6th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2015 Hatch-A-Long

[chicken pickin]

I'm sorry about the blue chick, but glad you got a splash! That sounds very cute!! Fingers crossed for the splash!!

Thanks! She is super cute, I hope the broody does well this time, she hasn't raised a baby past 3 days yet so

My hatch summary is set 8 eggs, hatched 1 chick for a 12.5% hatch rate.

The details:
1 seeped
2 blood ring
2 that never did anything
2 that went into lock down but didn't hatch (1 had a saddle air cell and 1 was delayed in development)
1 adorable blue chick that has gotten me seriously addicted to hatching eggs.

Thanks for the company and education! I'm already planning my eggs for the next couple of HALs.

Sorry your hatch didn't go well. Is the blue a Cochin? What is your plan for raising the lone chick?
What do you plan to hatch next?

 

[ronott1]

My hatch summary is set 8 eggs, hatched 1 chick for a 12.5% hatch rate.

The details:
1 seeped
2 blood ring
2 that never did anything
2 that went into lock down but didn't hatch (1 had a saddle air cell and 1 was delayed in development)
1 adorable blue chick that has gotten me seriously addicted to hatching eggs.

Thanks for the company and education! I'm already planning my eggs for the next couple of HALs.

It great to pass on the hatching bug!

You did great.

Thanks! She is super cute, I hope the broody does well this time, she hasn't raised a baby past 3 days yet so

Sorry your hatch didn't go well. Is the blue a Cochin? What is your plan for raising the lone chick?
What do you plan to hatch next?

Do Tell!

 

[ronott1]

And what a great job you did! Not sure how in the world you did it! That thread moves fast! We all loved it though, because not everyone can keep up, so the digest really helped!
It gets hard to get get through all of the posts and write the digest when there are 300 posts in on day.

I am very happy that it helps others keep up.

 

[FuzzyHens]

Thanks! She is super cute, I hope the broody does well this time, she hasn't raised a baby past 3 days yet so

Sorry your hatch didn't go well. Is the blue a Cochin? What is your plan for raising the lone chick?
What do you plan to hatch next?

Yeah, he is a bantam cochin. I've looked around trying to find a chick to keep him company and I've struck out everywhere, including the guy in Westford who sells over a thousand chicks a year. His youngest were 5 weeks and nothing due until Jan 18th. The local Agway has 2 week old chicks, but they are enormous compared to my bantam. There is a lady bringing chicks to the chicken show in West Springfield on the 18th and she has chicks hatching every week, so I could get 2 from her, but that is two weeks away. I've looked into the hatcheries and I may be able to get some hatchery choice chicks shipped tomorrow. But I need to call them in the morning to finalize as I didn't want to do it over the web without knowing for sure that they would ship tomorrow and that they were born this past week.

Honestly, I think my husband and I are more concerned than the chick is. He seems to be thriving, but we really want him to have at least one friend.

Next hatch will be more bantam cochin. I'm hoping I can find some that don't need to be shipped. Those crappy air cells are tough on a newbie!!!

 

[Aliciahess]

Update:

On the pure BLRW that hatched out with feathered legs, the seller contacted.  Oops, it turns out, is half light Brahma.   She had gotten the hen from a flock with that roo and isolated it for six weeks before adding to her BLRW flock.   SIX WEEKS!   That Brahma must be one super-stud bird!   I told her she might also want to check her own roo's potency as the other BLRW eggs that weren't prescrambled by the USPS were clears and no evidence of germinal donut.    I swear, I'm going to write a book about the trials and tribulations of adverntures with shipped eggs....

DH has named the possibly brain-damaged marans Timmy.   Those of you that watch South Park will get the reference.  

(I am so ashamed)   

Lol!! Love south park here. Could be worse...my DH named a bird Corky....just horrible.

 

[chippysmom327]

Update:

On the pure BLRW that hatched out with feathered legs, the seller contacted.  Oops, it turns out, is half light Brahma.   She had gotten the hen from a flock with that roo and isolated it for six weeks before adding to her BLRW flock.   SIX WEEKS!   That Brahma must be one super-stud bird!   I told her she might also want to check her own roo's potency as the other BLRW eggs that weren't prescrambled by the USPS were clears and no evidence of germinal donut.    I swear, I'm going to write a book about the trials and tribulations of adverntures with shipped eggs....

DH has named the possibly brain-damaged marans Timmy.   Those of you that watch South Park will get the reference.  

(I am so ashamed)   

Lol!! Love south park here. Could be worse...my DH named a bird Corky....just horrible.

Hey, my rabbit's name is Corky...

 

[jbenson]

Yeah, he is a bantam cochin.  I've looked around trying to find a chick to keep him company and I've struck out everywhere, including the guy in Westford who sells over a thousand chicks a year.  His youngest were 5 weeks and nothing due until Jan 18th.   The local Agway has 2 week old chicks, but they are enormous compared to my bantam.  There is a lady bringing chicks to the chicken show in West Springfield on the 18th and she has chicks hatching every week, so I could get 2 from her, but that is two weeks away.  I've looked into the hatcheries and I may be able to get some hatchery choice chicks shipped tomorrow. But I need to call them in the morning to finalize as I didn't want to do it over the web without knowing for sure that they would ship tomorrow and that they were born this past week. 

Honestly, I think my husband and I are more concerned than the chick is.  He seems to be thriving, but we really want him to have at least one friend.

Next hatch will be more bantam cochin. I'm hoping I can find some that don't need to be shipped.  Those crappy air cells are tough on a newbie!!!

If you are near Minneapolis. MN I have Banta mixes with quite a bit of cochin in them.

 

[jbenson]

I am working on a theory as to my dismal hatch rates:

1)  Why only the mutts are hatching and not the purebreds?
      a)  Perhaps mutts are more hardy.  
           but, more importantly,
       b)  The extra color deposited on the eggs for the marans and welsummers inhibits oxygen into the egg.   
             The lighter colored brown and white eggs seem to develop and hatch just fine.

Just one of many theories....

Here's what I have come up with:

- genetic diversity is greater in mutts, making them hardier.
- my pures have cream to white shells and it doesn't seem to increase my hatch rate
- sanitizing my incubator thoroughly has increased my hatch rate. My first couple hatches were stellar, but then I struggled with bacteria growth. I have decided to make my older incubator into a dedicated Hatcher.

 

[FuzzyHens]

If you are near Minneapolis. MN I have Banta mixes with quite a bit of cochin in them.

Thanks! Unfortunately I'm a long ways away...in Massachusetts.

 

[hennible]

Here's what I have come up with:

- genetic diversity is greater in mutts, making them hardier.
- my pures have cream to white shells and it doesn't seem to increase my hatch rate
- sanitizing my incubator thoroughly has increased my hatch rate. My first couple hatches were stellar, but then I struggled with bacteria growth. I have decided to make my older incubator into a dedicated Hatcher.

What do you use a sterilizer/sanitizer for your incubator?