lunamother

Cleanheart- yes- that's the highly scientific system I use too and it DOES work. (we had hatch yesterday- out of 24 eggs, we got 17 chicks)

awww- honey- I'm sorry you didn't get a better hatch this time I've been trying to think of what may be going wrong- are you marking your eggs to see if the turner is working? that would make 'em 'stick' and not be able to get out, or take so much oomph to get out that they got nothing left to live with. were the eggs from the same source both times? if so, could you try a different source next time around? have you put 2 thermometers in there to make sure the temp is right? a bit too low is better than a bit too high. My friend found out her thermometer was reading high after she had a bunch of chicks hatch out too soon- alot died. I tend to run the bator just a tad low- just under 100 down to just under 99, and I open it up 3 times a day to turn the eggs. we'll figure this out for ya- especially with the automatic turner and whatnot, your results should be better than mine, and overall, I generally get about a 75% hatch rate. ('course, now I've doomed the 24 that are in there now by saying that out loud ) yes- we need cute chickie pictures- are they -chicks?

oh COOL, Necie Dear Santa, please add an egg candler to my list.

Pretty chickies, Necie I have the styrofoam incubator, but still air and no turner. My eggs get marked with a crayon X on one side, and then*I* turn them 3 times a day. Mine comes with the tray that you fill with water, and I haven't had a problem keeping it humid enough for chicks. (for ducklings, I do mist the eggs with warm water every day) The brooder boxes look good and stout. I'd probably split them up from the git-go, I worked for a poultry farmer and those chicks'll trample each other to death in a heartbeat if there are too many in one box, and they're all trying to get to the warmer light, or the water, or the food. I'm looking forward to seeing your candling photos- I've never tried that

with only 3 exceptions, ever, the hens lay in the hay shed or the hen house, just not in the nest boxes. they will choose 2 or 3 spots and ALL will lay there for a time that's somehow determined by an internal chicken clock or secret poultry code. then they abandon those spots and I have to surrupticiously follow them using Alec's spy glasses (the ones that look around corners- NEVER look directly into a laying hen's eyes )to figure out where the new spots are. chickens are fun

goats- tougher, but still do-able. they're not grazers like horses- they browse. we currently don't have enough land to support them for food, so we do spend money on goat food- I feed 50/50 All purpose pellets/sweet feed- no medicated feeds, twice a day- 1 small coffee can of that mix to each goat. every morning they get some horse quality hay. once we move out to our new place, we've got a pasture we've planted with perennial/free seeding native grasses and 'weeds'- all edible to both the goats and our horse. we'll be dividing that up into 4 sections and rotating them through- nannies, horse, billies, empty/regrowing. we've also got a separate little section that's all native hay grass already that we can get almost 100 bales from a year. I'll still need to give some of the pellet/sweet feed mix to the pregnant/milking nannies, but for most of the year, that should feed the rest pretty handily. think through what your place can naturally support, and act accordingly. for urban farmers with a few hens and maybe rabbits- save all your fruit/veggie/bread/pasta/rice leavings and feed to the critters. grow a little plot of hay/grains just for them. tell your neighbors it's Ornamental Landscape Grass

Originally Posted By: Cricket 7 months would take me into December, so there is still hope. never lose hope I don't think they are hiding the eggs, unless they are saving them up and laying under a bush by the house when they are let out to free-range late in the afternoon. I was kind of under the impression that chickens generally lay earlier in the day. Is that true? hahahahaha. no. mine are unashamedly slothful. they get up around 8ish, have some coffee, watch their stories, and lay somewhere between lunchtime and dinnertime. Also, there are lovely nesting boxes in thier coop, but I don't think they have even gone in. I even put a wooden egg in each nest to inspire them! Will they gravitate to the nesting boxes when the time comes? hahahahaha (STOP IT- yer killing me!) I did the same thing. my hens LOVED the nest boxes. they slept in them, slept ON them, pooped in them, scratched for bugs in them. never laid an egg in them. never. the hens who actually sleep IN the henhouse lay their eggs in the hayshed. the hens who sleep in the hayshed on top of the bales lay in the henhouse- next to or behind the boxes. they live to make me insane.

chickens- we free range the chickens, and only keep those that go broody so even though there IS attrition by coyotes and hawks, there's always new ones being hatched, so they are a true renewable resource. I do throw them 2 coffee cans of 3grain hen scratch (not pellets) every day, but they only eat it to humor me. 2 dozen hens and 3 roos go through MAYBE 100# of scratch that way- so about $20 per month in chickenfeed. If TSHTF, I could not feed them at all and still get at least a dozen eggs a day, which sell quickly at $2 per dozen. no oyster shell, no additives. because they are out eating what hens are MADE to eat, and are getting sunshine and excersize (running from the coyotes ), I've got hens out there now who are just 5 months old and starting to lay- extra large eggs with shells you need to smack really hard to break- laying every day in NOVEMBER. I also have hens that are over 3 years old and still laying (and raising up new layers for me)- no stew pot hens here- if they've layed that long, they've given me hundreds of eggs and dozens of babies and they've more than earned their retirement. now, in fairness- we do not have very harsh winters here- short days and cool weather, but no snow on the ground, so they can hustle up their own dinners year round. my flock is a mix of Black Australorps, Barred Rocks, RIR, aracaunas, Egyptian Fayoumas and silkies. I also know not everyone has the good fortune or desire to free range- I'm just saying that in certain circumstances where the livestock 'fits' the environment- they can thrive with very very little human intervention.

*holy crap* I'm glad ya'll are on MY side

we each have one 'power spot' on our property that we retreat to- Ward's is under the huge pines on the little bluff where he can look to one side and see the meadow and the big hill and the other side to see the wetlands. all around are the creeks meandering. Alec's is at the top of the big hill, under the 'Lone Sweetgum' that's so tall it's visible in the GoogleEarth of our place. Mine is right above a bend in the spring branch, where the water burbles, the blue heron fishes and the ferns peek out from around the rocks. stress is generally noisy and busy, so to relieve it, we head for the quiet places to breathe deeply and mentally regroup. I'll be happy to share with ya'll- just remember to whisper and tippytoe- ssshhhhh 1373-000_1373.jpg 1374-000_1529.jpg 1375-000_2081.jpg

yanno, Louis- it takes a man who's REALLY secure in his masculinity to be able to wear pastels.

yanno, I've always wondered about those...thanks for blowing the top off of the Carrot Conspiracy.

the same people who can't make PB&J sandwiches? instructions on a can of soup. "open can. empty into pan. heat through. serve." *really?*

pre-shredded cheese.