In my hatch thread from last year, I documented everything with lots of pictures and explanations, especially overcoming some issues I had with the incubator. Lots of folks told me they found the thread very useful and helpful. So I decided to document this year’s hatch as well, including lessons learned from last time, and more process improvements.
I also want to photograph and share the growth and development of my Red Partridge Orpington chicks - what they look like at different life stages and how the partridge pattern comes in - so it can be helpful for people trying to sex partridge-colored chicks (I imagine the pattern develops similarly regardless of breed). Last year only one of my partridge eggs hatched and I had nothing to compare the chick to, and photos at different ages were VERY hard to find online. So I had a hard time sexing it until pretty late. That's why I want to chronicle my chicks’ growth this year to fill that void. Not just because it’s fun to guess boy or girl, but because sometimes there’s more at stake. For example, one of my neighbors hates my chickens and is looking for an excuse to call the authorities on me. Crowing would be a great such excuse. Last year I had a cockerel crow as early as 5 weeks old, before I was sure who’s who! The chicks were outside by then, and it became a huge problem. I can’t have that happen again, so this year I’m keeping everybody in the brooder inside my house until I can reliably sex the chicks and only take the girls outside.
Today is set day! I set 12 Red Partridge Orpington eggs ordered from Papa’s Poultry. They’ve flown coast to coast from CA to MA so I’m expecting about 50% hatch rate. Hoping to keep 2 girls, and eat the rest. My lone partridge Orp from last year was the family favorite from the brood, and the best chicken ever. So sweet, friendly, funny and full of personality. Sadly, he died at 5 months old. The kids really loved him, we gave him a proper burial in a little coffin, with flowers and everything. We wanted him to live on somehow, so we tried hatching eggs from his favorite girlfriend, but I guess he hadn't been doing the job well enough yet, because they were all infertile. So we decided to order eggs from the same breeder and hatch a new batch of partridge Orps, who would be related, in spirit if not in reality, to our lost friend. So this hatch is in honor of him.
I also set 14 barnyard mix eggs that a friend asked me to hatch for her. So, 26 eggs total.
I’m using the same Little Giant still air incubator again. Still air absolutely sucks and I had a lot of problems with that last year, so I'm using the same hack again - the handheld fan. I also have a salt-tested hygrometer in there and three calibrated thermometers. The first day is always the worst, tweaking things and moving eggs back and forth to overcome the inevitable hot and cold spots that are still there despite the fan (though not as pronounced as without a fan).
Tomorrow I'll write about lessons learned and things I've done differently this time. For now, here's my setup:
I have the thermometer probes in different parts of the incubator, and I color coded them so I know which display corresponds to which probe without having to follow the cords every time.
Salt-testing the hygrometer (before putting it in):
And calibrating the thermometers in ice water. They are impressively accurate:
I also want to photograph and share the growth and development of my Red Partridge Orpington chicks - what they look like at different life stages and how the partridge pattern comes in - so it can be helpful for people trying to sex partridge-colored chicks (I imagine the pattern develops similarly regardless of breed). Last year only one of my partridge eggs hatched and I had nothing to compare the chick to, and photos at different ages were VERY hard to find online. So I had a hard time sexing it until pretty late. That's why I want to chronicle my chicks’ growth this year to fill that void. Not just because it’s fun to guess boy or girl, but because sometimes there’s more at stake. For example, one of my neighbors hates my chickens and is looking for an excuse to call the authorities on me. Crowing would be a great such excuse. Last year I had a cockerel crow as early as 5 weeks old, before I was sure who’s who! The chicks were outside by then, and it became a huge problem. I can’t have that happen again, so this year I’m keeping everybody in the brooder inside my house until I can reliably sex the chicks and only take the girls outside.
Today is set day! I set 12 Red Partridge Orpington eggs ordered from Papa’s Poultry. They’ve flown coast to coast from CA to MA so I’m expecting about 50% hatch rate. Hoping to keep 2 girls, and eat the rest. My lone partridge Orp from last year was the family favorite from the brood, and the best chicken ever. So sweet, friendly, funny and full of personality. Sadly, he died at 5 months old. The kids really loved him, we gave him a proper burial in a little coffin, with flowers and everything. We wanted him to live on somehow, so we tried hatching eggs from his favorite girlfriend, but I guess he hadn't been doing the job well enough yet, because they were all infertile. So we decided to order eggs from the same breeder and hatch a new batch of partridge Orps, who would be related, in spirit if not in reality, to our lost friend. So this hatch is in honor of him.
I also set 14 barnyard mix eggs that a friend asked me to hatch for her. So, 26 eggs total.
I’m using the same Little Giant still air incubator again. Still air absolutely sucks and I had a lot of problems with that last year, so I'm using the same hack again - the handheld fan. I also have a salt-tested hygrometer in there and three calibrated thermometers. The first day is always the worst, tweaking things and moving eggs back and forth to overcome the inevitable hot and cold spots that are still there despite the fan (though not as pronounced as without a fan).
Tomorrow I'll write about lessons learned and things I've done differently this time. For now, here's my setup:
I have the thermometer probes in different parts of the incubator, and I color coded them so I know which display corresponds to which probe without having to follow the cords every time.
Salt-testing the hygrometer (before putting it in):
And calibrating the thermometers in ice water. They are impressively accurate:
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