Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Duck Drover]

I have Black Copper Marans and Barnevelder chicks due to hatch tomorrow (Saturday) with the first six BCMs reserved. It has been so nice having a waiting list for my ducklings because the ones that hatched today were already sold and off to their home within hours of hatching (once they were dry enough to travel). It was a fast turnover on the hatching incubator to empty it and clean it for the next hatch so I already had some internal pips when I candled and moved them over. The BCMs have such a dark shell I have not been able to follow their development so I don't know if I have any quitters yet. I already removed the infertile eggs based on lack of air space and the air space looks good on the remaining eggs but I won't know for sure how many chicks I will hatch until the hatch is over. Hopefully all goes well.

 

[melissaG]

Next year (or this fall when the young ones start laying) I will be running 4 ecoglows for weeks 1-4 then just nighttime lights until the birds can go outside. Been really impressed so far and worth every penny. Incubators I kind of view the same as fish tanks, it's easier to regulate the larger it is (plus with my needs the octagons are just too small) so for the cost would rather go Sportsman or Dickey.

Glad to see others having good results with the ecoglows though. I was nervous about tryin it at first.

Hatch update: 4 Langshans out with a 5th almost out, hope they keep hatching.

Pictures plox!! yay!!!

PIPS!

Yup, we have a turkey egg pipped, a day early. I think there are a couple of D'Uccles pipped too. These are not mine though - for a BYC peep. Hoping all the turkeys hatch. Sadly, there are only 5 D'Uccle eggs viable. Going to be watching carefully over the next 24.

We don't have ANY birds right now, only a pair of wild Mallards who stop by for pond life.

WoOt!! Congrats!

Pips, yesterday...................and the day before a broody brought a handful of Silver Cuckoo Marans into the world.
My incubator had 9 Crele Chantecler crosses.....
and I have 2 more broodies setting on a doz eggs each............one is a silver cuckoo, and the other is a Black java....(due the 30th)..........and NOW I have a BIG BLUE Jersey Giant going broody.................

Ei Yi Yi Yi YI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Got our 2nd 1500 gallon water tank today..................and tomorrow we are nailing in the 2 knee walls upstairs (since the sheet rock is finally done there) and THEN we can finish running WIRE (in the knee wall)

yay!!!
but boooo

no B. marans yet, sigh. ^^ jk
zomg, you're making me tired just reading tomorrows to do list!

 

[BerrytangleFarm]

We're reaching out to other Western Washingtonians who ship chicks. We're in the midst of a battle with the USPS over their handling of our chicks and would like to speak with anyone else who has shipped chicks that are routed through Seattle.

[email protected]
888/212-2103

Thanks!

 

[Chickielady]

Pictures plox!! yay!!!

WoOt!! Congrats!

yay!!!
but boooo

no B. marans yet, sigh. ^^ jk
zomg, you're making me tired just reading tomorrows to do list!

I do have a few Blue Copper hens laying, & 1 pullet, and have a handful of their eggs in the incubator I set them last night !

 

[Stumpfarmer]

OK, I'll lay it right out there: I am not into cute. In fact, I am what you could call "cute-averse."

On the other hand: a week old, small even for a bantam, black so right now penguin marked, bearded chick trying to crow, flap his wings, and do the chest-bump/spur thing on its very slightly bigger sibling is the cutest thing I've ever seen.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

I am quite happy with the Brinsea Octogon and with the Eco-glow brooders.  So much, that I ended up getting another Eco-glow for when I have two brooders occupied.  I've never tried any other incubators but for my purposes of seldom more than 12-18 eggs hatched at a time it works out just right for me.  There is a 10% discount right now at Brinsea, but I know that still doesn't make it free!

Personally, I think I deserve a McArthur grant but one has not been forthcoming.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

That could be really cool. I'd be interested to see a passive solar setup and see if it can be upscaled to larger setups. Anything that can help power bill stay down during breeding season. Hoping to go solar lighting for lights in breeding pens here this year too, mainly to avoid ~200 ft of trenching and conduit to get electricity out there.

We have 2 active solar set ups...and I cannot tell you how awesome they are !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is our "other house" in NorCal................................and when this Barn House is done HERE, we will install solar on it also !

SO jealous; I pencilled out what it would have taken to run the freezer/refrigerator/microwave/one TV/cell phone and laptop charger during the ice storm in 2012, and the panels would cost about what we pay for electricity for 12 months. Which is simultaneously pretty cheap but also, simultaneously, way more than we have budget for (and would have about a five year payback)

 

[hallerlake]

OK, I'll lay it right out there: I am not into cute. In fact, I am what you could call "cute-averse."

On the other hand: a week old, small even for a bantam, black so right now penguin marked, bearded chick trying to crow, flap his wings, and do the chest-bump/spur thing on its very slightly bigger sibling is the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Sometimes the cute is just irresistable.

 

[melissaG]

I do have a few Blue Copper hens laying, & 1 pullet, and have a handful of their eggs in the incubator I set them last night !

 

[Stumpfarmer]

OK, I'll lay it right out there: I am not into cute. In fact, I am what you could call "cute-averse."


On the other hand: a week old, small even for a bantam, black so right now penguin marked, bearded chick trying to crow, flap his wings, and do the chest-bump/spur thing on its very slightly bigger sibling is the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Sometimes the cute is just irresistable.

Well, at least this was a very ironic kind of cute, cute cut with hubris, so to speak.

I have to divide the ten Hamburgs into two boxes today- they outgrew their box overnight.