Beginner's Hatch-A-Long

[mariama]

Aww, they look so cute, and you're right, it should be interesting to see what types of chickens you get!

What type of incubator do you have, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[ivyrash]

SURE!!!
Super excited for first hatch!
I had to help the first out who cracked her egg 16 hours ago because it seemed like the membrane wasn't breaking just the shell, and she seemed really stuck. Fingers crossed I didn't do damage, I was trying to help.
The other 2 came out all on their own!
I ordered mail order hatching eggs since no one around here had any, and so far it's looking pretty good. They are all barnyard mixes (she had like 8 kinds of roo's and 10 kinds of hens) so it will be fun to try and figure out what kinds we have!
Here are my first pics!!!

It is so cool to see them hatching out!

 

[dutchbunny83]

I got the basic one (like $50 at tsc and online)
It's Farm Innovations still air incubator.
Lemme check model number real quick...
Model 2100
I paid $47 on amazon.com. TSC has them for $40some in store but every time I went to mine they were sold out.



And thanks guys, SUPER EXCITED!!!!

3 are out now and 3 more are working on it.
There are 12 I marked as "no hatch" and put on the other side after candling, but left them in there just in case because it was my first time didn't want to make a mistake....

 

[My peeps]

Today is day one. I put the eggs in this morning and now I'm having trouble with the humidity. It's at 58% and I can't get it to go any lower. If I keep opening the lid the temp is going to drop again. Is humidity okay to be a little high? Ugh. This is going to be a long stressful 21 days! I don't want to mess up!

 

[dutchbunny83]

Today is day one. I put the eggs in this morning and now I'm having trouble with the humidity. It's at 58% and I can't get it to go any lower. If I keep opening the lid the temp is going to drop again. Is humidity okay to be a little high? Ugh. This is going to be a long stressful 21 days! I don't want to mess up!

I am new to this, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
Honestly, I didn't think ANY were going to hatch!
My temp was fluctuating from like 98 to 103! Even after my attempt at calibrating, I still had 3 thermometers giving different readings.
Whenever I opened the vents it made my temps go crazier, so I left mine closed the entire time.
My humidity was always REALLY high, but I was hoping high humidity was better than low temp with the vents open.
In the beginning I had humidity around 75% had to get it down! Lowest I think it ever hit was 40-45%.
I don't think what I did was the "proper" way to hatch, this was my first time just did what I could.

Right now I have 3 out of the shell, 3 breaking out of the shell, and a bunch of shells rolling around.

My advice is just RELAX and don't let it stress you out too much. Just do the best you can, let mother nature take it's course, and see what comes out in 3 weeks. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!!

PS- My advice is if this is your first hatch not to take eggs out after candling. I did this with 3 eggs and decided to open. 2 were total duds, one had a live baby I had to watch die. Heartbreaking! The rest I just wrote a "NO" on in pencil, and moved to the other side of the incubator. I continued to turn with the rest of them, and it doesn't look like they will hatch, but didn't want to risk killing more so leaving them in for the whole time. I'll let you guys no if any of my NO's hatch.

SUPER excited for you, watching a chick hatch is so cool!!! What types of eggs did you put in?

 

[Fowl Menagerie]

Just a note from a long time hatcher. If you are a first time hatcher do not start with eggs that you purchase over the net. You get old eggs, badly handled eggs, and broken eggs. Even experienced hatchers have trouble with them. Stick with local pick-up eggs and preferably light colored as they are much easier to candle. Would hate someone to get discouraged from a bad hatching experience when it was out of your control. Hatching eggs is an enjoyable experience. Have fun

 

[dutchbunny83]

Just a note from a long time hatcher. If you are a first time hatcher do not start with eggs that you purchase over the net. You get old eggs, badly handled eggs, and broken eggs. Even experienced hatchers have trouble with them. Stick with local pick-up eggs and preferably light colored as they are much easier to candle. Would hate someone to get discouraged from a bad hatching experience when it was out of your control. Hatching eggs is an enjoyable experience. Have fun

This is good advice, but not always a possible solution.
Where I live, no one had hatching eggs.
And if you get into more difficult to find breeds then you definitely have to turn to the internet.
I have some blue copper marans in there and the egg shells are so dark I never even bothered candling, just have to wait and see if they hatch.

By the way though, out of 18 mail order eggs (not including the 4 marans), so far I have had 6 hatch which is a pretty good rate so far for a first hatch and mail order eggs.

But this is good advice, fresh local eggs always have a better rate!!!
Just sometimes there aren't any to be had, especially if you live in a city with a no rooster law....

 

[Missyktsm]

I have chicks! Three have hatched and are running around, two are zipping and one is just kinda resting in her shell. All are chirping and seem to be fine !

 

[dutchbunny83]

YAY!!!

 

[dutchbunny83]

Hey how long do you guys keep yours in the bator before going into the brooder?