I want a T-shirt that says “It’s another great day on the homestead.” I love when you say that because, well, most days it is! And I don’t even have a homestead... yet. 😉
OK Gracie... I’m doing a car boot sale in France next month, I’m pledging all of the proceeds to you for your incubator fund. You were so brave about the ducklings and the eggs. You are a truly fine example to your younger siblings. 🙏🏻
Yes Gracie needs an incubator fund for her ducks she appears determined to be a duck farmer. I don’t allow eggs anywhere near my house because my son has a serious egg allergy but I think it’s quite interesting to see other people raise birds from eggs.
One of our hens just hatched two chicks, but there were three that didn't hatch. I, too, wanted to know what was in the unhatched eggs. When I broke the first one open it EXPLODED , shot egg everywhere and stunk up the place! I felt like I had entered Charlotte's Web where Avery broke Templeton's egg! :-)Jean
And this is why we candle them rather than crack them open...if you candle and they are all dark, even spots in the air cell area...DON'T crack it for the love of pete LOL- that is mold and bacteria and nastiness that smells worse than your worst nightmare.
Interesting because I have read that it is good to open the egg & study what happened with the animal inside. This came from a lady who studies incubation a lot & wanted to find out when the babies died so she could try to fix the issue next time. I don't do it myself, because I haven't gotten that far in my learning.......but she didn't do it to eggs that were rotten inside. She knows what that looks like. I do too, LOLOL after having one explode on me.
After you incubate and candle enough you pretty much know what things look like at different ages...the only thing you can tell ONLY by opening them up is physical deformity ...and that can happen randomly every blue moon...that info gives you no real information unless it is happening ALOT- then the genes of the parents are at issue. The age can be approximated by candling- the more experienced you get, the more you can pinpoint it- I can take a clutch of eggs from under a hen outside that I have NO clue how long she's been brooding them and tell within a couple days of when they'll hatch by candling and seeing how big they are and other egg changes. At the end there is only a few things that will kill them...Too high or too low humidity...they can drown or they can get stuck with stickiness...and temps out of the range that they can tolerate (which you can't tell by cracking them open or candling them), and if the temp was too low during incubation then they aren't developed enough to hatch even though it is time- you can tell this if the retardation is moderate by candling. Drowning happens in the egg before pip often and only occasionally after...if they pip on the bottom of the egg the risk of drowning is much greater and you'd see dried gook around and in the hole. Cracking it open won't tell you much as the egg has fluid in it anyway...you can't be sure what's enough to drown and what's enough to not. Sometimes they'll pip in an abnormal location and when they turn, their own body blocks the air hole and they suffocate (you can sometimes help with this by doing a "rescue hole", a very small hole in the correct location), when I find an egg pipped abnormally and the chicks trunk is behind it, I kinda figure that it blocked the air hole- usually they keep their beak close to the air holes they create then keep making new ones as they crack around the egg to get out. Sticking usually occurs after pip when the air gets in there and the humidity is not high enough...but if you watch carefully and maybe help out a little it is easily discovered once you get a feel for how long between pip and zip (going around the shell cracking) is supposed to be generally...you can feel that their little feathers are stuck fast to the membrane and they can't turn- I usually know this before it takes the baby though and help it get through the rest of the process (mostly with success). Tip- if you are helping you only open a little bit more at a time, if at any time you hit red blood in the membrane...STOP instantly...put it back opening upwards and wait about two hours (and increase the humidity as much as you can in their hatching area, and then try a little bit more later. When they are ready all that blood gets pulled into their body..so if the membrane bleeds at all...they're not ready yet and you'll hurt them by going further right then. If just a small bit is stuck I try to free that part of their body if I can and see if they can go on alone...sometimes they can and sometimes they are just too worn out from fighting being stuck. So in the end I look for the air hole if any and what it looks like. If pipped and that looks fine I might peel a bit away at the air hole location to see if it got stuck on the membranes as that usually happens in close proximity to the air hole. If no pip I candle to be sure it is really gone before tossing because anything else that happened internally I'm not going to be able to tell anyway by cracking it open. During incubation you can tell nothing except deformity by cracking them open. All the other things that will kill them at that stage will not be detectable on visual inspection. The only info it will give you is what chicks look like at the stage in development that they died or if they are deformed (which is rare).
Hello Art, in Germany we say swallows only built nests in an active cow barn. So those swallows are an inheritance from Dolly.Best wishes from the old world to you and your family.
With your elderberries, you might have more success if you take cuttings off of them to root, cut off most of the leaves so you have one or two if they are small. This causes them to focus on developing roots to support future growth.
I really appreciate your quest for knowledge and willingness to take us with you. The shots of the ducklings were so quick that it really wasn't gross - at least to me. It's my experience that once a duck or goose egg turns that dark bluish-blackish color, it's dead. Five weeks ago, four goslings hatched from two nests. My two-year old geese were first-time mamas, and both rejected the first hatchlings which I raised inside for two weeks. I introduced them to the flock, and when they began to feather out - and the weather was warm - I put them out with the flock because I wanted them to be geese, not humans. There had been broody birds in the preceding year, but since nothing has ever hatched with these birds, I wasn't expecting 'lings. It's interesting to note that as soon as I finally found some non-soy feed, I got live goslings. I believe there is a connection because when I was raising chickens in Texas, I fed non-soy feed and had clutch after clutch of live babies. Right now, I have five broody ducks and a broody goose; I'm not sure whether we'll get more hatchlings or not.
