Better planning needed for hatching

It's not quite a disaster, but I have had to give it a great deal of thought. When I ordered my Sablepoot eggs from South Yeo Farm in Devon I thought I had planned the timing perfectly. The eggs would hatch a week before Easter and mean that a friend could easily look after them for the couple of days that I am away.  That was on the basis that Good Friday was on the 25 April. I've no idea why I thought Easter was that late, and I only discovered my error when in work and the subject of holidays arose.

Normally it would not really matter and rightly or wrongly I have left eggs in an incubator whilst away before, just for a few days. But that was well before lock down and hatching. Timing could not be worse this time. The hatching date of the sablepoots is Friday 18th. The planned date I am leaving.

What to do? Hope they hatch early? Leave them for a friend to look after?  Well there is only one thing to do. Take the incubator with me. 

I have bought a cheap inverter for the car. It plugs into the 12v supply and converts to 220v with a socket for the mains plug. 

Sounds crazy, but the incubator will be in the boot whilst I drive and I can set up the incubator and brooder in the caravan when we get there.  Mad? Maybe but it will be fun to see what happens. And it won't be the first time I have taken the brooder away in the caravan. I did the same last year with a hatch of quail. They all turned out fine.  Although they were a week old before we took them away.

I will let you know how the journey goes and how the eggs fair especially as they are at the pipping stage whilst traveling.  I will need to make sure the eggs are stable in the incubator so they don't roll around and crack.  I may have to leave the dividers in for traveling or, maybe use some egg boxes to set the eggs in, just while we travel.

Chicken Theft South Wales - Cardiff

I would never have imagined I would be writing first hand about chicken theft.
It has been almost a year since I started my mini breeding plan for bantam silverlace Wyandottes, along the way I had picked up Bantam Lavender Araucana's, Bantam Croad Langshan's some crested legbar and a rather strange looking lavender Orpington.

The thieves took them all apart from 4 silver lace Wyandotte chicks and 4 lavender Araucana chicks at 8 weeks old plus a crested legbar hen at Point of Lay who from now on is called Lucky.

My show birds and planned breeding stock for next year are all gone and I bet it took the horrible, thieving buggers (toned the language down) all but 10-15 minutes to clear the pen.

Gutted is not the right word.  The shock is still working its way out and I don't think it has quite settled in yet.

It is not the monetary value of the chickens I am concerned about although I'm not happy, it is the impact on my boys who will be devastated that Colin the cockerel and his girls have gone.  I put lots of time and effort into hatching all the birds, looking after them and feeding them the correct foods.
They had a good life and were well looked after, now I don't know where they are or if they will be treated correctly or even slaughtered for meat.

Its almost a year since I had some difficulties and spent significant time off work unwell.  These animals gave me a boost, a purpose and a fantastic hobby, that even if I do say so myself was going very well.  It will not stop me, but I need to solve that long term problem of land and space to keep them.

I have reported the theft to South Wales Police, but to date I have not received a phone call or visit.  Any clues at the scene have no doubt disappeared.  So I have taken it into my own hands to start making enquiries, The local pub next door, my fellow allotment plot holders, I have even contact the local paper and I believe they are going to run a story on it and quote the crime reference number.

 

The chance of getting my birds back in practically nil, but you have to try.

The thieves knew what they were taking.  Whilst they stripped most of the point of lay stock they specifically took 2 of my lavender Araucana chicks that are 8 weeks old and that are almost certainly hens presumably to match up with one of the cockerels they stole assuming they were not related.

What next?  I am not giving up on keeping chickens and breeding Wyandottes, but due to the time of year I will be better starting all over again early 2014.  Gives me plenty of time to find a breeder with hatching eggs but more crucially find a small parcel of land to rent.

Thanks for reading friends and make sure you cheer me up with some nice chicken stories and pictures.
 

You need the lows to appreciate the highs!

What a day I had Sunday. I have been harping on about it for long enough on twitter now. I'm still no closer to knowing what caused it, but the potential reasons for the chicks I have been hatching all of a sudden moving on to the coop in the sky have increased. So I am putting it down to bad luck and will be keeping a close eye on future hatches.

