The 7th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-A-Long!

RattleCan said:

Woke up to two new babies from my pre-HAL eggs with bad air cells. Yay! Two little dark EE chicks. The other two that I know were kicking at lockdown haven't pipped yet, but Day 21 isn't for another 12 hours technically... pictures whenever I can take them out and let them dry off. I'm sort of excited that they're dark chicks since the seller I bought them from had a picture of a black and orange EE that I'm in love with. I doubt I'll get one even close to the same color being mixes and all, but I guess I can still have hope. Isn't the front hen pretty? I love seeing all the different colors EEs turn out to be.



And my HAL eggs will go into lockdown this evening. They're currently in a turner and I never got an egg rack, just have egg cartons. Is it better to hatch them out in a carton? Or can I just take them out of the turner and lay them flat? They weren't shipped eggs so the air cells are good.

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aplynn said:

Here are the little duckies they are nice and clean and have had 2 days of nice healthy food and lots of cuddles... They seem to have taken to my big dog Kaysen he kind of likes them too

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Mirajane said:

An Ayam Cemani chick finally hatched!

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Mirajane said:

I have a special assist chick. It couldn't do anything for hours and got weaker the longer the time, so I helped it out. I have no idea what to do next, it's been in there for 24 hours now. It is a little bloody.
His pip is the one on the left:


What I did:

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BantyChooks said:

Quote: Lock down later in the day, but it's not a big deal either way.

RattleCan said:

Woke up to two new babies from my pre-HAL eggs with bad air cells. Yay! Two little dark EE chicks. The other two that I know were kicking at lockdown haven't pipped yet, but Day 21 isn't for another 12 hours technically... pictures whenever I can take them out and let them dry off. I'm sort of excited that they're dark chicks since the seller I bought them from had a picture of a black and orange EE that I'm in love with. I doubt I'll get one even close to the same color being mixes and all, but I guess I can still have hope. Isn't the front hen pretty? I love seeing all the different colors EEs turn out to be.



And my HAL eggs will go into lockdown this evening. They're currently in a turner and I never got an egg rack, just have egg cartons. Is it better to hatch them out in a carton? Or can I just take them out of the turner and lay them flat? They weren't shipped eggs so the air cells are good.

Click to expand...

I prefer cartons, but you can do it either way. Make absolutely sure the air sac is up.

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LedgeWoods said:

I live in Wisconsin in the path of this ugly snowstorm set to hit over the next 2 days. Warnings of high winds and power outages have me stressing out over my babies set to hatch for Easter...trying something new - quail and pheasants. At last candling, I had 20 that looked good. To have a power outage at this point when they only have a few days to go would be absolutely heartbreaking.
So my question to anyone...Any creative ways to keep heat in your bator if power goes out? I've got a small forced air hovobator. How long can the little guys make it if the temp drops a few degrees?

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aplynn said:

Here are the little duckies they are nice and clean and have had 2 days of nice healthy food and lots of cuddles... They seem to have taken to my big dog Kaysen he kind of likes them too

Click to expand...

aplynn said:

Here are the little duckies they are nice and clean and have had 2 days of nice healthy food and lots of cuddles... They seem to have taken to my big dog Kaysen he kind of likes them too

Click to expand...

flocktastic said:

Ok...question - for seasoned hatchers - do you prefer hatching in a carton or laying the eggs down on their sides in the bator?

Why do you prefer your chosen method?

(Not meant to be a debate - just want to know more about both methods, success rates, etc...)

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