Sweet potato slips are super expensive in my area so I decided to try growing my own. Set sweet potatoes in warm place, once eyes started to sprout I planted the whole sweet potato, sprouted eyes end up, in a large yogurt container with potting soil. They took off. After this step, when the eye sprouts are a few inches tall, I read that you carefully break the eye with the sprouts off and put them in a jar of water to sprout. Worked great! Then someone said you don't have to break the whole eye off but you can just clip the sprout and it too will root! I tried that and it does indeed work! By leaving the eye on the potato it will send up additional sprouts so they said you could get 50 - 75 starts off one single .79 cent sweet potato! So YES!!!! I believe your sweet potatoes will grow :-) have a great day and thanks for all the experiments and updates, both good and sad. It is the way things are on a homestead.
I just turned my compost yesterday to see what was happening in there, too, & found two piles of reptile eggs!! About the size of ping pong balls. Pretty sure they’re from the large snapping turtles in our nearby pond... 🐢 They must like the warmth of the pile...lol
Yes it's always another great day on your homestead. Thanks so much for your wonderful content and honesty in all that y'all do there on your beautiful farm!
You have one of my favorite channels. I love to see all the different projects you are working on and enjoy the brief moments spent with your lovely family. It is peaceful, educational and encouraging to me. I hope that the channel will grow allowing you the time you seek. Good luck and many blessings.
I was an intercity science teacher in another life and I hatch all kinds of eggs with my students. We used a square styrofoam incubator about 2ft square. It was not an auto turn we did that by hand. First we let it run for about a week and monitored the temperature readings. We had to adjust it as it was not accurate. Then we had lightly marked each egg on one side this way we knew each got turned. We turned each egg every hour quickly not to leave the cover off too long to decrease the temperature.We had a water bottle and lightly misted the eggs before leaving at night. We had a lot of success. Very few eggs didn’t hatch. We did quail, various chicken breeds, ducks and turkeys. We kept them on organic feed the farmer gave us who supplied the eggs. We learned how to clean and care for each breed until their secondary wings grew out and we would take them back to the farmer.
In a perfect world..... you'd have your friends as neighbors and there`d be no boundaries between your land and theirs. You'd work as a team to tackle big projects and then retreat back home at the end of the day.
Thank you for opening you hearts and lives with the world. I love watching and learning from your whole family.. I've almost watched all your videos! You are amazing parents and children. On the turtle and Joy Joy, haha don't suck it. Lol I'm going to laugh randomly today and people are going to wonder why.. Don't suck it... So cute.. On the ducks. Its part of life and not all can make it. Look at how many you did succeed at! That is a true miracle. Not everything is going to be perfect. I'm 51 and I'm still learning. Never give up. Bless your amazing family and life!!! Thanks
Yes, another great day! Thank y’all for taking us along. In farm life we have great, wonderful things that happen as well as the sad, horrible things...you’re showing the raw truth with wisdom, respect and great optimism. I support your channel not just because I enjoy it so(which I do) but because I believe that you do have so much more that you want to accomplish & share with us. I pray that you are able (at some point soon) to be a full time homesteading family not needing to work outside your farm. And yes, I think your sweet potatoes will make it. Blessings...
The fails and success of your homestead are very interesting I think you're sweet potato slips Will Survive thank you for sharing another great day on your homestead
As a child I love the day when the boxes came out. It was like Christmas getting to see what still fit. Usually I had to give my clothes to may sister. I seldom remember getting new ones thought.
In addition to all the useful information, I really enjoy the musical interludes and the intro and endings of your vlogs. You capture the beauty of it all in those moments.
Love your family and your wonderful channel!! Best on RUclips. I believe our path is similar to yours so watching you is so inspiring. We are pretty isolated out at our homestead so finding other kindred spirits brings us joy and encouragement. Please keep up your wonderful work and blessings to your family.
Poor Grace. I'm afraid It's the incubator. We are very successful here at hatching ducklings and we bought one of those little incubators from eBay a few years ago and never hatched anything in it. They are useless.
Hilltop Farm Homestead I have a equal one and 4 eggs, non of them hatched. Actually I do t know how to fix it. I want new chickens so bad but momma chicken don't want to do the job
The sweet potatoes will live if you will water them well. Ours looked terrible a few weeks ago. They are now doing well, but we have temps in the 90's. America needs more couples like you folks, God bless America.
That is cute about the barn swallows. I am pestered by cardinals when my tomatoes start turning red every year. This year I decided to buy a thick bird netting from ag fabric and the cardinals had 6 nests up in the trees awaiting red tomatoes. Now they figured out that they couldn't get to the tomatoes, so they grew up their babies and left. But, now the horn worms took over. I always let mine sit it water for a few weeks until they grow roots, then I plant them. Have a Blessed Day!
Art, I got mine via mail from the same place as you did. Mine looked the same but are doing quite well. Keep them well watered for two weeks at least. Blessings to y'all!
My husband and I made an incubator out of a Styrofoam cooler. Used plexiglass on top and side for windows. Used 2 different light bulbs (in case one failed) on a thermostat for heat. Used a PC fan for circulation. Work great....was able to hatch out several sets of chicken eggs that I ordered off of eBay & 3 full clutches of rescued Mallard ducks eggs 100% rate. It was a fun yet productive project.
Not gonna lie I was a bit curious about those eggs. I have duck eggs sitting in a cheap incubator too but mine was $60 and it's like a plastic box with an auto turner. It's only day 7 and I can candle them and their growth is incredible. Now I'm really curious if mine will hatch. This is really a test run I guess. Crossing fingers
Shejustdidnotsaythatshit Gorlplease they are due July 4th :) candled them yesterday and they were kicking and ready to hatch, tomorrow is lock down. Crossing fingers all goes well!
Hello from the viking land Norway😊 I just bought a T-shirt!!! 😃 You guys are awesome!! Nice of you to help Justin and his family with the chickens. God bless and have a wonderfull day! ❤💐
Art, I grow tons of sweet potatoes year-round here in Liberia. When it’s hot and dry, watering morning and evening for the first 7-10 days is critical. Keep them moist, but not waterlogged. Good luck!
