November/December "Hatch-a-Long"

[DeannaA]

Last night Daisy, my dog, had a rough night. She is very old and is fine most of the time but last night she fell in the mud while it was raining. I heard her cry and went out and got her. I cleaned her up but she whined for awhile. I went back to bed but Max didn't come with me. Sometimes he'll have a snack and then go to bed. He sleeps on a stack of pillows next to me. I woke up this morning and Max had never gone to bed. I was worried. I called him but he didn't come. I went looking for him and he was sleeping with Daisy. So sweet of him to worry about her. He has napped with her but has always slept in me bed. My little Maxi is growing up.



This is just a cute picture of Max and Daisy pllaying outside. Max following Daisy everywhere.



Jack, my gimpy chicken, got wet and muddy in the rain. I brought her in to wash her and warm her up. I towel dried her then I used the blow drier. Max thought the blow drier was hurting her and started attacking it. It was so funny. If I had more hands, I would have gotten a picture.

 

[Heidisgran]

Aloha everyone, I'm new and this is my first-ever egg incubating experience. I've read a lot, asked a lot, and prayed a lot. Kind opinions are always welcome. I have an OLD GQF 1266 cabinet model that is holding steady at 99.5 F. Auto turner.

I weighed 12 eggs of 29 going into the incubator. At Day 7 the BBS Marans eggs have lost between 2.03 and 7.8% (average 5.58%). The barnyard mix eggs have lost between 4.66 and 14.64% (average 7.62%). Obviously I have upped the RH but here are my questions: Why the wildly different weight losses? The mixed breed eggs in general look more porous, but the most porous one lost the least (4.66%) I can only assume that taking the average is the best I can do and adjusting RH with that average information.

The candling was pretty much useless. I clearly saw air sacs in most but struggled to find them in others. Some appeared "clear" but most had "something" in them and only saw blood vessels in a couple. I need more light! I sure didn't see the clear development shown in photos (must be white eggs they use for pictures). I left all the eggs in the incubator until I can see better. I "think" one of the Marans eggs was upside-down (air sac on bottom) so I turned it around.

Feeling pretty uncertain but forging ahead.

 

[DeannaA]

Aloha everyone, I'm new and this is my first-ever egg incubating experience. I've read a lot, asked a lot, and prayed a lot. Kind opinions are always welcome. I have an OLD GQF 1266 cabinet model that is holding steady at 99.5 F. Auto turner.

I weighed 12 eggs of 29 going into the incubator. At Day 7 the BBS Marans eggs have lost between 2.03 and 7.8% (average 5.58%). The barnyard mix eggs have lost between 4.66 and 14.64% (average 7.62%). Obviously I have upped the RH but here are my questions: Why the wildly different weight losses? The mixed breed eggs in general look more porous, but the most porous one lost the least (4.66%) I can only assume that taking the average is the best I can do and adjusting RH with that average information.

The candling was pretty much useless. I clearly saw air sacs in most but struggled to find them in others. Some appeared "clear" but most had "something" in them and only saw blood vessels in a couple. I need more light! I sure didn't see the clear development shown in photos (must be white eggs they use for pictures). I left all the eggs in the incubator until I can see better. I "think" one of the Marans eggs was upside-down (air sac on bottom) so I turned it around.

Feeling pretty uncertain but forging ahead.

I have had a few eggs lose much more than all of the others. Sometimes the average is good, sometimes it is just a few that are different. I weigh every egg before I start and outline the airsac with a pencil. I just watch the growth of the airsac compared to the first line. My eggs can be so different that instead of an average, I go by the majority. But that is just me, from my personal experience. But I do not get 100% hatches yet so I am still working on it. I have noticed sometimes that a whole group but all of the same breed will lose more. Maybe they are more porous than they appear. is your humidity source near the ones that lost less? Or your fan near the ones that lost more?

Oh! I will take them out then. Yes, the 1 chicken from the double yoker lived and appears to be very active and healthy. It was actually my quickest hatch, it rolled a lot and then once it piped it was out in just a 1-2 minutes. Perhaps anxious to get away from the smell?

