The Middle Tennessee Thread

[matlock585]

Well I sure do hate to hear everyone feeling so bad...I finished my prototype on my home made bator yesterday, and so far, it seems to be working well. I think I'm gonna try to set some eggs this upcoming Friday so they will end on a weekend. I'm gonna have a hard time lettin' the thing just sit there all week.
Here are a couple pics of it.

This is the basic innerds with the fan not shown.

This is my vent at the top. It's a spice jar from dollar store. I love it too. It cut in itself, I just had to twist in, and it snaps open and closed.

This is a shot of me simulating lockdown. I can't wait to get some eggs in this thing! It's a small cooler, but I just wanted to put one together with what I already had here. My investment is about 20 bucks. And I think I can get about a dozen in there since some will come out through the process. If it works I'll definitely be on the hunt for a bigger box.
My only worry is the digital reads about 4 degrees higher than the 2 liquid thermometers. Which would you trust to use for incubation?

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Very nice, Matlock! Can't wait to see how your hatches go.

When I first got my thermometers and hygrometers, I calibrated them. There are instructions for calibrating a hygrometer online (involves salt water and such). To calibrate the thermometers I tested them agains a mercury thermometer that I trusted. The digital ones were off by several degrees. They were also off so far as humidity. I just wrote on the hygrometers with a sharpie so I would know how much each was off.

Beliver, if I hadn't heard from you I would have gone on and met you at Red Robin. No leaving any of us stranded! I'm glad you caught it though so you didn't have to make the drive. It is dreary out there!

Holly, I guess I'll get eggs from you sometime in June. I'm thinking of doing a round of wheaten marans or welsummers next. I do love those dark eggs. If I move the Ameraucanas out I can do something else in that pen.

I'm sorry your car is being poopy. It stinks when our transportation falls apart!

Jenski, here's hoping your car feels better soon as well! You have had a time of it!

Simplysplendid- this chest thing is nothing to sneeze at... well maybe it is.

I hope you feel better soon and have a great time with your honey coming home. My cough has stuck around entirely too long, but at least the head cold part went fast. I hope yours goes fast as well.

Tracy, I hope your ear infections get better soon. Ear aches are the WORST!! Hopefully you will feel better soon!

I have a huge pot of red beans simmering away on the stove. The house reeks of garlic and onions and pepper. In honor of Believer's garlic soup recipe I added a lot more garlic than I usually do. It smells GREAT!

Hope everyone has a great Sunday evening!

 

[cpegram]

Yes I thoroughly enjoy picking brains of fellow chicken lovers. Tis how I have learned so much!! Set my eggs

yes I am a hatchaholic

and it's so much fun!!

ETA City girl I thought about both of those hmmm.... I like the Wheaton color roosters hens are nice but ya know

I hope everyone gets better soon this weather is not good for anyone. Oh and Matlock nice bator

 

[believer01]

Cough medicine - really works, y'all!

Holly, you and I really must bring the rest of these folks up to speed.......

If the cough is productive (bringing stuff up or out) the Do Not stop it!!! Cough suppressant is an oxymoron.....if you don't get the junk out it'll keep you sick or make you worse. Really!

A cough syrup with guaifenisen (g for gooey) is what you want. I like the natural one that has wild cherry bark, mullein, horehound....works well.

Once the cough is non-productive, I brew mullein and chamomile (a small handful steeped in 2 C water). After steeping for 20 min, strain thru a sieve or coffee filter, reheat 1 cup, put the other in the fridge. Half that amount for a child under 100#. I've taken 1 C every 2 - 4 hrs. Usually stops that residual hacking cough very quickly - only had to take the 2nd cup one time thru the yrs. I usually put lots of lemon and honey in once I've reheated it to make it taste good.

Hope this helps!!!

 

[LadyinRed]

I love that garlic and onion soup!! First time I've been able to breath through the nose since friday!!! I never knew I liked garlic so much. Off to make more before work... Ugh! Mondays!!!

 

[SimplySplendidSilkies]

Thanks for the well wishes and the soup recipe. Hubby is on a plane back to Irqa I will really miss him. It stinks eating alone. I would love to do another meet up.

 

[believer01]

Ladies, anytime, anyplace (almost).....why wait for official meet ups?