For willow tree we just started some from cuttings and they did well when we put them in a vase full of water with half on an aspirin and they are doing great
I raise Elderberries. you only need two growth nodes below the soil and two above. Keep them moist. Cut the tops off of the rooted plants to much plant for the roots o support. You don't need all that length. You can start in water, very easy to root.
Art you are as curious as a kid. So cool. Love watching you explore life. Please tell Grace that the experience of hatching just one egg successfully is worth all the sadness of the losses, from my own experience at about her age.
I had slugs eating my beans. I tried putting beer in a little bowl buried level with the ground. They are attracted to beer and they drown. It Worked!!! Now my beans are beautiful and I canned my first 9 pints today. Love your videos...y'all take care.
I have that same incubator. The temperature gage is usually off by quite a bit. Get a reptile thermometer with a small probe on a thin wire and put it through the air hole. Rest it on the shell of one of the eggs and use it to see if your temperature is right. Those eggs looked to me like the temperature went too high. The way the yellow goo was so thick and clumpy.
I have that same incubator! Out of six eggs, one did hatch, but it needed to be helped out of the egg. The problem with the incubator is mostly that it needs to have a wet rag put on top of it be cause it needs more moisture, hope that helps any
Hi Art and Bri, I found out how to compost your un hatched eggs, plant them under your sapling trees, the phosphorus and calcium and chick/duckling will really boost your trees and garden plants, either compost them or you can bury then right under the planting, I did that with my tomatoes and evergreens and catelpa ( flowering tree) .
I use to do cuttings from nearly everything I could get my hands on back in Louisiana and I found most success when I'd cut early in the spring as the sad just starts flowing, using a bit of hormone activator and keeping them in Styrofoam cups in the shade and on the ground, where they seemed to stay more moist. I also use to break open eggs to see what stage of development they stopped. I used an incubator, put an X on one side so I'd know which side to turn up or down when turning them and keeping them humidified and at constant temp. Had great success. God more relaxed with brooding. Now I keep baby chicks in a dog kennel until big enuf to be turned out. Great videos!!!! Very entertaining and full of knowledge!!
I am really enjoying your channel. We planted our first garden this year so I am no help with the sweet potatos. As a homeschooling family we always break open the unhatched eggs. It is sad BUT It is a wonderful learning experiance to see what the embryos look like in the different stages. We have had them from 7day embryo to pipped and just didn't hatch. With duck eggs they like high humidity from the beginning. We also mist our duck eggs because duck eggs are thicker then chicken eggs so the misting helps the shells break down enough that the duckling can break the egg at hatch. A mother duck will go dip in the water and come back to her nest which is what misting is like. Happy hatching!! It is SO rewarding to hatch your own chicks/ducklings. I have found that chicks hatch a tad easier then ducklings.
I have watched several of your new videos the last 2 days.. sweet family. That baby has grown so much. I live not far from Johnson City, TN. We have not had any rain since all that flooding couple weeks ago. Praying we get rain soon. My parents still plant a garden and we can a lot of our own food. What you are teaching your children is a priceless education that they can’t learn in any school. Our society has moved away from slowing down and growing our own food. Nothing beats homegrown food and having it in the winter to just open and have is so yummy.. My favorite is macaroni and tomatoes. God bless you and your family. Hated to hear about your family milk cow and pet. Hope your able to get another one soon. I would invest in another incubator hopefully she will be able to raise some babies and sell them.
I think it is recommended to put the slips in water to start the roots growing. They grow roots very quickly in just a few days... and then put them in the ground. You may need to give them a lot of water to help them right away.
Art, it sometimes takes 2 years for elderberry plants to actually show life. I've had them do nothing the first year. However if the goats get to them they may never do anything, however a plant that had no life due to goats, regrew and now has 6 or 8 plants over 15 feet. Have a blessed day from PA.
I have had great luck rooting Willow by placing cuttings in a pail of water. When rooted do not trow out the water. It has been infused with a great rooting hormone to root other. Cuttings.
I think it was very good of you to open up the eggs a lot of times we'd like to know but have no way of finding out how to know what's inside. It may be gross but it's part of life thanks for doing that.
Sweets will be fine just keep them watered..... Thanks for another great video.... Tell Grace so sorry for the loss of her baby ducks.... Shes growing up so fast....
Male box turtles also have a dent in the plastron or bottom of the shell. Helps them mount the females. This was one of my favorite vlogs, nice to see people with a decent understanding of the native wildlife. Here in Florida, are box turtles aren't sexually dimorphic, so you can't tell them apart without looking at the plastron. Long time subscriber, love all the videos.
I root my cuttings in potting soil. I cut a hole in the top center of the bag, to water through, and cut slits over the top, and push my cuttings into the slits. Place the bag in a spot that's shaded from the hot afternoon sun, and near a water source. Keep watered.
We bought tractor supply incubator that has done great. It hatches 40some eggs at a time. It paid for itself after two runs of eggs. It was around 80 dollars.
I am so happy I became a patreon supporter. You and your family are my favorite channel and I always felt guilty when I enjoyed the channel so much for free because I know it comes at a price! I feel that, if you like something you have to help support it so it will thrive, whether it is your channel, the local organic veg stand or a yarn shop. I think the slips will survive with watering. I watch a lot of gardening shows and they cut off more leaves than I feel comfortable with. But they say the cutting can put more of it's energy into making a plant than supporting leaves. And all of them will put a plastic bag over the cuttings, with a rubber band to secure it. Your shirt looks like it has Mt Rainier on it!
