March 2022 Hatch-A-Long

[HomesteadNowhere]

Silly question: when eggs go into lockdown on day 18, does that mean no turning that day or that you turn that day then don’t touch them? I set eggs at 9pm March 1st, so that would mean stop touching them after March 18th, right?
Congrats on all your cute fluffy bundles. The eggs exploding into fluff is the best description yet for the exciting moment!

The day goes by full 24 hours so you don't want to turn after 9pm. I like this calculator because it's very clear and specific.
https://robertsfarm.us/calculator.php

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Silly question: when eggs go into lockdown on day 18, does that mean no turning that day or that you turn that day then don’t touch them? I set eggs at 9pm March 1st, so that would mean stop touching them after March 18th, right?
Congrats on all your cute fluffy bundles. The eggs exploding into fluff is the best description yet for the exciting moment!

I just stop turning my eggs on DAY 17, no particular time. Lockdown DAY 19.
In emergency circumstances you could actually stop turning as early as DAY 14. For example, if you had to go out of town or didn’t have an automatic turner, etc. Turning is most important in the first two weeks.
I am usually hatching Silkies and they tend to hatch a half day to a full day early. This system works for me anyway.

 

[Bananer86]

I still have 5 Coturnix eggs left from my 3/15 hatch (day 20) Today is their last chance. All 5 have the right buoyancy in float test but I can’t tell about movement.

I went ahead & set 36 more mixed Coturnix & my 15 Celadon Coturnix eggs go into lockdown tomorrow

Current totals for 3/15 hatch 12 set
1- cracked
1- early quitter
2- hatched day 16
2- hatched day 17
1- dis after pip day 18

ETA- all are shipped eggs

 

[SarahLadd]

Sup y'all, I have checked in with the watermaal society and I had 3 different breeders give me completely different hatch dates so I'm winging it folks. However 17 days seems too early across the board and I think I'm going to bump my expected hatch to day 19 or 20. Today I am going to lockdown and do that thing with humidity and pull the turning tray. The turner hasn't been turning for 24 hours. Before I do that I'll candle the eggs again and check weights and mark the last air cell outline. I'm not sure if I'd already mentioned it yet but I did lose one when I candled last sunday so I have 8 eggs I'm peeking into today.

Today is the 17th day of incubating. I candled last Sunday and was somewhat concerned to see the air cells not really growing in size, I'm pretty sure one or two of them had air cells that I drew lines over so the cell didn't change at all. I weighed every egg and marked it down on the egg with a corresponding color in colored pencil and it looks like everyone lost at least a gram to two grams in weight (my scale isn't sensitive enough for half gram measurements). I am afraid of drowning them, so I hope the air cells look good before I bump the humidity tonight to 70%.

 

[Stephh0701]

All 6 fluffers together, fluffy and happy. Don't mind the little green headed one... i wanted to be able to tell the difference just at a glance between the welsummer hens babies and the one buff orpington baby. I had ordered chick bands but they never came in and amazon just refunded me for them. Going to try and get them under my silkie hen. She isn't broody but in the past she's raised most of our chicks even if she wasn't broody. She's never hatched her own but 90% of our flock was raised by her. She was one of the first chicks we ever got and the only one left from that batch.

 

[Bananer86]

I pulled & checked my last 5
2- not fertile/non-starters
2- late quitters (not fully formed & still in fluid)
1- early quitter

So my official 3-15 hatch total is 4/9

I’m really my celadons do better Tuesday

 

[Thatcher R]

I’m going to be ordering some call duck eggs soon, any tips for a first time hatcher?

 

[SilverLacedFarmChik]

Final tally for March hatch: Set- 22, 11 non-fertile/non-starter. 11 locked down, 1 died pipping, 1 clear idunno) , 1 late quitter. 8 hatched. I didn't do a final candle before lockdown and just YOLO-ed it. Next time, I will make sure to do it to avoid any possible eggs exploding, I'm guessing that clear could have made a heckuva mess if it would have broke.
2 of the eggs I put in at the beginning were from chickens who consistently do not let the roos breed, so I figured they'd be clear...but I figured I'd try anyway.
Overall, I learned a lot from this hatch and the adorable little fluffballs that made it are already sold

They are in right now with 3 slightly older FBCM chicks that I accidently bought when I purchased some FBCM eggs from a local breeder, lol. They're all getting along great, no problems at all.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Sup y'all, I have checked in with the watermaal society and I had 3 different breeders give me completely different hatch dates so I'm winging it folks. However 17 days seems too early across the board and I think I'm going to bump my expected hatch to day 19 or 20. Today I am going to lockdown and do that thing with humidity and pull the turning tray. The turner hasn't been turning for 24 hours. Before I do that I'll candle the eggs again and check weights and mark the last air cell outline. I'm not sure if I'd already mentioned it yet but I did lose one when I candled last sunday so I have 8 eggs I'm peeking into today.

Today is the 17th day of incubating. I candled last Sunday and was somewhat concerned to see the air cells not really growing in size, I'm pretty sure one or two of them had air cells that I drew lines over so the cell didn't change at all. I weighed every egg and marked it down on the egg with a corresponding color in colored pencil and it looks like everyone lost at least a gram to two grams in weight (my scale isn't sensitive enough for half gram measurements). I am afraid of drowning them, so I hope the air cells look good before I bump the humidity tonight to 70%.

What has your humidity been running up to now? I know some bantams can hatch as early as DAY 19, but I have not heard that any chicken breeds can hatch earlier than this. I do not know much about Barbus though. If you are worried about the air cells, you can push lockdown out another day.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I pulled & checked my last 5
2- not fertile/non-starters
2- late quitters (not fully formed & still in fluid)
1- early quitter

So my official 3-15 hatch total is 4/9

I’m really my celadons do better Tuesday

Congrats on the chicks that did hatch! Good luck with the Tuesday bunch.