January 2017 Hatch-a-long

[feedman77]

Congratulations on new babies

 

[NysiaAnera]

Here is Buffy and her chicks along with a Buff Brahma momma and her chicks, all eating together. Everyone else was steering clear!

 

[NysiaAnera]

No progress on the inside eggs or the Australorp's eggs. I am thinking the ones inside are gonners now. They have till tomorrow to prove me wrong. The Australorp's have until Saturday, but I think they may be gone also.

 

[Cerise1924]

Congratulations on new babies

Thank you!

 

[Cerise1924]

Here is Buffy and her chicks along with a Buff Brahma momma and her chicks, all eating together. Everyone else was steering clear!

Adorable!

 

[NysiaAnera]

And a couple more pictures from about half an hour ago.

I am not sure if she is planning on sleeping outside with them tonight, or if she simple moved over to the fresh straw I dropped for some dry ground and will go inside soon, but I put a pile of feed in front of her to make sure the chicks are getting food.

The pullet on the right here is one of Buffy's chicks from last summer.

 

[NysiaAnera]

Adorable! 

Thanks!

 

[orrpeople]

Ah, good times! 

SO, I set my eggs in the bator and it returned to temp. How long before I should start turning?

And is it better to turn 3 times a day and maintain temp  more or 5 times turning?

Shipped eggs, wait for 2 days to turn. I'm a "turn it myself" gal and usually do 5x per day. I've heard 3 is the fewest. I keep mine in cut down egg carton bases with a hole in each of the bottoms for ventilation, so all I have to do is prop one side up, then the other side up. At night I give everyone a quarter turn and sing the little chickie lullabye... well, no, I don't sing - I somehow think that might lower my hatch rate. "You wanna pip and zip so you can listen to that? No thank you!"

 

[Cerise1924]

The second chick started unzipping, then stopped. No movement, no peeping. After five hours, I decided to step in to assist. I've never lost a chick by assisting, but I have possibly lost one by not helping out.

Shimmer finished pushing out on her own with her big, fuzzy Brahma feet, and is now resting next to Spark. Two chicks out, two eggs left!

 

[orrpeople]

The second chick started unzipping, then stopped. No movement, no peeping. After five hours, I decided to step in to assist. I've never lost a chick by assisting, but I have possibly lost one by not helping out.

Shimmer finished pushing out on her own with her big, fuzzy Brahma feet, and is now resting next to Spark. Two chicks out, two eggs left!

I had a pip, zip and quit on my last hatch. It was so quick. One minute it was cruising along, even pushing up on the top of the shell, the next minute it had stopped. I only waited a couple minutes before helping it, but it was already gone. So sad! (And worse yet, I had invited a home school family over to watch the process, so this was their first experience! Ugh.)