2015 August hatch-a-long!!

[GitaBooks]

Is it absolutely necessary to candle eggs of mom is hatching them? Or will she kick out any "bad" eggs? I've never candled before, she's been sitting for two weeks now

No, its not necessary. I doubt she will kick them out, at least mine never do, but I've never had a rotten egg explode without it being cracked or something. However, you can candle them once on day 14 to see if there are any quitters, then toss any you are sure are dead or infertile.

Best of luck!

 

[GitaBooks]

So my new incubator stopped working today. A replacement part is on the way. I should be ready to set a new batch of eggs next week. At least I'm only out a dozen free eggs from my hens and not pricey shipped eggs.

Sorry to hear that.

Best of luck with your new eggs!

 

[Dramaqueen21888]

Store the new eggs in a cool room for a day (large end up) and if the other eggs don't hatch try carefully opening them from the air sac to see if they need help, have died, or quit part of the way through incubation.

The new eggs have been set for 24 hours like that. I checked the 2 eggs in the incubator and they are both still alive but no internal pips yet. Could I put the new eggs in since my humidity and temp haven't seemed to drop when I open the top? I wasn't planning on doing turning the first few days anyways because of a lot of detached air cells.

 

[GitaBooks]

The new eggs have been set for 24 hours like that. I checked the 2 eggs in the incubator and they are both still alive but no internal pips yet. Could I put the new eggs in since my humidity and temp haven't seemed to drop when I open the top? I wasn't planning on doing turning the first few days anyways because of a lot of detached air cells.

The humidity may be too high for the new eggs.

 

[Ugadano]

So I have 2 eggs in the incubator on day 21. Still no pips or anything. I also just had delivered 14 eggs that were layed between Friday-Sunday. I want to set them but don't know if I can. I don't want to lose these eggs cause they are rare breeds. Any suggestions?

If it were me (not knowing any better, you understand) and I didn't want to wait on the older possibles, I'd mark the start date on the new ones large end and put them right on in there with Sarah and Abraham. It won't hurt to have semi-higher humidity for the first few days on the new clutch so you can give your 2 older ones till day 24. You will have plenty of time to adjust it down later if the air cell is smallish, from what I have read on here. You can also candle the 2 if the shell is not too dark for development progress if you haven't already, or for movement if your light is bright enough, or do the warm water test to see if they wiggle. Even if you don't see movement, if they are not already stinky, I'd give them the extra time. Or if you prefer not to disturb them as many suggest on here, give them a few more days just with the new ones added gently. I don't think turning new ones is as crucial the first few days either. Hopefully an actual seasoned hatcher will chime in here soon! I'm only repeating what I remember having recently learned by drooling over these wonderfully informative posts! I'm almost a disciple of Humidity Queen and a couple others now! Haha! I also think you could keep your fresh eggs a few more days as someone else suggested in the cool room without compromising their fertility. Especially if they were shipped, be sure to research that eventuality. I'm learning all kinds of stuff! Best of luck on the old guys AND the new guys! Keep us posted.

 

[FridayYet]

i would put them in the incubator, but lower the humidity in the incubator until you get a pip on your old eggs, then boost it back up for hatching.

 

[Ugadano]

What a scatterbrained collection of clutches I have going!

1. My EE started setting back around July 10 (per my calendar scribble) so tomorrow is day 21 and out of 9 I have one pip tonight at sundown! Yikes! Here's me trying not to go out the door every 15 minutes to check
...I gotta go see

no I don't...

It's been terribly hot lately, 98 to 102, but thank God a cooldown of a few degrees is in tomorrow's forecast along with rain, so hopefully higher humidity. I checked air cells and have several under EE with huge air cavity but lots of movement, so I wet down the shavings under mama tonight a bit with a few handfuls of water sprinkled around.

2. Of all the years I've had chickens, and the other families I've known with them, I've never seen a White Leghorn hen setting before, so I guess there's a first time for everything! Gertrude started setting on the 12th, and she's definitely serious about this! Bless her heart. So she's due Sunday-ish with 8. I hope to sneak any late pips in under her if EE takes off with the first babies. I might be able to shuffle babies around for a while, and shuffle remaining viable unhatched in under the more recent clutches.

3. I got chicken fever and decided to try a better homemade incubator than the last-minute makeshift cardboard box I cobbled together when the EE gave up after 1 week last time!!! I saw one on youtube I think, where a lady made hers from a foam ice chest with 2 incandescent nightlights. I looked in vain in several stores that only had LED! Thank God I found some I had bought years back that were buried on top of the fridge. 2 were only keeping it at 95, and a 3rd one made it too hot, so I did as my son suggested and lined the chest with foil. I had some vent adjustments to make occasionally, but it is doing pretty well. I have a cheapie temp/hygrometer in with them, made a tray out of hailscreen/hardware cloth and covered the edges with patriotic duct tape for a "NO POKING" section. It sits on little built-in ledges in the corners about 2-3 inches off the bottom, so there is a space for a bowl of water when I need higher humidity. I'll try to get a pic in here somewhere. I put 16 in there on the 17th so due Aug 7th, removed one stinky t'other day, pulled 3 unfertile green eggs out tonight and one brown possible quitter/unfertile, can't tell through shell, so 11 left with wonderful veins and lively movement.

4 and 5. Then on the 23rd and 24th, my young Black Australorp and a 4yr Production Red started setting, so I gave them each a clutch, 8 for one, 7+golfball for the other. That's how I hope to shuffle remaining eggs around if hens leave with first chicks. Now I just need to get the pvc hoophouse chicken tractor set back up and ready for the first batch tomorrow so they won't be tempting the other hens off with their "cuteness overload" cheeping.

