The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

I just hatched out 3 splash and 1 blue chick in my sportsman this morning :) I am going to use my older hovabators to hatch quail eggs this spring :)

Congratulations on the hatch.
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Irene i use my Dicki Cabinet just to incubate and then move to the hovabator for hatching. I can do staggered weekly hatches that way. I dont do anything to the hovabator but put the eggs in the day before they are due to hatch and fill the trays with water. I find putting them in later gives me a better hatch rate. The eggs shells tend to become brittle in those hovabators if left to long.
I have the one with the detachable plug on top. I like it okay. HOlds temp well. evaporates the water quickly though, I liked my old Hovabator just as well. It finally fell apart after 8 yrs of use and washing.
 
Bama.. I am incubating and hatching in the sportsman at the same time. It is working really well. :) Keeping humidity in the high 40s but not to exceed 50 during just incubation only.. Raise the humidity to 56 to 58 when I am in lockdown at the same time... then bring the humidity back down once the hatch is completed. I don't get anymore uncooked butts. This is fantastic.. lol I have all kinds of staggered hatches going on lol This way... I don't have incubators humming all over the house and no place to put anything... I have a small house :p
 
Hey I understand. I have my Dickie out in a storage house that has my freezer in it. I just have the Hovabator in the house. I dont normally run my humidity above 40 to 45. Lots of time it is in the 30's. I add water when it gets to 25. I havnet had time to work on the automatic water feed. It stopped up with lime desposits and Larrry tells me I just need to use rain water. I should have caught up some day before yesterday but at the time it wasnt on my mind.
My little babies in the house think I am their momma. I talk sweet to them and hold a piece of bread and they run to my hand and peck the bread and if they a get a good size little peice they run like they found a bug. So cute. One more hatch then stopping till the blacks lay. Got the boy in there so I am ready.
 
The English Orps DO eat a lot more than SOP birds when they are growing, and tons more than hatchery birds. It takes a lot of vitamins, minerals and protein to grow them up.Look at the size the EOs end up ! Bigger, deeper bodies, huge bones, and lots of feathers. Every morning I am raking up a 5 gallon bucket of baby feathers from 15 babies. It takes a lot of feed to grow those new ones while growing frame and meat.

Once grown, the EOs don't seem to eat much more than the SOP birds, and their eggs are HUGE.
X2 I do the exact same thing Vickie! I free feed mine....but it is so worth it in the end......they are gorgeous! And my feed dealer loves it too when I come buy feed....LOL
 

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