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I am on the other side of the country right now, but my SO has been looking after all the animals and keeping me up to speed. I left a first-time broody behind, and yesterday she hatched out 10 of her 12 eggs. She is one of the most dedicated broodies I have ever dealt with, to the point that I...

As of now, 4 of the 6 eggs have hatched, and the other two have pipped! I feel a bit sorry for this little one. She had to hatch with another chick sleeping on top of her egg and is clearly exhausted, but her more precocious siblings are thundering around between naps and disturbing her every...

First chick is out! Unfortunately, taking out the rotation disk and putting down paper towels was also on my to-do list when I noticed the early pip. It seems to have enough purchase at the moment, though, and is doing its level best to disturb the other eggs thoroughly.

Second pip!

Ten seconds probably won't do too much damage, but I have found that the more involved I get with a hatch the worse off the chicks are. They shouldn't have to deal with both birthing themselves and my silly human antics! On the other hand, I have a pip! And lots of cheeping from the rest, so it...

Ugh, guys, I made a stupid. This morning starts day 2, which is when my incubator stops auto turning. During my last hatch, I had two chicks pipping the wrong end, so I wanted to open up the incubator for a moment to tilt the eggs and hopefully encourage proper exiting (they lay horizontal in...

I have all the ladies I could ask for right now! The last batch ended up with 4 girls and two boys, same story with the one before it. We mostly hatch to eat the cockerels, but lately I've been getting all pullets all the time. Dear Chicken Gods, send me something good to eat.

Lockdown! Still at six viable eggs from the original seven, hoping for some cockerels. Love all the pictures, congratulations to everyone.

Well, it isn't quite chicken related but I have a new litter of rabbits this morning. :) The mama is a first-timer and seems to have come through it like a pro. I'd guess at least 10 healthy squirmers from the little poking around I did. In chicken news, I go into lockdown tomorrow with the...

The best thing you can do is let them sort themselves out, and wait at least another two days before checking on them. Did everything look normal when you last candled?

With six days to go, I have six eggs that look good and one that seems to have stopped developing. They'll be going into lockdown in just a couple of days, so I'll keep an eye on the slow grower and leave it in for now. Meanwhile, I decided to make room for one of my hens trying to be broody...

Can you post a candle photo? We might be able to make an educated guess. Once that's done, I recommend keeping the brooder closed as much as possible and keeping watch for movement or cheeping. If a chick pips before you are ready, you can crack open the brooder for a second or two to drop in a...

Yesterday I processed my rooster of over a year after he decided that I was his mortal enemy. I have some cockerels in the brooder and another batch of eggs due to hatch soon, but it will be a few months before I have a rooster strutting around again. Hopefully my poor hens will use that time to...

If you're locking down on the 19th, you should be aiming for a July 22 hatch date. So, I think the most logical start would be July 1.

I candled my eggs last night and all 7 are developing normally. Good thing to, as my rooster is slated for execution tomorrow, and if possible I would like to continue with one of his sons.

Broody hens typically shut down egg production while sitting. Unfortunately, even the super-broody breeds won't just hatch eggs on the drop of a hat. Since she is probably quite young it will at least a few months before she is laying regular eggs and has the instincts to mother them. My guess...

Glad I'm not the only one loving Cochin mixes! I've found that crossing them with Sussex tends to create chicks with larger frames that still fill out well by 20 weeks, and they inherit a lot of the Cochin temperament. Definitely a nice breed to introduce into a flock.

Waiting for a few late layers to get their keesters in gear today, and then I'll have 7 in my little Brinsea. They're all either pure Speckled Sussex or SS/Cochin or SS/RSL. Hoping for cockerels! I mostly hatch for edible boys, but lately my female/male ratio has been way high. I think out of my...

Does he have control over both of his legs? It's a good sign if he does, and he's likely to recover. Keep him isolated while he is having trouble to keep the others from picking on him. If not (one leg hanging limp, no movement,) see if you can locate the break. It can be splinted but will...

As tempting as it is, I'd wait and let the duckling do what it needs to. It's still on schedule, so breaking the lockdown at this point would do more harm than good.