I'm and old gal, I love your channel, wish I could have started this way of life much earlier in my life. Anyway keep doing what you do. It's beautiful and so is your family.
Hey Art, when we had duck eggs incubating, we used a empty toilet roll we would sit the egg on top and shine a torch below and it give us a better look at what is in side, if you do it in the dark it shows up better. Love the video thanks for sharing :)
Hello sweet family! We love you all...as far as the sweet potato slips rooting I am hopeful, but I start ours from organic sweet ones in water with willards water plant catalyst shoots come up I remove them from the potato and submerge the new stem in the same willards/ water. They form roots quick they always do very well and it could save you some $$ in years to come. All the best and keep up the good work. Much love!
My slips had way more roots off of them when I planted mine. I also did fine them off of the parent plants though. I used a sweet Japanese variety I grew last year. You know the drill, just keep them wet and see what happens.
That was interesting. I was wondering what was in those eggs too. That is sad, but you tried. I wonder what went wrong? Have fun, Bri. Btw.. Your kids are so cute!!! If your videos were 30 minutes (or more), I would love it. I could watch y'all all day! Love from Texas.
The incubator i use is a magic fly. I have 3 one is a magic fly the other two are similar just off brands. I paid 60.00 on amazon. Keep trying to hatch. It is amazing.
Art..get you a five gallon bucket and put drip holes in the bottom and place it by your tree's..i fill the bucket up have way and makes sure the tree's are getting plenty of water..
Have you tried to use lentils to make a easy rooting agent? 3 spoons of germinated lentils mixed with a cup of water will mske for a litre or so of water. You can water your plants or put the cutted branch in the liquid for about 2 hours before put in any form of ground. Sorry for my bad english, I'm from Brazil. Very nice farm, very nice work there you both!
Last year my wife and I dug up some elderberry saplings and raspberries suckers at her mom's. The elderberry saplings were dead within a couple days. This year, though, we have an elderberry coming up in the raspberry patch. I must have dug up some elderberry root. Don't give up on them, they're pretty resilient. The tree may die, but the rootstock may survive.
I’ve hatched ducks for a few years, I’ve put over 60 eggs in the incubator by now at different times, only 1 of those eggs hatched! It’s the cutest little duck ever
Before I had to have my porch rebuilt I had a ledge are in the corner that had a swallows nest every year for 10 years. It was so myc fun watching the little heads pop up when the parents stopped by with food. They kept the moths and mosquitos under control feeding those hungry mouths. Then their feathers grew in and the wings started growing. It was like watching a 3 Stooges movie or a small couch full of kids. "Hey watch it that's my wing! You move I was here first! Stop pushing me! I almost fell out quit! MOM!!! He's touching me!!!" Sadly there is no place for a nest any more.
Thank you for the reminder Joyful! We'll be sure not to suck on the next turtle we meet ;).
Yes! A,good little nugget there!!!
That could be the new shirt idea- "Don't suck on the box turtle" hahah Love the video, as always!
When I was a Kid we painted year on the bottom of shell, 10 yrs later my daughter found it in our pasture and creek
Don't suck on box turtle, sage advice.
festorfamine 🤣🤣 That was my favorite part of the video!!
I loved that too! so cute lol
I was listening in the living room...& heard hubby crack up in the kitchen! Yes, no sucking on box turtles.😂👍
Yes, don't put the turtle in your mouth! Lol
festorfamine 😂😂😂
I want a T-shirt that says “It’s another great day on the homestead.” I love when you say that because, well, most days it is! And I don’t even have a homestead... yet. 😉
Camille K I agree!! Even the hard days are a good day on the homestead. 🙏🏻
Wonderful idea!
I would want a shirt that says that too. Just another positive thing to think on even when things go wrong.
Ya!
OK Gracie... I’m doing a car boot sale in France next month, I’m pledging all of the proceeds to you for your incubator fund. You were so brave about the ducklings and the eggs. You are a truly fine example to your younger siblings. 🙏🏻
Yes Gracie needs an incubator fund for her ducks she appears determined to be a duck farmer. I don’t allow eggs anywhere near my house because my son has a serious egg allergy but I think it’s quite interesting to see other people raise birds from eggs.
gwyneth grove
what a lovely gesture for Grace. Truly kind.
Nice. Cheap incubators can kill chicks like this one did or worse they can produce crippled/deformed chicks if the temps are not stable.
Thank you ART for sharing your video homestead chicken farmer garden on RUclips 🐔🐓🐥🐈🌱🐖🐐🐕🐄🎥👍👍👍
One of our hens just hatched two chicks, but there were three that didn't hatch. I, too, wanted to know what was in the unhatched eggs. When I broke the first one open it EXPLODED , shot egg everywhere and stunk up the place! I felt like I had entered Charlotte's Web where Avery broke Templeton's egg! :-)Jean
Daniel Wright that happened to me too but it was blood instead
yuck!
And this is why we candle them rather than crack them open...if you candle and they are all dark, even spots in the air cell area...DON'T crack it for the love of pete LOL- that is mold and bacteria and nastiness that smells worse than your worst nightmare.
Interesting because I have read that it is good to open the egg & study what happened with the animal inside. This came from a lady who studies incubation a lot & wanted to find out when the babies died so she could try to fix the issue next time. I don't do it myself, because I haven't gotten that far in my learning.......but she didn't do it to eggs that were rotten inside. She knows what that looks like. I do too, LOLOL after having one explode on me.
After you incubate and candle enough you pretty much know what things look like at different ages...the only thing you can tell ONLY by opening them up is physical deformity ...and that can happen randomly every blue moon...that info gives you no real information unless it is happening ALOT- then the genes of the parents are at issue. The age can be approximated by candling- the more experienced you get, the more you can pinpoint it- I can take a clutch of eggs from under a hen outside that I have NO clue how long she's been brooding them and tell within a couple days of when they'll hatch by candling and seeing how big they are and other egg changes.
