Early February 2016 Hatch - Who's In?

Shadow722 said:

I'm getting about as bad at dropping eggs as the kids. It's driving me crazy. I'm collecting for my second Feb hatch and I dropped some of the splash eggs getting them from the nest. I was just cleaning eggs to put in the fridge and dropped another.

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Why do you keep eggs in the fridge? I tell all my eating egg customers, if you wash you must refrigerate, if you refrigerate you must wash, but if you don't wash you can keep them on the counter out of direct sunlight for up to 2 months. Its all about the bloom...;-]

NTBugtraq said:

Why do you keep eggs in the fridge? I tell all my eating egg customers, if you wash you must refrigerate, if you refrigerate you must wash, but if you don't wash you can keep them on the counter out of direct sunlight for up to 2 months. Its all about the bloom...;-]

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I don't like washing them at the moment I need them. I had them on the counter for about 8 days before I put them away. I needed more clean eggs for eating. Most of the people that buy my eggs wanted them clean as well. I keep the nest as clean as possible but the random poop smears bother some people. I just don't like being in the middle of something needing an egg and having to clean it.

NTBugtraq said:

Just a couple of suggestions;

• Intake air humidity can affect a bator's ability to, either, hold temperature or humidity. So, for example, you boil some eggs on the oven near the bator, or even something as simple as more people in the room. But also things like a furnace/fireplace can alter the humidity around a bator. Putting the bator in a box, then a towel over the box, can help as long as you make the adjustments for that kind of environment. Equally, putting it in a closet works well.
• Windows. If the bator is near a window, consider the effect of the sun on it.

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TY It is in the guest room and I have temp/humidity gauge that keeps a history in that room (not in the incubator). It is not showing any swings - the curtain on the west window is closed so no direct sunlight. I cannot speak to activity in the room since I was at work yesterday. You can believe I am keeping a very close eye on it and the room conditions today The knob that adjusts temps is so sensitive that the slightest touch can really swing things - it is possible that something shook the house a bit and sent it soaring

NTBugtraq said:

Gratz on that, its hard for many to let chicks go out in the cold.

Watch out for them bunching up to tight. Week 3-5 are hard on the weaker chicks, and if there are open corners they will press hard against each other to gain warmth. I used pieces of split logs to prevent too many from getting into any one space.

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@CoopDeDoo @LilChickens2

My juveniles were 8 weeks so way too old to be inside still but the temps were in the negative numbers so I didn't want to chance them outside. But now we should be in the 30's overnights for the next week which is enough for me to put them out there.

ambe0487 said:

@CoopDeDoo @LilChickens2

My juveniles were 8 weeks so way too old to be inside still but the temps were in the negative numbers so I didn't want to chance them outside. But now we should be in the 30's overnights for the next week which is enough for me to put them out there.

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As long as they are fully feathered (2-4 weeks old is when that completes), and they have access to food and fresh water in the day time, they will be just fine in negative temperatures. They use the calories from the food to regulate their body temperatures, as well as various positions (one foot up, puffed out, flat on the ground/roost). Make sure there are no "strong" drafts (unless it is well above their heads when they are roosting), and that you aren't holding too much humidity in the coop. Remember, a fully feathered chicken, although warm-blooded, is wearing a fantastic down jacket with a strong wind-breaking shell (its feathers)...so they will be fine if not totally exposed to wind-chill.

I managed to squeeze 50 eggs into each tray this time, achieving the Brinsea Ova Easy 100 suggested limit. These eggs come from my own layers, who are first generation offspring of pure Black Copper Marans Roosters mated with a dual purpose bird resembling a Red Sexlink. These birds are inbreeds, as they are mating with their own fathers. The oldest layer is ~34 weeks old, the youngest only 24 weeks.





And here it is all set up and running.



My expected hatch date is 2/20. I'm running at 99.6F, and 50% RH.

NTBugtraq said:

I managed to squeeze 50 eggs into each tray this time, achieving the Brinsea Ova Easy 100 suggested limit. These eggs come from my own layers, who are first generation offspring of pure Black Copper Marans Roosters mated with a dual purpose bird resembling a Red Sexlink. These birds are inbreeds, as they are mating with their own fathers. The oldest layer is ~34 weeks old, the youngest only 24 weeks.





And here it is all set up and running.



My expected hatch date is 2/20. I'm running at 99.6F, and 50% RH.

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All I can say is wow Best of luck to you and your eggs!

So I am down to Day 4 counting down... so 2 days until lockdown. And now I'm in that obsessive state where I think the eggs have wiggled, but wait, is it because they wiggled? Or because I've been staring at them for so long my eyes are crossing? Will I actually see them wiggle?

In other news, I set up my brooder today! I am so excited! I just hope that my two eggs hatch to keep each other company. I use two plastic kiddie pools bolted together (inverted) with an EcoGlow heater in it.

A question- one of my Silkies has gone super broody. Has anyone tried introducing a incubated chick to a broody hen? Would she "adopt" it? I'm just worried that if only one egg hatches, it will be really lonely. I thought I could try to get my hen to take it in? Thoughts?

TurkenMomma said:

So I am down to Day 4 counting down... so 2 days until lockdown. And now I'm in that obsessive state where I think the eggs have wiggled, but wait, is it because they wiggled? Or because I've been staring at them for so long my eyes are crossing? Will I actually see them wiggle?

In other news, I set up my brooder today! I am so excited! I just hope that my two eggs hatch to keep each other company. I use two plastic kiddie pools bolted together (inverted) with an EcoGlow heater in it.

A question- one of my Silkies has gone super broody. Has anyone tried introducing a incubated chick to a broody hen? Would she "adopt" it? I'm just worried that if only one egg hatches, it will be really lonely. I thought I could try to get my hen to take it in? Thoughts?

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I've never seen an egg wiggle until after it had pipped, but I have always incubated 40+ eggs so its easy to miss a little wiggle. I'd suggest you stop looking for wiggles and keep looking for pips. Pips are way more exciting because it means a live chick strong enough to break its shell. The down-side of the pip is that it could be 12 hours or even more before it starts to zip...but that's at least where you can strain your eyes staring...;-]

As far as the broody goes, there's no harm in trying, just be prepared to watch for at least 30 minutes, and then check in frequently afterwards. She may not reject immediately, but she also may not pull the chick back if it decides to wander. If the chick goes for a stroll and doesn't know where to go back to, the hen would normally coral it back to the brood...she may not as she may be more concerned with the eggs.

That being said, it took no time for my day olds to realize the warmth of my Premier 1 brooder plates, nobody goes and corals them back, when they get cold they just duck under. Instincts are amazing, even in things with such small brains.

TurkenMomma said:

So I am down to Day 4 counting down... so 2 days until lockdown. And now I'm in that obsessive state where I think the eggs have wiggled, but wait, is it because they wiggled? Or because I've been staring at them for so long my eyes are crossing? Will I actually see them wiggle? 

In other news, I set up my brooder today! I am so excited! I just hope that my two eggs hatch to keep each other company. I use two plastic kiddie pools bolted together (inverted) with an EcoGlow heater in it.

A question- one of my Silkies has gone super broody. Has anyone tried introducing a incubated chick to a broody hen? Would she "adopt" it? I'm just worried that if only one egg hatches, it will be really lonely. I thought I could try to get my hen to take it in? Thoughts? 

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I have seen them rocking and rolling before. I will talk to them after lockdown and they would shake and I could hear them peeping.

I don't have any experience with broody hen's but I've heard that it has worked in the past for people.