Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2017 21:15:35 GMT -5
So, I just realized I'm only 3 days from incubator lockdown and chicks are due in 6 days. Ack! I am not ready for them. Guess I know what I'll be doing this week...cleaning out the garage and getting the brooder pen (aka swimming pool) ready. Anyhow, I know there are fluffy chick lovers on this board, so I thought I'd document their arrival on a thread. Today we tossed three of the eggs, two non-fertile ones and one "quitter", so there are 21 left in the incubator.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on May 29, 2017 21:17:56 GMT -5
Yay! Baby chick pics coming soon.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on May 29, 2017 21:49:55 GMT -5
Woo hoo! I LOVE the "fluffy butt" watch. Best wishes!
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Jaguar
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Post by Jaguar on May 29, 2017 23:17:29 GMT -5
WOO HOO welcome Fluffy Butts !
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Pants
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Post by Pants on May 29, 2017 23:18:13 GMT -5
... not what I thought this thread was gonna be about.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on May 29, 2017 23:33:28 GMT -5
Don't chickens incubate their own eggs?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2017 7:26:01 GMT -5
... not what I thought this thread was gonna be about. I was going to call it "Hot Chicks"
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on May 30, 2017 7:30:32 GMT -5
Coddled chicks?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2017 7:42:28 GMT -5
Don't chickens incubate their own eggs? Well, they CAN, but this is a lot more efficient. First of all you need to have a broody hen (one that wants to just sit on eggs) and that has been mostly bred out of modern day laying chickens, because people want their hens to lay eggs...every day. A broody hen doesn't lay and will sit for months on end waiting for something to hatch. I haven't had one of those in two years and most of these eggs are from my aunt who just has two hens left in her flock that she wants to replace. Neither of hers have ever been broody, so she just collected eggs for a week for me to hatch out. Then, even if you have a broody hen, the yield is better this way. I can put 40 eggs in this incubator. A hen can handle maybe a dozen or so. Then you get hens deciding to stop sitting halfway through, predators making off with eggs or chicks and you can't feed the chicks the high powered food because the hens take it. Chicks kept in a separate brooding pen do so much better. I did let a couple hens hatch out some eggs a couple years ago with varying success. Two hens did a decent job and hatched out a few each, but one hen promptly shoved hers out of the nest while still wet and they died from exposure (or the other hens pecked them to death, not sure). The ones that hatched out I still took away from the mother and put in a brooding pen so they didn't have to sustain themselves on bugs and whatever else they could scrounge.
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on May 30, 2017 9:38:11 GMT -5
Yay! Baby chickens!
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Bob Ross
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Post by Bob Ross on May 30, 2017 10:54:06 GMT -5
I'm sure they will grow up to be delicious.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on May 30, 2017 11:41:09 GMT -5
I'm sure they will grow up to be delicious.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on May 30, 2017 13:58:52 GMT -5
... not what I thought this thread was gonna be about. Same
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2017 12:35:37 GMT -5
Crap. Just realized I had the humidity way too high the first 18 days. I might have drowned them.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on May 31, 2017 12:58:02 GMT -5
Nooooooooooooooo
How high is too high? (What is the range supposed to be?)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2017 13:26:16 GMT -5
I'm guessing based on the condensation that I'm running over 85%...which is not horrible for the last 3 days, but the first 18 you want them to lose some of their water and get a nice air pocket in there. More like 45-50% and then up to 65% last three days. I've been so busy with the kids end of year school stuff that I haven't been paying much attention to them, it just came to me today that I shouldn't have all that condensation on the windows. I'm hoping I can dry them out a little in the next 24 hours, but tomorrow night is lockdown. They're fine now since they're not breathing, but what happens is, if the eggs don't lose a lot of the fluids in them prior to hatching when the chick breaks through the membrane it can drown. It's a delicate balancing act with the humidity. You want to keep them somewhat dry the first 18 days, but then it needs to get cranked up the last three because eggs drying out after they've pipped through the shell "shrink wrap" the chicks inside. Dry is way worse, so I'm trying to think positive.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on May 31, 2017 19:53:30 GMT -5
My new SIL bought 2 chicks. And build a backyard cage for them. He moved them outside about a week ago. We took a short vacation with him last week and sadly, something got both young chickens. He is looking into redesigning their cage.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on May 31, 2017 20:48:25 GMT -5
