Today is day 12 of the incubation process. I was in Tulsa the other day and brought back Miranda's candler and extra brooder with turner in case I needed to move the extra Serama egg. Like if all the eggs I had set were fertile. ha! I wish but don't expect that.
Anyway, I candled all three Serama eggs and didn't see anything. Wasn't sure what I was supposed to be seeing since I also candled some other eggs and also didn't see anything. So, I'm thinking, rather than I am a complete dufus and don't know how to watch an incubator, that perhaps I didn't know what I was looking for. So, I googled it. Rather than go back and candle again, I think I'll wait a few more days and then candle. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Spent the entire day Saturday and Sunday on the chickens. Moving coops and pens, building pens and moving chickens around all so I could move the new babies I brought back from Tulsa in the baby pen. Both days I was able to sit and relax on the porch and watch their antics for an hour or so after the hard work.
Trying to get everyone situated before it really gets hot. Put a double fan in the blue hoop where my oldest chickens reside and the girls who lay go. Also put a small fan in our original coop for those birds. Right now, http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/04/chicken-embryo-development-graphic.html is sitting on her's and Princess' eggs so I'm sure she appreciates it even though it's not really hot yet.
Also planning on how to keep flies at a minimum - especially since our birds are pretty close to the house. Went to Walmart to but some thermometers and fans for the coops and also picked up (don't laugh) a children's shovel, rake and how set. I use these to pick up dog poop in the hard. Since I have the dogs in the yard with the chickens, I've got to keep it clean from both kinds of animals....although dog poop is a lot stinkier than chicken poop..I think.
My plan is to keep the coops clear of the overnight poop and the yard picked up - hopefully fly population will stay low enough to be tolerable.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Today I set my first batch of eggs to hatch in the incubator. I'm using a Petiatric Brooder with a Little Giant automatic turner.
The brooder I've had for years. We used it to keep our baby parrots in when we were raising parrots. We never had to incubate parrot eggs so we didn't have an egg turner....although I thought I had one when I bought this unit used from my friend Pam in Broken Arrow. But, as I recall, the last time I saw it I think was in the building in Tulsa at Miranda's house and that was 11 years ago. So, I decided it would be easier to just buy a new one from Amazon.
We didn't have enough eggs to fill the turner so we decided to buy a couple dozen. I found a fellow in Garfield, AR (about an hour away) so Victor and I had an adventure to go pick up two dozen eggs. The eggs come from his Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. From those, you can also get Black sex-linked.
I filled in with 11 Copper Maran eggs, 4 Olive Egger eggs and 2 Serama eggs, which may or may not be fertile.
My Serama eggs came from my proven (that is what we called an experienced parrot hen) Serama hen covered by a young frizzle Serama rooster we got recently. We're keeping our fingers crossed that they'll be fertile.
Later this afternoon after I set the eggs up in the turner, I found another Serama egg. So, I have it balanced between rows in the turner. I've been watching it since I put it in there and it seems to be rocking ok. We'll see. I hope it'll work out.
The brooder I've had for years. We used it to keep our baby parrots in when we were raising parrots. We never had to incubate parrot eggs so we didn't have an egg turner....although I thought I had one when I bought this unit used from my friend Pam in Broken Arrow. But, as I recall, the last time I saw it I think was in the building in Tulsa at Miranda's house and that was 11 years ago. So, I decided it would be easier to just buy a new one from Amazon.
We didn't have enough eggs to fill the turner so we decided to buy a couple dozen. I found a fellow in Garfield, AR (about an hour away) so Victor and I had an adventure to go pick up two dozen eggs. The eggs come from his Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. From those, you can also get Black sex-linked.
I filled in with 11 Copper Maran eggs, 4 Olive Egger eggs and 2 Serama eggs, which may or may not be fertile.
My Serama eggs came from my proven (that is what we called an experienced parrot hen) Serama hen covered by a young frizzle Serama rooster we got recently. We're keeping our fingers crossed that they'll be fertile.
Later this afternoon after I set the eggs up in the turner, I found another Serama egg. So, I have it balanced between rows in the turner. I've been watching it since I put it in there and it seems to be rocking ok. We'll see. I hope it'll work out.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Chicks Hatching!
It's fun to hatch chicks in the classroom. The students get so excited, and we can learn about embryological development, genetics in the colors & patterns, amniotic eggs, and how quickly chicks can grow up!
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