In other matters, I ended up throwing out most of my eggs, I am afraid it was a little too early for barn-kept chickens.
So sorry to hear this. 
Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colours, He made their tiny wings.
Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colours, He made their tiny wings.
Well the green egg that was peeing at me yesterday and moving is no longer moving, peeping nor is there an external pip! :( I believe the early bird has perished in its shell, no body is due til saturday So I am not expecting anything from anyone else, but i feel bad is it something I did ? the temp is a steady 101 in my still air incubator and the humidity is 60%, so why did one that was peeping and so active in it's shell up and die on me? I cannot and will not open the bator because I do not want to ruin the rest of the hatch, any guesses as to why the little one didn't make it? I am praying that it is just sound asleep but I highly doubt it it's been 12 hours since last peep and movement.
My eggs are now in lockdown. I candled and had to pull 2 more, so I'm down to 24 of the 35 I started with.
14 of 26 shipped eggs made it to lockdown
9 of 9 our eggs made it to lockdown
One of our eggs is a double yolker and I could see movement in it - but hard to see much else because it's a green egg and very dark other than the air cell. Just watching and waiting 
The eggs were set late Saturday and mid-day on Sunday - no pips here yet
"Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind" - 1 awesome hubby, 4 funny kids, 2 sweet dogs, 1 crazy kitty, 1 talkative guinea pig, and chickens (Welsummer, Orpington, Icelandic, SFH, Polish, Silkie, EE/OE/Am/Ar and layers)
My Swap pages http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/coldupnorth-swap-page or http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mix-and-match-swap-page
"Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind" - 1 awesome hubby, 4 funny kids, 2 sweet dogs, 1 crazy kitty, 1 talkative guinea pig, and chickens (Welsummer, Orpington, Icelandic, SFH, Polish, Silkie, EE/OE/Am/Ar and layers)
My Swap pages http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/coldupnorth-swap-page or http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mix-and-match-swap-page
that is not normal. My niece (5 years old) used to do that . (40 years ago) Even worse yet he liked the animals after after they were dead. she drowned the guina pig I buried it. She dug it up, not once but 5 times. I spanked her little a-- good She left it buried. She killed the gold fish. Fed them milk. That one I let her get by with. Well one day I caught her holding the ducks under the water. Told her not to do that very sternly... When you turned your back she'd do it again.... Well I lost it decide to show her what it felt like. (I held her her under water till she blew bubbles) She never did it again.... Child have to learn there is a consequence to their actions.
And the girl loves me to death to this day. She would rather been with me than her mother when small. Spanking and all....Yes I believe in spanking in children and choke chain on dogs. Most of the dogs I groom are spoil rotten dogs and need to go to boot camp..... Done
Laree
Giving you the stink-eye. Yeah, you.
Laree
Giving you the stink-eye. Yeah, you.
So ... hmmm. I made a couple Multi-Quotes, then went off to move our arks around and clean them, plant flowers, etc. So I come back, get all caught up, and hit Multi-Quote just once again, and I lost all (about three) Multi-Quotes. They must time-out or something according to what the script or whatever is set to.
All I can remember at this point is that I'm glad that PappaBrooder (or similar name) got a few chicks to hatch (SFH and CL) and that I've got TroutFarm's (I forget his handle here) Hatch Cam bookmarked. Surely someone else is going to be watching his Hatch Cam on and off, right? http://www.ustream.tv/channel/trout-farm
I'm excited to see all the early hatchers. But I hope mine don't hatch early because I've got too much to do between now and then to be panicking about this hatch, which is my way of dealing with the whole thing.
For those of you who are experiencing "hatching envy" (and I am one of "those people" 
) please DO NOT PANIC!!!!!! You will see people reporting pips, cheeping and hatched chicks today and tomorrow. You have nothing to "worry" about until later Saturday. If your temps were running a little low, they may hatch late. Do not think that ALL IS LOST. Hatching day isn't until Saturday. I am only stating this because I went through this on my first hatch. I was beating myself up all Saturday thinking I had messed something up since the eggs were just sitting in the incubator looking like they had just been set. Remember, breathe, sit on your hands and DON"T PANIC!!!!!!!!!!! BTW my temps ran low my first hatch and I had eggs hatching from Saturday evening until the following Wednesday.
Dsqard - Could you possibly copy this and re-post it every, oh..... I don't know ........half hour or so through Monday or Tuesday?
Nothing in the Brinsea. (l HAVE 21 EGGS IN THERE)
OK folks this is what I am talking about. Why are we PANICING two days before hatch day? This is not the time to ask WWMD 
Remember to breathe Mahonri! Wisher I think he needs on of your slaps! 
