Did my Eggtopsy outside in a nice brisk breeze, next to the hole we dug all our garden dirt out of. after I cracked each egg I threw the remains into the hole and covered with dirt, this did actually keep the smell down. Only three out of 8 of my cream legbars had developed at all. all but one of my buff orpington eggs had developed. They all looked like they deceased right around day 14, which is when we had that big power outtage. So, I guess that solves that myster. It makes me feel MUCH better about the eggs currently in the incutbator. I'm excited about the comfry for a number of reasons, it's the best possible mulch for fruit trees and berry bushes, it is a great compost pile activator, you can make a "tea" out of it that is an amazing fertilizer, and you can feed it to livestock since it's super high in nutrients. I'm hoping to be able to feed it to the chickens who are confined in tractors, and eventually if we have goats it's excellent for ruminants. I know nothing about the anise hyssop except that it smells nice and the bees LOVE it, which is reason enough to plant it in my mind
yes, I am that crazy lady that plants stuff just for the bees and the chickens.
All excellent uses for the comfrey and you are not a crazy lady for planting something for the bees and chickens. Perfect.y good reasons in my mind, says the crazy lady who dug up and took stinging nettle from someone to plant in her garden. Then thought it had somehow stung her stomach only to find out she had shingles. Sorry to hear the power outage caused the loss of your incubating chicks and fingers crossed that the next batch has a 100% hatch rate.
How can you tell the difference between the beginning of a molt and "rooster damage" on a hen?
I have one that is looking pretty bad just above the tail area on the back. The cockerel does mate her and the others. The feathers started to get "white" and scruffy there and now it is getting to the point where I can see skin.
Did my Eggtopsy outside in a nice brisk breeze, next to the hole we dug all our garden dirt out of. after I cracked each egg I threw the remains into the hole and covered with dirt, this did actually keep the smell down. Only three out of 8 of my cream legbars had developed at all. all but one of my buff orpington eggs had developed. They all looked like they deceased right around day 14, which is when we had that big power outtage. So, I guess that solves that myster. It makes me feel MUCH better about the eggs currently in the incutbator. I'm excited about the comfry for a number of reasons, it's the best possible mulch for fruit trees and berry bushes, it is a great compost pile activator, you can make a "tea" out of it that is an amazing fertilizer, and you can feed it to livestock since it's super high in nutrients. I'm hoping to be able to feed it to the chickens who are confined in tractors, and eventually if we have goats it's excellent for ruminants. I know nothing about the anise hyssop except that it smells nice and the bees LOVE it, which is reason enough to plant it in my mind
yes, I am that crazy lady that plants stuff just for the bees and the chickens.
All excellent uses for the comfrey and you are not a crazy lady for planting something for the bees and chickens. Perfect.y good reasons in my mind, says the crazy lady who dug up and took stinging nettle from someone to plant in her garden. Then thought it had somehow stung her stomach only to find out she had shingles. Sorry to hear the power outage caused the loss of your incubating chicks and fingers crossed that the next batch has a 100% hatch rate.
Thank you for sharing the pictures of your egtopsy.......I have never hatched eggs in an incubator or had a broody hatch for me (no rooster). But I still like to watch & learn. And your not crazy I planted my veggie garden so that I can have fruit & veggies for the chicks this winter I was gone all afternoon. Came home to find the tots where they were not suppose to be......
They apparently found the potato leaves tasty & great eats in the compost I used to hill the plants. Thankfully Stella decided that the beet greens and kale were more to her liking (I planted them for the chicks and pinch off leaves daily for them
Te fence was repaired. Hopefully they don't fly over it again. I can't wait till they are big enough to go out with the big girls. Lots of grass, clover and dandelions to keep them well fed
How can you tell the difference between the beginning of a molt and "rooster damage" on a hen?
I have one that is looking pretty bad just above the tail area on the back. The cockerel does mate her and the others. The feathers started to get "white" and scruffy there and now it is getting to the point where I can see skin.
Here are some photos. You with "roo experience"...what do you think?
This is Charlie's Sister. CS for short. She has a "fancy pants" tail that she keeps upright most the time. If that tail is down, you can see some bare skin now.
