Backyard Chicken Keeping: There's Poop Everywhere!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Pet Island > Backyard Chicken Keeping: There's Poop Everywhere!

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

Velvet Sparrow posted:

WE HAVE EMBRYOS!

Here's the break down:
29 eggs set ten days ago, 17 were our eggs, 12 were eggs from neighbors.

When I candled tonite: 18 eggs have embryos (10 ours, 8 neighbors), 2 not sure of (both ours), & 9 duds that never developed (5 ours, 4 neighbors).

The eggs from Slick Charlie, Peanut, Nyx and Rapunzel all have embryos. Chickam in 10 days!

Chickens!

# ? Apr 7, 2022 00:08

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# ? May 15, 2024 17:32

silicone thrills: Jan 9, 2008; I paint things

I love this thread - I do not have chickens of my own but I enjoy reading about them and many of my neighbors have them.

I was on a walk today down a street I had not been down recently and noticed 2 big chickens pecking in someones back yard and I exclaimed to my husband "CHICK ANS CHICK CHICK CHIKS!!!" and the came to my side of the fence to come look at me lol

I am excited for another year of Chickcam :3:

# ? Apr 7, 2022 00:14

PhysicsFrenzy: May 30, 2011; this, too, is physics

Velvet Sparrow posted:

WE HAVE EMBRYOS!

Here's the break down:
29 eggs set ten days ago, 17 were our eggs, 12 were eggs from neighbors.

When I candled tonite: 18 eggs have embryos (10 ours, 8 neighbors), 2 not sure of (both ours), & 9 duds that never developed (5 ours, 4 neighbors).

The eggs from Slick Charlie, Peanut, Nyx and Rapunzel all have embryos. Chickam in 10 days!

my husband, cats, and I are all super excited for chickam :toot:

started following this thread for the chickam updates but i love everyone's birds

# ? Apr 7, 2022 03:20

mahershalalhashbaz: Jul 22, 2021

silicone thrills posted:

I love this thread - I do not have chickens of my own but I enjoy reading about them and many of my neighbors have them.

I was on a walk today down a street I had not been down recently and noticed 2 big chickens pecking in someones back yard and I exclaimed to my husband "CHICK ANS CHICK CHICK CHIKS!!!" and the came to my side of the fence to come look at me lol

I am excited for another year of Chickcam

surprise town chickens are the best. i was walking down the street near my house the other day, heard a small voice say quobblechop, looked up and beheld two perfect silkies (one grey, one chestnut) in a lovingly outfitted coop in someone's front yard with a good view of the neighbourhood

# ? Apr 7, 2022 04:40

Enfys: Feb 17, 2013; The ocean is calling and I must go

silicone thrills posted:

I love this thread - I do not have chickens of my own but I enjoy reading about them and many of my neighbors have them.

I was on a walk today down a street I had not been down recently and noticed 2 big chickens pecking in someones back yard and I exclaimed to my husband "CHICK ANS CHICK CHICK CHIKS!!!" and the came to my side of the fence to come look at me lol

I am excited for another year of Chickcam

You can give them some tasty clover or dandelion greens to further befriend them :3:

# ? Apr 7, 2022 09:02

Alterian: Jan 28, 2003

I swear on the chicken boards on reddit 1/3rd are people asing "hen or rooster?!?!", another 1/3rd are people with egg bound or avian flu and not recognising it, and the other 1/3rd are dead chicken pics from various reasons.

# ? Apr 7, 2022 10:16

stealie72: Jan 10, 2007

Alterian posted:

I swear on the chicken boards on reddit 1/3rd are people asing "hen or rooster?!?!", another 1/3rd are people with egg bound or avian flu and not recognising it, and the other 1/3rd are dead chicken pics from various reasons.

My local one on FB is all this and adds in a streak of COVID-esque conspiracy mongering about avian flu being faked by a shadowy cabal of globalists controlling our food supply.

I wish I was kidding.

# ? Apr 7, 2022 11:17

Velvet Sparrow: May 15, 2006; 'Hope' is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune, without the words, and never stops--at all.

