bass100

http://wjactv.com/news/local/videos-show-moments-before-after-landslide-at-greentree-landfill

"Stahlman was an eccentric, reclusive preacher, and a self-proclaimed prophet who was born and raised in Jefferson County in the mid-nineteenth century and resided in Brookville from 1907 to 1915.?"
 
 
Actually he was declared insane and committed to a mental institution.

I have been accused of far more insidious motives here

I just got their bracelets this morning and I need a hand to get them ready for their pictures.  Hubby is away at a VFW meeting and I'm waiting for his help.  Be patient although they are cute as bugs.

So it all comes down to this...it seems all you're after are "chick pics". BWAHAHAHAHAHA

Petee, all of DooBwa and part of upstate SC are waiting to see your chicks. I'll give you until tomorrow to produce, or I'll start posting pics of their brothers and sisters

OK, I'm making a list:
 
DooBwa
Landy Sue
Fluffy Butt
Ky-Lee
 
I like them all!
 
Last year my grandkids named them and obviously they were hungry.
 
Oreo
Peaches
Buttercup
I can't remember the rooster's name?  He was replaced by Penny.  I was obviously thinking of money! 

Petee, When you figure out who the girls are that you are keeping, I vote to name one of them DooBwa and a second one FluffyButt!

In my defense, that offer was made before I joined the debate forum

Another thing people should realize, and I'm not bragging about my equipment, but I have a $400 incubator. All the bells and whistles, digital temp and humidity control, automatic turning, insulated ABS plastic shell, highly advanced air distribution, etc... plug it in and walk away.
Petee is using styrofoam with a simple element. She may not even have a fan to more evenly distribute the heat. She has to measure, set, and monitor her temperature. She has to measure her own humidity. She has to hand turn the eggs several times per day. When she lifts the lid then puts it back on, it takes a while to stabilize. Mine returns to temperature in 30 seconds. I do this every 10 days, she is using an incubator that her adult son tried to eat the last time she had it out.
I'm very impressed

Wow! I'm very impressed. Does that incubator still have the original element. Thats a testimony to how much better things were built back then.I'm up to 12 now, but my eggs haven't been juggled by USPS

Ok, just one picture to show all three stages of hatching. I found this one in my old pictures, and they are blue Ameraucana eggs, so you guys have to wait for Petee for the black coppers. This is what she is watching and waiting on right now. Today is day 21, so I expect she will have quite a few more chicks when she posts again.
 

 
See the egg to the left, with the small outward crack? That is what we mean when we say pip. The first thing to happen is a chick punches a hole in the egg and draws it's first breaths of air from the outside world. They expend a lot of energy hatching, so they will work a little, then rest for long periods of time. The first time you hatch, it drives you crazy, because you would think they would just pop out. For me, it's usually at least 12 hours from pip to hatch.
The egg to the right of that one has begun "zipping". After the chick rests, it starts turning in the shell, pecking a line all the way around. Most of the time you can see this line forming, and it looks much like a zipper. This is the process that takes so long, and this is probably when Petee heard the loud cheeping. They will work a little, rest for a while, then go back to work. They start cheeping a lot after they rest.
When the egg is about 3/4 zipped, the chick will start kicking the egg with it's feet. This is usually 10-30 minutes before the hatch. You can see the egg pushing apart then squeezing back together as the chick tries to stretch its legs out. When the shell finally gives, a soaking wet, exhausted chick pops out. It takes them a bit to get on their feet, but once they do, the soccer game begins
 
 
 
 

There are currently 4 chicks in the incubator and more pips.  I'm headed off to get a new tote to use as a brooder because I guess I used the last one for something else!  I set them on my kitchen stove and turn on the fan lights which can get very hot if necessary.  I use a baby gate on top and a towel if the air conditioner is running.   I also hang the water and food so it stays clean and use pine shavings.
 
My son always comes in and says, "Hey, you're cooking chicken but I don't think they're done yet!".  
 
Now it will be the outdoor toaster oven and the microwave for meals because it's too hot to turn on the stove anyway.

There are now two chicks and several eggs have pipped.  Hopefully they don't mind peeping Petees with flashlights in their portholes.

It popped out of the shell about 5:30 and immediately made its way to the front of the incubator where there's a little light.  It's knocking all of the other eggs around and I think it's egg #2.  I forgot that I had set them in order in the incubator.

I thought I heard a peep this morning, and tonight it's a definite.  One of them is in there just peeping away!  Even though this is what I've been working for, it's still a surprise that there are actual living chicks in there!  Hopefully there will be babies in the morning.

?I must have screwy mice. They got into my storage cabinet and thoroughly enjoyed the irish spring and lave soaps. Hope the little buggers got indigestion.

Thanks for posting and I find myself looking forward to the next posts.  I find these timeline posts interesting and educational.

I use a "killing cone". Less messy, and keeps the meat from getting bruised. I don't do it often, and like someone else said, it's too easy to get them at the store, but after punting a rooster for the 7th or 8th time...

I did not find chickens fun when I was in high school but they were not pets for us.  Every morning collect eggs before school, I should have been a football kicker because I got good at punting.  One Sunday a month was slaughter day, we only did 25 to 50 and it really did not take too long but I hated it.  If you do slaughter your own chickens I can say hanging them upside down on a line to dispatch is much easier and it is quick when you are doing a large amount at one time.  They will not be flopping on the ground and getting dirty.

For those that have a groundhog problem, if you know where the groundhog burrow holes are, you can pour used fresh cat litter down the holes and they will pick up and move a little further away. It has also worked on two different skunks for us that liked to burrow under the deck.
 
I forgot to add that we tried using store bought ammonia but it did not work as well.

I thought I was done firebuilding, but I've had one going for the past 3 days now. Just too damp and chilly!

I know, I already shut the furnace down, cleaned the vents, and sealed them up for the summer.

Say all you want about how slow the south is, but I planted my tomatoes 2 weeks before Easter

A little visitor yesterday when I got home.