On Sunday we loaded Country Boy's incubator (from Santa ;)) with 41 eggs from our Rhode Island Reds. We have been making bets on how many will hatch out. The problem is that Bob (the naughty rooster) has too many hens to maintain. A brief observation of his activities however suggests he has absolutely NO problems keeping up with the ladies in his harem. Regardless I've read the ratio should be around 1:10-12 and he has about 20 hens. 
We have been diligently monitoring the temp which is suppose to stay at 99.5 according to the incubator directions. 21 days and counting...that makes the hatch date of 3/14. Ideally we would have separated Bob with a handful of hens but Maine Man couldn't stand the thought of constructing another pen and the added maintenance that goes along with it. So we thought we'd give a try with what we had this time around.
We are getting into our busy season here. We will be tapping the maple trees this weekend and we may even tap a few birch trees. Cows are in the near future along with the purchase and assembly of electric fencing. That should be a Kodak moment!
Plenty to come....stay tuned ;)
I am excited to follow the eggs through the hatching process. Please keep posting!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog!
We are thinking of hatching our own chicks this year too. We'll see. What kind of cows are you getting?
ReplyDeleteFun!
ReplyDeleteT doesn't want more chickens... which I can deal with. But I want a goat. It may take some major convincing... lol
My 3-year-old son saw your photos. Once I explained what an incubator was, he said, "I want to do that!"
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with the hatching. It's always exciting!
You are up to some wonderful happenings up there. Hatching chicks can be such a great thing to learn about. Hope you get a couple roosters out of it.
ReplyDelete:)Lisa
I would also like to know who won the cow debate! or maybe one of each!
ReplyDeleteWow! 41. Those eggs are beautiful. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteHello, I just hatched 38 out of 43 eggs. Like you I monitored the temps every hour and also made sure the water resorvior had water in it. Humidity is also important in the Bato. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for you comments. I always enjoy reading them.
ReplyDeleteMissy, thanks I will update on the eggs if and when they hatch.
SFG, Still not sure what we will get for cows.
Jodi, goats really. Have you read my past posts on our goat experiences?
Hick Chick, nobody one yet. We will probably not get either this year as they seem to be pricey. We want two steers this year and will be more brand specific if and when we decide to breed them.
Barbara you are right about humidity, we are monitoring that too.
My 6th grader just hatched chicks in his school class and some kids are taking them home. Not here..no space, no set-up..maybe someday. Too bad not right now when someone is real excited about the work of it!!
ReplyDeleteVery cool Karen Sue. Don't feel bad they seem to loose interst in caring for them REAL soon. My kids had a couple goats last year and the quickly lost interest in there care.
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