I'm ON it!
My tiny tiny egg, a blue or black silkie. Its had a very active baby in there. So. IF it hatches out 
will this baby be okay with the others?? Will they pick on it?? Do I need to move it with another smaller chick or what??? I got a couple of small eggs but this one looks the size of a quail egg almost. Ok maybe not AS small as a quail egg but yeah....lol
I got a little OEG/EE from a swap egg, just the tiniest thing. He is now best buds with the biggest one from that hatch and seems to do OK. He IS a game bird though and super quick. I think if your little silkie stays with his/her hatch mates it might be OK.
OK folks this is what I am talking about. Why are we PANICING two days before hatch day? This is not the time to ask WWMD
Remember to breathe Mahonri! Wisher I think he needs on of your slaps!
I think I need a slap too!
Got you covered!
I will be available all weekend and into the first of next week to provide assistance to anyone in need of a slap to temporarily calm down impending hysteria....
Mahonri -- 
Karimw --
Anyone else?
This is very amusing, but I don't want a slap! It works for me to panic and to be paranoid about anything being wrong with a hatch. Granted I'm not panicking yet, but when something is obviously going wrong, like maybe my temps are too low or my humidity is not high enough, then panicking really works to my advantage and helps me to solve problems. I need that burst of adrenaline to jolt me out of my rut. If mine hatch early, it is a real cause for concern because mine are stacked, and I will not be available to help them out if they are on a bottom layer. I knew this was going to be a busy weekend and I tried to time them to hatch at the best time. But I am starting to panic that they will hatch early because of that chart that WolfTracks (the lady with the broken wrist) posted that shows that really we are supposed to count the day we put them in the incubator as Day 1 instead of starting to count Day 1 after 24 hours in the incubator. If so, I am doomed (hysteria is obviously beginning to rear its ugly head), and I need to figure out what to do. Like maybe I will take the rails out of my Brinsea so that I can fit more in there and not have them stacked. (Yay! A possible solution just figured out while typing in an incipient panic.) But please no slapping of me for my panic ... it will leave a mark. I think I would rather try some other method of providing myself with peace and calm ... like maybe a fifth of a 6-pack of yoga or something or chamomile tea. 
But only after my panic has run its course.
Plus ... what if they really do hatch early because of a waxing moon that's nearly full (as someone mentioned)?! Frankly I love panicking and running around with my head cut off looking for problems to solve and sometimes creating new problems in the process. But I am trying to panic on the down low, though, because of possibly getting slapped. Maybe all of my boxing experience will help me to be able to bob and weave and evade slaps.
Okay. So I guess I'd better kick it into gear and rearrange the eggs and take out the rails in the Brinsea later to try to fit all of them upright so that none are stacked. I have 35 in there. That may head off any problems at the pass. But I have to do it later because that is almost last on my list of things I must do today. And now my work break is over and I promise not to mention panicking anymore so as to not incite other hatchers into mass hysteria which would require slaps. 
I will sit back and just watch the hatching and slapping going on 
and will report in with my numbers and a photo sometime before the deadline.
If anyone is dying to slap me, please don't let it be for panicking. Figure out some other excuse ... okay? 
-Enjoying eggs of heterotic hens because I lack the ability & patience to succeed in a purebred world. (credit msucares.com/poultry/commercial/history.html)
-As Aunt Augusta says: I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately...
-Enjoying eggs of heterotic hens because I lack the ability & patience to succeed in a purebred world. (credit msucares.com/poultry/commercial/history.html)
-As Aunt Augusta says: I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately...
Regarding naughty three year old....
My niece came to visit last summer, and she attempted to drown a kitten in the dog waterer (five gallon bucket)...! I caught her and she ran away from me, knowing it was a bad thing she was doing. Her mother wasn't watching her, and didn't see the implications in what her daughter was doing! I put her in time out and for the rest of her visit she was not allowed to hold the poor kitten that I did manage to resuscitate. The mother was angry at me for the rest of the visit, saying that her daughter was just being normal...?!?!
Children showing a lack of empathy and care for small animals should be cause for concern... just saying...
Yes, I agree. I would be very concerned about a child who harmed animals without remorse at the age of three. I hope his family can see to talk to their doctor about their child's behavior. As a person who works professionally with children, I can say that this is not normal.
On a cherrier note, when I left for work this morning I had eight chicks and two more pips, one in the cracked egg that I waxed. I can hardly wait to get home and see if it's out. And they weren't supposed to come until tomorrow (Friday).