At the end there is only a few things that will kill them...Too high or too low humidity...they can drown or they can get stuck with stickiness...and temps out of the range that they can tolerate (which you can't tell by cracking them open or candling them), and if the temp was too low during incubation then they aren't developed enough to hatch even though it is time- you can tell this if the retardation is moderate by candling. Drowning happens in the egg before pip often and only occasionally after...if they pip on the bottom of the egg the risk of drowning is much greater and you'd see dried gook around and in the hole. Cracking it open won't tell you much as the egg has fluid in it anyway...you can't be sure what's enough to drown and what's enough to not. Sometimes they'll pip in an abnormal location and when they turn, their own body blocks the air hole and they suffocate (you can sometimes help with this by doing a "rescue hole", a very small hole in the correct location), when I find an egg pipped abnormally and the chicks trunk is behind it, I kinda figure that it blocked the air hole- usually they keep their beak close to the air holes they create then keep making new ones as they crack around the egg to get out. Sticking usually occurs after pip when the air gets in there and the humidity is not high enough...but if you watch carefully and maybe help out a little it is easily discovered once you get a feel for how long between pip and zip (going around the shell cracking) is supposed to be generally...you can feel that their little feathers are stuck fast to the membrane and they can't turn- I usually know this before it takes the baby though and help it get through the rest of the process (mostly with success). Tip- if you are helping you only open a little bit more at a time, if at any time you hit red blood in the membrane...STOP instantly...put it back opening upwards and wait about two hours (and increase the humidity as much as you can in their hatching area, and then try a little bit more later. When they are ready all that blood gets pulled into their body..so if the membrane bleeds at all...they're not ready yet and you'll hurt them by going further right then. If just a small bit is stuck I try to free that part of their body if I can and see if they can go on alone...sometimes they can and sometimes they are just too worn out from fighting being stuck.
So in the end I look for the air hole if any and what it looks like. If pipped and that looks fine I might peel a bit away at the air hole location to see if it got stuck on the membranes as that usually happens in close proximity to the air hole. If no pip I candle to be sure it is really gone before tossing because anything else that happened internally I'm not going to be able to tell anyway by cracking it open. During incubation you can tell nothing except deformity by cracking them open. All the other things that will kill them at that stage will not be detectable on visual inspection. The only info it will give you is what chicks look like at the stage in development that they died or if they are deformed (which is rare).
Art is one of the manliest dudes I know of on youtube, thanks man. I learn a lot from you and aspire to be more knowledgeable like you about life.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I came for 11:08
And so did you
Journey S thank you!!
Blessed comment
Journey S I loved all parts of the vid. Tbh it's my first time here
Journey S violets are purple not blue
Who am I? Look up the reason why we say that
Hello Art, in Germany we say swallows only built nests in an active cow barn. So those swallows are an inheritance from Dolly.Best wishes from the old world to you and your family.
With your elderberries, you might have more success if you take cuttings off of them to root, cut off most of the leaves so you have one or two if they are small. This causes them to focus on developing roots to support future growth.
Check out this youtube channel, he focuses on plant propagation from cuttings. ruclips.net/channel/UCTVGyD_baZU0y-63OHb68tw
I really appreciate your quest for knowledge and willingness to take us with you. The shots of the ducklings were so quick that it really wasn't gross - at least to me.
It's my experience that once a duck or goose egg turns that dark bluish-blackish color, it's dead.
Five weeks ago, four goslings hatched from two nests. My two-year old geese were first-time mamas, and both rejected the first hatchlings which I raised inside for two weeks. I introduced them to the flock, and when they began to feather out - and the weather was warm - I put them out with the flock because I wanted them to be geese, not humans.
There had been broody birds in the preceding year, but since nothing has ever hatched with these birds, I wasn't expecting 'lings. It's interesting to note that as soon as I finally found some non-soy feed, I got live goslings. I believe there is a connection because when I was raising chickens in Texas, I fed non-soy feed and had clutch after clutch of live babies.
Right now, I have five broody ducks and a broody goose; I'm not sure whether we'll get more hatchlings or not.
Grace, keep trying to hatch ducklings. The more you try, the more you learn. You'll get live babies eventually. Best wishes and best of luck.
Sweet potato slips are super expensive in my area so I decided to try growing my own. Set sweet potatoes in warm place, once eyes started to sprout I planted the whole sweet potato, sprouted eyes end up, in a large yogurt container with potting soil. They took off. After this step, when the eye sprouts are a few inches tall, I read that you carefully break the eye with the sprouts off and put them in a jar of water to sprout. Worked great! Then someone said you don't have to break the whole eye off but you can just clip the sprout and it too will root! I tried that and it does indeed work! By leaving the eye on the potato it will send up additional sprouts so they said you could get 50 - 75 starts off one single .79 cent sweet potato! So YES!!!! I believe your sweet potatoes will grow :-) have a great day and thanks for all the experiments and updates, both good and sad. It is the way things are on a homestead.
I just turned my compost yesterday to see what was happening in there, too, & found two piles of reptile eggs!! About the size of ping pong balls. Pretty sure they’re from the large snapping turtles in our nearby pond... 🐢 They must like the warmth of the pile...lol
TarantuLady update on the eggs!! Were they turtles??
I learn something new on every video you show. You and Bri make a wonderful family.
Yes it's always another great day on your homestead. Thanks so much for your wonderful content and honesty in all that y'all do there on your beautiful farm!
So do you think the incubator was the cause of the ducks not doing well? maybe just two eggs would work best in something that small.
