Incubating eggs to hatch about August 8th

[Alaskan]

Congrats!!!!

 

[MeepBeep]

Here are a few pics of the birds hatched withing a day or so of Aug 8, a misc assortment of different colored Guinea fowls and three chickens... Still have a few pea, Guinea and chicken eggs in the incubator due in the coming weeks...

Chickens are the two darker buff colored ones and the black one, the rest are Guineas...

 

[Puddin Fluff]

Deluthralpe love your math.

Teachick - yeah.

Meebeep, cuties!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Haven't any of you ever heard the old saw that you're never supposed to count your chickens before they hatch? Well now you know why. I have had complete failures and 100% hatch rates from both hen and machine incubated eggs and if you incubate enough eggs you'll also do as well and as poorly as myself or the next guy has for that matter.

Good results in the incubator begins in the brood pen, with young (but not too young) healthy, and vigorous hens and especially roosters. A fat rooster more so than an obese hen or two can and will result in the complete failure to pip or hatch because the old boy is just not able to do the job nature intended.

Then you need to feed a complete breeder ration. Next don't set every egg that you can lay your hands on. Only set or begin incubating eggs that have clean, thick, well shaped, and sound shells that are neither much bigger than or smaller than what your hens should lay. And before you set the first egg, candle every egg you set to determine how strong the shell is. I realize that big commercial hatcheries have ultra modern and expensive equipment but the best this equipment is able to do is to mimic what a 5 pound hen chicken can do naturally.

Most incubators, especially the most expensive ones are little more than a labor saving devise meant to save ware-and-tare on your hen's bottom by shifting the chores of hatching and brooding chicks from the mama hen to you.

 

[duluthralphie]

About our August hatch,,,

I know this sounds really silly and improbable, BUT my older turkey hen, Spring of 2013 hatch, has disappeared. We were gone for about 5 hours today, when we came home for beer and chicken time, (this is were we drink a bottle of beer, feed the chickens treats and enjoy them, Ethel, my turkey hen did not show.

This is odd, Ethel is usually one of the first ones there. She chases the chickens away from the best pile of seeds and keep them for herself. Today she was a no show, It appears all my other birds were there. ( I have 10 turkeys and about 85 chickens we feed treats too so it is hard to tell. BUT Ethel was not there.

She is a blue slate that has attempted to sit on eggs 2-3 times this summer, but fails to sit well or long. I did notice her chest was nearly bare yesterday but assumed it was just fall molt. My wife walked the homestead and could not find her, I walked it after her and found no sign of her and no sign of fowl play, feathers blood etc.


Do you think it is possible for her to go broody and half a clutch of eggs somewhere? We did see her and JJ mate about 3 weeks ago but have not found an egg since then. We assumed it was just JJ being bad.

I am open to ideas? How can a turkey hatch eggs in Sept?



I hope this is not too far off topic, and If it is I will gladly move it. I just figured you were the smartest hatchers in the world!

 

[TeaChick]

Congrats!!!!

Thanks.
It unpipped and wasn't moving. So I started the egg-topsy. It didn't move much, but it moved a little, so I put it back in.
I'm not trying to assist them to hatch. I don't open them until I really think the chick is dead. Clearly, I need new peramiters for "dead".

 

[duluthralphie]

Thanks.
It unpipped and wasn't moving. So I started the egg-topsy. It didn't move much, but it moved a little, so I put it back in.
I'm not trying to assist them to hatch. I don't open them until I really think the chick is dead. Clearly, I need new peramiters for "dead".

Please explain this to me, What is egg-topsy?

 

[Alaskan]

About our August hatch,,,

I know this sounds really silly and improbable,  BUT  my older turkey hen, Spring of 2013 hatch, has disappeared. We were gone for about 5 hours today, when we came home for beer and chicken time, (this is were we drink a bottle of beer, feed the chickens treats and enjoy them, Ethel, my turkey hen did not show.

This is odd, Ethel is usually one of the first ones there. She chases the chickens away from the best pile of seeds and keep them for herself.  Today she was a no show, It appears all my other birds were there. ( I have 10 turkeys and about 85 chickens we feed treats too so it is hard to tell. BUT Ethel was not there. 

She is a blue slate that has attempted  to sit on eggs 2-3 times this summer, but fails to sit well or long. I did notice her chest was nearly bare yesterday but assumed it was just fall molt. My wife walked the homestead and could not find her, I walked it after her and found no sign of her and no sign of fowl play, feathers blood etc.


Do you think it is possible for her to go broody and half a clutch of eggs somewhere?  We did see her and JJ mate about 3 weeks ago but have not found an egg since then. We assumed it was just JJ being bad.

I am open to ideas? How can a turkey hatch eggs in Sept? 



I hope this is not too far off topic, and If it is I will gladly move it. I just figured you were the smartest hatchers in the world!

My Muscovy went broody at the end of the summer last year, so it is all possible.

Congrats!!!!

Thanks.
It unpipped and wasn't moving. So I started the egg-topsy. It didn't move much, but it moved a little, so I put it back in.
I'm not trying to assist them to hatch. I don't open them until I really think the chick is dead. Clearly, I need new peramiters for "dead".

Eek! i would be so panicked that it isn't going to make it.


Child #3 and I braved the Muscovy ducks to retrieve all of the left over eggs. One had pipped and died(but it had pipped more on the side, instead of in a normal spot, and there had been a good deal of bleeding), then five or so rotten eggs, and one clear.

Very nice hatch for them! I know they have 20 ducklings...maybe a few more.

 

[Alaskan]

Thanks.

It unpipped and wasn't moving. So I started the egg-topsy. It didn't move much, but it moved a little, so I put it back in.

I'm not trying to assist them to hatch. I don't open them until I really think the chick is dead. Clearly, I need new peramiters for "dead".

Please explain this to me, What is egg-topsy?

You think it is dead, so you carefully break the egg open, a little at a time, right at the air pocket at the top.

This is so you can see if there is a clear reason why it died, and at what stage it died.

 

[duluthralphie]

You think it is dead, so you carefully break the egg open, a little at a time, right at the air pocket at the top.

This is so you can see if there is a clear reason why it died, and at what stage it died.

AHHH Egg-topsy like an autopsy!!

I was thinking topsy turvy.....It's been a long day and my missing Ethel has me not thinking right......