I had 11 chicks in total, most were 2-3 days old. 3 gold lace Wyandotte chicks were recent hatches, they had fluffed up and so I added them to the brooder.
Long story short, one check all seemed fine, 30minutes later the gold lace were dead on their backs with 2 lavender Araucana staggering around and one silver lace wyandotte in a similar condition. I put them straight back in my incubator thinking it may have been a heat issue. Sadly they did not make it.

There are many theories including loss of heat, infection, bullying, fighting or maybe it was just a defect inherited from parents.

It's sad, but it is time to move on. I have 3 Araucana Lavender bantams and 1 silver lace Wyandotte bantam to add to the 4 silver lace hatched 10 weeks ago and 2 croad langshan.
I'm lucky to have these and hope the silver lace will be good enough to create a breeding trio from.
Looking forward, I am still fascinated by the Wyandotte, so I'm sure they will be on the agenda at some point again soon, but I'm thinking long and hard on what breed to hatch next.

I currently have 2 CLB females at 4 weeks old and I hope a wheaten maran to go with them, but what other pure breed would you add to this collection producing dark brown and blue eggs?

The leghorn has been suggested and I like this idea due to the white eggs that it lays. I also like the idea of Rhode Island Red. Great looking, good layers and of course a good size.
Some careful thinking required over the next few weeks is required.

I am also being drawn to ducks, specifically the Welsh Harlequin. I don't want many, just a drake with two ladies. To hatch or to buy a trio, that is the question. The other decision is how to provide a water source for them to bath in. Plastic paddling pool, trug, old bath?

Short term there is a pause in the hatching whilst I catch up on all the veg jobs I have been putting off. Main crop potatoes need to go in, carrots and parsnips need sowing, along with runner beans, butternut squash and sweetcorn.
It's amazing how in control you can feel in February and March, then all of a sudden it is 1st May, we hit the panic button and I find I sow everything at once and end up with a glut of veg.

Thanks for reading

The Chickens Move In!

Chicks now down the allotment

After all that work and effort I have finally moved the first of the chickens down to the allotment.  It was exciting but nerve racking at the same time.  It has taken months of planning, hard work and along the way there have been plenty of questions; can I do this, will it work?

Well in the end I took the "oh bugger it" approach.  By that I mean, you can keep planning and deliberating but until you take that first step, or leap in my case, you just don't know how it will work out.  So I did, and I have jumped a little like a skydiver. 

My allotment April 2013

I say skydiver because there has been some planning, but there has also been a element of excitement and free fall.

It has dawned on me that in five days there are potentially 12 new lives entering the world via my incubator set up in the spare room.  Twelve on top of the 4 chicks that were hatched and purchased 3 weeks ago and the 6 chicks that hatched approximately 7 weeks ago.

That's 22, oh not forgetting the 5 hens I have in the back garden!  Eeek!  That's 27!

I only had 3 hybrids in the back garden back in September 2012.  So if you are looking for proof that chicken keeping is addictive, look no further!

I know it is unlikely that all 12 will hatch, in fact my hatch rate has been quite poor at less than 50%, so I can easily see that only 6-8 will hatch. 

The plan is to keep some and sell others on.  I'm not looking for profits, just really making sure that when the chickens leave, they are going to someone who cares and will look after them.  I always feel that if you offer them for free it suggests they are not worth anything, not in a monetary sense but as a living thing, and this I do not feel comfortable with.  I am prepared for the worse case and not being able to rehome, so the only option then is the pot!  Lets hope it does not get that far.

Why keep chickens?

Well obsession, interest, business, pleasure!?  Perhaps all of the above and more.

When we took on the allotment back in 2006 it was an over grown dump.  The chairman of the association offered us the plot measuring approximately 30 metres by 15 metres as a whole.  It is a corner plot and at the bottom corner of the allotments furthest from the entrance and the water.  It was surrounded by trees, brambles, and housed the remains of a chicken coop, derelict shed, sheets of glass, razor wire and not to mention japanese knotweed and weeds at 4 foot high!

