Mixed heritage and birds with dubious parentage thread. (mutts)

[duluthralphie]

Just the one! It is an olive egger, BCM roo over an EE hen. Letting him dry off in the incubator overnight to see if his peeping will rouse anyone else.

Anyone ever raised a solitary chick?

I'm collecting hatching eggs to try again once I'm sure the rest won't hatch.

Nice chick, Hang on there will be more.

 

[Dandelioness]

You were right! This one had not even pipped at 10pm when we turned in, but had hatched & was squirming around when my husband left for work at 3am this morning! I see another pip, too! I am getting a small indoor heating pad brooder set up this morning.

 

[duluthralphie]

You were right! This one had not even pipped at 10pm when we turned in, but had hatched & was squirming around when my husband left for work at 3am this morning! I see another pip, too! I am getting a small indoor heating pad brooder set up this morning.

Glad to hear there is more!

I am in the same shape as you, I have 2 hatched and nothing even pipped. I have an urge to candle again and throw eggs, BUT they are not even suppose to hatch until tomorrow, so I have to just keep the early risers happy.

 

[Dandelioness]

It's so hard to just sit on your hands!

I'm going to give it 24 hrs from the last pip before I start candling or chucking anything.

Still building up my pile of hatchers for the next batch. Are you on your third batch of the season?

 

[duluthralphie]

It's so hard to just sit on your hands!

I'm going to give it 24 hrs from the last pip before I start candling or chucking anything.

Still building up my pile of hatchers for the next batch. Are you on your third batch of the season?

I am doing staggered hatches, so it is hard to tell. I put 7-14 eggs in at a time and move them to the hatcher when ready.

I think it is my 4th hatching day.

 

[Dandelioness]

Before you had a separate hatcher, did you still put them in at different times?

I have two silkie eggs developing under a silkie right now. I think I want to put other eggs under her, but put her eggs in the bator with the new batch I'll be starting in a couple days. I think the silkie eggs might hatch in a week & a half.

Does this sound like a disaster waiting to happen?

 

[duluthralphie]

I put the eggs in at separate times. I mark the eggs with hatch date and move them to the hatcher when it gets close.

I am afraid of hatching in the incubator as I use turning trays and I had a bird get her foot caught between them and get trapped.

with two incubators and a hatcher I can incubate upward of 80 eggs at a time. on Monday I will move the next eggs to hatch into the hatcher on a turning tray, taking the tray out a few days before the hatch.

 

[Dandelioness]

Eighty eggs, that's pretty impressive! I could get myself into some trouble!!

I was reading an old-time chicken book and it said people used to use their stoves to incubate eggs. I am assuming wood stoves. But I have this toaster oven in the garage...

I will have 3 or 4 chicks from this batch. I'll post pics on all the threads later, once everyone's fluffed up and in their temporary brooder.

I may try grafting these onto my little silkie rather than putting eggs under her. If she accepts them, I'll have one less chore. It seems like too much extra work to set up a big outdoor brooder for a handful of chicks when she could do the job.

 

[duluthralphie]

I just got back from Duluth, my humidity dropped to 41%,,,OUCH!


I hate leaving on hatching days, but I had to. I have a couple pipped eggs, or my DW claims I do. I worry about them when the moisture gets that low.

I have 2 creamettes now and 3 turkeys!

 

[Dandelioness]

Here are two of the four chicks that hatched late last week. I exposed my kids to an excellent western recently, so they named these guys Blondie and Angel Eyes. I don't think Tuco is going to make it!

I grafted them and another chick who was pretty weak onto my broody silkie last night. It looks like she's accepted them. As I put them under her, I removed three eggs she laid a while ago and the golf ball dummies I used to encourage her to brood earlier this month. The eggs are very dark inside!! After candling, I put them in the bator with another batch I'm setting. So I think there will be three more chicks very soon, but with better hair than the rest!

This new batch should have a few barnyard mixes, possibly some guineas, and several olive eggers. Hoping everything I think I've learned with my poor hatch equals a better hatch rate!