Neddy Seagoon posted:

Did that big red egg have an embryo?

BOTH of the Nyx eggs have embryos!

Although 12_String and I just last night discussed the lack of forethought in making new chickens that are half Brahma, half Marans. Both GIANT eating machines.

Laughing at silicone thrills calling neighborhood chickens...whenever we go anywhere in the car we always slow down to call 'Chick chick chick!' at every house that has chickens, then laugh at the chickens as they come running.
I'm not the only one who does this, right?

# ? Apr 7, 2022 16:43

Shifty Nipples: Apr 8, 2007

Velvet Sparrow posted:

WE HAVE EMBRYOS!

Here's the break down:
29 eggs set ten days ago, 17 were our eggs, 12 were eggs from neighbors.

When I candled tonite: 18 eggs have embryos (10 ours, 8 neighbors), 2 not sure of (both ours), & 9 duds that never developed (5 ours, 4 neighbors).

The eggs from Slick Charlie, Peanut, Nyx and Rapunzel all have embryos. Chickam in 10 days!

I'm glad you are still doing Chickam and still telling us about it here in this thread, Chickam is a big part of why I have chickens now.

# ? Apr 7, 2022 16:49

my cat is norris: Mar 11, 2010; #onecallcat

Will there be a main chickam thread in GBS?

# ? Apr 7, 2022 17:48

Velvet Sparrow: May 15, 2006; 'Hope' is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune, without the words, and never stops--at all.

my cat is norris posted:

Will there be a main chickam thread in GBS?

Yes. I'll post a link in this thread when I start it.

So...the ReptiPro incubator is giving me problems, stubbornly avoiding the perfect temp of 99.5 that I need from it and instead holding at either 98.6 (too cold, embryos die) or 101.5 (too hot, embryos die) degrees. This happened once before with my previous ReptiPro 9 years ago, just before it made horrible 'gonna burn your house down and kill you in your sleep' smells and died, and we got the current one.
I'm hoping this one doesn't quit on me mid-incubation or kill the embryos. Right now we're babysitting it. Only a couple of banty hens are broody, I'm unsure if they'd accept sitting on eggs inside the house & don't have a safe alternative outdoors.

To make matters worse, ReptiPro hasn't had any incubators available for more than a year. Their site still exists, but I can't find an available unit. There are other brands but they are an unknown quantity. Still have my 20+ year old styrofoam Little Giant incubators is all else fails...

Fingers crossed for Chickam. Stupid chicken drama. All I want is for this year not to be the baby chick death-fest that last year was. :suicide:

# ? Apr 7, 2022 18:24

spookygonk: Apr 3, 2005; Does not give a damn

Velvet Sparrow posted:

Fingers crossed for Chickam.

# ? Apr 7, 2022 20:37

Joburg: May 19, 2013; Fun Shoe

I can recommend the Nurture Right 360, if you need to get something new. The display temp & humidity aren�t always accurate but they are adjustable and they hold pretty steady. It�s mostly idiot proof too.

Broodies are best though :3:

# ? Apr 7, 2022 21:10

Velvet Sparrow: May 15, 2006; 'Hope' is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune, without the words, and never stops--at all.

Joburg posted:

I can recommend the Nurture Right 360, if you need to get something new. The display temp & humidity aren�t always accurate but they are adjustable and they hold pretty steady. It�s mostly idiot proof too.

Broodies are best though

I'v never relied on an incubator's temp/humidity readouts. I use a seperate hygrometer and a Spot Check probe thermometer (gives you readings in 1/2 degree increments so you can hit that 99.5 sweet spot) shoved inside a water weasel for accurate 'what's the weather like *inside* the egg' temperate and humidity readings, and that's worked out super well.

