Washingtonians

[SadieSue]

Triple post. Sorry - things wuz a little wonky this morning...

 

[SadieSue]

I'm so happy tonight! Our cat Sasuke went missing when we did our major backyard renovations...he was the only one I couldn't track down and put inside while we were working, and I hoped that it was just a matter of all the noise and change freaking him out and he'd come home after the dust settled. He's fixed and usually isn't gone more than a couple of hours at a time, just long enough to bring me dead vermin presents.. After a couple days, I asked the neighbors (the whole block knows our cats, they're the best ratters around), posters went up, craigslist ads posted, talked to the Humane Society (he's microchipped, so they assured me everyone gets scanned when they come in and we'd get a call if he turned up there), but no leads, no bodies in the road, nothing. It's been two weeks to the day since he took off, and now he's home! I was sitting here browsing and heard a little meow at the window, and he jumped in like it was no big deal. He's definitely lost some weight, but no signs of injury or illness...just a hungry kitty glad to be getting some love. Life is so good right now.

I'm very happy for you! Welcome home Sasuke!

 

[Chickielady]

Do we need heated water dishes in Seattle?? Or is it a "just in case" thing...?

I put all my bird's water buckets in the coops in winter, and they never freeze.
That said, we are supposed to have a El Nino winter system, which means drier & colder.
So we shall see.
All my coops are double walled & insulated, so that helps too.
If it get really nasty cold, I can put in a heat lamp (although I hate to) and warm the inside of the coops knowing I am not heating the state of Washington...

 

[Chickielady]

aquarium water heaters work if you have the bucket waterers.... just keeps it warm enough not to freeze.
and yes we do have a issue here in seattle when it gets cold. but our cold is off/on all winter so sometimes you don't need it sometimes you do..
just easier to plan of freezing water before it gets to that point.
for those with just a couple birds or small flock it is easy to change waterers through out the day... but my big 7 gallon waterer would be a pain in the backside!

FYI:
DH found these gadgets last year that look like a plug jack, but actually they are activated when it gets to a certain temperature.
They are called 'the Cube" or some such.
There is a cold cube & a hot cube.
The hot one comes on when it gets to a certain warm temp, the cold one comes on when it gets to about 30 degrees.
We have them in well houses & the shed housing the washing machine.
These gadgets are plugged in 24/7 to a heat lamp or space heater.
When the temp drops down, the gadget opens up and the lights come on, preventing freezing.
maybe I can find a link....

here ya go:

http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-TC-3-Thermostatically-Controlled/dp/B0006U2HD2

 

[itsren]

Alright, that's it. Whoever wrote the instructions for my incubator can go do anatomically impossible things with themselves. I just put both of the vent covers back in. Within a couple of minutes, the humidity went up 2%. I'm sick and tired of my chicks getting stuck.

That's frustrating.

..........................

So I've looked at my incubator. I don't see any holes where I can feed any wire into it to help me watch humidity. There are no holes to add water through. I don't know. It seems like everyone's incubating experience is different because the incubators are so different. I guess I'm just going to have to trust that keeping 1/2 of the water well full is enough for now, and at lockdown, filling both halves will give enough humidity to make it through lockdown.

This is the incubator I have: http://www.brinsea.com/products/mini.html

 

[Chickielady]

Google -- heat tape -- lots of choices

I love heat tape !
DH connected it to a wafer thermostat, and installed in the side of our hot frames.
In EARLY spring, I can set out pots of seeds to grow, snug & warm in the hot frame, even in snowy freezing weather.
WORKS GREAT !!!

 

[Chickielady]

Alright, that's it. Whoever wrote the instructions for my incubator can go do anatomically impossible things with themselves. I just put both of the vent covers back in. Within a couple of minutes, the humidity went up 2%. I'm sick and tired of my chicks getting stuck.

The BLRW is pecking at the thermometers and trying to eat its poop.

Jennifer

Make sure they have fresh air though !

 

[KMHunter]

Quote:
Google -- heat tape -- lots of choices
You might benefit from the heat tape on the tubing and the fish tank heater in the bucket.

 

[SadieSue]

Quote:
I have the Brinsea Eco and I follow the instructions - filling both channels when I go into lockdown. THEN I sit on my hands for the next three days. After the first chick hatches, I just watch her longingly through the cover and leave her there for the next 48 hours or so until I'm pretty certain everyone who is going to hatch is out. Interestingly, the chick who hatches first and I typically "bond" a little more since we have our alone time before everyone else comes out to play. Sounds weird, right? But I swear it's true. At least in my little fantasy world it is...

It's what has worked for me in my home and the 3 or 4 people who have borrowed my Brinsea have followed the same instructions with some pretty successful hatches. I haven't used a hygrometer yet even though I have one because I never got around to calibrating it. But I know others have good luck using their hygrometers to gauge the humidity in their incubators.

It is nerve wracking sometimes - the whole hatching business. I have had a chick get shrink wrapped once and was very sad to see it. During my last hatch of Silkies and Seramas, one of the Silkies tried hard to break out of it's shell for almost 24 hours and finally got tired and died. I regret not trying to help it hatch, but was resisting because I felt it really needed to come out on it's own. I've been second guessing myself since then.

Hatching is definitely a learning process. But I can't wait to do it again!

 

[KMHunter]

Quote: I think you are supposed to take the turner out too, but I have seen pictures of people who leave them in. I would be worried about chicks getting stuck between the side of the bator and the turner. None of this stuff are hard set rules. Just people who have had good or bad luck with different techniques. I just keep in the mind what I want to do or try differently next time. From what I have been reading, some people have better luck with silkie eggs "dry" incubating day 1-18, then boosting the humidity up to like 65% or so. That is just what I have gathered from silkie breeders. Then again, it does have alot to do with where you are and what time of year it is, etc, etc. You are doing fine! And two more pips are very good news! Keep the faith!