With my Guinea keet sales, I only give a discount if the customer buys 12 or more at once, and I have a minimum sale of 6... I think I'll stick with all of this when it comes to selling my poults too (this will be my first year selling poults).
Turkeys For 2013
- Thread starter kuntrygirl
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With my Guinea keet sales, I only give a discount if the customer buys 12 or more at once, and I have a minimum sale of 6... I think I'll stick with all of this when it comes to selling my poults too (this will be my first year selling poults).
I have good news and bad news to report with my current batch of poults hatching...
Good news first:
As of this afternoon I have 3 poults from my Rio Grande and Eastern Wild Turkey pair, and then 1 Black and 3 more Narragansetts poults (from my Narri over a Narri and 2 Blacks). Those Wild and Narri poults look a lot alike, hope I can tell them apart once they are fluffed and dried, lol. (I see a hatcher tray divider being used for my next hatch).
OK, now the bad news (sigh):
The eggs have been in lockdown in my GQF cabinet hatcher since Saturday night, temp at 98.5 right on the dot with the RH hovering around 75%, but after a couple of poults had hatched this AM by around 7:30... I could see that another poult had pipped a really large hole, really low on the egg and had it's beak really sticking out (far enough for me to see a nostril). No zipping, just a big hole. The hole wasn't really at the bottom end of the egg, but well below center (definitely not where an air cell should be or where I am used to seeing external pips). I could see the membrane was yellow and sticky looking (not dry, just stickier than normal) and there was some albumen oozing out of from the hole. The poult kept gasping for air and was blowing bubbles out of it's beak and nostrils ACK!!!). I wasn't sure if there was anything I could do but I reached in real quick, grabbed the egg anyway and then soaked up as much extra albumen as I could with a couple Q-tips. Then I laid the egg back in the hatcher on a warm, wet washcloth to do whatever it was going to do (and misted the rest of the eggs). I walked by the hatcher a few times over the next hour or so and could see that the poult was still alive, but still gasping for air, but not blowing any more bubbles at least. It had not proceeded with any zipping or made any progress with trying to hatch tho.
After that I went out to feed and water my flocks, turn horses and goats out etc, but after I came back in about an hour later the poult was no longer gasping for air... it had expired (which I was somewhat expecting anyway, but dangit!). I decided to remove it and open up the egg to see if I could figure out what went wrong. There was lots of sticky albumen left inside the egg (a least a full teaspoon), and quite a bit of the yolk contents had not been absorbed yet. Obviously it had drowned, but why and why it had pipped so low are what baffle me. The worst part (for me) was that it was another yellow colored poult with a small grey or black stripe down it's lower back
I was really bummed (still am). I have had this happen a few times over the years with keets (incubated at around 45-50% RH) and have no clue why it happened with them either, but it seems really weird for this to happen in an egg that was incubated dry (well, around 30% RH for the first 25.5 days).
Anybody else have something like this happen before? Or know why it happens? Defective egg possibly... like a smaller yolk to albumen ratio maybe? Just seems so weird that this would happen to an egg that went into lockdown perfectly alive, active and as normal looking as the rest of the batch. It had not internally pipped yet when I moved them all over to the hatcher, but several had and there was a lot of wiggling around in that egg when I was candling prior to moving all of the eggs over to the hatcher, so I assumed everything was ok with everybody. Apparently not tho. The only thing I did any differently this time was not wait until I had any eggs that had externa pips, just some internal pips... but it was really late and I did not want to risk poults possibly trying to hatch overnight with only 30% RH, so I moved them all over before I went to bed (so they got moved over at end of day 25).
It looks like another egg in that batch has quit during the lockdown, no pip, no nothing... but I noticed the air cell is no longer visible at the top of the egg. That's a new one for me.. it too looked normal when I moved the all tothe hatcher. I have not opened that egg tho (it's still in there with everybody), and I'm not sure I want to... if it turns out to be another yellow colored poult I'll be in a major funk over hatching
Needless to say this hatch isn't as much fun for me as the last one was
I do still have 2 more pipped eggs and 1 more that's internally pipped left to go tho... so hopefully the rest do fine.
Good news first:
As of this afternoon I have 3 poults from my Rio Grande and Eastern Wild Turkey pair, and then 1 Black and 3 more Narragansetts poults (from my Narri over a Narri and 2 Blacks). Those Wild and Narri poults look a lot alike, hope I can tell them apart once they are fluffed and dried, lol. (I see a hatcher tray divider being used for my next hatch).
