luvinlife offthegrid- will winter ever arrive?

[luvinlife offthegrid]

I don't want the mini one, it's too small. I'd love to have the one that has everything, turner, thermometer, hygrometer, etc.

If you need a higher capacity and can afford it, the brinsea stuff is pretty high quality. I use the ecoglow brooder and l love it, because it uses 14 watts vs an incandescent light bulb or worse- 250 watt heat lamp.you said you use a LG now- what manufacturer?

 

[Denim Deb]

LG = Little Giant. I've had 4 batches of eggs in it, and have only hatched out 2 chicks. Last time, I had eggs developing, I don't know what went wrong. I'm going to be trying one more batch, just not sure when. If I can't get any chicks, I think I'm going to sell it and save up for the Brinsea. This is what I'd like to have. http://www.brinsea.com/products/octagon20A.html

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

I was looking at those last week.

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

The 2 broodys mentioned earlier as no longer broody, and one laid her first egg. She was broody forever, and suddenly started dropping weight. I stuffed her in a rabbit cage for 3 days, and she's cured! The other one disappeared. Now two more are broody. The third partridge rock to go broody is a freakin screaming demon. She is normally very sweet when off the nest, but on the nest, even when not broody, she lets out a scream like in "aliens". Now that she's broody, times that by 3. The look she gives me when I collect eggs is hilarious, I never thought a chicken could be that expressive. I half expected her head to start spinning! I put on my work gloves and stuffed her in the broody jail with food and water. The other one to go broody is one of my Dominiques. She is ok in the nest box while the cell is occupied. She doesn't scare anyone else when they go in to lay, so she can sit there as long as she wants or starts drastically dropping weight.

2 of my april batch of chicks are roosters, one black copper Marans and one EE. The BCM is at someone else's farm, and the EE is sweet and very calm so he can stay as long as he's nice. He is only a little bigger than a pigeon at 8 weeks, but is crowing. Rrrrrt-uh-rrrrt. Rocky's eggs in the bator went into lockdown at high noon.

Solar panel and water pump switch hooked up, so can now water with a hose instead of watering can. My seed starters have been transplanted to raised beds and bukcets. Everything is growing like crazy. I'll have to take photos. Got my MIL's remaining storm windows off. I can't believe I found that star screw bit in the junk drawer the other day when looking for something else. I didn't have to go fishing through my husbands workshop to find it.

 

[BarredBuff]

Fake broodies kill me!!

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

Fake broodies kill me!!

You mean the ones who scream even when they're not broody? She's got multiple personalities! She is the sweetest thng when shes not guarding that box! The first time she screamed, I thought, "oh she's going broody". But she kept laying eggs and kept on screaming. She always got right up after laying. For 6 months. I knew she finally was broody when she stayed in the box all day and then tried to sleep there. When I picked her out of the box, she just sat on the floor of the coop all screaming and puffed out. Then she'd cuss me out and literally stomp out of the coop. After the second time she did that, in the cage she went.

As long as I'm still getting enough eggs, the behavior is kind of amusing. She is especially ridiculous.

 

[Denim Deb]

At least she's not trying to peck you! I have to put something in front of Roxy if she's in a nest box when I go to collect eggs! Otherwise, she'll peck me quite hard! She's not broody, and the eggs weren't in the same nesting box.

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

Oh, she does try to peck me a little. I've had a parrot take a chunk of skin out of my finger before, so every time I handle her, I either pull my shirt sleeves over my hands or wear the gloves. Heehee.

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

All six eggs hatched and are healthy. I woke up yesterday at 6:00 to find that all eggs had pipped. Before I left for work, one was out and another was zipping. It KILLED me to go t work, but it's probably better that I left. I kept calling and texting hubby for updates, as he is self-employed and doing paperwork all day yesterday. When I got home, 3 we're out and 1 of the remaining 3 was out in 20 minutes. The last two hatched simultaneously at 6:30 pm. I took the egg shells and dry chicks out and left the others to dry overnight.

This little brinsea was crowded. Hubby kept having to open it to get the shells out. If I buy one I'll get the bigger version and not max it out with eggs. The digital temp was right on and never wavered. I was nervous about not having auto humidity control, but I did what the directions said and everybody made it out within 16 hours. I'm thrilled.

As for the chicks, they all look like their mothers, and not like gold laced Wyandotte daddy at all. The only significant difference is that the Dominique's have no dot on their heads whatsoever. Either way, Rocky lives on!

I have also forced myself into the position of having to process extra cockerels. I will process my first chicken this year.

I hope everyone is doing well.

 

[Bettacreek]

Honestly, if you guys want a good, reliable and affordable incubator, a Hovabator Genesis 1588 is your bet. I now have a cabinet incubator, but if I had to buy a smaller incubator again, it'd be another 1588. Electronic thermostat, perfect temperature (in a VERY unstable environment... Wood heat with POOR insulation, so it was always either super cold or super hot in the room). They're like $182 or something with the chicken and quail racks and turner from CutlerSupply.com and hold a decent number of eggs. Excellent customer service as well. Warranty for a year, no questions asked. Humidity is very easy as well... It has two little things on the bottom, one you fill with water during incubation, and the other one you fill for hatching, and it's VERY accurate. It's basically a no fuss incubator. Set it and forget it. PLUS, the entire top has a big picture window, so you can see everything that's going on in there.