~*Third Annual Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatch-Athon*~ all poultry welcome!

[Arielle]

Quote:

Was hoping you might chime in!!!!!!

 

[Alaskan]

Well, I find that seeing the little veins and embryos gets more difficult every year.

I had to have one of the kids tell me if the test eggs I cracked were fertile... Couldn't see that either.


And NO, I am NOT getting bifocals!

 

[mlm Mike]

Well, I find that seeing the little veins and embryos gets more difficult every year.

I had to have one of the kids tell me if the test eggs I cracked were fertile... Couldn't see that either.


And NO, I am NOT getting bifocals!

Get the bifocals, just got mine last November. Went from no glasses straight to bifocals.

 

[JennaLynn122]

Okay I candled that egg again and apparently overnight it died anyway. HUGE blood ring. Cracked it open to see (outside) and it STUNK and more blood than egg. Although I was right about the baby chick in it. It was there just not living.

Still 55 out of 69 going strong though for now since I counted that one as questionable. And so far as I can tell without cracking went from 82% fertility to 92%.

 

[Arielle]

Well, I find that seeing the little veins and embryos gets more difficult every year.

I had to have one of the kids tell me if the test eggs I cracked were fertile... Couldn't see that either.


And NO, I am NOT getting bifocals!

I'm NOT getting bifocals either!!

I don't look for th bulleyes, far easier to set a few eggs and then look!!

 

[SilkieSensation]

Quote: I know when crossing slate & palm that when the babies are bred together or back to palm you get the blue & lavender palms. I was just wondering if the red worked the same way.

Quote:
yup...

I hate the PO! Good thing I sent a bunch of extras to help make up for their negligence.

How many did you pull?

Since getting buckeyes and advised by the breeder to use 27% protein feed, I finally found a source. My 3 primary sources of feed only had 22% as the maxx-- not nearly close enough, so I had been supplementing with extra eggs. Hard to judge the added protein but all I could do-- no fishmeal to be had at all either.

We were on our way to a another town and I pressed DH to stop at Robbins, a local farm supply store-- not a TSC which is all modern, but an old fashion dimly lit, everything a bit more helter-skelter, paper bags of potatos on the center table in strange varieties and common ones too. UP and down aisles to stumble upon what I needed. Kids enthralled by the items on the shelves.

Finally I realized no grain bags at all so headed to the desk. Lots of items listed on boards but NO grain. Hmmm . . . the look of bewilderment prompted a clerk to ask if she could help me. I explained what I was looking for: 27% or higher protein for turkeys or pheasants. I knew better by this point to NOT focus on chicken feed, but she kept coming back to chickens and was intent on emphasising nonmedicated vs. medicated.

Apparently she is gun shy after a bad experience with a disgruntled customer, so I surmised. I impressed upon her that medicated or not I could work with either. I needed a high protein feed for poultry. Finally she turned the feeds book around to me and I could read the labels myself. 27% yiPeeeeeee.

Babies are two weeks behind in their growth and yes, I feel very guilty I have let the breeder down.

SHame on me for not finding it sooner.

DH paid for the two 50# bags AND the 4 bags of potatos: DH picked out two varieties, leaving the kids to pick out one each. SOmehow DH didn't begin to think I should have a choice. Granted I don't eat potatos anymore, but I sure do enjoy looking at the varieties and handling a most historical food that made its way from south america to north america to spain to ireland. My kids live on potatos. Breakfast lunch dinner, any time they want fast food.

THe buckeye chicks get ground rabbit pellets for nutritionally balanced greens, ground calf manna, and 27% crumble. ANd they lost their heat light to the newest babies. THe little buckeyes seek the older cornish for hudling and cuddling. Pullet likes to lift up her wings to cuddle the babies now. ANd they run to me for goodies!

I need the poults to arrive soon to save me from the demands of the buckeyes!!

What was the reasoning of giving such high protein to Buckeye chicks? I have a few Buckeye pullets in my mix right now & they are actually growing quite quickly on 20%, but I also ferment.

Quote: Is that all??? Mine are layered 2 deep in 3 bators.

Dang, I'm terrible at seeing dancing babies in an egg-- if I do I dance with joy, so exciting to see the wiggleing and pulsing. Granted I don't have the best flashlight but enough to get the job done. Some one wrote recently that the difference betweent he eggs incubagted upright vs on the sides makes a huge difference in visibility. I'm still testing this theory.

The difference is in the location of the embryo as it begins to develop. In eggs incubated on their sides, the embryo & spider of veins is located on the side of the egg & is very visible when candled. In eggs incubated upright, the embryo begins to develop under the air cell so it takes several extra days to be able to see the beginning of the veining & for the embryo to get big enough to be seen beyond the edges of the air cell. (I discovered this when I tried a few test hatches with eggs upright in cartons. Just another reason I prefer putting them on their sides.)

Quote:
Oh the joys of getting old...er.

 

[winteree]

i'm so nervious about this hatch i missed a turning by over 4 hours yesterday when my grandma's mower wouldn't start and to boot the temp was 106f in the bator when i did get around to turn to them. I think this hatch is done for i'll still turn the egg's but i'm going to go buy some chicks. i should have just payed the stuipd shipping and got the live chicks in the mail. this hatch is starting to give me grey hairs

 

[SilkieSensation]

Okay I candled that egg again and apparently overnight it died anyway. HUGE blood ring. Cracked it open to see (outside) and it STUNK and more blood than egg. Although I was right about the baby chick in it. It was there just not living.

Still 55 out of 69 going strong though for now since I counted that one as questionable. And so far as I can tell without cracking went from 82% fertility to 92%.

At least it's out so it doesn't get all over the other eggs.

 

[SilkieSensation]

i'm so nervious about this hatch i missed a turning by over 4 hours yesterday when my grandma's mower wouldn't start and to boot the temp was 106f in the bator when i did get around to turn to them. I think this hatch is done for i'll still turn the egg's but i'm going to go buy some chicks. i should have just payed the stuipd shipping and got the live chicks in the mail. this hatch is starting to give me grey hairs

Mine are lucky to get turned once per day half the time. No worries, they will be fine even if you miss some turnings completely.

 

[bantambury]

MY GOODNESS! im so darn mad!

I came down to the coop this morning to find the lid lifted up. thankfully all 9 chickens were still in the coop.....but STILL. that meant there was SOMEONE WE DONT KNOW ON OUR PROPERTY MESSING WITH MY BIRDS! my mom claimed they were just looking at them, but that's what a coop is for right? keep the chickens in and the people out! they should've been messing with MY birds in the first place....I don't care who they are!

along with this, the open flap of the coop lured in the hawk. he was sitting on a nearby branch. I had let my 3 older birds along with 7 of the young'uns to free range and forage a bit since they cant in their coop. (we don't free range because of the birds we lost to the hawk) ANYWAYS my mom was helping me clean out the big coop when she suddenly heard Cadbury, my head rooster, make the weirdest noise ever....then she saw a large bird swoop down into a low tree. she suddenly cried "HAWK! HAWK" and my lead went cold. I instantly jumped out of the coop, grabbing my older birds and the young roos and hens my sister @chickED told me to grab the hens before the roos....I grabbed as many birds as I could, and picked one up by her tail....she was screaming and I knew that could make the hawk just swoop down and grab her from my arms. I threw all the birds into one coop. THANKFULLY no birds were harmed and all are safe.

that was how my morning went. took roughly 2 hours to clean both coops.

this just ruffled my feathers!