800 grams of Purple Sprouting picked April 2013

We took the plot on as a long term family project, encouraged greatly by Rachel my wife.  We knew there was a section that would never be workable for growing produce and so did the chairman, that is why I think he was pleased we took the whole lot.  It saved him the annual headache of trying to gather enough volunteers to cut back the overgrowth and try and clear any dumped rubbish.

The unproductive area is now where we are keeping chickens, and in the future hopefully a couple of ducks and the odd turkey for Christmas.

F1 Kale Picked April 2013

So I guess chickens on the allotment was the plan form day one, perhaps not so many chickens but I'm sure it will work out, even if there is a little Arthur daily action required in the future to restore the balance.

Thanks for reading and don't forget if you fancy Wyandottes, silver or gold lace let me know by email andrew_homer@rocketmail.com and I will keep you updated with progress as and when they become available.

The Chicken Run

Almost finished chicken run

Finally I have managed to get down to my allotment for a reasonable length of time to continue what I has started approximately four weeks ago.
Of the three hour stint, about an hour was spent scratching my head and drinking a cup of tea trying to work out how to construct a door opening that would not fall apart (my usual standard of DIY) and one that was fox proof.
I got there in the end and I managed to cable tie the fencing to the wooden posts and build a door from scrap left on the plot from the previous tenant.

The area prior to the chicken run

A bit of a result for me. Now all I have to do is lay slabs around the perimeter of the fence to deter foxes from digging under the wire/security fencing and secure heavy duty plastic mesh to the roof.  The mesh for the roof is the same material I have used to cover the top half of the door.

It is very strong and there was a huge amount of the material again left behind by the previous tenant.
So far the total cost is only £25 for the whole enclosure and it provides 150 square feet of space.  I admit I have only bought cable ties fence posts and hinges, but I guess it shows what you can do by recycling and being inventive.

Last years onions growing

With all this effort going into the chicken run I have neglected the vegetable growing side of the allotment a little.  I had plans to prepare several beds with manure and dig my runner bean trench to fill with kitchen veg waste.  Neither of these things have happened, and the potato beds are currently covered in weeds and last years cabbage crop.
In future years I am planning on using the chickens to help keep beds clear by using netting around the beds keeping the chickens in (whilst i am on the allotment) and leaving them to free range to scratch to their hearts content.  Not only will the y clear, but hopefully they will fertilise as they go.  That's the theory anyway!

Back at home sowing is in full swing and most window cills are full with leeks, peas, potatoes, lettuce, purple sprouting and Brussels sprouts.  The broad beans sown in February have grown well and are now hardened off and outside ready to be planted, if I can clear the bed that is!

Thanks for reading.  Chick update coming soon.

More hatching eggs!!!

Croad Langsham chick

As if I would be able to put the incubator away for any length of time.  As it happens it was only 5 days or so and yes I have more hatching eggs.  This time the eggs were kindly donated by Hillside Pigs in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales.  Most unexpected but when I knew they were Vorwerk and Crested Legbars I could not really say no!


I tried to hatch a Legbar recently but the egg was not fertile, so this is a great chance to try again and the Vorwerk's are, I think, stunning looking birds and they lay light cream colored eggs.  Contrast with the blue of the Legbar and the dark eggs from my speckeldy it will make a lovely box of 6 eggs.

Candling egg

This is something I am actually keen on trying to grow and develop.  I know the free range home reared eggs taste much the same whatever the colour, but to be able to offer free range local multi coloured eggs would be a little different and a little unique.  Add to that the offer of quail eggs and duck eggs, I'm starting to build a picture in my head of something I would like to get involved with!

Enough day dreaming, this hatch will only be 4 eggs, 2 Vorwerk and 2 Crested Legbars.  

I have decided not to add to the 4 at the moment as I am still in the process of building my run enclosure down the allotment, plus I think my wife may just kick me out!
When I returned with the eggs I was met with a "I though we were getting rid of the incubator for a while"!
Ooooops!  Could be worse I suppose especially if I have turned up with a baby Lamb or something similar! :-)
The allotment is key really, whilst I made great progress a few weeks ago, other commitments have stopped me from getting down there to finish the job however I still think I will be ok to complete by end of March!

