The Legbar Thread!

[ChicKat]

My chicks are 1 week today and I want to weigh them now but can not find my digital scale (only goes to 500 grams..how do we weigh them when they get bigger? a baby or fruit scale? or do they have those hanging scales where we can stuff them in a ditty bag and weigh. I still have not taken first picture. I want to take one each week till full grown..also mine are from 2ND or 3RD line what color leg bands do i use on them / I will name chicks and register my numbers on eggs too, so I can record hatch and survival rate and what flaws I see in each generation..

Good question about weighing. I have used one of those big old-fashioned kitchen scales...but I bet that there is a better method.

Glad that you have G-mail too.

So sorry to hear that your husband is dealing with illness, and hopes that he will become well. What about getting a 'white noise' machine or radio. I have heard it blocks out unwanted noise but you never know it is there. Once an office building I worked in used it.... (I'm thinking - how to have the content husband AND the rooster you want at the same time) ;O)

 

[ChicKat]

It is critical that we do this, as, as we have already seen, it is too easy for a mistake to happen.
There is software (that zoo etc use) designed exactly for this purpose. Will check it out.

The Basque and Pescadena roosters look so similar to the CL that mistakes will happen, and mixed birds will (have already) flood the market as pures. This is likely why the Ebay prices have sky rocketed again - folk want to start over and replace the dubious birds.

That is a very good observation! Lots of food for thought here.

 

[ChicKat]

I have this breed mine i got on Friday 31st of August so they are about 4 weeks old we also bought wyandottes we bought 4 of each breed so we have 8 all up

Congratulations. you will love your cream legbars if you are anything like I am.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

blackbirds13 any chance your thermometer is going out or your incubator? I've been told early hatching means you are incubating a little too high.

 

[Miss Molly]

blackbirds13 - 

Congratulations on the babies!  Sounds like you have a solid plan for going forward, so do keep us updated at the progress. . 

Adressing your 19-20-days question, I had a chick hatch yesterday evening---a day 'early'.  Need to check the incubator now for status--but today is hatch day.  

Check the heat . I was told if the heat runs a little on the high side . They hatch a little early... Not sure how true tat is.

I am incubating ALL of my Cream Legbar eggs. I will be growing out LOTS of chicks. Excited to see what they grow out like... Molly

 

[blackbirds13]

nope - These are both brand new Hovabator Genesis and I have additional remote thermometers that monitor both humidity and temperature within. The temps are not a problem with the incubators it's the humidity that I have to watch as the incubators both seem to read lower than actual humidity. I incubate in one for the first 18 and for the other for lockdown. I actually lowered my incubation temperature this summer once I bought the remote thermometers and calibrated everything - I am practicing the dry incubation for hatching more Marans next year.....here comes coop 3!


ETA - I'm not unhappy with the situation at all

 

[ladyfaeden]

The remaining classes are listed for the cream legbars show. The judging will be extended through the end of October since it took me so long to get the remaining classes up. Here's the link:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/684677/cream-legbars-show/70#post_9692736

 

[GaryDean26]

nope - These are both brand new Hovabator Genesis and I have additional remote thermometers that monitor both humidity and temperature within. The temps are not a problem with the incubators it's the humidity that I have to watch as the incubators both seem to read lower than actual humidity. I incubate in one for the first 18 and for the other for lockdown. I actually lowered my incubation temperature this summer once I bought the remote thermometers and calibrated everything - I am practicing the dry incubation for hatching more Marans next year.....here comes coop 3!


ETA - I'm not unhappy with the situation at all

What temperature do you store the eggs at?

I know a guy in Dallas that runs an incubation service and he aways asks how long the eggs were stored and where they were stored. He said before he started asking he ran into problems with chicks getting stuck in his egg turner. Now he adjusted the hatch date according to the way the eggs were stored. Eggs start incubating at temperatures above 72 degrees, so if they are collected in the evening after being in a hot coop all day or stored above 72 degrees that will contribute to early hatching.

Funny story - On a recent hatch we had one chick come out on day 20 (all of our other hatched had been 100% on day 21 with early pippers on day 20). At the end of day 21 we had 3 pullets and 7 cockerels in the incubator and 3 eggs that weren't doing anything. We decided to wait until day 22 to open the incubator up. The next morning my wife moved all the chicks from the hatcher to the brooder and turned off the incubator. That evening when I got home I went to clean out the incubator and heard a chirp from one of the cold eggs. The incubator had been off for over 8 hours and it was the end of day 22, but I plugged the incubator back in and in two hours we had a very petite pullet hatch. That pullet really made my day.

 

[redchicken9]

Hi, all,
Been awhile that I've had a moment to say hi. Looks like a lot of the great ideas floating around. I have gmail as a second account, which is rarely used, but I would add data if someone sets it up. Something new for me is that I now have one set (2 nest boxes) of trap nesting boxes. At first I was concerned that the girls won't go for being locked in. Then for the few days the rooster would go in, get trapped, and freak out!! He's stopped doing that. The girls all lay there, and it no longer surprises me when two manage to get trapped in the same nest box at the same time which defeats the exact parent and egg count purpose! Has only happened twice, hope they get over jumping in together! I haven't started collecting egg data, as this just began last week.
Coincidently egg production is up! Just a coincidence, but a nice one. Now I need to build another for the 2nd flock.
I have eggs in the incubator, my first hatch!

My cream legbars started making eggs in July. I waited until they were old enough to throw good eggs before selling. Now I'm excited to see what my girls give me! Keep your fingers crossed. I'm Ok with a lot of either sex, because it's an opportunity to grow and cull to the best. In some ways, isn't it, the better your cockerel the better your stock? He throws half the genetic material for all the eggs.
For those keeping data, I have a kitchen scale that goes to 5lbs and measures also in metric. If a data program begins soon, I might be able to do this. I'll be missing exact parents on this batch, but could get them on the next!

 

[ChicKat]

I'm so glad that you posted that GaryDean. I store my eggs too hot....but don't have anyplace cooler than 78 but at least 78 is consistent in the place I keep them. I know that the temps were well into the triple digits when these eggs were being laid, so some may have started themselves.

For last hatch, I only had a very short time span and only a few eggs...(7). For this hatch the timespan of eggs is longer and I think I had 11. One hatched yesterday afternoon, one hatched this morning, two are pipped and the rest are just sitting. So...I will really go through day 22 - for the duration before I give up on them. Thank you, thank you.