11th Annual Easter Hatch a Long 2020

[ANightPerson]

I read somewhere on this site that some people position their eggs so the air cells are in a certain position......but now I can't find where I read it. Do you all place eggs a certain way at lockdown or do you just set them in the incubator/hatcher however?

I usually turn the turner off for lockdown, but leave them with the air cell facing up in the trays until they start to pip. When they start pipping, I just remove the trays and sit them on their sides on the bottom of the incubator for hatch.

 

[kelseyk]

After going to the store today and seeing that the price of eggs has went up and knowing that the farm stores are selling out of chicks as fast as they can get them in, hubby is finally on board with me hatching more chicks! Going to go get the Farm Innovators incubator that I replaced out of the garage sale pile and set it up as a hatcher. This will make it a lot easier to sneak those call duck eggs in! LOL! Which leads me to another question (for those who have hatched calls)..... I have only hatched chicken eggs before, so my first time hatching ducks.....

I know that incubation period is 26-28 days (sometimes up to 30). Are temperature and humidity the same as with chicken eggs throughout incubation? I have read that calls can need assistance (especially if they are from show lines) and have read the assisting hatches thread, so feel pretty good there. Anything else I am missing?

 

[hysop]

After going to the store today and seeing that the price of eggs has went up and knowing that the farm stores are selling out of chicks as fast as they can get them in, hubby is finally on board with me hatching more chicks! Going to go get the Farm Innovators incubator that I replaced out of the garage sale pile and set it up as a hatcher. This will make it a lot easier to sneak those call duck eggs in! LOL! Which leads me to another question (for those who have hatched calls)..... I have only hatched chicken eggs before, so my first time hatching ducks.....

I know that incubation period is 26-28 days (sometimes up to 30). Are temperature and humidity the same as with chicken eggs throughout incubation? I have read that calls can need assistance (especially if they are from show lines) and have read the assisting hatches thread, so feel pretty good there. Anything else I am missing?

Wow price of eggs went up?? I wouldn’t know, I haven’t bought eggs in a while.

Yay on you being able to hatch some chicks and ducklings!! I wanna hatch some keets/guineas.

 

[kelseyk]

Wow price of eggs went up?? I wouldn’t know, I haven’t bought eggs in a while.

Yay on you being able to hatch some chicks and ducklings!! I wanna hatch some keets/guineas.

Guineas may be on my list for this spring/summer too. My parents were wanting some.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I don't know set up my little Janoel12 with eggs loaned my big one to bud but was not going to hatch more till all my chicks got sold there are none for me now there coming out of woodwork here

 

[hysop]

Guineas may be on my list for this spring/summer too. My parents were wanting some.

Have you hatched any before? I have adult guineas now that were raised from keets but all my females were killed. And they’re so pricey that I rather gamble on hatching some eggs, but I need some encouragement as I would end up hatching shipped eggs and I’ve never done that.

 

[ANightPerson]

After going to the store today and seeing that the price of eggs has went up and knowing that the farm stores are selling out of chicks as fast as they can get them in, hubby is finally on board with me hatching more chicks! Going to go get the Farm Innovators incubator that I replaced out of the garage sale pile and set it up as a hatcher. This will make it a lot easier to sneak those call duck eggs in! LOL! Which leads me to another question (for those who have hatched calls)..... I have only hatched chicken eggs before, so my first time hatching ducks.....

I know that incubation period is 26-28 days (sometimes up to 30). Are temperature and humidity the same as with chicken eggs throughout incubation? I have read that calls can need assistance (especially if they are from show lines) and have read the assisting hatches thread, so feel pretty good there. Anything else I am missing?

Temp and humidity are pretty much the same. Duck eggs are really robust, so you shouldn't have many issues. I just kind of wing it each year and I have great hatch rates. The only thing that really comes to mind is that duck eggs need very good air circulation, and you should open the incubator for a few minutes every day to let fresh air in, and keep good air circulation in the room. I run a fan on low and crack the windows. But again, duck eggs are really robust, so you don't have to go too above and beyond. Good luck with your duckies!

I predict that with all of these people buying crisis chickens, when everything goes back to normal in a few months, we'll see a lot of chickens and chicken supplies up for sale for cheap, like the month after Easter on steroids. I'll most definitely be on the prowl on Craigslist. Last year, I got a 7' x 5' coop, seven beautiful purebred Ameraucanas, like a dozen feeders and bowls, several bags of food, and a very nice wire chicken carrier all for $200. I only thought I was buying the coop, but when I got there, the woman just gave me everything. I LOVE Craigslist.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Watch after easter it is crazy also as things, places warm up and covid19 is left till fall
with vaccine hopes all these folks buying birds will want to dump them all

 

[ANightPerson]

Guineas may be on my list for this spring/summer too. My parents were wanting some.

I got some Guineas two years ago. Most adorable chicks I've ever seen. Raised them in the house and handled them a lot, just like with my other birds. Five acres of land, yet they never went more than thirty feet from my house. They flew up onto the roof all day, tried to lay eggs up there (once one fell right onto my head, just like in a cartoon), pooped right in front of my door, screamed all day, and attacked people. I don't just mean unfamiliar people too, they attacked everyone, even me. Needless to say, I'm not a fan.

Although, they do lay delicious eggs and they are very good guard birds. And they have very pretty feathers, good for crafts. I think I just got a bad batch, because a lot of people I've talked to love their Guineas. They're still only semi-domesticated, some lines more than others, so make sure they come from a good, non-aggressive line.

 

[CindyinSD]

From what I hear, all guineas are nuts--certifiable. And yes, very, very loud. I decided that since we haven't seen a lot of ticks, I would just not get guineas. I know they're edible but I'm just not sure it's worth it.