I thought two of those eggs looked kind of half cooked.
james casey i think it looked like that because they were starting to rot, i am also very puzzled and fascinated as to why they stopped developing
probably not enough humidity during the last three days...that or a temp spike or drop... possibly, even probably mostly due to the incubator.
it was the incubator, I had this very one, it failed twice miserably, everything either didn't hatch or soon died
yeah when the incubator goes off the rails....they go down quick.
You have one of my favorite channels. I love to see all the different projects you are working on and enjoy the brief moments spent with your lovely family. It is peaceful, educational and encouraging to me. I hope that the channel will grow allowing you the time you seek. Good luck and many blessings.
If the crows are not after your garden they will warn you of predators in the area. Especially hawks.
Your videos are some of the best. Thank you.
I was an intercity science teacher in another life and I hatch all kinds of eggs with my students. We used a square styrofoam incubator about 2ft square. It was not an auto turn we did that by hand. First we let it run for about a week and monitored the temperature readings. We had to adjust it as it was not accurate. Then we had lightly marked each egg on one side this way we knew each got turned. We turned each egg every hour quickly not to leave the cover off too long to decrease the temperature.We had a water bottle and lightly misted the eggs before leaving at night. We had a lot of success. Very few eggs didn’t hatch. We did quail, various chicken breeds, ducks and turkeys. We kept them on organic feed the farmer gave us who supplied the eggs. We learned how to clean and care for each breed until their secondary wings grew out and we would take them back to the farmer.
In a perfect world..... you'd have your friends as neighbors and there`d be no boundaries between your land and theirs. You'd work as a team to tackle big projects and then retreat back home at the end of the day.
Thank you for opening you hearts and lives with the world. I love watching and learning from your whole family.. I've almost watched all your videos! You are amazing parents and children. On the turtle and Joy Joy, haha don't suck it. Lol I'm going to laugh randomly today and people are going to wonder why.. Don't suck it... So cute.. On the ducks. Its part of life and not all can make it. Look at how many you did succeed at! That is a true miracle. Not everything is going to be perfect. I'm 51 and I'm still learning. Never give up. Bless your amazing family and life!!! Thanks
Yes, another great day! Thank y’all for taking us along. In farm life we have great, wonderful things that happen as well as the sad, horrible things...you’re showing the raw truth with wisdom, respect and great optimism. I support your channel not just because I enjoy it so(which I do) but because I believe that you do have so much more that you want to accomplish & share with us. I pray that you are able (at some point soon) to be a full time homesteading family not needing to work outside your farm. And yes, I think your sweet potatoes will make it. Blessings...
The fails and success of your homestead are very interesting I think you're sweet potato slips Will Survive thank you for sharing another great day on your homestead
I broke into laughter after his daughter said "and don't suck on them" lol 🤣
Great videos. Published on my birthday. Love watching your kids grow thru the videos. Happy homesteading
As a child I love the day when the boxes came out. It was like Christmas getting to see what still fit. Usually I had to give my clothes to may sister. I seldom remember getting new ones thought.
In addition to all the useful information, I really enjoy the musical interludes and the intro and endings of your vlogs. You capture the beauty of it all in those moments.
🌺🌼🏵️🌹 thanks for the update on the homestead, gardens and the adventures with the family !! 🌺🌼🏵️🌹
Love your family and your wonderful channel!! Best on RUclips. I believe our path is similar to yours so watching you is so inspiring. We are pretty isolated out at our homestead so finding other kindred spirits brings us joy and encouragement. Please keep up your wonderful work and blessings to your family.
Poor Grace. I'm afraid It's the incubator. We are very successful here at hatching ducklings and we bought one of those little incubators from eBay a few years ago and never hatched anything in it. They are useless.
Hilltop Farm Homestead I have a equal one and 4 eggs, non of them hatched. Actually I do t know how to fix it. I want new chickens so bad but momma chicken don't want to do the job
Always a great day at the homestead. Thank you for sharing yours.
The sweet potatoes will live if you will water them well. Ours looked terrible a few weeks ago. They are now doing well, but we have temps in the 90's. America needs more couples like you folks, God bless America.
That is cute about the barn swallows. I am pestered by cardinals when my tomatoes start turning red every year. This year I decided to buy a thick bird netting from ag fabric and the cardinals had 6 nests up in the trees awaiting red tomatoes. Now they figured out that they couldn't get to the tomatoes, so they grew up their babies and left. But, now the horn worms took over. I always let mine sit it water for a few weeks until they grow roots, then I plant them. Have a Blessed Day!
Art, I got mine via mail from the same place as you did. Mine looked the same but are doing quite well. Keep them well watered for two weeks at least. Blessings to y'all!
My husband and I made an incubator out of a Styrofoam cooler. Used plexiglass on top and side for windows. Used 2 different light bulbs (in case one failed) on a thermostat for heat. Used a PC fan for circulation. Work great....was able to hatch out several sets of chicken eggs that I ordered off of eBay & 3 full clutches of rescued Mallard ducks eggs 100% rate. It was a fun yet productive project.
Not gonna lie I was a bit curious about those eggs. I have duck eggs sitting in a cheap incubator too but mine was $60 and it's like a plastic box with an auto turner. It's only day 7 and I can candle them and their growth is incredible. Now I'm really curious if mine will hatch. This is really a test run I guess. Crossing fingers
Jenna Carey do you know what the humidity shouldbe on for chickens
riley johnson 45% to 55% humidity. 3 days before hatch put on lockdown and bump it to 60%-65%
Jenna Carey Did they hatch?
Shejustdidnotsaythatshit Gorlplease they are due July 4th :) candled them yesterday and they were kicking and ready to hatch, tomorrow is lock down. Crossing fingers all goes well!
