2015 HALLOWEEN Hatch-a-Long, Join us IF YOU DARE!

[Pyxis]

I'd like to join! Not sure what I will set - ayam cemanis if the birds finish molting and lay some eggs in time. Otherwise, probably just a couple mixes. I keep trying to hatch on Halloween and the little things keep hatching either a day early or a day late every year, so maybe this year will be the lucky one!

 

[tao chick]

Ok. I'm trying to synthesize lots of information before I get my eggs in the mail. This is only my third hatch and my first with shipped eggs. They're traveling a long way, and I don't know if any will survive the trip. If they do, here's my plan:
Let them rest at room air temp for 12-24 hours.
Dry hatch- no water until lockdown (unless RH drops below 25%).
Keep them upright in their carton when starting in the incubator. No turning for first two or three days.
Remove carton and turn as usual for remainder of incubation.
Add water (aim for 70%) during lockdown.

Keep in mind I have a LG still air with no turner. My hatch rates have been 60% for the first two hatches. I'm not in a position to upgrade my incubator, so it is what it is. I also don't have a way to measure weight loss yet. I'm sure these things would improve my rate, but that's gotta wait until spring.

So, what else do I need to know about shipped vs local eggs?

 

[tao chick]

I'd like to join! Not sure what I will set - ayam cemanis if the birds finish molting and lay some eggs in time. Otherwise, probably just a couple mixes. I keep trying to hatch on Halloween and the little things keep hatching either a day early or a day late every year, so maybe this year will be the lucky one!

Yay Pyxis! Welcome!

 

[Pyxis]

Hi tao ! Funny to run into you outside of the NY thread!

Sounds like you've got a pretty good plan for your eggs. If you wanted a way to keep track of weight on your eggs, I bought a little $9 kitchen scale on Amazon and it works like a charm. I use it solely for weighing eggs and it hasn't let me down yet.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

I'd like to join! Not sure what I will set - ayam cemanis if the birds finish molting and lay some eggs in time. Otherwise, probably just a couple mixes. I keep trying to hatch on Halloween and the little things keep hatching either a day early or a day late every year, so maybe this year will be the lucky one!

Welcome!

Ok. I'm trying to synthesize lots of information before I get my eggs in the mail. This is only my third hatch and my first with shipped eggs. They're traveling a long way, and I don't know if any will survive the trip. If they do, here's my plan:
Let them rest at room air temp for 12-24 hours.
Dry hatch- no water until lockdown (unless RH drops below 25%).
Keep them upright in their carton when starting in the incubator. No turning for first two or three days.
Remove carton and turn as usual for remainder of incubation.
Add water (aim for 70%) during lockdown.

Keep in mind I have a LG still air with no turner. My hatch rates have been 60% for the first two hatches. I'm not in a position to upgrade my incubator, so it is what it is. I also don't have a way to measure weight loss yet. I'm sure these things would improve my rate, but that's gotta wait until spring.

So, what else do I need to know about shipped vs local eggs?

I hijacked this from Sally's signature line... It has a section on hatching shipped eggs.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

 

[kdunn716]

I officially set 33 Pekin duck eggs due on Halloween im so excited! Started with 38, 3 broke in shipping, 1 was rotten (that was a smell I could have gone without), and another one started to leak in the incubator. I think another might be bad because the incubator smells. But I cant tell with one yet.

 

[Honora]

Were these shipped eggs? Personally, I think there is no better way to hatch than a broody, but when I get shipped eggs with loose air cells, I like to at least start them in the incubator so that I can keep them in position and not turn them until the air cell heals a little.

ETA: Sally will have better info for you, I think she may be without internet with the crazy weather we've been having.

Sweet! Those Ayam Cemani are cool.

Yes, they were shipped. They are at day 8 now so not much chance of the air cells moving at this point I believe.

 

[Cynthia12]

I'd like to join! Not sure what I will set - ayam cemanis if the birds finish molting and lay some eggs in time. Otherwise, probably just a couple mixes. I keep trying to hatch on Halloween and the little things keep hatching either a day early or a day late every year, so maybe this year will be the lucky one!

 

[TJChickens]

Ok. I'm trying to synthesize lots of information before I get my eggs in the mail. This is only my third hatch and my first with shipped eggs. They're traveling a long way, and I don't know if any will survive the trip. If they do, here's my plan:
Let them rest at room air temp for 12-24 hours.
Dry hatch- no water until lockdown (unless RH drops below 25%).
Keep them upright in their carton when starting in the incubator. No turning for first two or three days.
Remove carton and turn as usual for remainder of incubation.
Add water (aim for 70%) during lockdown.

Keep in mind I have a LG still air with no turner. My hatch rates have been 60% for the first two hatches. I'm not in a position to upgrade my incubator, so it is what it is. I also don't have a way to measure weight loss yet. I'm sure these things would improve my rate, but that's gotta wait until spring.

So, what else do I need to know about shipped vs local eggs?

Candle them when you get them. If the aircells are intact you can treat them like regular eggs. It's just because of loose aircells that you wouldn't want to turn them for a few days. If the aircells are really bad, you might want to consider tipping them gently by hand instead of using the turner. Let us know what they look like when they arrive.

 

[tao chick]

Candle them when you get them. If the aircells are intact you can treat them like regular eggs. It's just because of loose aircells that you wouldn't want to turn them for a few days. If the aircells are really bad, you might want to consider tipping them gently by hand instead of using the turner. Let us know what they look like when they arrive.

Will do. I'm going to my post office in the morning to make them aware of the package and request a phone call as soon as it arrives. I think it will arrive Wednesday, but I'm hoping for Tuesday.