hi all
got 4 eggs today
went and bought a new bator
we can not conture temp in the old one
elle
mY cHICKENS
I smell hatching!!! woooohoooo! How eggciting! Go Elle! Go Elle!
BB
What watt bulb do you put in your bator? I have a fan I salvaged from a dehydrator somebody put out at the dump. The fan works but the heating element didn't. I have been wanting to try my hand at making a bator so I was glad to get the fan. Yours looks like something I could do.
Got 2 brown eggs this evening!
Lightbulb in the homemade bator is a small 25 watt
What kind of thermometer do you use?
For thermometer - see pic, sorry, not sure of brand...
I also did an improvement too the water reservior... I took a half pound sourcream bowl and mounted that on the egg deck. Then took another one to insert into the mounted bowl so the chicks could not move it after they hatched. I also took some wire meshover the top of the second bowl so they woud not fall into it.
They never seemed to fall through the holes for the eggs, but I remove them after hatching and then put them into an aquarium with a light for heat.
I will also put a drop of food color into the water. This way I can see the water level better and generally do not have to open the bator anymore than necessary to fill or to turn eggs.
I think because this bator is smaller than a hoverbator.. the heating and the humidity is more consistant. You do not lose valuable time in the reheat when you have opened to turn the eggs. Being the compartment is small it takes less time to re up and also the humidity level comes back fast.
Here ya go, water in mount. Now just load it up with eggs and plug her in and the MATILDA is ready to brood!
hi all
the egg are doing fine so far
hatching day are the 12 or 13 of mar
we are going to the gradern and flower show in springfield
well take picture
elle
Hi elle! Have fun at the garden show....she you when you return!
Hope those bunnies are finally hopping to it too for you!
Guess I will get the aquarium ready for baby chickies!
hi all
yes went to the show
forgot my canmor
went we got home the goat were out
they seen my hd and begain to cry
it was about 5
and that what time they eat up at the barn
elle
I'm sorry I didn't make my question very clear. I wasn't asking what brand. I meant was it just a regular one like you'd put on the porch or does it have to be a special kind made for incubators? Is your egg tray made of wood?
Cajun I got mine at walmart where the outside thermometers are it's a small acu rite and they have others at different prices
hi all
we are haveing trouble keeping the temp in the bator
it been 3 day
and the temp been up and down
can any one tell me if there a way to tell if the egg are ok
or start over
elle
Its one that is special for incubators.. you can get them at the farm stores. Tractor Supply, Farm and Fleet, Big R etc. Yes the tray is wood. It sits on a wood shelf inside. Here is a better pic of the inside....It is the two edges that run on the narrow ends of the cooler adnthe egg tray sits on top.
The tray and wood sides are about 1/2 thick, and the bottom where the lightsocket mounts is the same thickness.
We made ours for less than $10 with scapes we had laying around in the workshop everythign was just about found at home except for the fan which I got from a gal on BYC that was getting rid of the fan from her old bator and if I recall, she gave it to me!
Candling eggs elle! You can candle them, but theres tricks to that too.
I always just wait until 30 days before tossing any though then startover then. I am not good at candling although a friend did tell me how, but I just run the eggs through the regulare incubating time and try not to handle them handling them as little as possible exept to turn them..
This message was edited Feb 24, 2009 6:33 PM
16 hens, one rooster.. one egg....hmmm too cold today
Well, it warmed up a far cry from this morning.. I actually ran outside in short sleeves....temp was 62 outside.
Saw a few more robins. Seems things are getting better with them. They are leaving the cardinals alone now since there are now more robins in than I can shake a stick. Maybe the weather is going to fly right too.
Tried to poke the ground with the frost poker and YES! the ground is warming up.. about 6 inches.. but I really think that was a gopher pocket because another location only gave me 4.
As for those hens.. hmmm... 4 eggs today.. one leghorn, one EE, 2 orps....still kindof consistant in numbers for the last few days anyway!
Got more than I can eat now!
yea its warming up here too!! all the way to 53 right now..the girls are doing good..getting 13-16 eggs a day..cant keep them, peopel are buying like crazy..
sure hope spring is here for good..
love the pic of your "kids".
BB
Your roo looks a lot like my Trey. What kind is he? I love the buff chicken at the top of the pic. Looks like she is fussing at the rest of the flock. I love those gray hens. Are they Andalusians(sp?) ?
My roo Pretty Boy is an EE. The grey girls are actually blue and they are also EE hens from another rooster I had. Their momma I think was a leghorn. I will have to see if I cannot find a picture of their daddy. Anyway the daddy, his name was Robin.. Gorgeous fella. One of my blue girls though is a giant blue orp in that pic.
Yeah that buff hen was sassing at everyone. I think she was about to lay.and was giving the warning out! One of the buffs is bald so tht might be Pretty Boys fav!
I do not know what Pretty Boys parents are. He came to me in a load of chicks that just said they were EE's! I think he is somethign like a golden duck wing cross of some description by the color. I am hoping to get some pretty blue chicks out of him out the lot of blue hens there, but do not know how soon. I have not fired up the incubator and right now things are tight.
I will try to get a better pic of Pretty Boy. He is getting his tail feathers back and starting to look pretty handsome!
Here is an old shot of some passed birds. Robin is that big guy in the middle.. I had a great assortment that year!
Nice looking guy. Seems to be blue under the buff. Interesting color. The silver laced wyandots are easy to pick out. What exactly are EE's or is that a breed name?
Easter Eggers --any mix that has enough Araucana in it to produce fun colored eggs without being a real Araucana or Ameraucana. generally anyhow.