Jenna Carey Were you successful? :D
Hello from the viking land Norway😊 I just bought a T-shirt!!! 😃 You guys are awesome!! Nice of you to help Justin and his family with the chickens. God bless and have a wonderfull day! ❤💐
BTW. Here is a video I made of our famous swans. ruclips.net/video/f41J1IAOLnc/видео.html
Enjoy❤
i recommend getting one that has built in egg turners because i had the same incubator at first then when i switched they started hatching
Poor Gracie! She’s such a sweet, patient, and hard working little thing.
Diane Hammer ......and kind, you forgot kind!
Diane Hammer .....and kind, you forgot kind.
T Ward you’re right! I did forget kind. 😀
Thanks for sharing the good the bad and ugly.what a learning experience for u all as a family
Oh my gosh, ‘And don’t suck on it’. That’s just perfect 👌
Art, I grow tons of sweet potatoes year-round here in Liberia. When it’s hot and dry, watering morning and evening for the first 7-10 days is critical. Keep them moist, but not waterlogged. Good luck!
Cool. It's finally raining again so I get a break from watering.
For willow tree we just started some from cuttings and they did well when we put them in a vase full of water with half on an aspirin and they are doing great
I raise Elderberries. you only need two growth nodes below the soil and two above. Keep them moist. Cut the tops off of the rooted plants to much plant for the roots o support. You don't need all that length. You can start in water, very easy to root.
“Don’t suck on the box turtle” that was so cute and innocent coming out of her mouth❤️
Art you are as curious as a kid. So cool. Love watching you explore life. Please tell Grace that the experience of hatching just one egg successfully is worth all the sadness of the losses, from my own experience at about her age.
I had slugs eating my beans. I tried putting beer in a little bowl buried level with the ground. They are attracted to beer and they drown. It Worked!!! Now my beans are beautiful and I canned my first 9 pints today. Love your videos...y'all take care.
The part you're looking for is 11:00
No problem!👍
I have that same incubator. The temperature gage is usually off by quite a bit. Get a reptile thermometer with a small probe on a thin wire and put it through the air hole. Rest it on the shell of one of the eggs and use it to see if your temperature is right. Those eggs looked to me like the temperature went too high. The way the yellow goo was so thick and clumpy.
I have that same incubator! Out of six eggs, one did hatch, but it needed to be helped out of the egg. The problem with the incubator is mostly that it needs to have a wet rag put on top of it be cause it needs more moisture, hope that helps any
Hi Art and Bri, I found out how to compost your un hatched eggs, plant them under your sapling trees, the phosphorus and calcium and chick/duckling will really boost your trees and garden plants, either compost them or you can bury then right under the planting, I did that with my tomatoes and evergreens and catelpa ( flowering tree) .
Sad about baby ducks...but glad you showed the results just so we know. Thanks for sharing another day on the farm!
I use to do cuttings from nearly everything I could get my hands on back in Louisiana and I found most success when I'd cut early in the spring as the sad just starts flowing, using a bit of hormone activator and keeping them in Styrofoam cups in the shade and on the ground, where they seemed to stay more moist. I also use to break open eggs to see what stage of development they stopped. I used an incubator, put an X on one side so I'd know which side to turn up or down when turning them and keeping them humidified and at constant temp. Had great success. God more relaxed with brooding. Now I keep baby chicks in a dog kennel until big enuf to be turned out. Great videos!!!! Very entertaining and full of knowledge!!
Hello... Great to spend time with you again. ~Smile!
“And, don’t suck on them!” 😂😂😂❤️
I am really enjoying your channel. We planted our first garden this year so I am no help with the sweet potatos. As a homeschooling family we always break open the unhatched eggs. It is sad BUT It is a wonderful learning experiance to see what the embryos look like in the different stages. We have had them from 7day embryo to pipped and just didn't hatch.
With duck eggs they like high humidity from the beginning. We also mist our duck eggs because duck eggs are thicker then chicken eggs so the misting helps the shells break down enough that the duckling can break the egg at hatch. A mother duck will go dip in the water and come back to her nest which is what misting is like. Happy hatching!! It is SO rewarding to hatch your own chicks/ducklings. I have found that chicks hatch a tad easier then ducklings.
I have watched several of your new videos the last 2 days.. sweet family. That baby has grown so much. I live not far from Johnson City, TN. We have not had any rain since all that flooding couple weeks ago. Praying we get rain soon. My parents still plant a garden and we can a lot of our own food. What you are teaching your children is a priceless education that they can’t learn in any school. Our society has moved away from slowing down and growing our own food. Nothing beats homegrown food and having it in the winter to just open and have is so yummy.. My favorite is macaroni and tomatoes. God bless you and your family. Hated to hear about your family milk cow and pet. Hope your able to get another one soon. I would invest in another incubator hopefully she will be able to raise some babies and sell them.
3rd time is the charm Miss Grace you will eventually get those sweet little ducklings!
im hatching baby chicks i have the same incubator as you but My 3 eggs broke and 1 roten Now im Trying my best to hatch my 2 eggs
I think it is recommended to put the slips in water to start the roots growing. They grow roots very quickly in just a few days... and then put them in the ground. You may need to give them a lot of water to help them right away.
Never heard of you before and randomly stumbled upon your channel. I'm glad I did! Very fresh and interesting content. Keep up the good work!
‘It’s definitely dead’.... yep, no kidding. Sorry, yes it was gross and sad but I have to admit I chuckled just a little when you said that.
aw, that made my morning, the confidence in your farm to do some chores barefoot. :D nice! my toes are jealous.
Art, it sometimes takes 2 years for elderberry plants to actually show life. I've had them do nothing the first year. However if the goats get to them they may never do anything, however a plant that had no life due to goats, regrew and now has 6 or 8 plants over 15 feet. Have a blessed day from PA.