Vorwork - Photo from www.brbpoultry.co.uk

I have fancied Vorwerks for a while, they are lovely looking birds.  There were suposedly developed in 1900 by a German poultry breeder Oskar Vowerk and was standardised in 1913.  There is a bantam version which was developed later in America in 1966.
They seem a little scarce to me, which is a shame as they are lovely looking birds.
Hers hoping I am successful with my hatch.

Thanks for reading.

The Hatching report and sexing chicks

It is 4 days past the original hatching date, the incubator has been shut down and I have spent tonight dismantling and cleaning it ready for the next batch! Whenever that may be!

After I found just one egg infertile after 7 days, I though I may have ended up with 11 chicks, however as always it is not that straight forward. The final count is 7 chicks out of the 11 fertile hatching eggs.
Hatch
4 Silver Laced Wyandottes
2 Croad Langshan
1 Salmon Faverolle

Not a bad result I think, although I was a little disappointed that the Owl Beard did not hatch.

I liked to try and guess the sex at early stages of my previous hatches, I had no idea previously how to do his so it was total luck and guess work. However I had heard of a way of using the feathers on the wings at one and two days old.
Whether it is possible with my breeds I have no idea so why not try it and find out?
Have a look at the photo I have found on the Internet.  Like I say I don't know if this principal applies to my breed of chicks.

It is quite easy to see the difference.  On this basis I think I have the following:

2 Silver Lace Wyandotte Bantam Cockerels

2 Silver Lace Bantam pullets

2 Croad Langshan Pullets

1 Salmon Faverolle pullet 

Having made a note now I guess I will find out if I am right in 12 or so weeks.  Another waiting game!

Thanks for reading

Next update is on the method I use for integrating new chickens with your existing flock!

Chickens on allotments - 1950 Allotment Act

Recently I wrote an article about keeping chickens on allotments and recapped my experience with my local association.  When I first requested to keep a few chickens they refused.  So I decided to do a little research.

My article was published Country Smallholding in the January 2013 issue and I hope it was an interesting read. 
I doubt many will have seen it so here is a little about the law surrounding chickens and allotments.

The 1950 Allotment Act allows the keeping of hens and rabbits on allotments and is viewed as an allotment holder’s right, so long as they are for your own use and not for business or profit. It is worth checking your tenancy agreement if you have one.  Some private landlords may have included a clause preventing the keeping of animals. 

The Act allows for any animal to be removed from the allotment if it is deemed to be a nuisance, health hazard or their well-being is being affected.  Cockerels are not permitted.  This is certainly something to remember.

Allotment Act was enacted to assist post second world war with families producing their own food that was in shortage.  It is still in effect today, however there are some conditions you must meet.

• It appears to apply to Council owned/run allotments or allotments that were previously council owned and then transferred into private ownership.  If you are renting land from a farmer I doubt you will be able to rely on the Act.

• Welfare is paramount - you must have the correct housing and the animals must be well looked after.  Welfare codes enforced by the RSPCA and DEFRA should be followed.

• As mentioned earlier due to noise cockerels are not permitted.

So if you are considering keeping chickens and your back garden is not big enough or suitable, try registering for an allotment, preferably with a local authority. You can grow veg and keep a couple of hens for eggs or even meat.

Thanks for reading

Chickens on the allotment - Work begins!

My plot - the good half approx 2 summers ago

Where are all the chickens going when they have hatched and grown?
I don't have a back garden big enough to house all 12 chickens once grown (assuming all of them hatch), but I do have my allotment and I have spent an hour or so the last two days, clearing the over grown land and starting to build an enclosure.

One sheet of glass

It was hard work, with brambles at least 7 foot high, and enough rotten wood to fuel two large bonfires.  I have emerged relatively unscathed which is quite impressive as I was also moving two sheets of glass (6x6 foot) that the previous tenant decided to use as shelter for his chickens on top of his run.

What I had to work with!

The good thing is that I have a plan and the area is clear, but it will take some managing through the year.  I have Japanese knotweed in this corner of the plot.  A very difficult plant to kill.
I have encountered it several times, most of the time as a surveyor managing commercial property.

