incubator and eggs ... daily update

[Hilary B]

mind you i've not got to that stage yet lol ....... i did think i may get one of these Poultry Dispatcher Hens Bantams Ducks Turkey on eBay, also, Poultry Hatching Incubation, Pet Supplies, Home Garden (end time 14-Oct-08 13:28:40 BST) for when my butcher isn't about ..... but i always think if you're going to keep animals if they are easy to kill, you should at least know how, in case you need to do it without any tools ....... i used to breed mice, and have no problem killing them if i needed to....... i'm soft really, but in this case there really is no choice if i'm hatching eggs.

at least with the metal thing, i'm certain to kill them first time ...... the thing that worries me most is half killing them..... i really don't want them to suffer.

apparently they start crowing around 3-4 months of age, but that isn't an exact science

The gadget is said to be quick and efficient, IF it is adjusted for the size of bird. I'd rather use a broomstick (not supposed to be necessary for chooks, but pretty near foolproof and the bird doesn't get a chance to wonder what is going on, which I think they would with the gadget).
Yeah cockerels usualy start trying to crow (and they sound VERY odd their first few attempts) at about 3-4 months of age. Most will stop putting on meat after another month or so (hence the advice to slaughter at about 20 weeks, they just don't get usefully bigger after that, on the whole).

[Hilary B]

Hi Lynda

Following your daily reports with interest - 3 weeks is a long time when you're waiting for something to happen

Looking at your photos, I can't see any water in the incy, are you checking the humidity?

Re the sex of the chicken - it's genetically predetermined. They're not like tortoises where the hatching temperature can affect the end result. Wish it was that simple though, we wouldn't end up with so many cockerels.

Keep us all posted about how the next candling goes

There IS a link between sex of chick and hatch temperature, but not one that is a lot of help. At one temperature most hen chicks won't hatch, at another temp most male chicks won't hatch (and no, I don't know what the temps are). They don't CHANGE, but the ones you don't want die before (or just after) hatching. Not really an improvement......

[lynda66]

The gadget is said to be quick and efficient, IF it is adjusted for the size of bird. I'd rather use a broomstick (not supposed to be necessary for chooks, but pretty near foolproof and the bird doesn't get a chance to wonder what is going on, which I think they would with the gadget).
Yeah cockerels usualy start trying to crow (and they sound VERY odd their first few attempts) at about 3-4 months of age. Most will stop putting on meat after another month or so (hence the advice to slaughter at about 20 weeks, they just don't get usefully bigger after that, on the whole).

see the broomstick thing fills me with dread, i kinda prefer idea of holding the chook in my arms and putting his neck in .... anyway they haven't even hatched yet and i'm already worrying about killling them

[Bephlam]

Ok, so I'm a humane dispatch virgin....what's the broomstick technique??

[lynda66]

you shove it's head under a broomstick, stand either side and pull ....... or words to that effect

[chicken slave]

Broomstick Method:

Exactly what Lynda said but don't pull to hard or you will have a headless chicken:-)

[Bephlam]

Oh goodness...Nooooo....I can't do that, ever!!!

But then again, I won't kill a spider...or a worm...or even a bloomin slug!! So, I have no chance killing a chook with the broomstick (or anything else!). I'll just have to beg someone to take any boys away for me...if and when I do it!

[lynda66]

see now thats exactly how i feel about broomsticks ........ i'm hoping that my butcher friend will do them all really ..... i just think it's better to be armed with a chicken killer, in case i need to do it, than to get evicted cos of crowing cocks.

if creepies (other than bees or ladybirds) come in the house they die .... they scare me.

but i do say sorry to worms when i chop them in half, and snails when i squash their shells.

[Bephlam]

I really have a problem with every method...but of course, it needs to be done. I don't have a moral issue with it (providing everything is done humanely and the animals have had a happy, healthy life prior to slaughter!) but my own conscience wouldn't allow me to personally kill them.

I just hate the thought of extinguishing a life - it's such a special thing, a real gift...and I don't feel I have the right to put the light out. Still, I am a hypocrite, because I eat meat...and love it. I keep my conscience in check by only buying organic, free range produce...locally sourced!

[MaureenHall]

Think I'd have to send them away to be "dispatched" along with someone elses so that when I got some oven-ready ones back, I wouldn't be 100% sure if they were mine in the first place

[Hilary B]

you shove it's head under a broomstick, stand either side and pull ....... or words to that effect

Basically, that is it. I've never had chicken, turkey, drake or goose show any anxiety while being dealt with that way. They flap mightily once the deed is done, but that happens whatever the technique.

[Hilary B]

I really have a problem with every method...but of course, it needs to be done. I don't have a moral issue with it (providing everything is done humanely and the animals have had a happy, healthy life prior to slaughter!) but my own conscience wouldn't allow me to personally kill them.

I just hate the thought of extinguishing a life - it's such a special thing, a real gift...and I don't feel I have the right to put the light out. Still, I am a hypocrite, because I eat meat...and love it. I keep my conscience in check by only buying organic, free range produce...locally sourced!

Most creatures that end up as meat wouldn't have had a life at all if meat was not their destiny, so as long as the life they had was reasonably good, and the end quick, that is what matters.

[lynda66]

i agree totally, they will have the best life i can give them, however short, but i still prefer the idea of the killer, over the broomstick, just me being weird .... but i know it has to be done if it was up to me, i'd keep them all forever.

[lynda66]

*twiddles thumbs*

[Nicos]

Still twiddling????