The Old Folks Home

[tnspursfan09]

Who was it on this thread that knew someone on the USA bobsled team. I've just been watching it for the last couple hours.

That would be me. My cousin's BIL, Dallas Robinson is on the USA 2 team.

 

[Cynthia12]

Hello, Ron,
I'd like to be a part of the Dorking import project. I have Silver Grays in the Midwest. Thanks. Anne

 

[ChooksChick]

Big News! The is a legal import of Dorkings going on now!

Quote: That is incredibly cool. This is when I get very sad that my importer has gone out of the chicken biz...He could get them sooooo much cheaper because he owns the quarantine facility. Maybe I should ask him if he would help me import, because that may still be far less expensive.

Quote: I will agree! It all depends on just where you have been (how far below 0 for how long), I do remember just moving fire wood and it was in the low 30's, after a real cold spell, If you have to use a propane torch to heat your fuel oil so it will flow, it's been cold!

Scott

Ugh. You guys are all describing various renditions of my idea of Hel*.

Quote:
Indeed! And so long as it remains unpublished from ages 12 -22, you will likely be in his good graces.

Quote:
Just sprayed coffee, thank you!!

Quote:
Oh, don't get me wrong- I also have had many wonderful successes with still airs, and have a Cheat Sheet in my signature to help folks learn the nuances, BUT-

One will always cherish a good RCom or Sportsman a zillion times over when they get an opportunity to own one. I have an antique Sportsman 1202 I got off another BYCer for $200 and it was the best money ever spent. I also got a used RCom off ebay for $180 and it is plug and play GENIUS- ask Pinwheel how it's working for her! Unbelievably easy. You can seriously fill the water, till it with eggs, and come back 3 weeks later.

Still airs are workable, but there is a very significant bonus when EASY comes into play.

Many of you know that I mix my own feeds and am rather specific when it comes to feed ratios and protein content

Laying Hens- In the case of laying hens, Crude Protein (CP) and amino acid formulations are largely over-formulated with the hopes of getting a return in either egg size or egg number. Unpublished research from by Applegate et al., however, suggests that 15.3 g of CP (858 mg Lys, 450 mg Met, 585 mg Thr, and 638 mg Ile) is sufficient to maximize egg weight and production from 25 to 45 weeks of age versus birds fed corn/SBM diets containing 16.15 g of CP (874 mg Lys, 409 mg Met, 627 mg Thr, and 684 mg Ile).

For those feeding your chooks more than 15% protein all you are doing is creating more stink (ammonia) in your coop and spending extra money you could be spending on me lol

I still argue it depends upon what the protein is from- many conventional mixes are made with a guaranteed analysis of a certain % protein, but NO guarantee the protein is digestible. Lab analysis doesn't guarantee the bird's body can access the amino acids, or that the nutrients are of appropriate absorptive quality.

I use organic fish meal and non-GMO grains with a food-based organic nutrient supplement mix (Fertrell's) and find the eggs are of a SIGNIFICANTLY greater hatchability after shipping them to customers than when I fed conventional feed with the SAME feed profile. Statistics can be misleading.

LOVE having these discussions! It's really important to share our info! Would LOVE to have access to the rice products you have access to, btw...it's all Monsanto crap around here.

I am slowly making the shift to being a "breeder" and not a "keeper." I sold quite a few of my layer flock yesterday. They were 16 - 24 month old healthy, hatchery stock, and were great layers. I think the new owners will be happy with them. I kept the best Marans (I still like those dark brown eggs) the neighbor's EEs, two production reds, and two BOs. I offered the last four for sale, but they didn't choose them. I'm down to 16 hens and 2 cocks in that coop, and down to 26 adult birds and about that many chicks, total.

I am hatching and selling chicks from a trio of very nice Black Orpingtons that are really growing on me. I have decided to hatch eggs from the neighbors EEs and sell the chicks, but have been giving serious thought to buying some breeder quality Ameraucanas. All of these are only side lines to my Silver Campine project. It has been moving so slowly that I needed some distractions.

I also sold the pair of call ducks that I brought back from Ohio. They were for my sons, but the boys pay no attention to them. The lad that bought them had to build a coop for them, so I held them for him for a week. He will pick them up this afternoon, freeing a 2'hx4w'x8'L ground run that I can use to grow out some of the chicks I'm hatching. I built a 2'x2'x4' tractor and will finish a 2'x4'x4' one today. They will be used for chicks, broodys, or hospital coops.

I have culled a couple of chicks that I would have tried to save just a short time ago, it is getting easier. I anticipate needing that skill when I start hatching for specific goals and in large numbers. It's not something I enjoy, but I can do it without tears, now. Next step, doing my own processing........

