Washingtonians

[SadieSue]

Quote:
Are you going to set them ?
If so, I recommend you collect eggs for 6 or 7 days, then set them.
If they are dirty, you can gently scrub dirt/poop off with a dry scothc brite scubby.
Setting eggs every 6 or 7 days gives you time in between batches.
I have 3 brooders, new babies are to the right, the center is middle babies and the left is older babies with a door so they can go outside.
One they are a month or more old (started birds) they are sold, or go to the coops with the big birds.
Then each batch is moved to the left.
I have 2 hatching incubators and one big cabinet incubator.
I can set eggs every 7 days, and when lockdown comes on a set, it is removed from the big cabinet, candled, and good eggs go into lockdown in one of the 2 lockdown incubators.
So consider how you are going to work this all out.
Even with 1 incubator, 6 or 7 days works.
But you cannot keep opening your incubator to set eggs if any prior sets are in lockdown.
It would be very confusing after a while (it is confusing) that is why I have 2 just for lockdowns.

You do have quite the operation going CL! But this brings me to a question I've had for a while, that you've just brought up. When is a chicken not a chick anymore, but a "started" bird? Is it when they're a month old or more? And then, they're pullets or cockerels until they either lay eggs or... start doing rooster stuff?

 

[broodytood]

Quote:
Welcome to the Wa thread! Good to have you here!
And no, I'm not really a hillbilly. Well, not today anyway!

 

[SadieSue]

Quote:
It sounds like not a crop problem, but an object that has passed through the crop & plugged the "tube" that runs from the crop to the gizzard.
The crop holds food and funnels it into the gizzard.
Small, hard objects that enter this "tube" can lodge and prevent anything else from passing.
Grapes are notorious for this, or hard dog kibble.
Birds have no stomach acid to break down food.
If it goes in hard & cannot mush up fast enough, it can lodge in the tube.
No amount of crop irrigation helps if something is lodged in the tube.

Yeah, I thought of the conversation we had when I came to your place. Her crop was emptying at first, but maybe it was slow, I don't know. Then when I realized it was a problem it got slower and slower until it all but stopped emptying. I felt so bad that we(me & vet) didn't realize this was a possible problem until it was too late, she died this morning as I took her into the vet again. I don't even know if there was anything we could have done about it, but I would have done something earlier, even put her down so she didn't just waste away. So now I have the two I got from you and one of my original 4. 2 girls and one boy. Everybody else better stay healthy or I am going to throw in the towel.

I am just a little sad

and frustrated.

Next year I think I am going to hatch some eggs. Maybe some of my own and maybe get some others from my fellow BYC'ers, like maybe some Java's?

Sorry you lost her.

I don't know what you could have done any differently.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
I still so love your avatar. I want a baby Hoss. I was thinking it would be fun to name my orpington babies after Gunsmoke characters (Hoss- like you did) but could not think of any girl names from the show.

I thought Hoss was from Bonanza.

Someone in the Brabanter club didn't think much of me naming my cockerel Blondie, but Clint Eastwood was called Blondie in the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Can't get much more masculine than that.

 

[VelvettFog]

Quote:
You will be told --- 4 sq ft per bird inside, 10 sq ft per bird in the run. These are the most likely suggested minimums. You will also be told - more space is always better. Use this information as a guideline, because there are a large number of factors that impact the quality of life of your flock.


Peace,

Dave

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
Darn kids think they're immortal.

 

[SadieSue]

Quote:
I still so love your avatar. I want a baby Hoss. I was thinking it would be fun to name my orpington babies after Gunsmoke characters (Hoss- like you did) but could not think of any girl names from the show.

I thought Hoss was from Bonanza.

Someone in the Brabanter club didn't think much of me naming my cockerel Blondie, but Clint Eastwood was called Blondie in the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Can't get much more masculine than that.



Darn tootin'.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
Are you going to set them ?
If so, I recommend you collect eggs for 6 or 7 days, then set them.
If they are dirty, you can gently scrub dirt/poop off with a dry scothc brite scubby.
Setting eggs every 6 or 7 days gives you time in between batches.
I have 3 brooders, new babies are to the right, the center is middle babies and the left is older babies with a door so they can go outside.
One they are a month or more old (started birds) they are sold, or go to the coops with the big birds.
Then each batch is moved to the left.
I have 2 hatching incubators and one big cabinet incubator.
I can set eggs every 7 days, and when lockdown comes on a set, it is removed from the big cabinet, candled, and good eggs go into lockdown in one of the 2 lockdown incubators.
So consider how you are going to work this all out.
Even with 1 incubator, 6 or 7 days works.
But you cannot keep opening your incubator to set eggs if any prior sets are in lockdown.
It would be very confusing after a while (it is confusing) that is why I have 2 just for lockdowns.

You do have quite the operation going CL! But this brings me to a question I've had for a while, that you've just brought up. When is a chicken not a chick anymore, but a "started" bird? Is it when they're a month old or more? And then, they're pullets or cockerels until they either lay eggs or... start doing rooster stuff?

I was under the impression that a started bird was one that didn't need to be under lights anymore.

 

[RedReiner]

Quote:
I still so love your avatar. I want a baby Hoss. I was thinking it would be fun to name my orpington babies after Gunsmoke characters (Hoss- like you did) but could not think of any girl names from the show.

I have some going to hatch this weekend. I am sure there will be a couple roosters in there...as usual lol.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
You will be told --- 4 sq ft per bird inside, 10 sq ft per bird in the run. These are the most likely suggested minimums. You will also be told - more space is always better. Use this information as a guideline, because there are a large number of factors that impact the quality of life of your flock.


Peace,

Dave

It also depends on how much time they spend in the coop. If you're on the east side of the mountains, where they're not outside much in the winter, they need that 4 square feet each. My chickens, on the other hand, are in the coop to sleep and lay, otherwise they're outside. they could probably get away with less.