Ha! I am glad he lived. Woo hoo!

 

[Sueg4332]

Help my incubator got shut off last night. Properly 12 hours the chicks were suppose to hatch the 9th. Any chance of them still hatching. They are heating back up as we speak.
I think me and the legbar chicken are jinked.
I guess that's part of the hatching game.
The waiting game starts.....

 

[chickydee64]

Help my incubator got shut off last night. Properly 12 hours the chicks were suppose to hatch the 9th. Any chance of them still hatching. They are heating back up as we speak.
I think me and the legbar chicken are jinked.
I guess that's part of the hatching game.
The waiting game starts.....

With a little luck, it may just make them a bit late.
What did the temp. drop to?

 

[servpolice]

Yea i think they are coz i incubated 40 chicken eggs in 2010 and incubater shut down for 10 hours and i thought i lost them but three days later they pipped and 38 hatched and that was my biggest success in eggs ratio

 

[Farmer Viola]

Aloha everyone, I'm new and this is my first-ever egg incubating experience. I've read a lot, asked a lot, and prayed a lot. Kind opinions are always welcome. I have an OLD GQF 1266 cabinet model that is holding steady at 99.5 F. Auto turner.

I weighed 12 eggs of 29 going into the incubator. At Day 7 the BBS Marans eggs have lost between 2.03 and 7.8% (average 5.58%). The barnyard mix eggs have lost between 4.66 and 14.64% (average 7.62%). Obviously I have upped the RH but here are my questions: Why the wildly different weight losses? The mixed breed eggs in general look more porous, but the most porous one lost the least (4.66%) I can only assume that taking the average is the best I can do and adjusting RH with that average information.

The candling was pretty much useless. I clearly saw air sacs in most but struggled to find them in others. Some appeared "clear" but most had "something" in them and only saw blood vessels in a couple. I need more light! I sure didn't see the clear development shown in photos (must be white eggs they use for pictures). I left all the eggs in the incubator until I can see better. I "think" one of the Marans eggs was upside-down (air sac on bottom) so I turned it around.

Feeling pretty uncertain but forging ahead.

Hello and welcome!!!

fellow Oregonian here I am also on my first hatch (day 13) and learning a lot. I highly recommend waiting until it gets dark outside to candle. Even with the blinds shut, it's still too light. Once I started candling in a pitch-dark room, it helped a lot! Also remember to candle from the big end to see the air bubble.

One trick I learned to separate the clears from the developing, I would hold the egg horizontal on my closed fist, with the candle light in my hand. The yolk, as you know, is dead center inside the egg. It's held there by a small string called the chalaza. The baby chicken is hanging onto that yolk. So what I would do, is slowly move the light from the small end, pointing through the clear, towards the left side of the yolk, then the other side - through the clear, toward the right side of the yolk. By doing this side-to-side left-right movement rapidly, I could really identify what was in the very very center of the egg. This helped me confirm some as alive, and others as clears. I waited until day 12 to remove the clears though.

 

[DeannaA]

Still no email from Greenfire. Iam putting in my guess as 1 Bresse, 2 Jubilee Orpingtons, 2 Barnevelders, 3 Male Rhodebars, 4 Birchen Marans and 6 Female Rhodebars.

I hope it's Marsh Daisys, Hedemoras, Jubilee Orpintons, Sulmataler and something they are working on the isn't for sale yet.

So what is your final guess? To everyone. Hopefully they have record of my chicks somewhere and can still tell me what they are or I will have to wait awhile to find out but I will never be sure.

 

[Sueg4332]

With a little luck, it may just make them a bit late.
What did the temp. drop to?

not sure 30CC when I looked but I had the bator back on than for a few minutes.....

 

[Sueg4332]

Yea i think they are coz i incubated 40 chicken eggs in 2010 and incubater shut down for 10 hours and i thought i lost them but three days later they pipped and 38 hatched and that was my biggest success in eggs ratio

boy I hope I am that lucky Really, Really want these chicks!!!!!! I'll let you know the out come