Grit – September 01, 2019

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Catching Up with Our Social Circle

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Raising Goats for Land Clearing

(www.Facebook.com/GritMagazine)

William Laut: Goats are awesome! I plan to have
several as pets, and so I can use their soiled
bedding as compost.

Kendra Rudd Shatswell: [Our goats] worked to clear
scrubby brush on our place, but they also took care
of all my wild blackberries!

POPULAR ON GRIT.COM

“Expert Tips for

Incubating

Chicken Eggs”
by Oscar H. Will III
“Which came first, the chicken or the egg? For
most backyard poultry enthusiasts, the chicken
came first — well, more correctly, the day-old
chicks first arrived in the mail. But that’s not
the only way to create your first flock or maintain
your existing one. For folks who are uncertain
about receiving live animals through the mail,
or simply cannot handle the minimum number
of day-old chicks that most hatcheries require,
incubating fertile eggs is an attractive alternative.
Likewise for folks who keep a rooster in their flock,
incubating eggs is a great way to increase the
flock size, or to provide replacements for birds
that have been culled. Hatching fertile eggs need
not be difficult, but your success rate can be
increased by following a few guiding principles.
Chicken eggs need a fairly specific
environment to develop properly and hatch
successfully. Perhaps the most important
parameter is temperature: Chicken eggs should
be incubated at a temperature between 99
and 102 degrees Fahrenheit (99.5 is often
considered to be ideal) and 50 to 65 percent
relative humidity (60 percent is often considered
the ideal). To facilitate proper aeration and gas
exchange between the embryo inside the egg and
the outside world, the eggs must not be held in a
tightly sealed container.”

Learn how to successfully incubate chicken eggs at
http://www.Grit.com/Incubating-Chicken-Eggs.

Featured Comment

“I love to listen to frogs singing at night. Makes me feel safe.

Nothing can sneak past frogs!” — Peg Fisher, via Facebook.com, on “Frogs on the Homestead”

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READER BLOGS

“What to Consider Before

You Embrace an Off-Grid Lifestyle”

“Living an off-grid lifestyle is more than just a trend;

it’s becoming an increasingly popular way of life.

Part of the appeal of living off-grid is reducing

dependence on outside sources and relying upon oneself

for food, shelter, and utilities. The off-grid living is also

less expensive, sustainable, and reduces our carbon

footprint on the earth.

However, there are several things to consider before

you embrace an off-grid lifestyle.”

— from Elena’s Not-So-Secret Diary by Elena Smith

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