A Hatching

[crfriend]

I can hear the groans of the reader now. What's this git going on about this time?

Some while ago Sapphire decided she wanted backyard chickens for eggs and meat, and whilst this will make us immensely popular with our immediate next-door neighbours, it's explicitly legal in the town where we dwell. Somewhere else along the lines she figured that it might be fun to breed show birds (bantam Araucana chickens).

Our first attempt at hatching failed (it looked like most of the eggs were either sterile or had been badly jostled in the post) and none hatched out. After that, two pairs of Araucanas were obtained (they come through the post, too!) with a third on the way. To accomodate the juveniles, I modified two of the cat-breeding cages into two-level chicken cages, and that experiment is working well. Finally, a bit more than three weeks ago, Sapphire came home with several (the exact number escapes me at the moment) of fertile eggs and a larger incubator (room temperature here at the moment is a whopping 65 (F), so we need the incubator to keep the eggs warm.

Late afternoon before last they began to hatch. I'm in the room with the incubator, and swore I was hearing "cheeping" noises from the incubator -- save all that was in there was intact eggs. Having convinced myself I was hearing things, crazy, or both, I went back to computer stuff. At about 16:00, I noticed a piece of eggshell had slightly detached and moved from one egg; by the time I reported the finding, another had started. "Batch one" had begun.

"Batch one" is hatched out and dry -- and very busy in the incubator (where they'll be until we can get the brooder assembled -- a task for today) -- where "Batch two" is hatching out. The tally from "Batch one" is 13 live chicks and one that hatched slightly prematurely and didn't make it. This, from what I've been reading, is actually pretty good luck.

The tally for "Batch two", so far, is five live hatchings (counting discarded eggshells) and one in progress as I write this. And there is much commotion in the incubator!

[Mugs-n-such]

I don't know beans about this subject, just one little comment then I'll go: I've heard that chickens raised where they can run around and move (i.e., NOT from the chicken factories) are much better for you. The meat is tougher though, since they actually have some muscle, poor lil' critters. Good luck on your hatchery!

[Kirbstone]

I have the perfect solution to hatchery problems. I married a lady who keeps quite a menagerie including hens, ducks, geese and doves. At various times certain hens and ducks get broody and insist on sitting on a clutch of eggs they have laid. Over the years we have had a succession of hatched chicks and ducklings which all enjoy free range and have had varying survivability experiences.
Ducks tend to go out on the open pond with their fledgelings, some dark, some golden. The birds of prey (magpies & Buzzards ) get the golden ones first, then the dark ones.
Hens are better mothers, and ducklings hatched out by them have a better survival rate. One such duck , which we called whacky-duck turned out to be a large powerful drake which insisted on 'having it off' with his 'mother', the poor hen that had hatched him, causing her injury. He had to be culled.
No-one ever made friends with a gander. When the goose is laying or sitting he gets extremely vicious and must be fended off with a stick. (I find my left boot equally effective)
The slain domestic fowl are indeed tough, and are best in soups and stews.

[Mugs-n-such]

That is really interesting. I didn't know that the ganders could be that vicious. Where I live (by the river, that's why they call it Riverside, duh) there are always geese on the water, sometimes they can be quite annoying when they follow their leader to cross the road and by law you have to wait on them. I didn't know that buzzards (I guess that's about the same thing as a vulture, or no?) preyed upon geese...I mean LIVE geese. I thought they only ate dead things. Anyway, that was an informative (to me) post, 'cuz as I said, being something of a "city slicker" I don't know much about those things. However, I think farms and all things connected to them are extremely interesting. My grandfather was a farmer and my uncle was a farmer/rancher for many years, and a very successful one, and my cousin and her husband are farmer/ranchers, and here I am, not knowing NUTHIN' about it. I think it would be cool, though, to be your own boss (within limits of course) and the peace and quiet of the country...how I do sometimes long for that. Cheers, and here's a cold one on me!
P.S.: Do magpies prey upon live geese? I think I'll google magpie...

[crfriend]

That is really interesting. I didn't know that the ganders could be that vicious.

Geese in general can be remarkably nasty; they can give one a nasty nip with their bills and if they get really feisty can cause some actual damage if they happen to hit you with a wing. I've always found it best to stay at a distance.

[...] as I said, being something of a "city slicker" I don't know much about those things.

I knew very little about this topic until I was thrust into the middle of it, and it's really amazing how much one can learn in a short span of time when one reads well and can apply other similar bits of knowledge in an unfamiliar situation.

For instance, we could not keep the hatchlings in the incubator much longer as they require food and water. So we set about constructing a brooder from a plastic lock-top container, a heat-lamp, and other assorted bits. By the book, the thing should hold about 95 degrees (F), have good ventilation, and have food and water available. Getting the electricals and the heat-lamp first, then came the challenge of finding -- by experiment -- how we can balance the thing at 95 degrees, more or less while still allowing for air circulation and availability of fresh air. Now, balancing a sealed box at a certain temperature is trivial, but that violates the "fresh air" rule, so the thing has to be porous, and that means heat-loss; two things immediately came to mind: (1) limit the open area at the top of the contraption, and (2) allow for a variant distance between the contraption and the heat source, (2) being dependent on not getting so much radiant heat into the space that we wind up with cooked chicks. At the moment, with live chicks in it, it's balancing reasonably well at about 91; I adjusted the open space at the top by a few inches by covering it lightly to cut down on convection loss and will re-check the temperature in a few minutes. (This is the result of reading and experience.)