Japanese Knotweed - from Wiki

One thing is clear, it is very costly to remove, and from a development site point of view quite often the only sure way of removing it from site is to dig it out dispose of all soil and refill.  Very expensive but a lot quicker than injecting it for 3-5 years to kill it off.

Now I am not in the position on my plot to dig out or inject the plant.  But I have discovered a week killer by roundup, called tree stump killer.  It does in fact work on Japanese knotweed and brambles.  I will need to be very careful spraying close to the chickens.

My chicken enclosure - wont win any style awards

I have taken some photos of the enclosure to date.  There is a long way to go and plenty of fox proofing to be done, but I'm hoping to have it finished by end of March latest.

The pen is currently 12 x 12 foot.  I will be covering the top with a heavy duty plastic mesh.  It has big holes and again was left behind by the former tenant of the plot.
I have a hen house and run (cheap version) in my garage at he moment, so will be moving his down to the plot, but will also be splitting the area in to two breeding pens eventually.

Having such a variety in the incubator at the moment means the chickens may have to live together for a while until I establish if they are good enough breeding stock and find cockerels or hens to go with what I have hatched.  I'm starting to think it would have been easier to have bought 2 trios, but hey, where is the fun in that! :-)

To protect against Mr Fox around the perimeter I am digging the fencing into the ground by about 6 inches and then using chicken wire to create a further barrier underground. On top of the chicken wire will go the soil and then some slabs I have that will hopefully prevent any digging.

You can just see the wood in the right of the photo!

I mentioned earlier the top of the enclosure will be covered with some heavy duty plastic mesh, secured with heavy duty cable ties.  You can see it in the photo on the left.  It had to be cut out of the brambles.


I am still working on the door into the pen.  I'm considering using some old pallets I have on the site or an old wooden front door that, yes you guessed it, the previous tenant was trying to use as a door to his shed. (the shed did not have a roof, but he had a lovely solid house door for it!)

In fact that is a very good point, I do need a dry secure place for the feed and bedding.  As the roof on my shed has blown off twice in the last month, I can not rely on it, so will need a solution, perhaps a plastic container in the pen!

It's difficult  planning these things, hard work implementing them, but ultimately the end product, being able to keep pure breed rare poultry will make it worth while!

Thanks for reading.

Incubating Eggs day 7 again!

Pair of Wyandottes creating a heart shape!

Well I have been away for a few days in London and that meant leaving the incubator running without any monitoring for 3 days.  I did realise this would happen when I set the eggs back on 7th February, I knew it was a bit of a risk, but I was impatient probably due to the failure of the last batch.





Today, Valentines day, is the 7th day so I have been candling the eggs to check for development.  The great news is that at present 11 out of the 12 eggs I set appear to be fertile.  The one egg that appears not to be developing is unfortunately the Cream Legbar which is a shame however it does mean that there is potential for Croad Langsham, Owl Beard, Salmon Faverolle and Silver Lace Wyandottes hatching out in around 14 days.

What did I do differently to my first batch?
Well I'm not going to take all the blame or credit here as I have had loads of useful advice from Andrew from Slate House Farm and from Norfolk Bantams on Twitter, in fact, without their help I may have delayed my next hatch for some time.  There is also the consideration that maybe the eggs were not quite ready as it was so early in the year.

I think I took the instructions with the incubator quite literally with regards humidity.  It stated that one water trough should be filled and two should be filled at day 18. The instructions did not mention anything about ventilation either and I don't recall reading about this, but it is crucial when controlling the the humidity. Ultimately I think I drowned the chicks or prevented them from developing properly which is very sad and a mistake I will never make again.

Secondly, I did not monitor humidity, I had no way of knowing what the relative humidity percentage was at any time.  But again looking back I think levels were far too high.  The condensation on the roof of the incubator was a big sign that I totally missed.

To correct both of these major mistakes I have bought myself a reptile humidity gauge for £5.99.  Why these are not fitted or provided when you buy a Corti incubator I have no idea, but it is an essential piece of kit in my opinion.  I have also worked out how to open the vent holes in my incubator.

