... July? August? The turkeys have food in feeders and free range once they have feathers. They honestly don't spend that much time in front of the feeders after a certain point. BBB Turkeys are just experts at getting enormous.

 

[Beekissed]

It sounds like you already have some good foraging opportunities if the birds are finishing out that good on feed and forage! I understand your want and need for simplicity in feeding rituals...that too is one of my goals, always! I live for simplifying things!

 

[Triple Willow]

I've been studying up on artificial incubation and that too seems to have went around the bend into overthinking land!  WOW!    Did you know you need to wash your hands before turning eggs in the incubator so that no germs will get on the eggs?  I know that broody hens have little hand sanitizer wipes they use to clean their feet and bottoms to keep the eggs from getting any bacteria on them.     By the time a broody is near the end of her sitting, the eggs look like someone rolled them around in the manure and mud and some egg yolks. 

I'm thinking I'm going to have to go against the accepted wisdom on this little adventure as well and see what happens.  Will be doing a test run on some of my own flock's eggs before doing the do on good eggs, just to see if I can make it happen. 

Don't you wonder where they come up with some of that crazy mess? I'm GLAD I went into hatching the first time not knowing nuthin'. My buddy said to get the temp at so and so and keep it there, put a little water in it now and then, turn them twice a day and put a mark on one side to help you keep up with the turning. I could not get the temp right. It ended up running about 3 degrees hotter and toward the end getting even hotter so I propped the window/vent things open. I have no idea what the humidity was and I didn't candle. The only thing I might do different the next time is candling ONLY because I don't want an egg to blow up and get everything nasty.

I'm going to put a rubber hose in that hole by the cord so I can add water with a syringe with out opening the lid.

I used a "remote" thermometor thingy to keep an eye on the temp. No way could I see that othe little one through the window.

They try to help each other out of the shell. lol

14 Black Aussies.

Not even a year old, this pullet (one of the above) hatched and raised her own chicks. Her chicks may very well be laying before she is a year old.

God is amazing!

...I also moved the eggs around to different locations just in case there was a hot or cold spot anywhere. Next time I am going to add 2-4 20 oz drink bottles filled with water to help with the heat loss when I do open the lid. That way all the heat won't be lost and it will get regulated the way it should be quicker.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I've been studying up on artificial incubation and that too seems to have went around the bend into overthinking land! WOW!

Did you know you need to wash your hands before turning eggs in the incubator so that no germs will get on the eggs? I know that broody hens have little hand sanitizer wipes they use to clean their feet and bottoms to keep the eggs from getting any bacteria on them.

By the time a broody is near the end of her sitting, the eggs look like someone rolled them around in the manure and mud and some egg yolks.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to go against the accepted wisdom on this little adventure as well and see what happens. Will be doing a test run on some of my own flock's eggs before doing the do on good eggs, just to see if I can make it happen.

Oh boy howdy are the "recommendations" for proper artificial incubation different from what I've observed with the broodies. I've had hens misplace their clutch at any time during incubation for so long the eggs are stone cold before I help her back to her spot, and still the chickies hatch.

 

[Beekissed]

Don't you wonder where they come up with some of that crazy mess? I'm GLAD I went into hatching the first time not knowing nuthin'. My buddy said to get the temp at so and so and keep it there, put a little water in it now and then, turn them twice a day and put a mark on one side to help you keep up with the turning. I could not get the temp right. It ended up running about 3 degrees hotter and toward the end getting even hotter so I propped the window/vent things open. I have no idea what the humidity was and I didn't candle. The only thing I might do different the next time is candling ONLY because I don't want an egg to blow up and get everything nasty.


I'm going to put a rubber hose in that hole by the cord so I can add water with a syringe with out opening the lid.


I used a "remote" thermometor thingy to keep an eye on the temp. No way could I see that othe little one through the window.


They try to help each other out of the shell. lol


14 Black Aussies.


Not even a year old, this pullet (one of the above) hatched and raised her own chicks. Her chicks may very well be laying before she is a year old.

God is amazing!

...I also moved the eggs around to different locations just in case there was a hot or cold spot anywhere. Next time I am going to add 2-4 20 oz drink bottles filled with water to help with the heat loss when I do open the lid. That way all the heat won't be lost and it will get regulated the way it should be quicker.

Yes...He is!!!

I was thinking about moving the eggs to different locations now and again also, as I've seen this shuffle happen in broody nests as she nudges some eggs, removes others, gets on and off the nest, etc. What was your hatch rate, TW?

Oh boy howdy are the "recommendations" for proper artificial incubation different from what I've observed with the broodies. I've had hens misplace their clutch at any time during incubation for so long the eggs are stone cold before I help her back to her spot, and still the chickies hatch.

I know! I'm going to simulate a natural broody hatch as much as possible and see the results.

 

[Triple Willow]

Yes...He is!!!    I was thinking about moving the eggs to different locations now and again also, as I've seen this shuffle happen in broody nests as she nudges some eggs, removes others, gets on and off the nest, etc.  What was your hatch rate, TW?  

14 hatched out of 18 set. All that hatched were healthy and sound. Two quit somewhere along the way and two were not fertile. If I can get it done anybody ought to be able to. But I do believe I might have had a big dose of beginners luck- if there is such a thing.