🍃August Hatch-a-Long🍃

[kelseyk]

Ok here's what may be a dumb question and also part of my problem.

I left the red vent plugs out so far. I did a search here and found some thread that eggs needed some air. Directions on the bator say to leave it in. I wonder now if it contributed to my excessive weight loss.

So general consensus, do you leave vent plugs in or out??

Take them out. The eggs need ventilation and air flow to survive. I left mine in to get the humidity up to where the directions said when I first started and I had a lot of embryos make it to lockdown....but then hardly any that hatched.

 

[kelseyk]

All right. I'm not real sure where to ask this question, so just thought I'd throw this out there. Looks like a lot of y'all hatch and sell chicks for, I'm assuming, some extra income and the joy of hatching! Welllll, although my main purpose for hatching chicks this June was to obtain some blue egg laying pullets in case the egg shortage was long lasting, I found that I really enjoyed the experience and would like to do it some more. So, how do you find your customers for the resultant chicks? Craigslist? eBay? Word of mouth? Give me a link if this isn't the right place for this post, I'd muchly appreciate it.

So far all of mine have been word of mouth...but I am new to the selling part too.

 

[kelseyk]

10 BCM eggs went into lockdown on the 16th - 6 pips as of this morning!

 

[Vantic]

All right. I'm not real sure where to ask this question, so just thought I'd throw this out there. Looks like a lot of y'all hatch and sell chicks for, I'm assuming, some extra income and the joy of hatching! Welllll, although my main purpose for hatching chicks this June was to obtain some blue egg laying pullets in case the egg shortage was long lasting, I found that I really enjoyed the experience and would like to do it some more. So, how do you find your customers for the resultant chicks? Craigslist? eBay? Word of mouth? Give me a link if this isn't the right place for this post, I'd muchly appreciate it.

Craigslist and careful postings to local Facebook groups (can't sell animals on facebook). Once you have people coming for purchase, make sure you not only give them a great experience but also a handout or something for them to remember you.

 

[Trisseh]

External pip on my homegrown duck egg!
the other 2 are a bit staggered because my girl had skipped a day between each and I originally wasn’t going to set more than the 1. Lol. But still alive and kicking so we’ll see. The surviving jaerhon egg is also looking good, should hatch on time Thursday if all goes well.

the twisted foot quail also now has splay leg so it’s sporting shoes and hobbles. Why did I hatch more quail again? The one with the neuro/wry neck thing I think I’ll cull tomorrow if it’s not improving. The Italian is improving though, toes are straight and it’s standing and walking normally now.

 

[FortCluck]

I’m not home and my eggs are in the bator all 42 of them. I was going to fill the second bator, but I’ll do that when I get home

 

[Lunah452]

The janoel 12 I use has a single vent hole on the top. Lol. I actually get better hatches when I’m candling like a madwoman because I suspect there’s a lot more air exchange when I’m opening it all the time. Plus I hand turn so there’s enough fresh air getting in there. I don’t always think the manufacturer’s directions are necessarily best because in most cases they would be running all their testing and quality control in an already controlled environment, not like our homes, so we have to figure out how best to use them within our environment. you’re doing awesome though! Good job getting the weight loss to slow down.

I read in one of my poultry books (I think it was storeys guide to raising ducks) that eggs at a certain stage benefit from higher carbon dioxide. I’ll have to reread that section when I get home. Lol.

My chicks have probably had more than their fair share of fresh air from all the weighing, attempts at candling and adding water to keep the humidity stable.

Once I realized I could actually see, I had to candle them all again. I've been moving them around in the bator too to combat uneven temps. Hopefully the higher CO2 thing isn't terribly necessary at this stage because pretty sure the levels have been fairly low the first 10 days or so.

 

[AusHen]

Day 19 (if I count the first 24hrs as day 0) and one of the Silkies has pipped. I love my little incubator because I can see soo well in it, as can I in my Janoel 24 but man I can't see much at all in my Hex.

 

[Oldhallchicks]

Here’s the duckling friends for the other two!
Splash, Spot, abd Twirl

 

[Trisseh]

Well I just culled the little head pressing quail. It was getting a lot worse and was spinning around like a top. the one with severely twisted legs also apparently died while I was at work today - looks like he got squished by his friends. So I’m down to 2 sickly quail chicks. Ugh. NOT a good hatch. Although, these 2 survivors look ok so far. The curled toes have mostly resolved on the one and the other is just really small. So hopefully they’ll do ok.