OK, now the bad news (sigh):
The eggs have been in lockdown in my GQF cabinet hatcher since Saturday night, temp at 98.5 right on the dot with the RH hovering around 75%, but after a couple of poults had hatched this AM by around 7:30... I could see that another poult had pipped a really large hole, really low on the egg and had it's beak really sticking out (far enough for me to see a nostril). No zipping, just a big hole. The hole wasn't really at the bottom end of the egg, but well below center (definitely not where an air cell should be or where I am used to seeing external pips). I could see the membrane was yellow and sticky looking (not dry, just stickier than normal) and there was some albumen oozing out of from the hole. The poult kept gasping for air and was blowing bubbles out of it's beak and nostrils ACK!!!). I wasn't sure if there was anything I could do but I reached in real quick, grabbed the egg anyway and then soaked up as much extra albumen as I could with a couple Q-tips. Then I laid the egg back in the hatcher on a warm, wet washcloth to do whatever it was going to do (and misted the rest of the eggs). I walked by the hatcher a few times over the next hour or so and could see that the poult was still alive, but still gasping for air, but not blowing any more bubbles at least. It had not proceeded with any zipping or made any progress with trying to hatch tho.
After that I went out to feed and water my flocks, turn horses and goats out etc, but after I came back in about an hour later the poult was no longer gasping for air... it had expired (which I was somewhat expecting anyway, but dangit!). I decided to remove it and open up the egg to see if I could figure out what went wrong. There was lots of sticky albumen left inside the egg (a least a full teaspoon), and quite a bit of the yolk contents had not been absorbed yet. Obviously it had drowned, but why and why it had pipped so low are what baffle me. The worst part (for me) was that it was another yellow colored poult with a small grey or black stripe down it's lower back
Anybody else have something like this happen before? Or know why it happens? Defective egg possibly... like a smaller yolk to albumen ratio maybe? Just seems so weird that this would happen to an egg that went into lockdown perfectly alive, active and as normal looking as the rest of the batch. It had not internally pipped yet when I moved them all over to the hatcher, but several had and there was a lot of wiggling around in that egg when I was candling prior to moving all of the eggs over to the hatcher, so I assumed everything was ok with everybody. Apparently not tho. The only thing I did any differently this time was not wait until I had any eggs that had externa pips, just some internal pips... but it was really late and I did not want to risk poults possibly trying to hatch overnight with only 30% RH, so I moved them all over before I went to bed (so they got moved over at end of day 25).
It looks like another egg in that batch has quit during the lockdown, no pip, no nothing... but I noticed the air cell is no longer visible at the top of the egg. That's a new one for me.. it too looked normal when I moved the all tothe hatcher. I have not opened that egg tho (it's still in there with everybody), and I'm not sure I want to... if it turns out to be another yellow colored poult I'll be in a major funk over hatching
Needless to say this hatch isn't as much fun for me as the last one was
- Mar 3, 2012
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I unfortunately have my first spraddle leg poult. She hatched last night. They are not spread like a split but rather one leg doesnt want to stay under her. I used the bandaid method to hobble her legs and have her sitting inside a tiny cup so her legs will stay underneath her. Without the cup she kept falling forward on her face with her legs stretched behind her. I have her sectioned off by herself in the same brooder and every few hours take her out of the cup to let her try to walk and try to eat and drink. During this time I also give her a buddy to help show her how to do everything. What else can I do for her? Any tips?
THat is good news!! Fall FIres are very pretty!! I was looking at them this morning!! Porters should be having a sale soon, though I don't kn ow if they have one every summer or not. Of course the selection decreases.Quote:Oh man, I may be jinxing myself here. The eggs I got from you are developing well ( 1 clear BR), which is amazing as the incubator has been being a bit temperamental. Anyways, since I will (hopefully) have 2 lonely SG, I just may need a few friends for them. If you order from Porters, I would be interested in getting some Fall Fires..
Anyone else in the MA area interested-- how about you chickn pickin??
I had to do the cup therapy thing with a poult from my last hatch last week. it kept falling over on it's side in the hatcher and would get a leg out behind it while it struggled to get up... flail a while, and then just lay there on it's side. While it was still in the hatcher and everyone was drying off I had it in the cup, and every hour or so I would dip it's beak in room temp water that had poultry vitamins in it and a little excess juice from some GroGel that I had mixed up for everybody to peck at while they dried off and fluffed up all the way. I am not sure if the extra vitamins helped more or if the cup did, but the combo of the 2 fixed the poult within about 6-8 hours. I banded it's leg so I'd know which one it was later on... and if it did not have a band on it I would never be able to tell which one it was now (about a week later). I even saw the little silly thing strutting/displaying in the brooder yesterday, lol.
I have good news and bad news to report with my current batch of poults hatching...
Good news first:
As of this afternoon I have 3 poults from my Rio Grande and Eastern Wild Turkey pair, and then 1 Black and 3 more Narragansetts poults (from my Narri over a Narri and 2 Blacks). Those Wild and Narri poults look a lot alike, hope I can tell them apart once they are fluffed and dried, lol. (I see a hatcher tray divider being used for my next hatch).
