APRIL HATCH-A-LONG come join in

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wow great hatches everyone. loved the pics too they are all soo cute.
I am getting to my last week this week before mine start to hatch hopefully. My lock down is Tuesday and Hatch day to start is Friday I am hoping anyway. Now to get my humidity up to 60%.

When you all had to get your humidity up did you leave your vent holes open, close both or leave one open to help the humidity stay up.

I have a few containers in there now and it stays about 30-40% now.
just worried about keeping it at 60 when i am at wrk.

I am using a lg still air no fan for mine. But will get the turner and fan for the next one i think at least the turner.I just checked it at its a t 55% is that to high for the last few days or should i bring it back down?

thanks

deana
 
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55% humidity sounds great, that's always my goal with "dry incubation" (not really dry, just dryer than most instructions). As far as venting, I am hoping that others will advise on this. I understand that the most venting is needed when they have pipped & even more so when they are zipping & hatching or hatched. Happy hatching, looking forward to your posts on it.
 
Last weekend, I cleaned the whole coop & nests out; then sanitized & rebedded. This is more of a chicken care issue, but thought I'd share with you what was used, as I had searched & came across some new & improved tips. Please feel free to share any comments on the following new ideas, I'm open to learning too.

For sanitizing & ridding/preventing lice & mites in the coop & nests, CITRISOLV "natural cleaner & degreaser" (I read about Orange Guard too) was used & I bought the refillable spray bottle & the concentrate purchased in the natural & organic section of one of our grocery stores. Citrisolv is an orange oil product with no harmful chemicals for even your household cleaning use; it leaves a light, refreshing orange fragrance that did not cause asthma symptoms. Lice & mites don't like orange oil, so I sprayed the walls, ceiling, roosts & nest boxes with it.

The other tip that I am using now is "STALL DRY," a livestock product from our feed store, that I sprinkled in the bottom of all nest boxes under pine shavings & on the floor of the coop under the pine shavings. It contains "food grade" DE diatomaceous earth & bentonite clay, both of these ingredients are anti lice & mites; also absorbs moisture & reduces odor. I've also used STALL DRY (will clump if it gets wet) in my mixture of "Homemade Natural Chicken Dust Bath" in place of the DE & road dust. Also, tried sprinkling a small amount of STALL DRY in the bedding of the chick brooder, for odor in-between changes & for some lice & mite control just in case. By the way, "food grade" DE (diatomaceous earth) contains only 1% silica & "non food grade" DE contains 85% (DE found in garden supply departments that I use on my garden plants). As a side note: I understand that silica can cause tumors. Ideally, "food grade" DE is best for you & the chickens.
 
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Having horses I'm a big fan of stall dri and now I'm a big fan of Tek Trol for my chicken stuff. My first hatch stank after a couple days of hatching just a stinky sour smell...Your not "supposed" to wash hatching eggs so I didn't I had an excellent hatch. I've been reading so much about chickens on this site and others I ran across an article from Fred's Fine Fowl's or close to that about using Tek Trol and improving his hatch I go get my gallon of it that I use for other stuff besides chickens and right on the label are directions for cleaning hatching eggs hummm I think well maybe I might try some time with my eggs well my turkey eggs came and they were just filthy there was no way I'd put them in my incubator so I did the Tek Trol wash really had to dip them many times to get them clean. Well out of 7 eggs 3 were clears and 4 hatched then I get my Black Copper eggs and there was one broken and on some of the other eggs there was gunk so I washed those now they were damaged and the day after setting them I had weepers but from 17 I hatched 5 so far best of all my incubator didn't smell until today just a bit and today is the 5th day since they started hatching. So I've been Tek Troling all my eggs and if they are good eggs they hatch if not they don't stink. I'm very smitten with my turkeys too they are quite the characters already.

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I set 24 eggs on April 2. Friday was hatch day. Wow was it. It started out slow with one at 8am the next 4 by 6pm. Then the next group hatched btwn 6-10pm. I've never seen such a mad house in an incubator before. We have 20 cuties in the brooder box.



 
You guy's hatches are really thriving!!!!
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2 more days until the eggs under my broody are due. *fingers crossed*
 
Second broody is off and she hatched three out of six. One little Mille Fleur cochin didn't make it though
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. So she now has a Speckled Sussex (surprise surprise, they are everywhere here, lol) and an Orloff
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. My little white hen has chicks hatching today. Can't remember what eggs I put under her, but I am sure there will be a Speckled Sussex.
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Getting my second bator ready for lockdown Tuesday. Can't wait!
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Six blue-laced red wyandotte eggs and two bourbon red turkey eggs.

I've been having terrible hatches this year, lots of chicks dead in the shell just before or after pipping
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Humidity issues I think, so hoping I've got it figured out
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Congratulations on all the cuties everyone
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Love all the pictures!
 
Haven't had a chance to post but first chick showed up at 3:01 yesterday.
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I didn't think I would get any. I was out of town from 4:30 wednesday morning until late thursday night. Been a terrible week here. Got a call about my mom and stayed with her until we lost her thursday afternoon. Went into lockddown as soon as we got home and eggs were due like wee hours of this moring.

Got the last baby very early this morning. Out of 12 BCM eggs and 2 Amerucuana eggs, half of each have hatched. Got a little surprise with the BCMs when 2 little Wheatens popped out. I have a little blue Ameracuana and 4 BCMs climbing all over the other eggs.

I'm a little worried about 2 of the eggs. They were rocking like crazy from the start of lockdown and now even a pip. Still not to bad from shipped eggs, but has anyone had eggs that were really moving constantly at first, just stop and then days later stop or do you think they just didn't make it?

They showed up at the perfect time though. They've helped during a had time, so gonna have to treat them extra special.
 
I haven't been around to update, but in the past few days I have a bunch of EE/Cochin mixes (adorable with their feathered feet and puffy cheeks!), a couple BBS Ameraucanas, a couple frizzled standard Cochins, a couple Silkies, and a couple BCM. A cute little group!
 
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