Thanks for the tip on the incubator, I'll keep it in mind! But yeah, broodies are the best. :v:

# ? Apr 8, 2022 00:00

Enfys: Feb 17, 2013; The ocean is calling and I must go

https://twitter.com/DickKingSmith/status/868388958811697153

# ? Apr 8, 2022 19:48

Joburg: May 19, 2013; Fun Shoe

Large Marge hatched a chick!
https://youtu.be/65vjhIIZOe0

I won�t try to see until I hear more than one baby. She had 3 live eggs when I candled them yesterday. :3:

# ? Apr 9, 2022 13:14

Enfys: Feb 17, 2013; The ocean is calling and I must go

Large Marge :neckbeard:

# ? Apr 9, 2022 13:22

PhysicsFrenzy: May 30, 2011; this, too, is physics

She has such a cute face :3:

# ? Apr 9, 2022 13:55

Imagined: Feb 2, 2007

We've got our first beetles!

# ? Apr 9, 2022 14:49

ynohtna: Feb 16, 2007; backwoods compatible; Illegal Hen

Large Marge, I think I love you. :love:

# ? Apr 9, 2022 15:05

Joburg: May 19, 2013; Fun Shoe

Imagined posted:

We've got our first beetles!

I like to pretend that I�m hardcore but I don�t think I could farm bugs.

# ? Apr 9, 2022 15:29

Imagined: Feb 2, 2007

They're cool! They're super gentle, don't stink or anything, can't jump or fly, can't bite, don't smell, aren't slimy...

# ? Apr 9, 2022 20:29

mahershalalhashbaz: Jul 22, 2021

Enfys posted:

https://twitter.com/DickKingSmith/status/868388958811697153

Joburg posted:

Large Marge hatched a chick!
https://youtu.be/65vjhIIZOe0

Imagined posted:

We've got our first beetles!

wonderful news all around

# ? Apr 9, 2022 20:57

Imagined: Feb 2, 2007

The girls' food bin was empty when I went out this morning, so they followed me all around the yard until I refilled it and then dove right in.

# ? Apr 9, 2022 22:58

freeedr: Feb 21, 2005

# ? Apr 10, 2022 15:02

Enfys: Feb 17, 2013; The ocean is calling and I must go

freeedr posted:

Post a warning on content like that, I nearly died viewing it without warning :kimchi:

# ? Apr 10, 2022 17:33

Joburg: May 19, 2013; Fun Shoe

freeedr posted:

LOL

My border collie-lab mix, Barley, had to have ACL surgery last month and will be on limited activity for probably another 2 months. That is poultry-relevant because he is our big flying bird deterrent. Today a couple of crows found the guineas� nest and ate one egg and disturbed the rest. I saw it and chased them off but they came back later to check again. Barley barked impotently from inside the house. :sigh:

The chickens, guineas, and ducks apparently don�t care if crows come and eat their eggs. Dang birds.

Hopefully those crows don�t have avian influenza.

# ? Apr 10, 2022 21:04

Velvet Sparrow: May 15, 2006; 'Hope' is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune, without the words, and never stops--at all.

^^^Helmet Hen :v:

Less than a week to go for Chickam!

Hatch day will be Sat, April 16th- Sun, April 17th. We're testing the camera today. My brooder box materials should be here Tuesday/Wednesday, which is cutting it fine in giving me enough time to whack it together. We'll go with the kiddie pool to start if there's a time crunch.
The eggs are getting heavy! I'm going to do one final candling in the next day or two as I suspect I have a couple of quitters, but most are looking great!

# ? Apr 10, 2022 21:17

City of Glompton: Apr 21, 2014

freeedr posted:

lol

we wrapped our run in mesh today. i hope it keeps the sparrows out. the chickens are gonna be hella pissed about not getting yard time.

# ? Apr 11, 2022 01:58

Joburg: May 19, 2013; Fun Shoe

Large Marge FINALLY came off the nest so I could see her babies. :3:

All 3 eggs hatched so she has 3 half Cream Legbar- half brown egg layer chicks. I think the mostly yellow baby is half Buff Orpington but the others are a mystery.

# ? Apr 12, 2022 00:19

MrUnderbridge: Jun 25, 2011

At lunch today one of the lower school teachers brought a new chick to show off. They'd had an incubator in the classroom and hatched eleven chicks. It just sat in her cupped hands, cheeping contentedly.