Yes, Robin did have a lot of blue. When he was a peep I actually named him after a friend of mine who got me started with the chickens.. He was all blue as a baby.. then he started to look like a robin and well, Mr. Red Breast with the blue fanny he came to be!
Now here is Pretty Boy. Thinking back, he came in a box of aracuana chicks. There were five. I had a very tough time picking the prettiest roo of that batch. Two of the roos in that box were sporting the 14kt gold feathers and one was blue and the other was Pretty Boy. I thought the this roo was the better one to cross on my girls to get more color. He was also more on the plumpy side. He has a green sheen! I wished now I kept my Black Australorp girls, they would have been neat with him.
Well no eggs yet today, but it is early and 57 out!!
It's amazing how much he and my Trey look alike but Trey has a rose comb. Trey is 3/4 white bantam and 1/4 Blue Spanish Muff.
hi all
here is a picture of my two rooster
we had more but took them to the aution yesterday
with 3 rabbit
elle
Did you do well at the auction?
hi
yes we did
we got good money for my rooster
and his 3 rabbit
my dh bought 10 balies of hay at 3.75 each
so the money we got went for the hay
my dh only had to add 9 dollor
elle
p.s. the hay is for the goat and rabbit
We are hoping to sell bantam chicks at the local flea market when I get any hatched. Big stock laying hens are selling for upwards of $9 each. Haven't seen chicks of any kind yet. There have been some rabbits but I didn't ask the prices. I need to get a couple of cages built so I can get a couple of does for my buck. I want to raise some rabbits for meat. I think I'll get some giant does, maybe Flemish. DGS bought 2 hamsters for $8 each.
What kind of hay did you get and what kind of rabbits and goats do you have?
Well, I am still debating on incubating just yet if at all this year....its too early anyway. I am trying to conserve on electricity too soo I do not what to be running lights for heat all day and night.
Market has been poor, but they want my eggs....I just have too much to do lately and need to lighten up the work load here.
Got 4 eggs between yesterday and today.
Need to clean the coop out.
Ribbet........
hi all
we raise meat rabbit
we have new zeland
we got about 90 doe
and 11 buck
we been doing it for 5 year
we shiped every two week
we ship 90 is the lowest to 200
the rabbit busise is getting harder
price of food and elec
and no money for your work
we do eat rabbit here
the goat some are milk goat but we do not milk yet
the other are just goat
elle
Boy we hear ya there elles....its depressing. But fun if you like doing it.
I say last year my chickens went above and beyond paying for themselves, but this year I am very sceptical. The cost of feed has gone crazy and I only have 16 birds and they are not paying for their feed yet in eggs. I will not get any meat off them. We had nearly 200 birds last year and even though we kept some for their meat, what we sold, I still ended up giving quite a few away at the end of the season just to get rid of them. My profit was mainly in having the produce in meat and eggs saving me grocery money but this year we are not eatign that much either.
Sorry to say but I cannot stand going to any animal auction. They are a rip off out here. You pay too much for the commissions, expose your animals to who knows what and then bring them home if they do not sell running the risk of bringing something home with you that you do not want either. I prefer to deal independantly and not worry about the risks and the travel and that stress and such. I have some regulars so that works better.
We get our hay from a farmer who raises a special certified grass hay so I know what I am getting and putting into the livestock and what seed that might be in it does not pollute my pastures with unwanted weeds. We have to be particular because of where we live being butted up to a State conservation land.
Here are some of last seasons birds.. a rare spanish pescadena (sp), some cornish jumbos.. raised these in our greenhouse! The cornish were super eating! The pescas were too srtingy for meat, but laid a chocolate colored deep brown egg.
hi
i hear you
i guess i luckly with my chickern
6 hen and 4 or 5 egg a day
they are feed and round free
elle
Are you going to incubate for more elle?
yes i bought a new incubor
now i need to get the egg
elle
I wish my hens would get with the program so I can fill up my bator. Looks like I will have to get some more eggs from my friend. The signs say a good time to incubate eggs is the end of this week.
Well, I am not gonna start. Its been raining here the place is flooded and Im not putting up with chicks in a leaky barn that I have to run lights on no less ever again in the house. Too much of a headache. Too cold. The oder from them in the house was horrible and I kept them, clean. Just the stink from them flopping water in the feed and oh peee-u! Nope, not gonna do that again. They belong outside or in the shed that does not leak and I am not setting up in there because its too cold and I am not putting the electric into them.
! inch rain last night...
I am soooo thankful for the nice temps and sunny weather we have had for the last week. I was on the verge of losing my mind with all the cold, snow, ice, sleet, freezing rain, hail and wind storms we had gotten.
I know what you mean about the smell. I only have 1 chicken in my house and you gotta stay on top of things or it will smell awful. I have a hen in the house because another hen mauled her so I've been nursing Saphire back to health.
It happens. Problem was too I got chicks form someplace and I put them in the house underlights and they brought in fleas unbeknownst to me.. I never had a flea problem before and man o man.. finally got rid of them and I am soooo hoping the cold we had this winter killed them outside. Time will tell but my poor dog suffered terribly and it was awful for her. I will nurse them out in the barn seperated, but no more in the house.
I have never heard of chickens having fleas. I've had some with mites before and my horses got mites from the chickens. Luckily the stuff I use to kill flies also kills the mites. My chicken friend uses sevin dust to kill the mites on his chickens. We got fleas in our barn last year in a load of sawdust. Had to bring the dog and the barn cat to town and keep them at the house till we could get rid of the fleas. They never bothered the horses.