May 2024 Hatch-A-Long

[junior67]

I wasn't planning on hatching more poultry this year, but one of my hens went unexpectedly broody and I happened to have some eggs (slightly older but proven to be good stock), so I gave her 7 of her "siblings" and a couple extras to sit on. First time incubating with a broody!

The first couple days she slept on her perch, so I'm not sure if all eggs will all hatch, or just be delayed, but she's been good since, and even let me candle them tonight. Most show some development, one looks ahead of the others, two look behind and may be duds, and the blue shell one is hard to tell what's going on but I think it started developing too.

Good luck!

 

[PrettyCoolChicks]

Found one of the eggs cracked tonight. It looked odd/behind when candling so I opened it and it had ruptured yolk, looked scrambled and watery. I accidentally poured the empty sac in the sink so couldn't tell if it had developed at all or not.

Unsure if it was pecked but if broody takes a break again, I'll go in there to pad the bottom of the nest with a bit more hay.

All other eggs looked healthy. They probably will hatch about at the end of this month.

 

[PrettyCoolChicks]

I will have to move mama out of the nesting box (which is over 2ft above ground) and onto the coop floor in the next couple days. I've set up a pen below the nesting boxes, hopefully she'll enjoy the privacy and accept the move. When to do it is the question now

 

[gimmie birdies]

The eggs I brought were from a feed store fridge. And washed. The woman, according to the feed store was not pleased I was hatching and selling chicks from her eggs, which hatched pretty well up until that point. She warned me though the feed store that she from now on would do a thourgh job of washing them in the future and if I wanted any to hatch, I should buy the eggs from her unrefridgerated, and unwashed for 2x the cost of the feed store. I thought you sell the eggs, then they are mine. I had noticed a drop in hatching, probably from more washing and less roosters. (I was told they eliminated 3 roosters.) Anyhow this last batch I bought home I set 16 eggs 4 made it to lockdown and 4 hatched.

I will use other eggs in the future. But these are cute.

 

[PrettyCoolChicks]

So cute!

For what its worth, anyone I bought eggs from for hatching, I asked if they wanted me to pay a bit more and they all said "no you buy them they're yours" and then replaced some eggs with better/fresher ones before giving them to me...
So I'm with you on this!

 

[PrettyCoolChicks]

Broody was off the nest taking a break when I let the birds out this morning, so I candled all eggs / gave the sniff test to the blue ones and they all look great. One maybe seemed a tad cloudy but still had healthy movement inside. They look to be about day 15.

I transferred the whole nest into a cardboard box the same size as the nesting box, put it in the brooder/under the nesting boxes, gently placed broody in it and returned her eggs by slipping them under her. She didn't like me telling her where the nest had moved, but as soon as I had closed the brooder, she tried the water and food and went back on the nest. Looks like a successful move but I'll check on her a couple more times today.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Plus I forgot to mention, there were 2 black outs during the hatch, 2 days in a row, both 6 hrs + per day.

 

[gimmie birdies]

My 4. The currently have no names.below the 1st to hatch.

the second.

The 3rd

the 4th was a yellow chick with a black spot on butt.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I also put the smallest chicken from the last hatch in with them.

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

Had a dozen more Narragansett poults hatch out last week. And a few days ago I found a Narragansett hen that has been hiding on a clutch of eggs. I have no idea when they are due to hatch.