November 2016 Hatch-a-long!!

[tequl]

So She chick's should be OK ? We can finally see the development and I am worried about losing them and and wehave ahave a self turning incubator with a water well for for the humidity I did put more water in it when i I seen that is was below 50

 

[Cerise1924]

Here's a final pic of what I ended up with. Lots of chipmunks. ;-)

So sweet! Congratulations!

 

[Faraday40]

So She chick's should be OK ? We can finally see the development and I am worried about losing them and and wehave ahave a self turning incubator with a water well for for the humidity I did put more water in it when i I seen that is was below 50

There are several methods for hatching. Many people simply fill the trays as directed in the incubator's instruction manual & never even measure humidity. In general there are 18 days of turning eggs with whatever "regular" humidity and temp of 99.5'F. (I try to keep mine at about 30% humidity, some people do 20%, some 40%. The whole point is to have the correct amount of fluids evaporate from the egg during those 1st 18 days.)

On day 18 when you stop turning eggs, you also need to increase humidity until hatching but keep temp the same 99.5'F. Again your incubator instructions probably have some way to pour additional water into it. (I try to get mine up as high as possible - which for me is 60-65%.) The reason for the increased humidity at the end is to make it easier for the chicks to hatch. Since chicks may hatch a day or 2 early, that's why the humidity is bumped up on day 18 & not waiting until day 21. A minor humidity fluctuation is no big deal - especially if the chicks haven't pipped. The only danger is when a chick is pipped or zipping & the humidity drops to a low enough level (& doesn't get back up quickly). The dry air causes the membrane to dry & get tough - making it more difficult for chicks to hatch.

So short answer: your chicks are probably just fine. I've read several stories of people "forgetting" to increase humidity & shut off the turner, only to be surprised one day with some chicks peeping inside the incubator. Remember: Hen's do not take measurements of any kind & manage to get excellent hatch rates.

 

[orrpeople]

Hi everyone! I just (yesterday) put some eggs in the incubator. Expecting chicks Dec 2 - hopefully. I have 16 BCM (shipped) to try to get some hens for my beautiful local BCM roo (Northern California). Of the 16, 4 look like pullets eggs, so I doubt they will do much. I also have 5 of our own: 4 "olive eggers" BCM/EE crosses, and 1 RIR/BCM cross.So, 21 total. Hovabator 1588 incubator. This is my first crack at incubation, and I told my husband that I have put together a recipe for attempting to hatch these based on articles and comments from BYC (you all!). Ill be waiting until day 7 to candle...when did one week ever seem SO long?! The picture is my roo "Charlemagne" who needs some BCM hens in his flock!

 

[Faraday40]

Hi everyone! I just (yesterday) put some eggs in the incubator. Expecting chicks Dec 2 - hopefully. I have 16 BCM (shipped) to try to get some hens for my beautiful local BCM roo (Northern California). Of the 16, 4 look like pullets eggs, so I doubt they will do much. I also have 5 of our own: 4 "olive eggers" BCM/EE crosses, and 1 RIR/BCM cross.So, 21 total. Hovabator 1588 incubator. This is my first crack at incubation, and I told my husband that I have put together a recipe for attempting to hatch these based on articles and comments from BYC (you all!). Ill be waiting until day 7 to candle...when did one week ever seem SO long?! The picture is my roo "Charlemagne" who needs some BCM hens in his flock!

Awesome name for a rooster!

Incubating pullet eggs should be OK. It's not a 1st choice because the embryos have less room to grow, so the chicks may be smaller. Pullets can also have irreg. shapes & shells. However, if it's what you've got on hand & you're testing out the incubator, then why not?

Keep track of what you did (# & type of eggs, temp & humidity readings on a specific thermometer, days when you candled with results, when eggs pipped, hatched, & the final results.) That way when you incubate again, you can make subtle adjustments to attempt higher hatch rates.

 

[dcba flock]

Hi everyone! I just (yesterday) put some eggs in the incubator. Expecting chicks Dec 2 - hopefully. I have 16 BCM (shipped) to try to get some hens for my beautiful local BCM roo (Northern California). Of the 16, 4 look like pullets eggs, so I doubt they will do much. I also have 5 of our own: 4 "olive eggers" BCM/EE crosses, and 1 RIR/BCM cross.So, 21 total. Hovabator 1588 incubator. This is my first crack at incubation, and I told my husband that I have put together a recipe for attempting to hatch these based on articles and comments from BYC (you all!). Ill be waiting until day 7 to candle...when did one week ever seem SO long?! The picture is my roo "Charlemagne" who needs some BCM hens in his flock!

He's so handsome! I have 7/7 pullet leghorn shipped eggs I just stopped turning tonight due on Friday so don't count out those little nuggets I also have Marans due w/ that batch as well can't see anything other than the air cell they are so dark and thick... Good luck hope your first hatch goes well

 

[NysiaAnera]

I counted 12 chicks, only 10 in the picture. That means that at least 1 of the 4 from the other nest did hatch! I didn't get a good look at the nest, momma and chicks were in the way. She off the nest for a second, so it was difficult to see. I suspect all who are going to hatch have now done so, so I expect she will be out and about with them tomorrow. I am always so amazed at just how tiny they really are! I think our 3 and 4 week old chicks are so small and not growing, then I see the new hatchlings, and the others look huge in comparison!

 

[Silvia2234]

I'm new to BYC and how do you post your own threads?

 

[Faraday40]

I'm new to BYC and how do you post your own threads?

Just above the 1st message box (or below the last) on each page, there are 2 buttons on the left side.
"Post a reply" and "Start a new thread" = what you're looking for

They are on the same lines as the page counter

 

[Faraday40]

DD candled Quail eggs tonight - day 7
10 eggs in each group
hatching eggs = 6 looked good, 4 ?
farmer market eggs = 6 looked good, 4 ?
grocery store eggs = 9 looked clear, 1 maybe

Extra hatching quail eggs (not part of the experiment were thrown in the other incubator) All 6 looked good. Those overflow eggs were put in the home-made cooler-bator with the chicken eggs. That incubator always does better. I must open it to turn eggs by hand 3xs per day, but the temp is still always perfect.

Considering the breeder told us to expect a low hatch rate due to seasonal infertility, I'm happy about the results so far. A little surprised that the 1st 2 groups are the same, but we'll see what happens soon. DD will candle again in a few days & remove the definite clears then. The speckles from the quail eggs make candling more difficult.