APRIL Hatch-A-Long 2015: PLEASE READ FIRST POST

[ASilkieNest]

I finally can join this thread. This morning I put 6 duck eggs under two of our hens. Can't wait till we get some ducklings e

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

WOW

GIRLIE

I know, right?

I am splitting what hatches with the guy that brought me the eggs, but still. If most of them hatch, thats a lot of chicks

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I finally can join this thread. This morning I put 6 duck eggs under two of our hens. Can't wait till we get some ducklings

Good luck! That's something I've never done before, duck eggs. Maybe next year if I at least get a pair out of the ducklings I bought from TSC this year.
What kind of ducks are you hatching?

 

[bekkanblue]

My ducks are laying up a storm now too! So many eggs! This cold front may slow everyone down for a few days, not a bad thing!

 

[HerbGir1972]

Were

Good luck! That's something I've never done before, duck eggs. Maybe next year if I at least get a pair out of the ducklings I bought from TSC this year. 
What kind of ducks are you hatching?

We're hoping to try ducks and a few Sebastopol geese in out next batch of hatching.

 

[HerbGir1972]

I know, right?   I am splitting what hatches with the guy that brought me the eggs, but still. If most of them hatch, thats a lot of chicks 

That IS alot of chicks
We have snuck in a couple more eggs just to fill it up

Kinda excited to see what hatches out of the OEGB and if the lavender orps develop

 

[bobshammy]

Set 12 barnyard mix on the 17th. Candled then tonight. Couldn't wait the whole week lol. Seven have veining. Two I'm not sure they may be blood rings, and three appear clear but I'm giving them all the benefit of the doubt and will candle again in a few days.

 

[paris_r]

i have gotten home with my eggs from the post office and pre soaked them this time in ascorbic acid, i am setting them double stacked in the same table top incubator as the ones for the easter HAL. there are 12 sizzles from mail, 14 millie fleur leghorns from mail and the rest (27) from my own d'uccle stock. this will be my first time in many years to hatch LF, i expect them to stick more to shcedule unlike my banties that arrive early. the mailed ones are double stacked on top the older ones and my banties in the turner-i will not turn them for a day and then they will rotate into the turner slots. so aside from the ??? i have for the easter HAL, i have 53 added.-and WOW did the temperature drop in there when they got added!!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Set 12 barnyard mix on the 17th. Candled then tonight. Couldn't wait the whole week lol. Seven have veining. Two I'm not sure they may be blood rings, and three appear clear but I'm giving them all the benefit of the doubt and will candle again in a few days.

I did the same today, and I'm only on day 3

I could see development in most of them, some of the LF eggs were clear, I left those just in case. I pulled more than 2 dozen clears and a couple of blood rings from my own eggs

The rest had great looking little spiders in them. The last time I incubated, I had a ton of non fertile eggs from my own birds, so I wasn't going to bother holding out hope for any clears of mine this time. I needed to make space in the incubator they were in anyway.

Also, one of the OEGB eggs that were brought to me is cracked. It is developing though, so I've left it. I may try sealing it with some nail polish if the air cell goes all wonky, but right now its right in line with all the rest of the eggs so I'm leaving it as is.

 

[CoopCop]

Sent two PM's, second to correct my numbers.

On March 17 I set 26 Easter Egger, 16 Rhode Island red, 34 barnyard mix, and 5 blue slate turkey. The chicken eggs should hatch on April 7, the turkeys April 14. Today I set 19 barnyard mix to hatch with the turkeys. Total of 100 eggs set.

I am hatching in two Styrofoam incubators, one initially a circulated air, the second a still air modified with a CPU fan to be circulated air. Both have turners, one with some eggs stacked. The stacked eggs had already been on the turner a week, so if they aren't turned quite as well it will be less problematic.

In the March hatch along I compared hatching identically incubated barnyard mix upright in cut down egg cartons with some set on their side. Both groups were kept in the turners until lockdown. I only had 14 of the 24 in the test groups hatch. 6 from the upright group, 8 from the other. One of the uprights required hatching assistance, another had difficulty. None of the on their side eggs needed assistance or seemed to have problems.

I plan to set all of this hatch on sides in lockdown to see how it affects my hatch rate.

I've got my fingers crossed!
Good luck to everyone else!