The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[smarsh]

I had a heated dog dish I was using with my chickens. I had it sitting atop a concrete paver above the floor abit. The edge was sticking out just enough for a mouse to squeeze under. I guess it was mouse heaven, food readily available in a safe place and a heated home.

 

[cmom]

Not long ago I put 3 doz eggs from my pullets in the incubator and 3 doz from the older girls. The pullet eggs are due to hatch on Tuesday and the older girls a week later. I candles some of them and they are looking good. I will candle them all when I set them for hatching and sort them out then. I have had some questionable eggs hatch and sometimes not. I just mark them. Come on chickies...

 

[RedRidge]

Mine were not 100% predictable in Jan, but I have had 100% fertility at 10 days since the first of Feb.
For several hundred eggs that's pretty good.
But... The two setting incubators I am using are obviously very different. One has an almost 90% hatch rate and the other only about 55%. And it doesn't matter which pens eggs I put in which one.

So... I have shut down the bad bator - too frustrating. After more careful monitoring it is having a pretty good variable in temp.
I'm hatched out for the season anyway and probably kept way too many. Although culling heavy (some times too heavy), is a trait of mine so eventually most will go.

FYI... Those 24 hour thermometers which give you the high and low over the last 24 hrs come in real handy for monitoring how stable your thermostat is.

Now if Santa would just bring me a cabinet bator... ;-)
I'd love to have only one bator to worry about. Hatching every 5 days is too much to track. I'd rather just do weekly, but needed the 5 day stagger to make use of all the fertile eggs in the space I had.

 

[cmom]

Mine were not 100% predictable in Jan, but I have had 100% fertility at 10 days since the first of Feb.
For several hundred eggs that's pretty good.
But... The two setting incubators I am using are obviously very different. One has an almost 90% hatch rate and the other only about 55%. And it doesn't matter which pens eggs I put in which one.

So... I have shut down the bad bator - too frustrating. After more careful monitoring it is having a pretty good variable in temp.
I'm hatched out for the season anyway and probably kept way too many. Although culling heavy (some times too heavy), is a trait of mine so eventually most will go.

FYI... Those 24 hour thermometers which give you the high and low over the last 24 hrs come in real handy for monitoring how stable your thermostat is.

Now if Santa would just bring me a cabinet bator... ;-)
I'd love to have only one bator to worry about. Hatching every 5 days is too much to track. I'd rather just do weekly, but needed the 5 day stagger to make use of all the fertile eggs in the space I had.

These are 1202 GQF cabinet incubators. I had 2 and sold one. I think it is a good price if they are in good condition.
http://knoxville.craigslist.org/grd/4335010108.html

This is the one I have. Mine is a 1202. It originally had a wafer thermostat in it but we changed it over to electronic and added the clear door.

 

[3riverschick]

Please cmom,
Can you discuss the 4 tier brooder I see there? It looks like a commercial commodity.
Who makes it and where did you get it? Dimensions, cost??
Thanks,
Karen

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I bought the frame at a garage sale and modified it and made it into a brooder.

 

[Fentress]

You got me beat. I did not provide heat. If you look at my avatar, some mice decided to overwinter in the straw bales. They would come out at night to eat and drink and then back to the bales for the day. I finally figured it out and flushed them out with the flock present. Mousey treats for the girls!

 

[3riverschick]

That is very cool, cmom. Really a nice brooder setup
never thought to repurpose like that thanks!
Karen

 

[732phil]

I love the brooder idea is it forced air also ?
By the way I became Poppy to the 4th power today!!!! One more in May and my grand babies will all be here for now. Now to get me some chickies.

 

[desertmarcy]

Since we are discussing homemade brooders, perhaps I could get some opinions. I have a very large fiberglass cage unit that was built for reptiles. It is 6' long, a little over 6-1/2' tall, and 40 inches deep. It is actually 3 separate molded fiberglass cages that have been mounted together. Here is a picture:



I have not kept reptiles in years, and as you can see, the compartments are just being used as catch-all. Now a poultry friend of mine has told me to convert it into brooders. She suggested drilling a series of holes in the sides and replacing the middle section of glass (which is fixed) with screen, leaving the two sliding glass doors on either side (they slide in tracks). Perhaps she also said to drill holes in the back. Then mount a strip board behind the doors to keep litter from being kicked into the tracks. The unit has heating strips underneath, not sure warm enough for chicks, but my main concern is enough ventilation. Any thoughts?