4th Annual BYC NYD Hatch-a-long

[doubleatraining]

I just lined up some REALLY nice Delaware eggs for the NYD hatch. I'll get everything laid from today until Dec 10th!!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

what version of havobator do you have? 1602N?

1588 Genesis Hova-Bator. It's forced air. Never had good luck with still air 'bators. : )


It's served me well over the years, I've always had good hatch rates with it. A couple weeks ago when I fired it up the temp was spiking and being spazzy, but when I dusted it off today and fired it up again it went to 90..then in about another hour to 99.5-100 F so we'll see. I plan to collect eggs for 5-7 days and then set some for a 'test' hatch.

~ Aspen

 

[janelle18]

So what is the point of the hatch a long ? And people are talking about winning prizes ? What's that all about? I might hatch some barred rock eggs because there the only chickens that are laying now. But I'm not sure about hatching eggs just before the Canadian winter. My only problem would be where to put them? And if they would freeze to death?

I'm in Ontario too, so we will be dealing with similar conditions! YAY

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I'm in Ontario too, so we will be dealing with similar conditions! YAY

I have a list of people wanting baby chicks, so I may end up selling any (or all) of the babies I hatch...BUT we'll see. ; ) LOL

None of my chickens, but the Seramas and Cochins are separated right now, so all the chicks and ducklings will be mixed.

~ Aspen

 

[aoxa]

I'm in Ontario too, so we will be dealing with similar conditions! YAY

I have a list of people wanting baby chicks, so I may end up selling any (or all) of the babies I hatch...BUT we'll see. ; ) LOL

None of my chickens, but the Seramas and Cochins are separated right now, so all the chicks and ducklings will be mixed.

~ Aspen

Well not ALL will be mixed I'm sure you'll get a few pure.

As for me.. Not sure what I'm going to hatch My test hatch right now - not a single BBS bantam Ameraucana egg is showing development. My cockerel is just not working his stuff enough. I'm going to have to break out my spare rooster tomorrow.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Well not ALL will be mixed

I'm sure you'll get a few pure.
As for me.. Not sure what I'm going to hatch

My test hatch right now - not a single BBS bantam Ameraucana egg is showing development. My cockerel is just not working his stuff enough. I'm going to have to break out my spare rooster tomorrow.

I used to have B/B/S and Lavender Bantam Ameraucanas. They were cute lil boogers and laid lots of small blue eggs.

Currently my flock of Coronation and Light Sussex are in with my Basques, Olive Eggers, and Black Orpingtons. I have no idea what the babies'll look like, but I aim to find out. My Seramas are laying, any eggs laid by them will be pure.

As for the ducks everybody is running together right now, as we still haven't started on their breeding pens yet. Arrrrgh

A broody Sizzle hen is setting on 7 duck eggs that are due to hatch in about a week or so. I cannot wait to see how the ducklings look. So cute.

~ Aspen

 

[sherry57]

Hello everyone,

Does anybody near Atlanta have an incubator we can borrow for the Hatch-a-long? My 6-year-old made his own incubator and we've been trying to hatch eggs for the last two months (two one-dozen batches) and they just aren't developing. It's really sad. We just signed up to do the Hatch-a-long, and he's REALLY excited, and we're going to buy a new batch of fertilized eggs to do it, but I just don't want him to go through with it and be disappointed all over again. Our eggs are from a local farm, and they develop halfway and then just stop. We candle them almost every day, haha. If we could just borrow someone's tried and true incubator for just this one batch of eggs, I'd be so thankful!! You can even have some of the chicks we hatch!

~Sheree

 

[cochins1088]

Yay! I just ordered the 2012 hova bator genesis 1588 incubator and it's scheduled to arrive before December 6th so I'll be able to use it for the hatch along!

How's everyone else doing? I cannot wait for this hatch along to begin!

 

[cochins1088]

Hello everyone,

Does anybody near Atlanta have an incubator we can borrow for the Hatch-a-long? My 6-year-old made his own incubator and we've been trying to hatch eggs for the last two months (two one-dozen batches) and they just aren't developing. It's really sad. We just signed up to do the Hatch-a-long, and he's REALLY excited, and we're going to buy a new batch of fertilized eggs to do it, but I just don't want him to go through with it and be disappointed all over again. Our eggs are from a local farm, and they develop halfway and then just stop. We candle them almost every day, haha. If we could just borrow someone's tried and true incubator for just this one batch of eggs, I'd be so thankful!! You can even have some of the chicks we hatch!

~Sheree

What was the average temperature? How much did the temperature flucuate? Did you use multiple thermometers at the height of the eggs? What was the humidity? Was there good air flow? Was it still air, or forced air? Did you open the eggs afterwards? if so, what did you see? I hope I can help in some way..

 

[sherry57]

What was the average temperature? How much did the temperature flucuate? Did you use multiple thermometers at the height of the eggs? What was the humidity? Was there good air flow? Was it still air, or forced air? Did you open the eggs afterwards? if so, what did you see? I hope I can help in some way..

Thanks! This has been a science project for us for sure. We used a cardboard box with a glass pane duct taped to one side, and a lid on top. Average temp hovered around 98F. Temp didn't seem to fluctuate much. We had two thermometers in there; one was in open air with the bulb at the top of the egg level, the other was an aquarium thermometer submerged into a glass jar full of water. Humidity was unmeasured, but we had a pan in the box with a sponge always wet in there along with the open glass jar of water, and we checked the air bubble in the eggs daily to make sure it wasn't too big or small. No air flow, but that was the next thing we were going to try, to put a computer fan in there. We didn't open the eggs; we incubated them so long, with nothing progressing inside, that we were afraid they'd explode or stink if we tried.

~Sheree