More frightening is when one needs to apply experience in an emergency situation that may be only tangentially-applicable to the situation at hand and adapt it "on-the-fly". I've done this, too, when I adapted human-CPR to "jumpstart" a nearly-stillborn kitten into life. Sapphire had tired all the usual techniques and handed off to me, and I did the best I could to adapt what I had already into really new territory knowing that if nothing was done the kitten would not have survived. As it turned out, the kitten grew into a fine young adult and was placed in another home.

So, let it be said that ignorance is 100% cureable; moreover, none of us are completely ignorant. All we need to do is properly use that wonderful organ that resides between our ears.

[Since1982]

Carl said: it's explicitly legal in the town where we dwell

You live in Haiti or Jamaica?? Other than the Pacific Islands, that's the only places I've ever been where barnyard chickens were legal outside of a farm or other place with critters. Of course, they live all over the US in bedrooms and closets for the practice of Santaria. A religion of Haiti and Cuba. Live and learn. I love this site.

[Kirbstone]

No, our buzzards are quite small, nothing like a vulture. We have kites and hawks and eagles, too, but the latter can airlift lambs &c. and are targets for farmers. We've only lost chicks and ducklings to local birds of prey. Goslings fall prey to terrestrial predators, mink and foxes.

We built a walk-in henhouse for protection from these, complete with heat for the hatcheries, roosting poles and laying boxes. We're considering installing solar on the roof to help run these, but the gain from that in Ireland is marginal for the outlay..

[Mugs-n-such]

I knew very little about this topic until I was thrust into the middle of it, and it's really amazing how much one can learn in a short span of time when one reads well and can apply other similar bits of knowledge in an unfamiliar situation.

Amen, I've found you can learn a lot if you put your mind to it. I've even learned how to do some car repair although I don't think I'd try to rebuild an engine, even if I had the tools to do so.
I'm glad you could save that kitten's life...that's awesome! I have had several cats and several were run off by my erstwhile roommates and one run off by my landlord.
I had another cat I failed but not intentionally...I failed to communicate with my friends/peer group/church that I needed somewhere to keep her while I was moving (because at the time I didn't have a car) so I kept her by herself in the apartment for 3 days and when I returned she freaked out and ran off. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

[Sylvain]

Carl said: it's explicitly legal in the town where we dwell

You live in Haiti or Jamaica??

I could read they live in New England. Even in Montréal some people talked of changing the regulation prohibiting chicken-raising (for eggs, mainly).
http://www.mapouleamontreal.com/petitionen.php

[sapphire]

Gentlemen,
Before I got my eggs and "chicklets", I did check the local bylaws. The town's police chief also checked. These critters are indeed legal in our small central Massachusetts town in our little suburban backyards.. SO, the police chief knows about them, the Selectmen know about them and the Town Administrator knows about them.

I may give some chicks to a friend (Selectman's wife) who has been making noises about having backyard chickens and I may move some to a farm if the final ownership of said farm can be finalized. A bidder for the farm knows about the birds and will house them if he obtains the property. If all else fails, there will be lots of chicken salad.

Yes, geese are nasty things and some people get them to protect other livestock.
Sapphire

[Big and Bashful]

A distillary / bonded whisky store, not too far away from here used to have geese all around the store buildings. I always thought the noise of startled geese would put theives off, maybe the geese attack them?

[Kirbstone]

Ganders are great watchdogs. It's impossible to befriend them, even if you feed them every day.
The only real problem as I see it is the guano mess they leave everywhere they've free access to, hence we keep ours coralled and rely on the dogs to deter casual callers, which they do.

[Mugs-n-such]

Gentlemen,
Before I got my eggs and "chicklets", I did check the local bylaws. The town's police chief also checked. These critters are indeed legal in our small central Massachusetts town in our little suburban backyards.. SO, the police chief knows about them, the Selectmen know about them and the Town Administrator knows about them.

That's interesting and maybe I'm being stupid here, but I wonder why they would be illegal? Maybe because of the droppings and/or noise? That's the only thing I can think of.

I may give some chicks to a friend (Selectman's wife) who has been making noises about having backyard chickens and I may move some to a farm if the final ownership of said farm can be finalized. A bidder for the farm knows about the birds and will house them if he obtains the property. If all else fails, there will be lots of chicken salad.

I don't know if you've heard of Glenn Beck, but he's been telling everybody to start stocking up on food. He said it might come to the point that even if you have money to buy it, there might not be any in the grocery stores. So having food on hand, either canned or livestock, seems to me a good idea. If the worst doesn't come to pass, you're not worse off, but if it does...chicken salad, as you say.

Yes, geese are nasty things and some people get them to protect other livestock.

Fascinating. I remember seeing a video once about an attack (jackrabbit? hare?). He was attacking the other livestock and "keeping them in line", believe it or not. It sure surprised the **** out of me. We have a bunch of geese where I live in riverside area. They wander all over the place so when they cross the road you have to stop your car and wait for them as they are protected by law. Noisy things. I'm still fascinated that people get them to protect other livestock...I sure didn't know that! You learn something every day, huh?
Well,the moderators haven't gotten on to me yet for posting too much. *whew*

[sapphire]

Actually, Glen Beck doesn't hold the corner on the backyard garden thing. People have been doing it for years, most famously as Victory Gardens.Also, when recessions strike, there is an increased interest in gardening. With global warming issues, concerns regarding oil supply, food contamination, and decreasing nutrient content, the interest in gardening or backyard homesteading is increasing. Many cicites are using empty lots as urban farms.

I've wanted to keep chickens for year, I've just gotten around to it now. The intriguing thing with these birds is that they lay blue eggs.

And some folks will keep a llama to protect their sheep and goats.

Don't worry Carl, we don't have enough room for that!
Sapphire