The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[The Moonshiner]

I got distracted looking up led interior lights and now I gotta get caught up.

 

[KF0002]

And it's very unlikely all 12 will hatch and if the number is under 10 it doesn't count.

I can't math but I can definitely chicken math!

That math is mathin. I like it.

 

[KF0002]

 

[The Moonshiner]

If I didn't hate brooding chicks during the winter, I would throw some lights on a few more brood pens and start hatching again in January after I graduate. But I hate brooding chicks in the winter. One power outage and it's game over.

I used to hatch into the winter because then by spring they were ready to start laying.
With trying to heat in the cold I had problems with chicks piling. That's no good.

 

[KF0002]

I am actually good at taking my weekly hatchling pics.

Well I'm looking forward to them.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Well I'm looking forward to them.

They'll have you firing your incubator back up

 

[KF0002]

I used to hatch into the winter because then by spring they were ready to start laying.
With trying to heat in the cold I had problems with chicks piling. That's no good.

Yes I hate when they pile. You get them fully feathered and turn them out to free range, then it comes a gully washer and they all try to sleep in the middle of the yard in a big water logged pile. Like hello, you’re chickens.. do chicken things, like roost in the chicken house!

 

[KF0002]

They'll have you firing your incubator back up

If I get really desperate, I can probably sweet talk my husband into letting me set some more.

 

[KF0002]

We have lost a lot of chicks over the years due to them getting chilled and piling. Whether it be due to a heat bulb blowing or them getting cold and wet and piling once they are free ranging. We keep them up a lot longer than we probably have to now to help prevent that.

We used to put lights on them and start hatching in January or February to get birds off to an early start. But then we dealt with power outages due to snow and ice storms, with incubators full of eggs and brooders full of chicks, and it gets old. So we let them lay naturally and we start setting in early spring. Having early hatched pullets laying by summer is sure tempting though, especially when you want a head start on project birds.

 

[NagemTX]

Be like me and over order because I'm expecting one or two to hatch or none and get 80% on all the ordered eggs I set.