The Quack Shack

[Muscovy Wunda]

six. but one was cracked so i removed it. so 5.I want to try candling the 5 tomorrow but I dont have a proper candler.

I use phone torch all the way up in the coop. But I don't know if geese eggs are as transparent as duck eggs

 

[Supercow]

10 days to go. Eggs quite filled up. We're seeing air sacks strictly on the down side (typically inside the light cone) which is mostly the thin side... kinda unexpected.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Good Morning, Good Day, Good Afternoon, Good Evening and Good Night to Everybody. Happy Mid-Week!

I have been very busy during the last couple of days here, the Garden needs lot's of attention, so do the dux and i have built some new things, for example this compost/soil sifter:

The base is a frame that fits on top of my wheelbarrow with a set of metal "rails". Those rails allow the sieve-frame to slide back and forth effortless on coasters.

A separate chute can be set on top of the sieve-frame to make shoveling the compost more easy

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This is a detail-picture of the detachable chute:

The idea is to have multiple sieve-frames with mesh of different sizes, to first remove the remaining larger pieces of wood to get compost for the garden beds (~1" or ¾" mesh), then use the next mesh (½") to create potting soil and a third one (⅓" or ¼") to make the fine soil needed for seedlings.

At current stage it works already with the ½" mesh and i sifted through a wheelbarrow full of garden bed soil in less than 10 minutes yesterday evening. One necessary improvement is to prevent the base-frame from sliding off the wheelbarrow. Then i need to get my hands on those other wire-meshes.

The final idea is to somehow attach an electric motor, so that i would only have to slowly shovel substrate into the chute. Thinking about repurposing that battery-powered reciprocating saw… HillBilly-Technology rocks!

And of course the wood needs some weather protection aka Red Barn and Fence Paint, my favorite…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

10 days to go. Eggs quite filled up. We're seeing air sacks strictly on the down side (typically inside the light cone) which is mostly the thin side... kinda unexpected.

Those eggs are looking good!
Your incubator has an automatic egg turner? - If not, you're turning the eggs at least twice daily? That becomes more important in the later stages of development, so that the developing chick won't stick to the shell.
How many eggs do you have in total? - We need to set up a betting-office to accept wagers on the male/female rate.

 

[Supercow]

The incubator turns the eggs partially every 45 min, this was the recommended setup. There are 11 eggs. Jitters increasing.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

The incubator turns the eggs partially every 45 min, this was the recommended setup. There are 11 eggs. Jitters increasing.

Jitters will soon turn into joy and enjoyment. Little ducklings are addictive. - And no i won't remove the dust from the CCI! - At least not this month…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

The other project that i was working on is what i call »garden bed on a pallet«. They sell these plastic-tarp garden-"beds" on temu.com for little money:

Now my idea is to place those on top of a used pallet, together with a pre-installed trellis and grow all kinds of light squashes in there, like Zucchini, Cucumber, Acorn, Butternut. I worked on a prototype this week and that's what i came with:

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As you may remember, i live on a, in some parts steep, hill-site with little to no flat land, so the idea is to place the pallet with the plant-side towards the hill and support the trellis-side either with wooden legs or cinder-blocks. The plants can grow up the trellis, the harvest will dangle below and can easily be plucked.
Only in two of the four compartments squashes will be planted. Hot peppers and onions will be planted as protection into the front compartments.
If that works out, i may start selling these in the future…

 

[Canadian Wind]

@WannaBeHillBilly Wow, you have been a busy little beaver! I am especially impressed with your soil sifter!

 

[Jenbirdee]

10 days to go. Eggs quite filled up. We're seeing air sacks strictly on the down side (typically inside the light cone) which is mostly the thin side... kinda unexpected.

wow cool!
I was able to candle trudy goose's eggs today, but not take pictures. That is way too hard I am so nervous to even handle them . I feel like a bandit when I sneak in and closed the door to keep geese out and absconded with the eggs to the bathroom with my flashlight!
There are actually 4 eggs not 5. At first I was looking all around for #5 but then I think I miscounted the first time, there was 5 but one broke, so there are 4 now, not 5.
We are due to hatch around May 9th.
3 of the 4 look awesome from what I can tell and the other I am not so sure, but def not ready to give up on it.
How the heck are you holding an egg and a flashlight AND take a picture?do you haz 3 arms??

 

[Supercow]

How the heck are you holding an egg and a flashlight AND take a picture?do you haz 3 arms??

I have a partner in crime But I bet we're both just as nervous about it as you say you are. Dontdropitdontdropit...