As I said earlier I had 8 chicks hatch. My brooder is in our shop just outside of the part we partitioned off as the chicken coop. (The shop used to be a BBQ grill before I was born and the "coop" is the old kitchen) Anyway All of my chicks were doing great, eating drinking, walking around pecking things etc. I went next door to my mom's and about 10 minutes later my husband called and said one of the chicks was looking real bad. So I went back and he wouldn't stand up, his head was limp, and was just slowly dieing. I asked who had been watching our almost 3 year old nephew, my husband and my brother in law were in the shop the whole time so I though one of them could handle watching him. Husband claimed he was and that he was playing with checkers... The checkers weren't even a foot away from the brooder, and the light in the brooder was moved over.... just like if someone had bumped it while reaching in the brooder. Husband wouldn't tell me even if he knew he had hurt the chick because it would have been the last straw and brother in law or not he would have been told to get control of his kid and/or leave. Now I wouldn't be upset if it was an accident... but this child is a terror and finds joy in hurting animals and needs a good whoopin' for it. I've gotten to the point now that I keep all my animals away from him, I wouldn't blame them a bit if they got him though. not that I want them to but really how much can something take before they fight back? I have a dog that would bite his head of in a second if he hurt him and knowing them they would blame it all on the dog because their angel never does anything. Anyway my nephew will pick a cat up and throw it, stomp on animals, throw things at them, hit them, belly flop on to them, pick them up by their tails, picked my chihuahua up off the ground by her ears. I am about 95% sure he had a hand in my chicks demise, and is now barred from being anywhere near the chicks. I will be making a top for the brooder tomorrow that I didn't need before because I taught my kid how to treat animals (he was with me by the way). It is aggravating that my dogs (that are always by my side, a Doberman and a Boxer) go into lock down every day when his dad brings him over and doesn't watch him. My poor cats disappear when they see him coming, and my chickens aren't even safe at MY house because he won't watch his kid. Did I mention that I walked out of the shop and he was peeing on my truck?!?! Not the tires... the paint on the door and his dad thought it was the funniest thing. My mother in law said the other day "When your cat has kittens I want one for him to play with" HA! Sure thing, February 30th you can pick it up.
Sorry I guess I just needed to vent. I guess I am the only one around here besides my mom that thinks that a 3 year old being cruel on perpose is NOT an ok thing, and not something that they will "grow out of" if not dealt with. My husband says "He doesn't mean to" "It was an accident" "He was just trying to play with it". Ok I have to stop before I write a novel.
Oh no! I'm so sorry about your chick!!! Before going back to college I ran a daycare out of my home for years and I cared for many three year olds in that time. A three year old wanting to hurt animals is not normal behavior. Before the age of three children don't seem to understand that baby animals are living things but by three they start to have a reverence for life. They are awed and delighted when seeing baby animals, well most any animal really. They often don't have the skills to hold the animal correctly yet (so no leaving 3 year olds alone with animals) but they certainly don't go out of their way to harm them.
A parent not acknowledging that their child needs help may be normal but if they really love him they will get that child some help soon! They are setting him up for a miserable life (for himself and others he comes into contact with) if they don't deal with the reasons behind the violent behavior soon! Sticking their heads in the sand isn't doing that child any favors. In fact quite the opposite! It sounds like there is a lot of family drama that may be affecting the child a lot more negatively than they realize and a stable home life would be much more helpful than an ultra permissive one.
Maybe your husband could lovingly talk to his brother about getting some family counseling. I don't normally suggest anything like this and I usually hate it when folks butt in when they have little knowledge of a situation but I do know what is normal behavior for a 3 year old and that isn't it. I worry about where this may escalate to if it is not dealt with soon. And I do believe that this "acting out" is a cry for help that the Father is ignoring! Real love means making tough decisions and doing things we don't want to do when we know it's the best thing for our child!
I candled last night and I am so glad I did! I thought out of the 42 I had set that I only had about 2 that made it. They were shipped eggs and about 8 were broke when they arrived and another 20 or so were scrambled (must have had a hard time in shipping). Then I had a temperature glitch. My thermometer was reading 2 degrees lower than it actually was. :( The good news is that when I candled I could see that more than 2 made it. I feel really good about at least 7 of them. So I have uppped the humidity and will be patiently waiting.
I do have one question though..... The air cells are big.... and they dip in at one spot... They are perfectly even all the way around but at one spot they dip down about 1/2 an inch. When I turn them to the side and shine the light into the dark chick part of the egg I can see veins and they are red so I think they are alive. Do big air cells mean my humidity was too low?
