After a rough spring and fall in 2020, with many flock losses due to predators, we were feeling a bit discouraged on the farm. Egg production was way down, and we couldn’t keep up with demand from our regular customers. We decided to stop selling eggs at the farm, and I even had to go to other farms so I could have eggs to sell in my shop!
It was too late to hatch more eggs for the year, with winter coming, and we didn’t have the heart for it at that time anyway. We had offers from some people to take their older birds, but we didn’t have the energy to go through integrating them with our current flock (it’s recommended that you quarantine any older birds you add to your flock, which would mean we’d have needed a whole separate area for the new ones). With a busy Christmas season ahead at the shop, it was a good time to take a break.
Once we got through the holiday season and caught up on our rest, the remainder of the long winter loomed ahead; so we started talking and thinking about flock additions once again. I asked my hubby if there was any reason we couldn’t try hatching some eggs now? We’d have to go back to raising them in the house instead of the coop, which is not ideal, but it is still doable (it just means more mess to clean up inside). They’d have to stay inside longer, until they are fully feathered and can take the cold, but we could manage. It would mean we could potentially have more hens laying by the end of the summer! We love our incubator, a Nurture Right 360*, which makes things easy. We only have to keep the water level correct and monitor the humidity. It maintains the correct temperature at all times, and automatically turns the eggs.
There are concerns for hatching eggs in the winter, however. For example, the potential for strong storms and power outages is the big one. That’s why our incubator is set up on our kitchen counter (luckily we have a huge island with plenty of extra space), plugged into an outlet that is connected to our generator. Power outages could be a concern once they’ve hatched as well (we have a Brinsea brooder heater* that works perfectly to keep the chicks warm but does need power), since the room we plan to raise them in is not connected to the generator. We have other places we could move them to, however, if necessary.
Here we go! It’s fun to have something positive to look forward to, especially since 2021 hasn’t gotten off to the start we’d all hoped it might! This will be a bit more work, but most everything with farming is hard work, and we enjoy that. Wish us luck!
We are also waiting for our one remaining young hen, Annie Oakley, to lay her first egg. She is over 26 weeks old now, so it’s possible; but I won’t be surprised if she waits until spring. Her breed is not known to be early layers.
On another fun note, I placed my seed order, so I’m also thinking ahead to the garden this spring. Additionally, I’m starting some herb plants in the house; I have some ideas of things to make to sell with those. Normally I don’t do my seed order until February, but last year a lot of things were out of stock by then, so I figured I’d better get a jump on it this year. There were some things already out though, but I got most of what I wanted. The rest I will find locally once I start venturing out more (we’ve been doing the minimum because of Covid and simply being too busy!).
We will be planting plenty of all the veggies we use for Luke’s food – carrots, beans, peas, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and extra potatoes since they are a favorite of the humans! I’ve made a deal with another local organic farm that I will buy some of her vegetables to sell at the shop and for our own use, so I can focus our garden on the things that she does not plant. I think (hope) it’s a good plan, I do feel positive about working with and supporting other local farmers, while having a little less work for myself!
Sending you the best of luck. It would be such fun to have chicks to brighten up this winter!
Thank you! One more week to go, and we can’t wait! 🙂
That incubator is such a practical tool! Thanks for pointing out the challenges of raising chicks in the wintertime – I never thought of those!
And look at lucky Luke with his bean, haha – precious!
I get some of my best photos of Luke when I’m holding a bean for him – LOL.
I hope to be able to report that raising the chicks in the winter goes smoothly! 🙂
Charlie is such a handsome bird! The hens must love him (though I’m not sure what hens look for in a mate). I know having a male wasn’t particularly planned – but it seems to have worked out in the end.
You are so right, it has definitely worked out having Charlie in the flock, that turned out to be a very happy accident! Next we’ll probably be finding out how it goes with more than one rooster. Since Charlie is such a mellow guy, we hope it will be fine.