I have been studying the SOP and have learned a lot, and I have discovered the VAST amount that I still have to learn. This is one of my favorite aspects of this hobby. I enjoy learning.

Oh, girlie...you're done for.

Off the deep end.

See you in that end of the pool, sister!!

 

[kingfrodo]

Thanks for quoting my forbidden BF shot guys, made trying to read BYC this morning without him noticing a real challenge.

He's still in the dark.

As far as incubating and hatching goes, my Brinsea Octagon Eco 20 which I got on sale plus a coupon works very well. After about a million hatches it has gotten pretty dirty inside and it's difficult to clean (the screws were cheap and I stripped them) but that's the only complaint I have.

Love the potty picture. I have some videos and pictures of me and my sister in various nekkid scenarios, and I was mortified of them until my early 20s. Now I think they're fabulous.

I also liked you on FB, Oz.

he has a facebook? I would like to jump on that band wagon. How is he listed?

 

[Hangtown Farms]

  Thanks for the pics - I live vicariously through you, Ron, gjensen, and ChickenCanoe for now, loving your Spanish breeds.

You can have some too 6 more hatched last night

 

[Pinwheel]

ChooksChick wrote "One will always cherish a good RCom or Sportsman a zillion times over when they get an opportunity to own one. I have an antique Sportsman 1202 I got off another BYCer for $200 and it was the best money ever spent. I also got a used RCom off ebay for $180 and it is plug and play GENIUS- ask Pinwheel how it's working for her! Unbelievably easy. You can seriously fill the water, till it with eggs, and come back 3 weeks later."

(Can't figure out how to have this show up as a quote without showing her whole long message...anyone help a newcomer?)

So true! Except, remembering my life with still-air incubators, I have to peek frequently to be sure it's doing its job...pinching myself to be sure I'm not dreaming!

I did learn a lesson about RCom maintenance on the first round, after it had been stored awhile then transported to my place. The humidity always read low, and we thought it was just not calibrating properly. But then water level never seemed to go down, either. So we just let it go, then towards the end I misted several times a day. Got a pretty decent hatch, considering the eggs were gathered in polar weather and the whole flock was still settling into their new homes at the farm.

When I took the RCom apart for cleaning after that first hatch, I examined the water system and found that one of the tiny little tubes had been plugged, so water wasn't getting from the reservoir to the sponge. Worked great after I gently ran a pin through it. I'll include checking those tubes as part of each between-hatch maintenance now. There is no way that I can tell to get at them without taking it completely apart. Glad I have fine strainers in my sink, though--that is one tiny part that could go down the drain really easily!

 

[Pozees]

ChooksChick wrote "One will always cherish a good RCom or Sportsman a zillion times over when they get an opportunity to own one. I have an antique Sportsman 1202 I got off another BYCer for $200 and it was the best money ever spent. I also got a used RCom off ebay for $180 and it is plug and play GENIUS- ask Pinwheel how it's working for her! Unbelievably easy. You can seriously fill the water, till it with eggs, and come back 3 weeks later."

(Can't figure out how to have this show up as a quote without showing her whole long message...anyone help a newcomer?)

So true! Except, remembering my life with still-air incubators, I have to peek frequently to be sure it's doing its job...pinching myself to be sure I'm not dreaming!

I did learn a lesson about RCom maintenance on the first round, after it had been stored awhile then transported to my place. The humidity always read low, and we thought it was just not calibrating properly. But then water level never seemed to go down, either. So we just let it go, then towards the end I misted several times a day. Got a pretty decent hatch, considering the eggs were gathered in polar weather and the whole flock was still settling into their new homes at the farm.

When I took the RCom apart for cleaning after that first hatch, I examined the water system and found that one of the tiny little tubes had been plugged, so water wasn't getting from the reservoir to the sponge. Worked great after I gently ran a pin through it. I'll include checking those tubes as part of each between-hatch maintenance now. There is no way that I can tell to get at them without taking it completely apart. Glad I have fine strainers in my sink, though--that is one tiny part that could go down the drain really easily!

You click on Quote, then highlight and delete whatever part you don't want to include in your response.

Very happy to have you with us

 

[ozexpat]

this morning's photo is pre-poop

 

[tcmstalcup]

Signs of spring around the corner.

 

[ozexpat]

That is incredibly cool. This is when I get very sad that my importer has gone out of the chicken biz...He could get them sooooo much cheaper because he owns the quarantine facility. Maybe I should ask him if he would help me import, because that may still be far less expensive.

Eggs coming from a country designated as Exotic Newcastle Disease free dont need quarrantining

All the expense is getting the shipper certified