Close-up:
This is Charlie. Charlie shows no feather issues. Just showing her for contrast.
For those of you that have incubated, what was your FIRST experience like?
-Was it easy?
-Confusing?
-Would you do it again?
-What would you say to a person who has never used an incubator before - your #1 tip (or 2 or 3).
I have a Little Giant with a computer fan in it to circulate the air. My first incubation was a bust - not a single one hatched. Too many temp fluctuations and I was a newbie with the 'bator and messed with it too much. Then Mumsy shared her advice on the thing and my next hatch was way better. It was actually easier when it was cold outside because I put a small space heater in the 'bator closet and it kept it around 70 F. Now that it has warmed up, I'm having the opposite issue where it gets too hot in there and I can't keep the temps as steady. *sigh*
If I ever win the lottery, I'm gonna get me one of them fancy 'bators with all the bells and whistles!
As for your question about the balding area, I'd say it's probably rooster use, though my girls always had it higher up - around the shoulders. If she starts to lose feathers elsewhere, I'll change my guess to "molt." LOL.
I had such a blast with aoxa today! Thank you so much for letting me tag along and sleep over. You guys are a blast to hang out with! Came home with the most awesome little guys. 10 mottled houdans, 10 easter eggers, 10 Blue australorps, 2 turkeys and one tiny little naked neck turken barred rock cross that I watched hatch out of aoxa's incubator . Got to see their new barn and it is gorgeous as well as got a chance to visit two other farms all with beautifull free range birds. It really is making my decision of opening up the other half of my barn up into a coop and free ranging my birds even more of a firm decision in my mind.
I'm excited about the comfry for a number of reasons, it's the best possible mulch for fruit trees and berry bushes, it is a great compost pile activator, you can make a "tea" out of it that is an amazing fertilizer, and you can feed it to livestock since it's super high in nutrients. I'm hoping to be able to feed it to the chickens who are confined in tractors, and eventually if we have goats it's excellent for ruminants.
I know nothing about the anise hyssop except that it smells nice and the bees LOVE it, which is reason enough to plant it in my mind
yes, I am that crazy lady that plants stuff just for the bees and the chickens.
I have a ton of comfrey, never thought of using it as a mulch. What a great idea - any reason mulch for fruit trees and berry bushes versus other trees/plants?
Have used it medicinally for road burns from bike accidents, and for other of those type of serious skin scrapes where the skin is removed. it is amazing.
Anise hyssop makes a great tea, too - and it adds a wonderful flavor to pound cake. Hummers like it too, and finches eat the seeds in the winter if you leave the stalks. A great self seeder, too. My chickens ignore it.
For those of you that have incubated, what was your FIRST experience like?
-Was it easy? I used eggs from my chickens so no shipped eggs which increase the level of expertise needed.But I did lots or reading in the learning area. Hatching 101 was very helpful. My incubator was a hand me down but it worked. I did not have a turner or a fan for my first 2 attempts. My 1st attempt was ended rather suddenly around day 18 when one of my children adjusted the temp way high. My second time had better results but still my newness kicked in and I opened the incubator too many times and tried to help chicks out. So I lost a few that might have hatched if left alone.
-Confusing? The steps to follow are basic enough but with a small amount of eggs and no turner, the temps were harder to manage.
-Would you do it again? Sure, The joy that comes from watching a chick make it out is great. Also the chicks that I hatch don't have to travel in the mail system and I have less trouble with them in the first few days.
-What would you say to a person who has never used an incubator before - your #1 tip (or 2 or 3). The waiting is hard, it is hard to not adjust temps every time the incubator comes to mind. It is hard not to candle too early or too often.
Here are some photos. You with "roo experience"...what do you think?
This is Charlie's Sister. CS for short. She has a "fancy pants" tail that she keeps upright most the time. If that tail is down, you can see some bare skin now.
Close-up:
This is Charlie. Charlie shows no feather issues. Just showing her for contrast.
it could be roo damage, but it also looks exactly like the start of feather picking - I had a hen that started getting bullied and picked on and that was how she looked before it go worse. Might be worth spending some time observing both on the roost and during the day. If it were roo damage, I would expect to see a little damage at last on the back of the neck - but maybe your roo doesn't grab hold of the back of the neck?