OK, now the bad news (sigh):
The eggs have been in lockdown in my GQF cabinet hatcher since Saturday night, temp at 98.5 right on the dot with the RH hovering around 75%, but after a couple of poults had hatched this AM by around 7:30... I could see that another poult had pipped a really large hole, really low on the egg and had it's beak really sticking out (far enough for me to see a nostril). No zipping, just a big hole. The hole wasn't really at the bottom end of the egg, but well below center (definitely not where an air cell should be or where I am used to seeing external pips). I could see the membrane was yellow and sticky looking (not dry, just stickier than normal) and there was some albumen oozing out of from the hole. The poult kept gasping for air and was blowing bubbles out of it's beak and nostrils ACK!!!). I wasn't sure if there was anything I could do but I reached in real quick, grabbed the egg anyway and then soaked up as much extra albumen as I could with a couple Q-tips. Then I laid the egg back in the hatcher on a warm, wet washcloth to do whatever it was going to do (and misted the rest of the eggs). I walked by the hatcher a few times over the next hour or so and could see that the poult was still alive, but still gasping for air, but not blowing any more bubbles at least. It had not proceeded with any zipping or made any progress with trying to hatch tho.
After that I went out to feed and water my flocks, turn horses and goats out etc, but after I came back in about an hour later the poult was no longer gasping for air... it had expired (which I was somewhat expecting anyway, but dangit!). I decided to remove it and open up the egg to see if I could figure out what went wrong. There was lots of sticky albumen left inside the egg (a least a full teaspoon), and quite a bit of the yolk contents had not been absorbed yet. Obviously it had drowned, but why and why it had pipped so low are what baffle me. The worst part (for me) was that it was another yellow colored poult with a small grey or black stripe down it's lower backI was really bummed (still am). I have had this happen a few times over the years with keets (incubated at around 45-50% RH) and have no clue why it happened with them either, but it seems really weird for this to happen in an egg that was incubated dry (well, around 30% RH for the first 25.5 days).
Anybody else have something like this happen before? Or know why it happens? Defective egg possibly... like a smaller yolk to albumen ratio maybe? Just seems so weird that this would happen to an egg that went into lockdown perfectly alive, active and as normal looking as the rest of the batch. It had not internally pipped yet when I moved them all over to the hatcher, but several had and there was a lot of wiggling around in that egg when I was candling prior to moving all of the eggs over to the hatcher, so I assumed everything was ok with everybody. Apparently not tho. The only thing I did any differently this time was not wait until I had any eggs that had externa pips, just some internal pips... but it was really late and I did not want to risk poults possibly trying to hatch overnight with only 30% RH, so I moved them all over before I went to bed (so they got moved over at end of day 25).
It looks like another egg in that batch has quit during the lockdown, no pip, no nothing... but I noticed the air cell is no longer visible at the top of the egg. That's a new one for me.. it too looked normal when I moved the all tothe hatcher. I have not opened that egg tho (it's still in there with everybody), and I'm not sure I want to... if it turns out to be another yellow colored poult I'll be in a major funk over hatching
Needless to say this hatch isn't as much fun for me as the last one wasI do still have 2 more pipped eggs and 1 more that's internally pipped left to go tho... so hopefully the rest do fine.
guess I need to whine and gripe about my hen turkey one more time. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about looking for her nest because I knew that she had to be laying somewhere. She has always jsut dropped her eggs in the past on the floor and went on about her business but since I havent seen any laying about, I just knew this was the year that she was going to be a normal turkey and make a nest and actually lay eggs. 4 days ago, I was walking by and say he standing still and she didnt squat or anything.. just stood there for a minute and then out came an egg and she looked over her shoulder at it and walked away. havent seen one since. So, I guess, she is not laying with any consistency this year either. she will lay maybe 4 or 5 eggs over a mont or two period and will be done for the year. I really need to get rid of her.. but I wont.
Any one from the Ozarks area or 4 state area that has Turkeys for a few years now and know whats the time of the year that the turkeys stop laying.
My Red Bourbons are still laying at an average of 12 to 16 eggs a week and that's there first year and there are 6 Hens.
I have not allowed them to free range since they have started to lay because it was like an Easter egg hunt every day all over the place the only place I did not find them was the gutters of the house.
If they lay most of the summer I will just have to let them out and hunt eggs every day.
I guess what I am asking if there is a month that they seem to stop laying what is it for this area.
On top of everything else I have a wild Hen that's hanging around the Pen looking for a boy friend I guess.
I was wondering if she might use her wild ways to lure a Tom or Toms from the area.
We are just coming onto Turkey hunting season as well
My Red Bourbons are still laying at an average of 12 to 16 eggs a week and that's there first year and there are 6 Hens.
I have not allowed them to free range since they have started to lay because it was like an Easter egg hunt every day all over the place the only place I did not find them was the gutters of the house.
If they lay most of the summer I will just have to let them out and hunt eggs every day.
I guess what I am asking if there is a month that they seem to stop laying what is it for this area.
On top of everything else I have a wild Hen that's hanging around the Pen looking for a boy friend I guess.
I was wondering if she might use her wild ways to lure a Tom or Toms from the area.
We are just coming onto Turkey hunting season as well
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