Many folks believe a large air cell is desirable. The chick doesn't develop quite so fast therefore the chick is not too big to turn in the shell, making it much easier for the chick to pip and zip. At this stage a dip in the air sac is not a huge deal either. Good luck on your hatch!
Just checking the bator when I awoke. There's a little progress from one of my low SFH, seems to be doing OK. The other has a little bit of blood and the pipped area hasn't changed much. Keep hoping. However, lots more pips: 6 ameraucanas, 3 silver hamburgs, 3 BLR wyandottes, maybe one more cream legbar, but no more of my 9 remaining SFH eggs. Kids are excited and the bator keeps getting untimely jolts as they scramble over each to see the chicks. cute though and fun.
Amazing, considering the fact that you thought you'd lost them all!
Regarding naughty three year old....
My niece came to visit last summer, and she attempted to drown a kitten in the dog waterer (five gallon bucket)...! I caught her and she ran away from me, knowing it was a bad thing she was doing. Her mother wasn't watching her, and didn't see the implications in what her daughter was doing! I put her in time out and for the rest of her visit she was not allowed to hold the poor kitten that I did manage to resuscitate. The mother was angry at me for the rest of the visit, saying that her daughter was just being normal...?!?!
Children showing a lack of empathy and care for small animals should be cause for concern... just saying...
I agree. 
Has anyone made an incubator out of a styrofoam cooler? I tried to make one last night because I thought it might be nice for hatching only when I have staggered hatches. I have a couple of eggs that are a few days behind the others. What I did was cut the top off and install a 5x7 picture frame glass for a viewing window then I cut a hole for an extention cord to go inside and plugged into the extension cord is a light bulb adapter and I put a 25 watt bulb in there. I cut holes in the sides for air and I am running about 105 on temperature. So I cut a few more air holes and it didnt cool down. I probably need a smaller bulb but they don't sell any lower wattage bulbs than 25 that will fit in a standard light socket. I thought about getting a night light but it says no larger than 4 watts....
Any suggestions?
Oh and I am so excited to be seeing hatching chick pictures. This is my favorite part!!!
A thermostat is needed to keep any bator at the precise temps they need to be at to hatch chicks. My first bator was homemade and I got a 70% hatch rate in that bator but I learned the value of a thermostat from that experience too. I was using a meat thermometer and lifting the lid every time the alarm went off telling me the "meat/oven" had reached the preset temp. I set the alarm to go off at 103 degrees so that I could lift the lid and let some hot air escape. No I'm not kidding. This was how I regulated the temps in that thing.
Anyway as good as I got at carrying that bator to work and back (I was teaching science at the time to 4-6th graders) and lifting that lid with my toe during the night without having to rouse myself completely from sleep, it got old fast. Very fast! It's a miracle my husband didn't kick me out of the bedroom during that 21 days. My point is... get a thermostat, a good one. 
He is ignored a lot by his dad and he is treated like a baby by his grandma... literally. A grunt and a point will get him sat up on the counter so he can pick out whatever candy he wants. "MINE!!!" and stomping, screaming, throwing fits gets whatever toy my son is playing with taken away because it is "his toy". I rarely go see them when I have my son and dread seeing them pull in the driveway, and 90% of it is because of how this kid acts.
I chirp too! WHen I get a response I know one has internally pipped or externally pipped. THen search ,a search, scanning over every detail of each egg until I find the pip! I check on the pips regularly, chirping, asking for an answer! No wonder the chickens follow me around!
I am sitting there and watching the bator all day!! Can't help myself! Or I'm here, feeling everyone else's angst and concern and anxiety!! My heart rate increases and I get hart palpitations reading updates!
Keep the updates coming!1 Keeps me distracted and away from my bator!!
At moments I want the chicks out NOW, and at others, its "hold on, I have more prepping to do! I"m so distracted today. Much to do . . but I'm at the bator or catching up on the Easter Hatcha thon.
WOw, Michelle, that's pretty high. I get 80-90% when hatching turkey eggs per POrter's instructions. Otherwise, lower is better. Perhaps remove some of the set ups until RH is wjhere you want it. I go in and out of my bator and don't have problems with hatching as I can get the RH up very quickly with a hot wet sponge.
My point is, you have time to adjust the RH before the chicks externally pip.
Children this young need to be supervised 100% of the time around animals. THey do not function as we adults do yet, and what we see as hurting an animal is more like experimenting and expressing curiosity. I know of several people that participated in mishaps as young children and grew up to be rather thoughtful and caring people. CHildren must be supervised at ALL times around animals. Repeat: children must be supervised at all times around animals. ANd parents are responsible for their children. Be there to supervise.
