Getting ready for another hatching season

[Russ Blair]

John a little trick I found this year is have a 1' 2x12 ( just because I had one in my barn from construction) handy. I set it on the edge of a bucket and just smack the top of the cups flat against it. Usually one tap and the whole block falls right out into the bucket. I was just tapping them on the top edge of the bucket but with this real cold weather the cups would crack. With hitting them flat on the 2x12 I haven't broke one cup. Sure did save me a lot of time, I just clear all the cups, then go through filling them 

[Max Strawn]

I set my last batch of eggs yesterday. The animal health commission will be coming out this Friday to depopulate the remaining breeders. I should end up with around 350 chicks with all breeds and varieties combined. Mostly large fowl blacks and blues. I only got a few chicks from the bantam blacks and nothing from the bantam blues so I'll be losing those two varieties. On a positive note, I should have some birds that are in good condition for the national.

[Mike Gilbert]

Max, did you give up on the bantam brown reds?   Or just forgot to mention them?

[Max Strawn]

Max, did you give up on the bantam brown reds?   Or just forgot to mention them?

No, I still have them. I should have about 25 chicks to raise. All together I have large fowl blacks and blues, bantam brown red, bantam wheaten and bantam blue wheaten. Also the large fowl blue laced red Wyandotte and blue andalusian.

[Suki]

No Splashes Max?

[Tailfeathers]

I'd like to thank whoever resurfaced this thread.  NOT!!  Russ, put your coffee cup down.  Just scrolled thru the comments and noticed mine from December.  That makes 5mos now and only starting to get an egg or two!  Wonderful.  Just wonderful.

[Russ Blair]

Don't feel bad Royce, last week or so my Large Fowl Blues just started laying and so did the Brown red pullet and still nothing from my LF Silver and Blue Silver. Just my luck I can not set any eggs due to a family vacation during spring break  . I won't be able to set any eggs until April 7th  . So I doubt I will have any real contenders for our National, still won't stop me from bringing a truck load though

[Tailfeathers]

Speaking of no contender's, I put my BW rooster in the pen with the girls so I could start setting eggs as soon as they started laying.  So I'm looking the birds over recently to see which of the girls I'll take and I noticed the potlicking girls have been picking out his beard.  Didn't even think about that happening.  Then I went out to feed and water the birds in the lower coop last night and I notice the Welsummer cockerel I planned to take is missing one of his sickles.

Go figure.

[John W Blehm]

Last week I mailed 3 boxes of 25 chicks and all arrive 100% alive!  Sometimes that doesn't happen, but all live chicks or only one is much more common than the horror stories.  Today I mailed out 4 boxes, although not all are Ameraucanas.  Hopefully I'll be able to fill all my orders for chicks this year.  I customize the boxes a bit for the weather here and considering where they are going.  Many vent holes get taped closed this time of year and I sometimes include heat pads in boxes.

[Suki]

Great news John,  I'm looking forward to my group tomorrow, in the meantime what's the middle colours?

thanks Sue

[Russ Blair]

I use the exact same heating pads on my Bantam orders. Last year I had two of them not activate or heat up. Both of them orders arrived DOA and I learned a hard lesson not to trust they always work. Now I make sure they begin to heat up prior to taping the lid on. Not sure if they were old, even though I bought them that spring, or just a bad lot?? It was the first year it ever happened to me though, just a little heads up 

[John W Blehm]

The chicks in the 1st box are LF black, lavender silver, silver and lavender going to CO.
Box #2 has bantam wheatens, silvers and buffs going to TX.
3 has some bantam wheaten Ameraucanas, but the others are my blue egger crosses.  They arrived this morning in northern MI, near Cadillac.
4 are bantam Vorwerks and Lakenvelders headed for PA! 

My heat pads are stamped "Best by" some date in 2016, so they are a few years old and I bought a large package of them back then.  I open and remove each one from its celophane envelope about 30 minutes to an hour before putting it into the transporting box.  The two I used yesterday were nice and warm before they and the chicks went into the boxes.  I used one last week for an order to MN and it didn't feel like it was warm before sending, so it may have been a dud but the chicks all made it in good condition.  I set them in the middle of the box with the red lines, on the pad, faceup.  I use them sparingly, knowing it is better for chicks to be too cool in transit then too hot.

[Suki]

4 are bantam Vorwerks and Lakenvelders headed for PA!

Well #4 showed up yesterday.  It had no tracking so we were quite surprised as the Informed Delivery from the www.USPS.com said nothing.  Problem was we lost internet service when the call came in and never got the phone call -- we have VOIP phone service -- we picked them up this morning at 6:30 and they were all fine and healthy chirping up a storm.  The heat pad did the trick.  Thanks John for your attention and care.

Sue
Northeastern PA

[John W Blehm]

3 boxes of chicks went in the mail today.
   Box 1 has bantam wheatens going to MO.
   Box 2 has LF silvers & lavender silvers, with bantam wheatens and silvers going to FL.
   Box 3 has LF blacks, lavenders and buffs headed for KS.

[Harry Shaffer]

1st hatch of season too early so giving all chicks to a member