🍃August Hatch-a-Long🍃

[CindyinSD]

You can also build this kind from bricks, but this is (imo) the best vid I've seen about the (slightly easier) cement block version.

Here's mine. I made it bigger (14 standard blocks and two paver/cap blocks) so you can have four "burners" (more like fire holes/chimneys). The cap block (aka "paver") provides a side wall for the fire chamber. There's one on the other side, too. There are two narrow grates spanning the cap block side walls. If you want to grill, you can take off the top cement blocks. If you want to bake, you could probably figure that out, too. To use the burners, put the grates on top to provide an air space under your pots.

The stove is the same front to back and side to side.

 

[kelseyk]

Post Office confirmed that my Pita Pinta eggs are more than likely lost and told me to file a claim to get a refund from USPS.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

So I have good news, bad news, and a question. Let's start with the good news... right now I have 7 hatched and doing fine. 6 more have externally pipped. Here are a couple of pics.
View attachment 2277391

View attachment 2277391View attachment 2277392

Now for the bad news. I dropped an egg last night and it cracked. It began leaking very watery yolk everywhere. I cleaned it, candled it and put it back but judging by the watery consistency, I think it was already DIS. Either way, it's showing no signs of life.

And now the question.... the egg I've been most concerned about is #3. You can see it in the picture next to the chick at the front. This is my largest egg with an original weight of 76g and only 7% weight loss. Before lock-down I drew the air sac so I could keep an eye on everyone's pipping action. When I candled it today, I could no longer see the air sac at all but I could feel movement. I got concerned that it was going to drown and decided to give it a tiny air vent in the area I had drawn the air sac. You can see that in the picture. Jump ahead to just now. I have a new picture of it's current status. It's clearly not yet ready to hatch but it appears to have completely filled the shell and the membrane is pulling away from the shell (shrink-wrapping). I am able to peak down between the membrane and the side of the shell and I can see the beak so I know it's getting air. My question is, what am I looking at? It's clearly a malpositioned chick and it's clearly being shrink-wrapped. What part of the chick am i seeing in this view? I know it's not ready to hatch so I'm just going to keep the membrane moist and try to keep other chicks from disturbing it but I also know it's going to need my assistance. Thought?
View attachment 2277413

Keep an eye on the chicks hatching in the NR360, they can get stuck on the turner if you don't take it out for hatch. Not a crazy issue when you're there to move them a little when necessary but it is much easier to just pull up on the turner leaving the eggs in place for lockdown and hatch.

The chick that you opened the air cell on is HUGE! I had one like this in my last hatch because I incubated pullet eggs and ended up with 3 chicks that were bigger than their narrow eggs, one was especially big like yours but had still managed to get into position for hatch and only required minor assistance. Are you available to see the beak at all?

 

[Misfits Farm 92]

Hatching 8 MF Cochin Bantam eggs. Day 9 begins around 2pm today. I started with 7 eggs, then added another the day after that at the same time. All 8 are fertile and I candled at day 5. I could NOT wait!View attachment 2277492
Also, anyone use HatchaBatch? It’s very very helpful.

I use HatchaBatch.

 

[TheBajan]

Keep an eye on the chicks hatching in the NR360, they can get stuck on the turner if you don't take it out for hatch. Not a crazy issue when you're there to move them a little when necessary but it is much easier to just pull up on the turner leaving the eggs in place for lockdown and hatch.

The chick that you opened the air cell on is HUGE! I had one like this in my last hatch because I incubated pullet eggs and ended up with 3 chicks that were bigger than their narrow eggs, one was especially big like yours but had still managed to get into position for hatch and only required minor assistance. Are you available to see the beak at all?

I can see the beak down one side where the membrane has shrunk away from the shell. It's able to get oxygen and I'm just keeping it moist and checking often (maybe too often). I set a timer to keep myself busy for the next hour before I go check again. We now have 9 hatched with 5 more external pips. There's also the one I cracked but I do think it's DIS. So there are three more that I know are alive but have not pipped yet. I barely slept last night and until these guys are done hatching, I doubt I will sleep tonight either. Who knew that hatching eggs could be so intense? I find myself caring and praying for each of these baby chicks just as I used to do when I had a litter of puppies.
I don't know if it was the right call to open this one up but I do know that if it had died in the shell due to lack of oxygen and I had not at least TRIED to help, I would regret it. Now that I know it can breath, I can wait to help when I know it's ready. Clearly, in the picture you can see it's not ready yet. Since taking that picture, it has absorbed quite a bit of the veins so we are headed in the right direction.

 

[TheBajan]

Keep an eye on the chicks hatching in the NR360, they can get stuck on the turner if you don't take it out for hatch. Not a crazy issue when you're there to move them a little when necessary but it is much easier to just pull up on the turner leaving the eggs in place for lockdown and hatch.

@CluckNDoodle Thanks for the heads up on this... will do!

 

[ShrekDawg]

I haven’t slept

Oh my gosh!!!

I also have insomnia now I don’t know what’s up with me

Awww I’m sorry!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I can see the beak down one side where the membrane has shrunk away from the shell. It's able to get oxygen and I'm just keeping it moist and checking often (maybe too often). I set a timer to keep myself busy for the next hour before I go check again. We now have 9 hatched with 5 more external pips. There's also the one I cracked but I do think it's DIS. So there are three more that I know are alive but have not pipped yet. I barely slept last night and until these guys are done hatching, I doubt I will sleep tonight either. Who knew that hatching eggs could be so intense? I find myself caring and praying for each of these baby chicks just as I used to do when I had a litter of puppies.
I don't know if it was the right call to open this one up but I do know that if it had died in the shell due to lack of oxygen and I had not at least TRIED to help, I would regret it. Now that I know it can breath, I can wait to help when I know it's ready. Clearly, in the picture you can see it's not ready yet. Since taking that picture, it has absorbed quite a bit of the veins so we are headed in the right direction.

Yep, if it's internally pipped then you really don't have anything to worry about! It's just a matter of waiting at this point.
I use antibiotic ointment without pain relief to moisten the membrane when assisting now because it lasts soooo much longer without needing to be reapplied.

 

[nivagh]

I'm new to the site and to incubating so I hope you'll forgive this proud new chick daddy post.... The first bird from our first batch of incubated eggs hatched out this evening. Two eggs were pipped but one was immobile so I enlarged the hole of both. The immobile one seems certainly dead, but this lovely little fella or lady has emerged from the second egg. It's a Wyandott. Now noisily bouncing around the inside of the incubator shouting its great off!

 

[Lunah452]

I have a question. I have a 12 shipped eggs that arrived today. I have another 12 coming that may get here tomorrow. If the second batch does arrive tomorrow, would it be ok to let the first 12 sit an extra day so I can put them in the incubator at the same time?

When I ordered them I wasn't sure how close they would be. My back up plan was to get a second incubator for hatching.