Going to have to visit that class during my planning block tomorrow. And every day until they give them back to the farm.

# ? Apr 12, 2022 00:48

spookygonk: Apr 3, 2005; Does not give a damn

Joburg posted:

Large Marge is the best chicken mum.

# ? Apr 12, 2022 21:09

mahershalalhashbaz: Jul 22, 2021

freeedr posted:

# ? Apr 12, 2022 23:54

mahershalalhashbaz: Jul 22, 2021

Joburg posted:

Large Marge FINALLY came off the nest so I could see her babies. All 3 eggs hatched so she has 3 half Cream Legbar- half brown egg layer chicks. I think the mostly yellow baby is half Buff Orpington but the others are a mystery.

inspirational

MrUnderbridge posted:

At lunch today one of the lower school teachers brought a new chick to show off. They'd had an incubator in the classroom and hatched eleven chicks. It just sat in her cupped hands, cheeping contentedly.

Going to have to visit that class during my planning block tomorrow. And every day until they give them back to the farm.

oh those classroom hatching programs

they are a good thing, kids need them - the chicks in a hatching program at preschool were one of the first living things my friend's autistic child showed any interest in, and they demonstrated a sudden and permanent improvement in their general interaction with all species after that. a lot of them are run the right way by people who love chickens and know what they're doing. but on the other hand, as always, so many of them aren't. i did some research onto the australian programs, and the bad ones are really depressing. lots of dead and mistreated chicks, lots of dumped adults, lots of birds that don't actually get to live on the farm as advertised to the kids but are culled the moment they return for biosecurity reasons...

mahershalalhashbaz fucked around with this message at 00:01 on Apr 13, 2022

# ? Apr 12, 2022 23:58

MrUnderbridge: Jun 25, 2011

I went to view chicks today, and the teacher knew all the different breeds of the chicks. She said the person who let them hatch the eggs raises the chickens for free ranging eggs.

The chicks themselves were awesomely cute! They were at the "toddle, toddle, toddle -plop, sleep" stage. She has them at her desk, so they don't get mobbed. The chicks were all very calm, and didn't mind being picked up at all. A couple gave a slightly startled peep, but just hunkered down and enjoyed the warm hands while peeping softly.

Makes me glad we're getting our chicks in a few weeks! The place we're getting from has a variety of breeds, so we're getting six different ones.

# ? Apr 13, 2022 00:57

Velvet Sparrow: May 15, 2006; 'Hope' is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune, without the words, and never stops--at all.

Test running the camera! It'll be out on the flock for a bit as 12_String fiddles with settings. Not long as the weather is snowy. THIS ISN'T THE HATCH. No eggs have pipped yet (thank GOD).

But if you want to watch the flock for a few minutes, here ya go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5iMWhoO42w

Today is the last day we'll turn the eggs. Tonight I'll remove any quitters, the rest of the eggs get moved to the bottom of the incubator, humidity gets raised to 65% and lockdown commences.
I fully expect one of the little stinkers to instantly pip, triggering human :derp:

EDIT--Heh, of COURSE YouTube and the laptop refused to play well together. Finally got it. Putting the cam out onto the flock for as long as the weather permits.

Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Apr 13, 2022

# ? Apr 13, 2022 19:55

mahershalalhashbaz: Jul 22, 2021

MrUnderbridge posted:

I went to view chicks today, and the teacher knew all the different breeds of the chicks. She said the person who let them hatch the eggs raises the chickens for free ranging eggs.

The chicks themselves were awesomely cute! They were at the "toddle, toddle, toddle -plop, sleep" stage. She has them at her desk, so they don't get mobbed. The chicks were all very calm, and didn't mind being picked up at all. A couple gave a slightly startled peep, but just hunkered down and enjoyed the warm hands while peeping softly.

Makes me glad we're getting our chicks in a few weeks! The place we're getting from has a variety of breeds, so we're getting six different ones.

oh that's wonderful :kimchi:

it sounds like a perfect program. and it really is so good for kids to see how baby birds are made and how to gently cradle them so they become friends. thank you for the elaboration :h: