So I helped out the rest of the salmon still in the buckets escape to the wild today. I did noticed a lot of dead eggs at the bottom of one bucket, I'll have to see if I can improve the design to prevent the eggs falling thru the mesh and bunching up and rotting.
I'm looking forward to next year...
Showing posts with label salmon eggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salmon eggs. Show all posts
2018/03/22
2018/03/19
Day 55! 20 TUs left!
Day 55! 20 TUs left! I took a
light out yesterday and could see lots and lots of little 1" fish
moving at the bottom. The instructions say that once the TU's are met,
they will swim out when the water temp is over 45, it's 47-48, so they
should be swimming out soon. I had to create a small damn in the creek
to focus the water to go into the pipes.. Woohoo!
2018/03/08
Salmon Egg update
Day 44, TU's counted: 1137. TU's left to go: 163
I can still see them swimming a little in the rocks. Getting close to the end. The weather is warming so that should speed things up.
I can still see them swimming a little in the rocks. Getting close to the end. The weather is warming so that should speed things up.
2018/02/13
The salmon 'alvins' are hiding in the rocks
Day 21, TU 493:
Just checked the salmon, they are hiding in among the rocks at the bottom of the buckets. It's hard to get a photo, I had to get a focused flash light to be able to see them. Water temp has dropped to 40F due to the frost we have had the last 4 days. Stream water level has dropped 6" plus since the high point when we had rain.
Just checked the salmon, they are hiding in among the rocks at the bottom of the buckets. It's hard to get a photo, I had to get a focused flash light to be able to see them. Water temp has dropped to 40F due to the frost we have had the last 4 days. Stream water level has dropped 6" plus since the high point when we had rain.
2018/02/12
All the eggs are hatched!
All the eggs are hatched and I removed the egg baskets from the buckets. I'll see if I can get some pics of the new salmon spawn.
TU is 889, 411 left to go to swimming away.
TU is 889, 411 left to go to swimming away.
2018/02/08
99% of the eggs are hatched!
99% of the eggs are hatched, only a dozen or two to go. I expect they might be dead ones that have not turned white yet.
The TU count is at 831 as of this morning. At ~1300 they should be swimming away.
The TU count is at 831 as of this morning. At ~1300 they should be swimming away.
2018/02/05
Lots hatched!
I guestimate that 2/3rd of the eggs are hatched. I moved the buckets back into the middle of the creek so they have a nice landing when they swim out.
Some pics:
Some pics:
2018/02/04
Day 11 - a lot more hatched!
Just checked the eggs, a lot more have hatched!
The temp of the water is 50F now. TU count is at 763.
The darker red spots are the salmon.
The temp of the water is 50F now. TU count is at 763.
The darker red spots are the salmon.
2018/02/01
Salmon eggs Day 9
Day 9. 730 TUs logged, I see more empty egg cases floating around. And a few fry halfway out. I assume the rest have swum below the egg holder.
2018/01/30
1st egg hatched
Day 7. 702 TUs logged, and I just saw the 1st salmon fry hatching.
I was worried because of the amount of silt getting into the buckets due to the rain.
I was worried because of the amount of silt getting into the buckets due to the rain.
2018/01/29
Critter status update
The status of the assorted critters around the place.
- Chickens
- Down to 8 chickens
- 2 older roosters, 1 newer rooster
- 1 older hen
- 1 mid hen
- 3 new hens
- Bees
- Still have 2 active hives. I thought I had lost the swarm hive, I popped the top and a mouse had moved in. But I removed the top medium and saw a mass of bees, so I put the spacer on the 2nd box and put the sugar block back above the bees. I evicted the mouse and put an entrance reduce on the hive. I have 6 frames of capped honey to extract now.
- Salmon eggs
- On day 5, total TU's so far is 672. The eggs need 725 TU's to hatch. Water temp has been around 46, so if the water temperature stays the same, they should hatch around day 9, Feb 1st.
2018/01/23
The eggs have arrived
I received 2 bags of ~6000 fertilized salmon eggs today. I've just put them into the buckets, we'll see how this goes...
2018/01/21
Coho Salmon eggs....
We are members of the Cowlitz Game and Anglers club. Through this club, we have received and I setup a salmon hatching bucket in our creek. On Tuesday, I'll get 5000 coho salmon eggs. Looks like it will take 4+ weeks for the salmon to hatch and get large enough to swim away.
Some info on Coho Salmon:
The eggs hatch in the late winter or early spring after six to seven weeks in the redd. Once hatched, they remain mostly immobile in the redd during the alevin life stage, which lasts for 6–7 weeks. Alevin no longer have the protective egg shell, or chorion, and rely on their yolk sacs for nourishment during growth. The alevin life stage is very sensitive to aquatic and sedimental contaminants. When the yolk sac is completely resorbed, the alevin leaves the redd. Young coho spend one to two years in their freshwater natal streams, often spending the first winter in off-channel sloughs, before transforming to the smolt stage. Smolts are generally 100–150 mm (3.9–5.9 in) and as their parr marks fade and the adult's characteristic silver scales start to dominate. Smolts migrate to the ocean from late March through July. Some fish leave fresh water in the spring, spend summer in brackish estuarine ponds, and then return to fresh water in the fall. Coho salmon live in salt water for one to three years before returning to spawn. Some precocious males, known as "jacks", return as two-year-old spawners. Spawning males develop kypes, which are strongly hooked snouts and large teeth.
Update: some other cannot do buckets this year due to the place where they were putting them are too high, so I'll be setting up another bucket today.
The insides of the bucket:
Some info on Coho Salmon:
The eggs hatch in the late winter or early spring after six to seven weeks in the redd. Once hatched, they remain mostly immobile in the redd during the alevin life stage, which lasts for 6–7 weeks. Alevin no longer have the protective egg shell, or chorion, and rely on their yolk sacs for nourishment during growth. The alevin life stage is very sensitive to aquatic and sedimental contaminants. When the yolk sac is completely resorbed, the alevin leaves the redd. Young coho spend one to two years in their freshwater natal streams, often spending the first winter in off-channel sloughs, before transforming to the smolt stage. Smolts are generally 100–150 mm (3.9–5.9 in) and as their parr marks fade and the adult's characteristic silver scales start to dominate. Smolts migrate to the ocean from late March through July. Some fish leave fresh water in the spring, spend summer in brackish estuarine ponds, and then return to fresh water in the fall. Coho salmon live in salt water for one to three years before returning to spawn. Some precocious males, known as "jacks", return as two-year-old spawners. Spawning males develop kypes, which are strongly hooked snouts and large teeth.
Update: some other cannot do buckets this year due to the place where they were putting them are too high, so I'll be setting up another bucket today.
The insides of the bucket:
The 2 buckets in the creek:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
