5th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2014 Hatch-A-Long

[Aphrael]

Yes it is vitamin C. Vitamin C can be in an acidic form (ascorbic acid) or an alkaline form (sodium ascorbate)
You're not messed up.

As they explain it, the acidity of the vitamin C bath for 2 minutes, breaks down some of the cuticle on the egg, helping evaporation from the egg but also increased oxygen intake.
Vitamin C also alleviates stress and that seems to help the embryos grow faster and have greater survivability.

This is very interesting!

I read that and now I kinda feel silly buying shipped.eggs.... my neighbors have roosters and so do the people across the street... but I wanted easter eggers and I know they both only have brown egg layers.
well if this hatch doesn't go well I'll go to my neighbors and the eggs wont even have to go in a car and can be put in the bator right away.

I really don't know why I didn't think of that before...

I didn't think to look for local eggs either! I only stumbled upon them by accident! So glad I did, though. I was able to get 14 of the Lav Orp eggs I wanted (I bought 12 and she very kindly included 2 extras) without them being subjected to shipping stresses.

Well I've been studying for finals here so I can't be on much. ( just an update though: Still the eggs haven't gotten here!!

Hoping they get here tomorrow, then 12 hours to rest. Won't be able to participate in the first chick contest

oh well, always next year. Good thing they are bantams so I hopefully will get some on new years!

Oh no! I hope they arrive soon and safely.

We have a winner!

The winning post was by tadbole98 on pot 2314. The prize is a dozen Mystery eggs from msladyhawke.

I will set up one more of these contests.

Cheers!

Congrats Tadpole! Mystery eggs ought to be fun.

Marans eggs are lost in the mail, no one can find them

dmrippy is going to send me new ones. I will be setting 28 trader joes eggs and 8 feed store eggs. This will be my first hatch ever

Oh no. I'm so sorry they still haven't arrived.

Hope the new ones reach you quick and safe.

LOL That is so cute they named them I hope they all hatch for you they might get heart broken if their egg doesn't hatch. Fingers crossed for you and you daughters

.

My DD was funny when she was unwrapping the shipped eggs yesterday, she was hugging each one of the eggs saying I love you.

Awwww. That is so sweet.

OK - small update from me and my hatch.

I set these beautiful eggs under my broody 3rd December. They were posted on an overnight express service from Lilys Creek Araucanas in Queensland.
All were perfect, no damage at all - great packing.


And here they are today - day 8 (1st time I have caught Nell off the nest and 1st opportunity for me to remove the 2 infertile ones originally left under Nell to ensure she stayed broody until the fertile eggs arrived)


As you can see only 11 there

. I caught both my adult hens literally with egg on their faces a few days back - I had hoped they had eaten one of the infertile eggs. But never mind, Nell still on the 11 eggs so all is good.

Go Nell! Those are really lovely eggies.

how crazy excited are all you!?!?!?!?!?!

Ron, if you want, I can donate a drawing for a contest......whoever wins will get a drawing of any chicken they would like!

here are some of my drawings I've done:





if you don't want to, that's fine! its just an offer I thought of! haha

Those drawings are very nice! You have talent.

 

[ronott1]

wait...do you need to know how many we are hatching now? if so...here!

~8 crème colored silkie eggs
~ 9 white colored silkie eggs
~ 7 OE mix eggs (green)

24 total!

No, but some are setting the eggs now!

 

[seventreesfarm]

I'm going to have to drop out of the hatch-a-long

My new incubator needs a few more tweaks before I set eggs, so I'll have to wait for the weekend.
It will be fun seeing everyone's peeper pics though.

 

[chickengirl1193]

Yes, I measure the temp and humidity in the room as well as the bator. I have those walmart thermometer/hygrometers everywhere!

I also ordered a brinsea spot check, should be here Thursday.

im going to have to go to walmart tomorrow!! just because i know this room fluctuates a lot and then i can keep a closer eye on it. I wanted to order a brinsea spot check but it wouldnt be here until after christmas so i got something from incubator warehouse. I didnt realize how many thermometers and hydrometers everyone uses or else i would have gotten more when i got my incubator a few weeks ago lol. Im learning so much and im documenting everything so i can learn from my mistakes and do better next time good luck with your eggs!! how many are you setting?

 

[Aphrael]

I'm going to have to drop out of the hatch-a-long

My new incubator needs a few more tweaks before I set eggs, so I'll have to wait for the weekend.
It will be fun seeing everyone's peeper pics though.

I think you can still be in the hatchalong even if you have to set late if you want to. Several people will be setting late due to eggs being delayed. So you could still hatchalong with us!

 

[kara1015]

Kara, those are some nice blue eggs in your avatar. Are they from your own birds? What kind are they?

Yes, they are from my wheaten and BBS ameraucanas.

 

[kara1015]

im going to have to go to walmart tomorrow!! just because i know this room fluctuates a lot and then i can keep a closer eye on it.  I wanted to order a brinsea spot check but it wouldnt be here until after christmas so i got something from incubator warehouse.  I didnt realize how many thermometers and hydrometers everyone uses or else i would have gotten more when i got my incubator a few weeks ago lol.  Im learning so much and im documenting everything so i can learn from my mistakes and do better next time  good luck with your eggs!! how many are you setting?

Not sure. I was just going to fill the mini advance, but I just cleaned the Eco. We'll see what the girls give me tomorrow, and I may pull whats in the fridge. I'm so bad!

 

[chickengirl1193]

if I kept the plugs in the way my bator tells me to.....it should be ok? I think ill just follow all bator instructions this hatch.....I may do your easter hatch too!

keeping my plugs in in the beginning will be ok correct? I have a fan bator (non still air)

i think thats what im doing this time too! and im going to document everything to see if i need to tweak it

For the Genesis, keeping the center well filled day 1 through day 19 (it will not hurt for it to get to half full before you add more water) and that will keep your humidity correct. Then on the evening of the 19th day I fill one of the side wells. When I see the first pip I fill the second side well. You don't want to up your humidity too soon. If your incubation temps and humidity have been correct through day 19, the chicks are less likely to have trouble hatching. I have even just brought it up to 55% and the chicks hatch fine. Once the first chick hatches, its wet body brings up the humidity anyway.

I use fish tank airline tubing and run two lengths of it through the hole at the back of the incubator that the turner cord goes through, into each side well so I can use a turkey baster attached to the tubing to add water without opening the incubator. When it gets close to lockdown I can post some pictures of how I set up for hatch if you like.

just to be clear, are you referring to the troughs labeled one and two? or the three that are in the center with no numbers?
and i would love to see your set up! i actually have some airline tubing and a turkey baster all ready but i wasnt exactly sure how to set it all up. what im most stressed about is on day 18 i have to candle my eggs, remove my turner, set up my aquarium tubing, and then make sure it is all absolutely perfect cuz i wont be able to fix it after that! im afraid that my eggs will be cold by the time i figure it all out

 

[chickengirl1193]

Not sure. I was just going to fill the mini advance, but I just cleaned the Eco.

We'll see what the girls give me tomorrow, and I may pull whats in the fridge. I'm so bad!

thats okay! the more the merrier!! im already planning with my boyfriend how im going to expand my coop because i know that my flock is going to grow exponentially once i start getting chicks... Im lucky hes so handy and can make something out of scraps laying around

 

[bantambury]

i think thats what im doing this time too! and im going to document everything to see if i need to tweak it

ok! awesome!~ well do it together! haha

No, but some are setting the eggs now!

oh! ok nvm then! haha