I have had great luck rooting Willow by placing cuttings in a pail of water. When rooted do not trow out the water. It has been infused with a great rooting hormone to root other. Cuttings.
I have always been curious about what the inside of an unhatched, fertilized egg looked like. Thank you for showing us. Yes, it is sad too.
New to your channel, instantly love your family and your beautiful homestead. Subscribed! Good luck with all your projects!! 💗💗💗
I love to use the clamshells from 'living lettuce' to make a mini greenhouse for my cuttings.
I think it was very good of you to open up the eggs a lot of times we'd like to know but have no way of finding out how to know what's inside. It may be gross but it's part of life thanks for doing that.
I did the same thing with the ducks and same as you. So don’t feel bad everything is a learning experience.
Sweets will be fine just keep them watered..... Thanks for another great video.... Tell Grace so sorry for the loss of her baby ducks.... Shes growing up so fast....
Oh my goodness my living/dinning room looks identical to yours!! Iv been trying to organize my kids clothing and it seems never ending.
Male box turtles also have a dent in the plastron or bottom of the shell. Helps them mount the females. This was one of my favorite vlogs, nice to see people with a decent understanding of the native wildlife. Here in Florida, are box turtles aren't sexually dimorphic, so you can't tell them apart without looking at the plastron. Long time subscriber, love all the videos.
I root my cuttings in potting soil. I cut a hole in the top center of the bag, to water through, and cut slits over the top, and push my cuttings into the slits. Place the bag in a spot that's shaded from the hot afternoon sun, and near a water source. Keep watered.
We bought tractor supply incubator that has done great. It hatches 40some eggs at a time. It paid for itself after two runs of eggs. It was around 80 dollars.
I am so happy I became a patreon supporter. You and your family are my favorite channel and I always felt guilty when I enjoyed the channel so much for free because I know it comes at a price! I feel that, if you like something you have to help support it so it will thrive, whether it is your channel, the local organic veg stand or a yarn shop. I think the slips will survive with watering. I watch a lot of gardening shows and they cut off more leaves than I feel comfortable with. But they say the cutting can put more of it's energy into making a plant than supporting leaves. And all of them will put a plastic bag over the cuttings, with a rubber band to secure it. Your shirt looks like it has Mt Rainier on it!
"And Don't suck on it!" Good point. LOL
I'm and old gal, I love your channel, wish I could have started this way of life much earlier in my life. Anyway keep doing what you do. It's beautiful and so is your family.
Hey Art, when we had duck eggs incubating, we used a empty toilet roll we would sit the egg on top and shine a torch below and it give us a better look at what is in side, if you do it in the dark it shows up better. Love the video thanks for sharing :)
Bri, I totally love that you still put up clothes seasonally!!! I need to get back into that habit!!!!
Thank you!! 💞🙏🏻
Hello sweet family! We love you all...as far as the sweet potato slips rooting I am hopeful, but I start ours from organic sweet ones in water with willards water plant catalyst shoots come up I remove them from the potato and submerge the new stem in the same willards/ water. They form roots quick they always do very well and it could save you some $$ in years to come. All the best and keep up the good work. Much love!
My slips had way more roots off of them when I planted mine. I also did fine them off of the parent plants though. I used a sweet Japanese variety I grew last year. You know the drill, just keep them wet and see what happens.
Gotta learn this stuff somehow. No matter how sad, this is how information and knowledge is gained.
Have you tried root tone/ root starter on the cuttings? Grew up on a plant nursery it seems to make all the difference.
That was interesting. I was wondering what was in those eggs too. That is sad, but you tried. I wonder what went wrong? Have fun, Bri. Btw.. Your kids are so cute!!! If your videos were 30 minutes (or more), I would love it. I could watch y'all all day! Love from Texas.
I am really hoping for Grace to be able to finally hatch some eggs. Keep on working at it Grace. We are all rooting for you.
Happy for your family growing and the farm.
The incubator i use is a magic fly. I have 3 one is a magic fly the other two are similar just off brands. I paid 60.00 on amazon. Keep trying to hatch. It is amazing.
Thank you for showing. A great opportunity to learn.
Art..get you a five gallon bucket and put drip holes in the bottom and place it by your tree's..i fill the bucket up have way and makes sure the tree's are getting plenty of water..
Have you tried to use lentils to make a easy rooting agent? 3 spoons of germinated lentils mixed with a cup of water will mske for a litre or so of water. You can water your plants or put the cutted branch in the liquid for about 2 hours before put in any form of ground.
Sorry for my bad english, I'm from Brazil. Very nice farm, very nice work there you both!
Last year my wife and I dug up some elderberry saplings and raspberries suckers at her mom's. The elderberry saplings were dead within a couple days. This year, though, we have an elderberry coming up in the raspberry patch. I must have dug up some elderberry root. Don't give up on them, they're pretty resilient. The tree may die, but the rootstock may survive.
I’ve hatched ducks for a few years, I’ve put over 60 eggs in the incubator by now at different times, only 1 of those eggs hatched! It’s the cutest little duck ever
Before I had to have my porch rebuilt I had a ledge are in the corner that had a swallows nest every year for 10 years. It was so myc fun watching the little heads pop up when the parents stopped by with food. They kept the moths and mosquitos under control feeding those hungry mouths. Then their feathers grew in and the wings started growing. It was like watching a 3 Stooges movie or a small couch full of kids. "Hey watch it that's my wing! You move I was here first! Stop pushing me! I almost fell out quit! MOM!!! He's touching me!!!" Sadly there is no place for a nest any more.
I do the same thing with our winter clothes, it takes a few days but it gives me so much or room.
I love the info videos.. teach us more about cuttings please!! Love you guys you farm rock!!