I hope they make it, MPL.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2017 21:02:28 GMT -5
My new SIL bought 2 chicks. And build a backyard cage for them. He moved them outside about a week ago. We took a short vacation with him last week and sadly, something got both young chickens. He is looking into redesigning their cage. That sucks. You have to be uber careful with the young ones. Even things that wouldn't normally kill a grown chicken will get them...critters that can get in small spaces, like rats and snakes.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2017 21:03:23 GMT -5
I hope they make it, MPL. Hopefully I'm just being an overly worried expectant mom.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on May 31, 2017 21:07:33 GMT -5
Amen to that. Hope to see some fluffy chick pics.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Jun 1, 2017 1:22:29 GMT -5
My new SIL bought 2 chicks. And build a backyard cage for them. He moved them outside about a week ago. We took a short vacation with him last week and sadly, something got both young chickens. He is looking into redesigning their cage. That sucks. You have to be uber careful with the young ones. Even things that wouldn't normally kill a grown chicken will get them...critters that can get in small spaces, like rats and snakes. Yes, they think it was probably a rat.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jun 1, 2017 10:52:54 GMT -5
MPL, What kind (breed?) of chicken are they? Will they only be hens (no roosters)? Or did you go with pot luck??
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2017 12:38:37 GMT -5
MPL, What kind (breed?) of chicken are they? Will they only be hens (no roosters)? Or did you go with pot luck??
They are our own special breed. Dark Brahma (notice the cool feathered feet) They are all this color. Crossed with possibly an Americuna (we're not positive). He looks a lot like one though. The chicks end up being all kinds of different colors, but built like Brahmas with the fluffy feathered feet and legs.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2017 12:45:44 GMT -5
There is no choosing between hens and roosters before they're hatched. It's a total crapshoot. We just pray for a high hen ratio. Our last batch was horrible. I think out of 10 there were 3 hens.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2017 22:34:56 GMT -5
Lockdown!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2017 22:42:34 GMT -5
Egg turner is removed, wet washcloth added for additional humidity and shells are marked for the air pocket, now it's getting closed up and left undisturbed until after the hatch. There was also a change of venue. I moved them from the kitchen into my bedroom. This was not some weird attachment parenting thing, but a safety precaution. I remembered how much noise and scratching around there is during a hatch and got really nervous about our two young cats that weren't around for the previous times we did this. I could totally see them knocking the bater right off the counter trying to get at the little birdies inside. I keep them locked out of my bedroom all the time, so they won't even be pissed off the door is shut.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jun 2, 2017 5:54:44 GMT -5
Egg turner is removed, wet washcloth added for additional humidity and shells are marked for the air pocket, now it's getting closed up and left undisturbed until after the hatch. There was also a change of venue. I moved them from the kitchen into my bedroom. This was not some weird attachment parenting thing, but a safety precaution. I remembered how much noise and scratching around there is during a hatch and got really nervous about our two young cats that weren't around for the previous times we did this. I could totally see them knocking the bater right off the counter trying to get at the little birdies inside. I keep them locked out of my bedroom all the time, so they won't even be pissed off the door is shut. Until they hear the pitter patter of chicks. Or the cheep cheep!!
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Jun 2, 2017 6:55:48 GMT -5
I had to laugh at the tabby chicken in the picture of the chickens in the yard. I am on chicken duty this weekend for DD. I will have to go and feed/water and collect the eggs.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2017 8:21:37 GMT -5
Egg turner is removed, wet washcloth added for additional humidity and shells are marked for the air pocket, now it's getting closed up and left undisturbed until after the hatch. There was also a change of venue. I moved them from the kitchen into my bedroom. This was not some weird attachment parenting thing, but a safety precaution. I remembered how much noise and scratching around there is during a hatch and got really nervous about our two young cats that weren't around for the previous times we did this. I could totally see them knocking the bater right off the counter trying to get at the little birdies inside. I keep them locked out of my bedroom all the time, so they won't even be pissed off the door is shut. Until they hear the pitter patter of chicks. Or the cheep cheep!! And they "cheep cheep" LOUD when they're hatching. They start before they're even out of the shell through just the little pip hole they make. That's typically the first thing that alerts me to them coming out.
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