Off the soap box.
I agree Arielle,
The three year old probably wasn't old enough to understand that she was being cruel to the kitten. Her mother should have been watching her. When my daughter was 3 or 4 I caught a geko in the house. I let her hold it and she squished it, on purpose! I was so upset. I tried to explain it to her how we have to care for animals and how it has feeling etc etc etc but she didn't get it. Same kid at 5 years old she had a small puppy. She would put the puppy inside her dresser drawers! She said it was his "bed" so I had to keep a close eye on her. She's 8 now and she is great with animals. She loves all the baby chicks we have and is good to the dogs and her hamsters. I just think when they are that small they don't really understand things the way an adult would and they need very very close adult supervision with animals.
I understand that kids will be kids. My husband put a kitten in a coffee can because his mom said he couln't have it and he didn't want it to run away. He killed the kitten, but wasn't trying to. When a kid looks to see who is watching before he stomps on a sleeping dogs face is not in any shape or form attemping to be nice, then laughs and tries to do it again. I watch him like a hawk when I am around because I know no one else is, but his dad wanted custody of him so bad, he should man up and actually watch his kid and teach him something worth teaching.
Really my son was coloring and he kicked him right in the nose, for no reason. Nephew got a wimpy no no and my son was told not to color in the floor.. we immediately left.
On another note:
I have no pips out of my 4 eggs :(
I am a Bantam addict!
Proud mama to 1 Son, 2 Horses, 2 Dogs, 2 Cats, 6 Seramas, 6 Bantam Cochins/Cochin Mixes, 4 Cayugas... and counting.
Looking for Silkies, preferably grown, pretty close to my area, pet quality is fine. Want them for broodies and eggs.
I am a Bantam addict!
Proud mama to 1 Son, 2 Horses, 2 Dogs, 2 Cats, 6 Seramas, 6 Bantam Cochins/Cochin Mixes, 4 Cayugas... and counting.
Looking for Silkies, preferably grown, pretty close to my area, pet quality is fine. Want them for broodies and eggs.
I have witnessed the very same thing with my birds. There is always a favorite sister-wife and it's terrible to break up those relationships, so I generally don't.
Left out in the cold after setting up breeding pens and getting rid of a lot of the non-breeders. I still have way too many roosters on the yard. There is one Buckeye hen left that didn't make the cut, and she and a polish rooster are always together. He does his best to keep all the other suitors away. Yesterday the two of them were under a trailer together and there were 4 roosters sitting on top of the trailer waiting for a chance, and he is the only one she lets close to her if she can help it.
In other matters, I ended up throwing out most of my eggs, I am afraid it was a little too early for barn-kept chickens. I'm working hard and getting them some yard room with natural daylight. My babies are just going to be late this year.
Spring still hasn't sprung! I have some breeds that are at full swing and others that swing with the weather!!! Sorry, I don't remember, did you set Buckeyes??
Glad you're back . . . and in full form!
Ok I've held out for an hours-- gotta go look!
NPIP Tested Clean
Eggs available: Bourbon Red and Sweetgrass Turkeys
Black Copper Marans, Buff Orpingtons and Speckled Sussex
Grow where you are planted. --Unknown
NPIP Tested Clean
Eggs available: Bourbon Red and Sweetgrass Turkeys
Black Copper Marans, Buff Orpingtons and Speckled Sussex
Grow where you are planted. --Unknown
Dang... I walk away to seat a crown and there is already a ton of posts to catch up on.
Maybe the internet at work is not such a good thing.
Keeper of 26 hens, 4 PW Leghorns, 1 leghorn mix, 1 FBCMarans, 1 Australorp, 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Mama Olive Eggers w/ 15 chicks each, 1 EE, a Barred Rock, a RIR, a CQ, 1 Delaware, 1 Black Star, a Splash Ameraucana, 3 W/BW Ameraucana pullets, 5 polish, 2 Welsummers and 41 juvies of various breeds. YIKES! Time to SELL some chickens!
"With God, ALL things are possible."
...
Keeper of 26 hens, 4 PW Leghorns, 1 leghorn mix, 1 FBCMarans, 1 Australorp, 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Mama Olive Eggers w/ 15 chicks each, 1 EE, a Barred Rock, a RIR, a CQ, 1 Delaware, 1 Black Star, a Splash Ameraucana, 3 W/BW Ameraucana pullets, 5 polish, 2 Welsummers and 41 juvies of various breeds. YIKES! Time to SELL some chickens!
"With God, ALL things are possible."
...
