The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[Love my chickens 25]

I believe this is still the current APA single comb varieties...
Black, Dark Brown, Light Brown, White, Buff, Silver, Red, Black Tailed Red, Columbian, Golden.
You can actually show any color but unrecognized varieties are limited on what they can win.

Kinda like chocolate Cochins aren’t recognized but still shown. That’s cool

 

[The Moonshiner]

Back to my start in hatching...
I'd used the little UFO incubator and hatched a pair of quail. Soon after I also purchased a pair and began collecting eggs. My tiny incubator wasn't gonna cut it so I found a family friend to hatch a few batches for me.
She had raised a lot of quail and had since got out of them but still had lots of equipment. She was using one of the old metal Brower incubators.
Although she offered to sell it I decided to get a new fancy different brand incubator. I sold access males and tons of eggs until I had enough and purchased a fancy Hovabator...
Ya they looked a bit different back then but the mechanical pieces and operation were the same as the wafer models still sold today....

With my new incubator things took off. I purchased about everything our family friend had pieces at a time. Several quail chick feeders and waters and heat lamps. I built stacked wooden brooders and got all 9 of her 3 section GQF breeder pens.
I hatched 1,000s of quail and sold eggs for eating or hatching, chicks, juveniles, adults both live or dressed. Without the internet finding ways to sell was more challenging but I lived close to a Sale barn that had a parking lot swap every Saturday.
I sold there and got word of mouth out and surprisingly with my cheaper then the next guy prices I always sold out as fast as I produced them.
It seemed like I was in the quail business forever but I think it only lasted maybe two years.
Along the way I started getting into bantams and then got interested in breeding and showing them.
I used the quail to fund my poultry addiction and as it grew and I had stock piled a ton of money the quail empire fading away.
I used my trusty Hovabator for another season or two then upgraded to an old wooden sportsman cabinet.
That was the start of my chicken raising days.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

I believe this is still the current APA single comb varieties...
Black, Dark Brown, Light Brown, White, Buff, Silver, Red, Black Tailed Red, Columbian, Golden.
You can actually show any color but unrecognized varieties are limited on what they can win.

How 'bout throwing this in the mix...
Blue Mottled

 

[Redhead Rae]

How 'bout throwing this in the mix...
Blue Mottled

Purty!

 

[The Moonshiner]

 

[Miami Leghorn]

Nice.
So it fits 210 eggs,am I counting that right?

Also, do you transfer them to a hatcher when ready or do you let them hatch there?

 

[The Moonshiner]

It'll hold 246 eggs. This year I was using 3 hovabators with 3 turners and a 4th for a hatcher.
So it'll give me twice the hatching capacity.
I'll use 3 of the hovabators for hatchers.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

It'll hold 246 eggs. This year I was using 3 hovabators with 3 turners and a 4th for a hatcher.
So it'll give me twice the hatching capacity.
I'll use 3 of the hovabators for hatchers.

I counted 5 trays/ turners that hold 42 eggs each. Are you adding another turner?

 

[Miami Leghorn]

Okay I have to ask....
For how long do you hold/collect the eggs before you put them in the incubator? Being as that you have a higher capacity incubator now... will you be running a full incubator all the time? Will you have enough viable eggs to fill them up on every incubation?
How will YOUR process be run?
Will you date them and pull them out as the hatch date gets closer?

 

[The Moonshiner]

I counted 5 trays/ turners that hold 42 eggs each. Are you adding another turner?

I only put 41 eggs per tray. The 42nd spot with anything except a small egg causes the egg to hit the motor when turned in that direction.
The 3 white trays actually have a piece of plastic popped into that spot so it's not used.
Yes I have 6 shelves and a 6th tray. Its in use right now Lol.