Well, I went and bought an incubator, it's a Hovabator with an automatic turner. I just fired up the first batch of 20 eggs today and keeping my fingers crossed. Off on another adventure! Also have a litter of bunnies due tomorrow so hoping for good things there too. Hopefully this summer turns out better than last summer and get the production up again around this little homestead. Hope everyone's doing well!

I bought an incubator yesterday too! LOL

Watch out, world!

I'm jealous or both of you. I've been looking around because I'd like to have the option of incubating my duck and goose eggs this year. I've never done it before & I don't know if they will set on their own. I have tufted buff geese ]I also have a pair of white chinese,but don't want any more of them!] and welsh harlequin ducks. I'll be interested to read how it works for you.

Congrats on getting an incubator, Truckinguy and Sommrluv. A whole new area of fun for you. Please remember we need updates on hatches and, of course, PICTURES!

This isn't my thread on BYC, but this is exactly what I have:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/93157 ... -incubator

I have no idea how old it is but they are selling similar ones still. He last used it in Autumn and threw in a brand new heating element and a thermometer. It can hold at least fifty, I think. I wanted something that could do quail, chicken, duck or turkey......I wonder if I can do EMU??

Thanks, Maggie. Hopefully they hatch so I have something to take pictures of!
Lol at the emu eggs! Need a mighty big incubator!

Good luck. I used a friends large cabinet incubator until I built my own in Nov. I hatched a few eggs as a test run, four out of five peeped, with one that was never formed. I'll do the big hatch this spring in my classroom.

Congrats Truckinguy and Sommr. I hope you both have lots of successful hatches! But! Don't you dare get too carried away with the poultry and leave RT for BackyardChickens. Bunny blogging must remain a priority!

Caroline, have you considered getting a bantam hen to set your eggs? They go broody really easily. They probably could only cover 4 or 5, but at least it's something. My Black Australorp hens go broody every year as well, and they are full sized hens. We will be culling the older ones soon, but if you are headed my way anytime soon I'd gladly let you have a couple!

thanks mama but my ducks have spoiled me for ever having chickens again.
their eggs are bigger & richer
they lay year around with NO break for moulting [or whatever]
No crowing roosters
& the 2 most important traits -
They are easy to keep out of the garden. They just mow the weeds in the pathways that I let them have access to
They are easy to herd to wherever...they look SO cute in their little line
Besides. I want to hatch goose eggs. I don't think a chicken would be up to that-size & duration of gestation.
Sooo,if there are no more ducks or geese here this year, it probably won't be a bad thing.
It will just mean that the universe thinks I have enough animals for now.
I know quite a few members of my extended family share that opinion.

Don't worry, Mamasheepdog, I'm not going anywhere. I would be on here more often except for my crappy Internet connection.

I hatched a goose egg under a Speckled Sussex hen once. I set four eggs, two developed to term but only one hatched. Still "Mama Goose" did better than the incubator at the local breeder's. It was a bad batch of eggs and my little gosling was the only one to hatch out of 28 eggs.