Greenleaf Farms

Phosphorus is  “P” value (the second number in the fertilizer rating N-P-K).

Plants absorb most of their phosphorus from the soil solution as orthophosphate (H2PO4-), regardless of the original source of phosphorus.  Since orthophosphate’s negative charge prevents it from being attracted to the soil’s positive charge (cation), it will still react strongly in the soil, particularly if there are large amounts of iron and aluminum naturally,  but it will products that are insoluble which in short means it is unavailable to plants.

A major factor controlling these insoluble/soluble reactions is the soil pH.   If the soil ph is low or high, the  phosphorus solubility availability is low,  because the phosphorus needs the soil to be in the 6.0 to 7.0 pH range to be absorbed.  That means we then need something, another chemical,  to change the soil to the optimum level so it can absorb phosphorus:  enter lime.  Of course there is also bone meal and rock phosphate, but lime is the cheapest alternative out there.

The legal definition of available phosphorus in fertilizer is the sum of the phosphorus soluble in water plus that which is soluble in  citrate solution or (P2O5). This number can  vary from 0 to 100 percent. So when shopping, look for is a  number as high as possible, as that  is the more effective phosphorous source.

This is especially important for short-season, fast-growing crops,  crops with restricted root systems (tomatoes) , or when purchasing starter fertilizers.

Eggs lose from 13 to 16 per cent of their moisture during incubation are said to undergo normal evaporation. Infertile eggs oddly enough, evaporate faster than do those containing live germs; hence the candling or testing of the eggs is important, because keeping the humidity level is important.

I start checking the eggs on day #5.  This day is the first day after the embryo has formed and is available for viewing.  If the eggs are infertile at this point, typically this is a cockbirds problem.  It’s important to know as soon as possible otherwise you can, and I have before I knew this, waste a lot of time to get a bad hatch.

The next time I check is on day #19 when i move them from the incubator to the hatcher.

When we did not have an automatic egg turner, I turned the eggs twice a day.  It’s a tough job so I picked a 12 hour interval i knew I would be awake.  For me that was 10 am and 10 pm and so it wasn’t so bad.

 Eggs undergoing incubation should be thoroly but carefully turned or shuffled at least twice daily from the second to the nineteenth day of incubation. Recent experiments have shown that it is not only desirable that the eggs be turned thruout the incubation period but very necessary that they be thoroly shuffled during the first ten or twelve days, in order that a high percentage of chicks dead in the shell be avoided.

I did do that too…shuffle them around, rolling them all over the Styrofoam making sure that the X’s were hidden 10 pm and visible at 10 am.

Eggs must be turned twice daily from the second to the nineteenth day of incubation with the early part of the incubation period is more vital than the latter part so far as the incubation factor of turning is concerned.

Whenever turning or certain amounts of turning are omitted the chicks that hatch are not as strong, do not fluff as well, and are more likely to have absorbed incompletely the remaining yolk on the nineteenth day.

Whenever turning or certain amounts of turning are omitted, there is a higher than normal loss of embryos as well  the dreaded ” dead-in-shells “.  Since I raise Araucanas, I am not looking to increase those odds.

The hen rotates her eggs about 180 times a day, moving and getting things settled, remember as her body, without feathers, is directly on the eggs, she can feels their movements and know when adjustments are needed.  But why is turning the eggs during incubation so vital ?  Well here are two reasons that have the most credence

1.  The yolk being lighter than the surrounding albumen it tends to rise, and,  & unless the position of the egg is changed frequently, it will in time come in contact with the shell membranes.
   1. If allowed to remain in contact the germ is said to dry fast and finally die;
2. Another idea is  what is called exercise and its relation to nutrition and vitality.
   1. Here the prevalent thought is that  “the embryo did not die from adhering to the shell membranes in the early part of the incubation period but rather lived until hatching time” and the movement deterred that.