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Post by downinmyback on Apr 8, 2008 22:03:59 GMT -5
I just bought a LG incubator at TSC and i set 18 eggs tonite and hope i get one to hatch on my first time.
I just put a mix of eggs. Some EE ,BO and RIRs. They would probably turns out to be mutts but i am planning on raising them for fryers anyhow.I had a old fella stop by yesterday wanting to buy some rabbits but i have not bred my does yet waiting on warmer weather.
He said that he had order 50 chicks from TSC, half are RIR and half Donineckers. and we discuss trading a rooster later on. Blue wish me luck on my first hatch lol.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Apr 8, 2008 22:24:34 GMT -5
Down, You can do it!! Just follow the directions.
What I did when I first started incubating was mark everything down on a spare calendar and follow it. Eggsample: Day 3, remove front vent plug. Day 10, candle. Day 18, candle, fill both reservoirs with water, stop turning eggs. Lockdown for hatch!!
Did you get an Auto Turner? Or are you turning them by hand?
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Apr 8, 2008 22:25:45 GMT -5
Oh, and Cook was prolly NOT a good term to use when speaking of incubating, LOLOL. I've done precisely that by not paying close enough attention to a thermostat problem. Oops
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Post by plantsnobin on Apr 9, 2008 7:36:02 GMT -5
I have 42 eggs in the incubator right now. These will be a mix of Reds, Columbian Wyandottes, Australorps and Speckled Sussex. They will be for the freezer. Post office should be calling any minute for me to pick up 25 more Rhode Island Reds that I ordered from Sandhill Perservation. I have sold the mean rooster, along with 5 hens in the last two days. Seems that a lot of people are getting a few hens since eggs are so high now. Down, what kind of rabbits do you have? We raise a few Californians, but mainly Mini Lops for showing. My husband is thinking about going more heavily into Californians to sell to processors. A couple of guys around here are going to do it, and he may raise a few to sell to those guys. Seems with tranporting them, it just wouldn't be worth it. But I do love the poo for my plants.
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Post by downinmyback on Apr 9, 2008 17:00:16 GMT -5
Blue yes i bought the auto-turner and the fan too. I guess cooking would not be a good term to say lol.Like i said i am not fingering on many hatching but it will be a learning experience anyway.
Robin i have mutt rabbits. Just a mix of several breeds. The does are Knothead (they look like wild cottontails and i do not know the real name for the breed) The buck is a Californian but the does are mixes from several breeds. I usually raise a couple of litters for the freezer every year.
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Post by downinmyback on May 23, 2008 23:22:54 GMT -5
I guess i should not have mention cooking as that is what i did will my first batch of eggs. Somehow i got the temp to 130 degrees and killed all of the eggs. I now have a second batch of eggs in my bator and i hope things turn out better this time.
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Post by plantsnobin on May 24, 2008 7:50:19 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about that. I had 18 of the 42 hatch, which I thought was good since I didn't do everything 'by the book'. Didn't cover the vent holes, didn't keep really good track of temp, and let the water run out. I also have a very old incubator, the sytrofoam kind, and I have read that they lose something over the years. I really don't like that you can't clean them very well. Bleach will damage the foam, you can't scrub it. I am going to look into a proper incubator before long.
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Post by downinmyback on Jun 2, 2008 12:37:52 GMT -5
I ended up hatching 8 of 12 chicks so i was very satified with my second try at hatching eggs.
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sammyqc
grub
Urban, small raised beds, Zone 5 (Canada)
Posts: 94
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Post by sammyqc on Jun 2, 2008 21:56:47 GMT -5
Out of curiousity, what does rabbit taste like? I recently tried lamb burgers (not too impressed, but not totally off the menu in the future). Just trying to expand my carnivorous tastes, and a friend of mine swears her mom makes the best 'bunny pie', to die for. Tastes a bit like chicken, according to her.
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Post by downinmyback on Jun 2, 2008 22:18:05 GMT -5
Rabbit taste good but it can be tough if not cooked right. It is a lean meat with very little fat. I guess if you ate it while wearing a blindfold you would probably think it is chicken.
I raise tame rabbits for meat now. I have 2 does and 1 buck now.
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Post by plantsnobin on Jun 3, 2008 8:54:39 GMT -5
Sammy, is there any way you could get the recipe for the bunny pie? Years ago my husband would go rabbit hunting, and I did fix it with potatoes and carrots. Not bad, till you bit down on a piece of buckshot. Now we raise rabbits, we have several Californians as well as Mini Lops. Mostly for rabbit shows, but I am not opposed to eating them. I just don't want to be the one to 'do the deed'. I know that is silly, and I am certainly not some city girl who doesn't understand where meat comes from. It is just that with rabbits, you have twice daily contact with them, not like a cow out in the field. But I think for anyone looking to supply some of their own meat, rabbit is a good choice. They are quiet, don't smell too bad, and the poo is the best stuff imaginable. And then of course you can raise worms under the cages outdoors, or vermicompost indoors, feeding the worms the poo. Of course, with the cost of feed going up about every week, maybe going vegetarian would be better.
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sammyqc
grub
Urban, small raised beds, Zone 5 (Canada)
Posts: 94
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Post by sammyqc on Jun 3, 2008 11:09:09 GMT -5
Robin, I'll see if I can get in touch with her, it's been a couple years since I've talked to her, I think I owe her a phone call!!
But I totally understand about not wanting to be the one to do it! I don't think with rabbits I could raise them for meat, either. Not only would I get attached, so would the kids. And they know where meat comes from, as I do. But it would be harder to eat 'Flopsie' than it is the 'Bambi' that my dad got last fall, and gave us some steak and ground. I wish I could go vegetarian. Much healthier in some ways, and a cleaner conscience as well. I tried it for a couple years, and it just wasn't something I could keep doing. I would literally dream of steak! So now it's a much better compromise, less meat but nothing is really off the menu (except for horse.)
I've seen Rabbit at the grocery store, but it is always a skinned, headless rabbit, so I've not been remotely tempted to try it yet! I guess they are kind of small, so not worth butchering further, or something. That's left up to the cook?
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Post by plantsnobin on Jun 3, 2008 17:28:51 GMT -5
Sammy, I think that rabbits are much easier to dress than chickens, because you do just skin them. I am no good at cutting up chickens or rabbits, and if you do a roast type thing there is really no need to cut it. Pros and cons with rabbits or chickens I guess. If everything just tastes like chicken, why not just eat chicken? There isn't that much meat on a rabbit, but some guys just seem to like it, and we do get people stop by wanting it. Especially people with stomach problems, they claim it is easier to digest. I think for the easiest meat, it would probably be just as well to raise a cow or pig. Karen
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