JANUARY 2015 Hatch-A-Long

[The Colonel]

Set 40 eggs last night due to hatch on January 18/19. My December hatch didn't go as well as planned, so I'm giving it another go. And I also have 2 eggs under my broody Silkie pullet outside due within the next week. So close to the NY hatch! Just barely missed it on those. Will stay up to date. Good luck to everyone and can't wait to see the pictures.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I checked my eggs (again ). I have 17/17 eggs showing development

Only one of my shipped eggs is showing a saddle shaped air cell for now, and only 3 have wiggly air cells. I'm pretty impressed they're doing as well as they are. This is my first time incubating shipped eggs, and I was expecting it was going to be a complete disaster. I'm pretty pleased so far!

 

[ChickyChickens]

I have two eggs (hopefully) hatching shortly after New years. I have 2 eggs at 2 different stages. One is due for lockdown on new years eve around 5pm and the other is due for lockdown exactly one week after the first one. It's getting closer! I sure hope to have a chick by next weekend

I can't wait!!!

Awesome!!! Hope both hatch!!

I toss mine after day 10 if they are clear.

Yeah, same here...but just day 14!

yeah

I tossed just tossed 2. I was just really hoping I'd get something out of this set. They were Silkie crosses and I was really looking forward to those chicks. But they all seem to be duds. They aren't exactly clear, the yolks are darker, but there are no veins, and no dark spot.

Sorry about that!!! I hate tossing eggs

I checked my eggs (again

). I have 17/17 eggs showing development

Only one of my shipped eggs is showing a saddle shaped air cell for now, and only 3 have wiggly air cells. I'm pretty impressed they're doing as well as they are. This is my first time incubating shipped eggs, and I was expecting it was going to be a complete disaster. I'm pretty pleased so far!

Awesome, hope you have a good hatch there!!

 

[KDob521]

My younger egg that's due one week after the new year wasn't moving at all last night when I candled

I had a batch of 3 eggs that were on day 16 the weekend before Christmas, I happened to go away for not even 24 hours and when I came back, the bator was over 106 degrees and they were all shrink-wrapped. Those were my first ever eggs. My first ever chickens! And they were gone. I was so destroyed but my neighbor has loads of Rhode Island Reds so she gave me 3 of her eggs. One turned out to be almost fully developed but after a few days started giving off a rotten smell so that one was gone. I was left with #2 and #3 in development. I am thankful that my #2 is still on track, still alive and jolting around (lockdown due on new years eve afternoon). My #3 is the one not moving. It's about 7ish days along right now.

Like I can't catch a break! I just want ONE chick. I'm going to give #3 a couple days and see if anything more develops. I'm not going to just straight up chuck it unless it starts to smell bad. But I'm very discouraged. IF it is dead, I guess it's just what's known as a 'quitter' in the chicken egg world.

 

[gimmie birdies]

put in eggs to hatch 16th of jan...they are on day 4

this morning... and 8 hrs later..
.

 

[blackgoat]

put in eggs to hatch 16th of jan...they are on day 4 this morning... and 8 hrs later.. .

So neat! The little "spider webs" are just so cool! Thus is why I have a hard time not candling every day. Lol!

 

[gimmie birdies]

every second! probably won't candle again till day 7, funny one time I was hatching with a large cardboard box, and had too much moisture, and my only chick to hatch was a white one I candled alot. Another time hatching in the same box (below), I set up my chicks to hatch I was gone for a week, they were to hatch last 2 days before I got back. I had 11 eggs.7 hatched while I was gone the other 4 got kicked away from the light.I don't hatch like this anymore, but I did.

 

[nab58]

I am a total newbie to hatching.

I set 7 mixed eggs on Saturday,so today is day 3. Hatch date 1/17.

Candles them today just to get a baseline of what I was looking at and was surprised at how porous they were.....very spotty looking. I was afraid to keep them out of the incubator for too long so I was quick about it.

I also weighed two eggs that were the same weight as when I set them....that's not a bad thing, is it? It's too soon to show any weight loss, right?

The good thing was i was able to locate some of the air cells and get familiar with them.

Do you get over being intimidated by handling the eggs?

I'm going to try to wait for day 7 to candle again. It will be disappointing to look again and not see anything definitive.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I think it is just like having kids. extra careful with the first batch. I have hatched many diff eggs. when chosing eggs to hatch I don't chose porous ones. But it would not keep me from trying. Good luck with your eggs we are almost the same schedule. mine are due 16th, (I got some from a lady with a viable roo) and some of my own. I don't know if my roo is working, but I also have dark eggs that are uncheckable. maybe later, I had one egg that was too dark to check and still kept it under hen. didn't know it was viable until day 10.

 

[Peep_Show]

I'd like to join, please!

I've got all of three eggs for the BYC NYD HAL that are viable and two of those came late in the mail and so they will be Jan 3rd-ish hatchers.

BUT last Saturday I was out shopping our local Trader Joe's and just for yuks decided to check out the fertile eggs. OMG! They were only 3 days from the packing date. Picked up 3 dozen...good shells and GREAT air cells. (Wish my eBay eggs looked so good...I'd have a better hatch). Anyway, I have hatched out TJ chicks before and have a real sweetheart Austrawhite one in my coop who flies up and sits on my shoulder....I don't think that's what they mean by "flighty."

My challenge in hatching is that I now live in a high altitude (5200 ft) that makes it VERY VERY difficult to hatch out shipped eggs (due to pore size of sea-level eggs not letting in sufficient oxygen).

Anyway, I've got the TJ eggs lolling about the Styrofoam bator waiting for the Brinsea to free up when the blue marans and BLRW go to the hatcher. I'd really like to hatch some Welsummer to add to the flock, but just couldn't resist the uber-fresh Trader Joe's eggs. At $2.99/doz it's an offer I couldn't refuse.