You do learn by your mistakes, and it has been a big mistake and quite a large learning curve.  It is almost addictive, learning and putting into practice what you have learnt.

Before setting my current batch of eggs, I ran the incubator for 2 days monitoring humidity.  I ran it initially with no water.  Humidity was as low as 10%, so there was no chance of adding the eggs without water.

Once one water trough was filled the humidity increased, first to 30%, then a few hours later 40% and the next morning it was stable at 50%.

The incubator has continued to remain at 50% with a full water trough and vents fully open.  11 of the 12 eggs are developing so its good news for now.


I will be monitoring carefully and will post more updated soon.


Thanks for reading.

Day 24 of hatching and a review of incubating

It's day 24 of the silver Wyandotte incubation period.  Despite checking three or four times a day, there is no change.  Not that it will make any difference how often I check.

I am starting to think that the remaining two eggs are not going to hatch. It could be a variety of reasons, so i thought it may be useful to write about some of the factors that can affect a hatch in an incubator.

• Time of year - hens will not naturally sit or go broody at the moment, spring is on its way, so hopefully a later attempt in middle of February will be more successful.  There is of course the possibility that the cockerel is not quite firing on all four cylinders, he may of course still be in hibernation mode.
• Quality of eggs - there is no doubt in my mind that quality at this time of year will not be as good.  The shells can be quite porous due to the feed being eaten being used by the hens for heat and new feather growth rather than producing eggs.
• Temperature of incubator and position - I have been told and read that even half a degree can result in late hatching and it could even result in a failed hatching.  It is also important to consider the location of the incubator.  If kept in a drafty position or somewhere that temperatures and humidity can fluctuate it can put strain on the incubator and even though they are designed to keep a constant temperature, it could result in subtle drops in temperate for short periods inside.
• Calibration of the thermometer - this is something I have not checked.  One way of checking you thermometer is working is removing from the incubator, and putting it in a bucket of ice.  This way you can check if it is reading 0 degrees.  If not, you can adjust your setting to reflect this.  The only problem with this method is that my incubator does not have a full thermometer in it so it would not work in my case.  I will just work on the basis it is set correctly.
• Humidity - in the UK it is certainty more critical in the last 3-4 days to get this correct.  I have recently heard of dry incubating, where the eggs are set without the use of water as we have high humidity in the UK.  Water is only used in the last 3-4 days when he increase in humidity is required.  I used water all the way through my incubation.
• Frequency of turning - I have an auto turning incubator, but if you don't and need to manually turn the eggs, its critical to turn at least 3 times a day, most suggest turning 5 times a day.  If you turn manually you need to ensure you mark the eggs so you know they have been turned.

Of course you can avoid all of this by using a broody hen, but who knows when a hen will go broody, and you are limited to 6-8 eggs depending on breed type.
Plus where is the fun and learning experience!

Thanks for reading

Candling Eggs on day 11

Excitement, enthusiasm, anticipation!  Words that I would used to define how I felt when I received my hatching eggs through the post back on the 10th January.

There is something special and addictive about hatching chicks.  Sadly my hatch rates have never really been high.  My first attempt under Treacle my Speckledy hen resulted in just one chick hatching out of 3 eggs.

The second attempt in October 2012 resulted in two chicks hatching out of 6 eggs, again under Treacle!

My third hatch is in my new incubator. A Corti AF25 - the automatic turning model.
I set the eggs back on 9th January and candled as recommended on the 7th day.  Being relatively inexperienced at candling, I was happy to leave the eggs for a further few days before discarding any that are unlikely to hatch.

I candled the eggs again tonight the 20th January at 11 days and took photographs of each egg.  I think this may be a useful guide for anyone candling their own eggs.  Apparently you should not candle to often and for too long! So here goes with the photos!

One of my own chickens eggs - Not Fertile

First incubator egg - not looking too promising - I would say this is NOT fertile.

Second Egg - something defiantly going on in this one - good to leave   in the incubator.

Third egg - Not Fertile! :-(







I cant go on really, sad that only one other egg below seems to have something going on. 
2 out of 6 again!!

Hopefully the other fertile egg!








Lets hope the two do hatch and there are no complications.

Thanks for reading!