Getting ready for another hatching season

[John W Blehm]

I know some are already incubating and maybe hatching.  I'm planning on my first hatch on February 20th, which is about same week I've started hatching the last several years.  This will make the oldest pullets and cockerels about 7 months old and hopefully in prime condition for our National Meet, the last weekend in September.
Generally I collect eggs and set them weekly, but I collect for 2 weeks for the first setting.  That means I'll start collecting on January 15th to set on the 29th.  Since I like to have breeding pens set up three to four weeks before collecting the first eggs I planned to do that this weekend.  The weather was so nice the last couple days that I've got all the pens pretty much set up...maybe I'll start a week early. 

[Dennis Heltzel]

I have 7 eggs in lockdown to hatch Friday. 4 are Black Ameraucanas. I love that pen of breeders, they are close to perfect as pet chickens, tame and beautiful. Thanks to John for supplying those chicks 2 years ago, I'm still enjoying those birds. Time to raise a few more for "backups" in case these hens start to slack off this year, that is why I have those eggs in so early.

[Russ Blair]

I am so far behind on my many projects I am in fear I may not get my hatching room set up in time. Last few years I had my setter and hatcher in our den since it's hardly used. This year my wife will not allow it, and I hate to admit it but her reasons are reasonable, it does cause a mess with the dust and dander lol. I tried to sneak in an old styrofoam a few weeks back but chose to keep my marriage instead  .

[Michele Cram]

My chickens are not even laying right now.  I am going to set up some lighting or I won't have an egg until March!  I have overtaken my husband's shop with incubators and chicken supplies so he is ready for me to set up my own area in the barn. 

[Tailfeathers]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger there, Tonto.  I've got a dozen Ameraucanas in a pen with lights on them and have had for at least 2mos now and nary an egg yet.

[Russ Blair]

Royce I literally just spit my coffee out reading your post 

[Michele Cram]

Royce and I live in Washington on different sides of the state.   I just looked at my phone weather app.  It's dark at 4:14 p.m. and the sun rises at 7:42 a.m.!  The days are dark and dreary.  (Wow, I think I might have talked myself into a vacation.)  What are you guys who live in the Northern part of the country doing for lighting? Anyone getting eggs?

[Mike Gilbert]

I turn the coop lights off sometime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and they don't go back on again until at least 9 a.m.   They do have small windows, so light filters in when the sun comes up.   Getting eggs from most of my matings, but fertility has been spotty. 

[John W Blehm]

We're getting a good amount of sun with these very cold temps here in Michigan.  The "warm" (on the Kelvin scale) LED lights in each coop are on from 6am to 6pm.  They are on timers and started around last weekend when the breeding coops/pens were set up.  This weekend I'll increase it from 5am to 7pm and then a week later from 4am to 8pm, for 16 hours of light per day. 
I've ordered several items online to try to stop the little pint size water cups from freezing in my barn.  I should have done it a few weeks ago and I'll give an update after I get them in a few weeks.

[Tailfeathers]

Just to be clear, my lack of egg production Is probably due to the molt as I have the lights coming on at 0100.  I don't have them come on at night but rather just keep moving the timer back earlier.  I say "probably" because I am getting eggs from the other coops and the breeding pen with my Welsummers, and I haven't actually looked the birds over in about a month. The last time I did they still had some feathers coming in.   

I'm trying to think (yes, it's HARD!!), and can't remember for sure, but I think the molt started about September and the production had stopped altogether by mid-October if I remember right.  I've got some pullets in the pen that I don't think have laid their first egg yet. 

I wonder, what's the chances that I'll get a pullet to breed that goes naked in about 2wks and is fully-feathered in about a month?  Oh, AND doesn't have a major DQ?  I think I'd hatch a 100 chicks from her!

[Beth Curran]

I'm behind as well, just started collecting eggs with only a handful of birds laying. I will probably do very little hatching this season, as I am looking at double knee replacement this year. My plan is to hatch a few replacement birds and test fertility, then offer up eggs to others to hatch so they don't go to waste.

[Andrew Johnson]

My wife and I have decided we will begin our small test hatching early this year. We plan to set around the end of next week. This year is our first attempt of hatching Splash Wheatens, so things should become quiet interesting. We also added a fibromelanistic fowl project, Blue Opals, this late summer which are also a blue egg layer. With only a breeding pair, we will also be setting a few of these eggs as well.

My main concern this year will be increasing my numbers of Silvers. We had hoped we would've been ahead with them, but Mother Nature had other plans. We lost all but two, a pullet and cockerel, Silver growouts during the flooding we endured during the Summer months. So with all that said, those of you that still have Silver LFs, I may be contacting you to be put on your Spring list.

Hope everyone has a Wonderful New Year! Stay warm!

[John W Blehm]

I use the plastic pint size hanging cups to water my bantams in the barn.  During this cold spell the water freezes and I add some warm/hot water each day until the cups won't hold any more.  Then I replace them and start over while the ones with ice cubes in them thaw in a heated building. 
To save some time, today I just drilled a large diameter shallow hole in the ice of the ice filled ones and added the water.  This supplied the birds with water and ice shavings, while saving me some time doing chores. 

[Michele Cram]

The "warm" (on the Kelvin scale) LED lights in each coop are on from 6am to 6pm.  They are on timers and started around last weekend when the breeding coops/pens were set up. 

John, are your LED lights plugged in or are you using solar powered ones?  I bought some 'solar' lights and they do put out some light but not enough.

[John W Blehm]

John, are your LED lights plugged in or are you using solar powered ones?  I bought some 'solar' lights and they do put out some light but not enough.

Plugged in.  I've thought about adding solar panels to the south side of the barn roof, but haven't gotten around to it.  If I do they will back feed into the electrical system, so the lights will always put out 100%.