The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[vanalpaca]

Harry, I had so much fun sorting those eggs! They are in the bator now and under red lightbulbs. So I am thinking that I'll have a new chip for my digicam come transfer day for lockdown.

50% of the eggs were really darkly splotched and 50% were darker than the Barnevelder hen's and they were very finely speckled. The splotched ones seem to rub off easier than the finely speckled ones, too.

I know I will be disappointed without a 100% hatch because I am such a greedy guts when it comes to these eggs. Don't understand it, but there it is!

At least they are on automatic turners and it seems to be holding temps ok. The unit has light bulbs and fans on top and the water cup, then 3 shelves holding the egg turners, then a bottom drawer unit for the hatcher and it's a cabinet model. I have 3 of the aquarium thermometers, 2 accurites, and the 3 paper on plastic ones that came with the egg turners in there. Front to back temps seem to be reading right, and the 2nd level, but the top shelf appears high in areas and the bottom shelf cooler in areas.

So I am going to make screen shelves to hatch them out on when I take out the egg turners as they won't all fit in the hatcher and it seems to be in the cooler area.

These eggs are mostly TOO DARK to candle properly and check development.

I woulda taken pics when I sorted them out, except my camera chip was full.

I really do like all these eggs. Definitely addicted!! And Michigan is SO CLOSE to Ohio!!

Cheers and glad you got a day off!
Bonnie

 

[Opa]

The waiting has begun

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Quote:
Wow! Beautiful eggs and set up. Good luck with your hatch and thanks for sharing!

 

[EweSheep]

 

[Opa]

I'm pretty happy with the incubator. The heating element I salvaged from a Styrofoam incubator that someone threw in their trash. I bought a fan, a miller egg turner, and a piece of Plexiglas. The rest was scrap lying around my shop. Two empty Miracle Whip jars full of water provide a heat sink. After all the contortions I've put my self through trying to look into two small windows, having a totally clear top sure makes in nice for observing the hatch easy.

 

[vanalpaca]

I'm wondering what I can do to get the cabinet model to have better temps throughout the unit. We will see how well it does with this hatch. I WOULDN"T MIND another trip to Michigan to collect eggs, BUT...................

It was hot outside today. Too hot to be chasing the neighbor's herd of goats! Someone stopped to help that was sent to round them up and it only took us half an hour. Even to get the one kid out of a fenced in pasture of high grass! It's just that when they get out they can't get back in to their pasture and they don't have access to water and can get hit by passing cars!

Best fly try bait ever......raw chicken livers. I took the jar trap added it half full of water and put in the liquid fly attractant and about 3 raw livers and put the trap lid on and hung it up. It filled up with flies in NO TIME! It did take a day or so for the liver to 'take', but it is awesome and cheaper than buying attractant! Next I'm getting the gallon size tops for plastic milk jugs!

Cheers,
Bonnie

 

[harryof47]

Quote:
Bonnie,

I hope you do get a 100% hatch, but remember some of those eggs are getting a little old, so that's why I told you to take them, with no charge and see what you end up with. You can candle the eggs, it just that you have to wait a little longer to check and be sure. You will see the difference.

Blessings

Harold

 

[vanalpaca]

Sorted, counted, and categorized all eggs. So hopefully will know if old ones hatch, too. Differentiated between lines not between dates.

AND labeled so I know which are Whitmore via Harry and which are Calicowoods via Opa.

Rotating my chicks through the upstairs brooder to make sure that each one of them is growing well and not getting lost in the crowd in the big brooder and overlooked.

Chicks in the grow out run and a few hens from the first hatch make 12 wellies.

Cheers all!

 

[tazcat70]

Pictures of my chicks from Faykokowv's eggs.

Two girls and a boy?

 

[rsquared]

Quote:
That is what I see!!