I was so excited to see the UPS delivery truck pull up in front of the house a few days ago. Our Brinsea Octagon 20 incubator arrived! We set it up on my dresser to see how it works and to make sure that it is consistent in holding the temperature and humidity levels steady. Today is Day 2 of its operation and it is running like a dream. We decided to start with some quail eggs to make sure that this thing is as foolproof as the company says.
We logged on to the Backyard Chickens website to see if someone had any quail eggs for sale. Luck was with us and we now have 20 eggs on the way. The seller had an assortment of goldens, chocolate and Texas A&M quail. Though eggs that are shipped through the mail have a decreased likelihood of hatching, we have high hopes that we will at least get 5 birds out of the deal. Any more than that and we will consider them to be purely a blessing.
Today, we had beautiful sunny weather and it was actually warm enough for me to get outside to work on a farmstead project:
I made a makeshift table out of a couple of halved pallets and some of the lumber that we got from the Habitat Re-Store. Last year, the groundhogs launched an attack on every cabbage, collard, squash, and cucumber plant that I planted. This time around, we decided to plant the cabbage and collards in 5 gallon buckets that will be raised up on the table and out of the greedy reach of the groundhogs.I've been told that we'll have nice weather tomorrow, too... If so, then I'll be busy storing away the remainder of the firewood pile in our carriage house for next year. We still have wood on our porch that we will continue to use, but this pile will likely not be needed. It is about 2 cords of wood left over from our original purchase of 10 cords. I'll probably order another 10 cords for next year. I really like having a surplus.
I might even have time to start building a cage for the quail! The weather will need to warm up a bit more for me to start construction on the chicken pen, though.
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Now, Let's get cracking! Pun intended.;D
Good luck with the quail!
Oh, how exciting. I bet you can't wait until they start peeping around!
Judy
I'm just so excited! I also just found someone local who has agreed to sell me fertile Rhode Island Red eggs for almost the same price as fresh eggs. This should help me to recoup the costs of the incubator, since I can hatch 24 eggs at a time. Although I'm not expecting a 100% hatch rate, the rate should be fairly good with local eggs versus using eggs that have traveled through the postal service. I'm gonna be stalking my mailman until those quail eggs arrive...
If you want more quail eggs I'll be happy to send you some just for the postage cost. You can do a test hatch for me to see how well my eggs make it through the mail. Just let me know if you want any.
Just sent you a pm through BYC, Brad!
Oh, what fun, a new science project! Can't wait to see what hatches!
Wow, Martian Chick.
Now you are really heating up! Homesteading always starts off slow but by next month you'll be working you but off! It's wonderful work though because it's all for YOU and you family and all done with love. Come winter time you'll be crashed out in you sofer in front of your roaring fire, looking back on your productive season and you gorged pantry. What a blessed life we share!
Ooooh...I envy you your beautiful incubator! And quail! How fun - they are simply adorable. They run wild around here and they always make me smile.
The incubator looks very spacey - just right for a mission to marks.
I love your blog title "Mission-2-Mars". We've joked often that our tiny cottage is our space ship. With it being so small we design everything to have many functions much like a long journey in a space ship. :)
I've been enjoying your blog for awhile, Walter! I have gleaned many good ideas from you over the past several months. We hope to downsize to something smaller, since the kids will be moving out on their own in a few years. I'd much rather spend my time farming outside than cleaning up inside the house!
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