I’m sure Charlie’s handsomeness is what makes the girls love him. 🙂
Charlie is such a handsome fellow! I hope you gets lots of chicks!
Thank you! Charlie does make some pretty offspring, so we hope we get quite a few this time too!
Good luck with hatching and raising the chicks. It sounds like a tough job trying to raise chickens for eggs and growing the veggies. Imagine how the people felt way back in the early settler days trying to do it all. No wonder so many people didn’t survive! Hope to hear good news about the chicks down the road.
Oh boy, you’ve got that right. If we had to survive on this stuff, we wouldn’t make it either! 🙂
It is tough, and the rewards aren’t always there. Luckily we enjoy the process, but it is much better when we succeed!
Wow, that will be lots of cheeping little chicks in a while!! Hope they all will hatch to healthy chicks!
Planning a garden seems like a great way to spend those long winter evenings. I like how you are sharing the goodies you grow, so you can benefit form your neighbor’s offerings.
Chomp up those beans Luke.We only like the cooked ones:)
Luke will eat his beans either way, raw or cooked!
Garden planning is what gets us through the long winter, and now adding hatching chicks will help even more!
Good luck, what a cool looking incubator.
Thank you, JoAnn!! xo
All the best of luck with the new eggs, nice! Sounds like great ideas on the seeds and veggies and things-sharing the work, and then some of the wealth, with other farmers sounds like only a good idea! Things to look forward to doing, always a good thing!
We definitely needed something positive to focus on. Thanks, Lynn!
That incubator is terrific, the people we buy our eggs from have one of those. Predators are a big issue here too! And I have started looking at what to plant for our garden too! Good luck! Have a marvellously Happy Day!
Thank you so much, and enjoy your garden planning! It’s so much fun, isn’t it? )
A produce share sounds like a brilliant idea 💡 Good luck with starting up the egg production!
Thank you! We hope we get a decent hatch rate this time, but we’ll see. We’ll be happy with whatever we get though!
That hatcher looks like a great invention. Good luck with the chicks. You should have a contest to see who can guess when Annie will lay her first egg. 🙂
We haven’t even looked at seed catalogs this year and we usually have them ordered in January. They did arrive much later this year.
The contest is a good idea, the only problem is we may not be sure when she lays her first one. Unless we see her in the box, or her first egg is quite small like they often are, we may not know for sure!
We had a green egg yesterday, and we only have one green egg layer left, who hadn’t laid for several weeks now. So we wonder if she started up again finally, or if Annie is going to be a green egg layer. It will be a mystery for a while. 🙂
Can’t wait to see those chicks!
We will surely be sharing lots of photos when they get here!
This post made me smile this morning with all the good news in it! So, here’s to lots of new fuzzy chicks soon! And a big, lush garden full of veggies for Luke and his humans!!
We will optimistically hope that all goes better this year! We need some positive things to look forward to.
I’m going to go on the positive side and say this year will be far better than last year. You have Luke to help you.
I linked this post to Awww Mondays. Luke asked me to.
Have a fabulous day and week. Smooches to Luke. ♥
We like your attitude, and we will join you in it!
Thank you for linking us!! Luke says to send you extra smooches back too. ♥
I’m sorry the evil predators are causing problems but some baby chicks sure would be welcome news!
The chicks should really cheer us up, as we keep battling those darn predators!
We can’t wait to see the baby chickies! yummmmmm on the beans, Luke.
We are more impatient than ever this year to see them too!
Looking forward to fuzzy chicks must be fun, especially in a dreary winter. I hope they all hatch for you.
We definitely needed something to cheer us up, and this should do the trick! 🙂
we hope for lots of chcklets… and lots of beans for Luke… maybe this year needs a while till it runs pawfect?
Aww good luck with the new babies. I plan to get a few hens and start producing our own eggs this year. Our neighbor gives us a few eggs some times and the yolks are so bright orange and taste much better than store bought eggs.
The fresh eggs really are so much better! Good luck to you in starting to get your own!
Let’s just hope it doesn’t take TOO long! 🙂