4th Annual BYC NYD Hatch-a-long

[TMNfarm]

Got my fingers crossed she is a pullet.I have 2 more my broody hen hatched out a couple wks agne looks to be a pullet the other a cockeral.

3 of 4 (out of 7) that had the red faces have much bigger combs than the other one... I'm thinking I may have at least 3 cockerels... Nof sure about the other 3 yet...

 

[champer]

Good morning!

TMN, your wonderful pictures reminded me of a stable that would put out a sign in the winter that said "Lessons, Heated Horses!" It always made me laugh.

I pitched another egg yesterday, started with 69 and now have 42 in the bator. One entire batch must have been drop kicked across the country in the mail, there is only 1 egg surviving from that group.

 

[missydcpc]

YAY! Caught up....now to go wrap...and wrap....and wrap....I have entirely too much fun buying presents....need to remember how much I hate to wrap!

 

[Brookhavens]

Good morning everyone.

What's going on inside our chicken eggs - Day 13:

Feathers are apparent and "egg tooth" is hardening.

Thirteenth day -- appearance of scales and claws

 

[Countrypunk92]

Heya folks. Sorry I havent been on. Been really wacko here. Can someone Pm me an update or tell me inportant memos and whatnot?

 

[michaelf]

GOOD MORNING ALL! Happy Christmas Eve!!! Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

 

[mlm Mike]

I have a baby chick!!!!!!! Put 3 of my christmas eggs in lockdown yesterday well one just hatched!!!! 2 days early!!! Wow that was a surprise.

A Black Australorp mix.

Congratulations! Pics soon?

 

[cmfarm]

CHICK UPDATE:

So all of my chicks are doing well eating and drinking and generally frolicking. But I noticed just about an hour ago that one chick was sort of hopping along and not standing up straight like all the others. I picked her (I think she is based on tip wing feathers) and her toes were all WONKY! I did a quick internet search and discovered that she has Curly Toes.

There were a few ways to correct this so that is why OPERATION UN-CURLY TOES commenced!

We made a little cardboard sandal in the general shape that her toes needed to be in. Then I taped on little pieces of toothpick. After I had the little sandal splinted and ready to go, we put her toes onto the sandal and I taped her toes next to the toothpick as straight and flat as I could. She is able to walk around better than she was before but time will tell if I helped or not. I HOPE I HELPED!!

The first picture the chick has a look on it's face like "Aw mom, did you have to take a picture of me looking like this?"

 

[Hurley]

Set 14 Muscovy duck eggs last night. My first foray into the duck world, so hoping for some success. I've read on the difficulties of incubating Muscovy and researched techniques that have been successful, so giving it a shot. A fellow BYCer close by gave me some eggs to try.

Both incubators now loaded, temps holding beautifully steady, lets hope it lasts! I feel I have an incubation gremlin that lets me get almost to hatch day, then pulls a nasty trick. One time, the fan went out (replaced with two fans). Another time, the light (replaced with ceramic heat bulb instead). Another time, power failure.

Always seems to happen on day 18.


Got my gremlin chasing stick ready though, looking forward to a good hatch!

A week to go! Woot.

 

[Bettacreek]

My first thought ran to meningitis, since one of G's friends is in the hospital with it! But, I seem to be doing a little bit better now. My lungs aren't quite as bad, only slightly painful, no more burning fire. I have also been awake for about an hour and a half, which is awesome. Yesterday, the longest I was up for was about half an hour at most, and most of the time, it was only a flicker of a few seconds. So, I am doing better already!

As for the hatch, mine isn't going so well. I pulled my second tray out and I hardly have any eggs left! At first I thought I pulled the wrong tray out, but I know it's the right one. Then, when I was checking another tray (only five days old, but still looks like a very bad fertility rate), I slid it back in and heard a crunch. One of the very few eggs in that entire tray that actually had development, I had crushed! I quit right there, removed it, moved the eggs near it so they wouldn't get glued in, and didn't check anything else. I also lost one more duck egg, so I'm down to 3, out of 9! I have seven duck eggs to set, plus a turkey egg and three chicken eggs, but at this rate, it looks like all of the eggs I can collect in a week will at most get me 1-2 ducklings hatched!