Question - when I use fenbendazole (safe guard) wormer do I need to discard the eggs?

And if my ladies continue to have diarrhea after worming, what else should I check into in the way of causative factor?

 

[Jenski]

Morning all! Looks like we finally have spots of sunshine here in Mid-TN. Did anyone get up in time to see that huge orange moon setting in the west? Fabulous. It slipped right under the edge of the cloud cover and peeked out for a few minutes at around 5:15 or so.

Lots of worming talk here for believer01 - - feel free to skip over for the folks who do not need this - -
believer01, sorry your girls are still "off." This kind of damp, chilly spell is just the thing to get the birds all loose in the bowels. My large fowl hens are a bit loosey-goosey the past couple of days. It always seems to happen here when a) the weather is really wet; or b) it's super hot and they are drinking a lot. Are their droppings off-color, very dark or light? Yellowish or bloody? I would not worry too much about loose BMs unless it's really bad/watery/odd, or it seems to be paired with other symptoms.
Now, if you still want to worm . . . what kind of Safeguard do you have? Is it the 10% liquid solution in the small goat sized bottle? If so, there are two ways to administer - - a single day dose moistened into their feed, or a 3-day dose given directly to each bird (I personally prefer the second, 3-day regimen). You can just use a syringe and put the measured amount onto a nice treat like bits of sweet roll. Yum!

At my vet's dosage of 30 mg/kg, or .14 mL/lb of body weight, an average 4.5 pound LF hen will get 0.61 mL/cc per day; a 3 lb. silkie might get 0.41 mL per day, and continuing each day for three days. I will e-mail you my crazy file, and if you have trouble just give me the weights and I will send you the dosages. Hope that helps.
Fenbendazole (Safeguard) has a very low toxicity to birds and mammals, and research has shown that up to 100 times recommended dosages have not caused adverse effects. However, this product can cause feather deformity if the birds are molting. [ - - Ed. to add, I discard eggs for two weeks, not sure whether a withdrawal period has been est'd for this.]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SimplySpendid . . .

I was an Army wife in another life, a long time ago. I feel ya.

matlock, we ought to be calling you MacGyver! Nice job. We expect great things from that bator!

CityGirl, hello! Glad to hear about your roof. Very cool! I told you things have a way of working themselves out.

Holly, good morning! Hope all is well out your way. I had to turn the heat back on in the banty hut at night since those frizzlies are still half fuzz! They sure are cute, though.


Oh, and believer01, when you use mullein, do you purchase yours or collect the actual mullein I see growing in the fields around here?



Enjoy the day, everyone! . . . and eat your garlic.

 

[EconMan]

Good morning everyone! I have a broody Buff Orp hen and was wondering if anyone would like to sell me a few fertile eggs for hatching. I don't have a rooster but I thought as long as she's broody I'll put her to good use. She's been this way for a few days now. Any thoughts? She's about a year and a half old. This is only my second year raising chickens and I only have six hens. Thought this would be a cool summer project for my son (3 years old) and me. Thanks!

Btw, I live in Murfreesboro.

 

[1HappyFamily]

Good Morning Everyone!

I've had an extremely busy & rough weekend~ Friday was my 2nd grader's field trip (an hour away) we got back just in time for me to pick up my 3rd grader's birthday cake and head to the hotel to check in for her party, leave go get balloons come back & decorate, go to my house to get the snacks etc that I had purchased & her bags & then head back to the hotel~ I was running like a mad woman but it was all worth it for what was declared as the best birthday party that any of the girls that came had ever been too~ SCORE FOR MOMMY

Saturday was her actual birthday so that was spent just having fun until we both just fell over... Sunday I couldn't scrape myself out of bed & Monday I paid the price & had to do a massive repair on my homes presence lol~ Now it's Tuesday, my kids have 3 more days left of school until Summer break

The past 5 weeks have felt like my life has been turned upside down (go figure as soon as I find something to enjoy & educate me & assist me in raising my dream silkies & all seems calm in my life) & dealing with everything has taken a toll on me so I am hoping now that I am learning to cope with the situation God has given to me that I will be able to be on a bit more~

I need to go back & read all I've missed~ I hope everyone is off to a great start this week!