My MIL just went into assisted living, and that's been difficult for everyone, but maybe I can sneak some chicks into the facility living room in a few days. I bet everyone there has had chicks at some time in their life and would love to see some again even for a few minutes. Maybe if they are in a cage the admin won't be afraid of spreading chemtrail flu...er...I mean avian flu???

 

[GitaBooks]

What a scatterbrained collection of clutches I have going!

1. My EE started setting back around July 10 (per my calendar scribble) so tomorrow is day 21 and out of 9 I have one pip tonight at sundown! Yikes! Here's me trying not to go out the door every 15 minutes to check
...I gotta go see

no I don't...

It's been terribly hot lately, 98 to 102, but thank God a cooldown of a few degrees is in tomorrow's forecast along with rain, so hopefully higher humidity. I checked air cells and have several under EE with huge air cavity but lots of movement, so I wet down the shavings under mama tonight a bit with a few handfuls of water sprinkled around.

2. Of all the years I've had chickens, and the other families I've known with them, I've never seen a White Leghorn hen setting before, so I guess there's a first time for everything! Gertrude started setting on the 12th, and she's definitely serious about this! Bless her heart. So she's due Sunday-ish with 8. I hope to sneak any late pips in under her if EE takes off with the first babies. I might be able to shuffle babies around for a while, and shuffle remaining viable unhatched in under the more recent clutches.

3. I got chicken fever and decided to try a better homemade incubator than the last-minute makeshift cardboard box I cobbled together when the EE gave up after 1 week last time!!! I saw one on youtube I think, where a lady made hers from a foam ice chest with 2 incandescent nightlights. I looked in vain in several stores that only had LED! Thank God I found some I had bought years back that were buried on top of the fridge. 2 were only keeping it at 95, and a 3rd one made it too hot, so I did as my son suggested and lined the chest with foil. I had some vent adjustments to make occasionally, but it is doing pretty well. I have a cheapie temp/hygrometer in with them, made a tray out of hailscreen/hardware cloth and covered the edges with patriotic duct tape for a "NO POKING" section. It sits on little built-in ledges in the corners about 2-3 inches off the bottom, so there is a space for a bowl of water when I need higher humidity. I'll try to get a pic in here somewhere. I put 16 in there on the 17th so due Aug 7th, removed one stinky t'other day, pulled 3 unfertile green eggs out tonight and one brown possible quitter/unfertile, can't tell through shell, so 11 left with wonderful veins and lively movement.

4 and 5. Then on the 23rd and 24th, my young Black Australorp and a 4yr Production Red started setting, so I gave them each a clutch, 8 for one, 7+golfball for the other. That's how I hope to shuffle remaining eggs around if hens leave with first chicks. Now I just need to get the pvc hoophouse chicken tractor set back up and ready for the first batch tomorrow so they won't be tempting the other hens off with their "cuteness overload" cheeping.

My MIL just went into assisted living, and that's been difficult for everyone, but maybe I can sneak some chicks into the facility living room in a few days. I bet everyone there has had chicks at some time in their life and would love to see some again even for a few minutes. Maybe if they are in a cage the admin won't be afraid of spreading chemtrail flu...er...I mean avian flu???

That sounds so exciting! My hens are that chaotic as well, but they love raising babies. I have some eggs in the incubator also, and I really hope I get some good hatches. I also have some eggs a few days from hatching under a heat light with a moist towel underneath them. I took them from a broody and gave her 5, day-old chicks.

I had a white leghorn go broody too! She was a great mom.

Best of luck!

 

[Cynthia12]

I haven't done a hatch a long in a while. Should be fun.

I do have some in lock down now, due to hatch on the 1st, then the 2nd or 3rd for a few others.

I just set some tonight..so they will have hatch well into Aug. They are a few from a very young rooster that I have, and now have to place. Lucky I got to keep him long enough to fertilize some of my girls. He's a Blue Copper Marans..beautiful. Girls are good layers...Brown sex link, a red sex link and, an OE mix, ..she lays a brown egg, came from a beautiful Olive Egg...also a leghorn. Will be interesting if they develop. Not so sure about the leghorn and brown sex link..he went mostly for the easy girls..the red sex link and the OE mix.

I'm excited to candle tomorrow around the time I set them tonight. You can usually see a big floating dot showing the egg is fertilized just 24 hrs. later. Sometimes it doesn't show..so you wait.

 

[Ugadano]

I see these incredible tutorial videos on youtube about making DIY foam chest incubators. And then there's mine. Meh. But it's working. Grateful for all those folks and their prior models up to the one they tweaked to their liking.


Viewer window, tape hinge and pull tab, piece of clear plastic taped to the inside.



Needlepoint plastic over the hailscreen tray, damp sponge on the left. Lined with foil, brought the temp with the 2 incandescent nightlights on the right up from 95 to over 100. The 3rd nightlight made it too hot. Pic does not show the vent hole below tray level on far left. I kept the plug and put it in a little lopsided for a smaller air exchange. I may cut a piece of shelf non-slip liner before lockdown as Amylynn recommended, because my hatchlings may do the splits even on this grid.



I usually keep the colors in groups and rotate them around several times a day. Brownie got out of order when I marked the air cell earlier. I will say, the eggs under my hens out yonder feel SO much warmer than these do when I first open and touch them. But I have 11 active kickboxers with nice healthy veins and little 'umbilical cord' bungees! Practicing to be astronauts one day.