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

[Cynthia12]

Good morning! 9:00 here, my humidity actually held pretty good last night, so not opening the bator much this morning. Today is lock down for me. Yip Yip...

 

[ronott1]

So mid morning today, our first two CCLs hatched! They didn't have much room because they were from the 5 smaller eggs that were tetris stacked on top, and because of the maxi pad. Luckily they kept falling asleep and stayed relatively calm until there were 3 hatched. It took a few hours. Dh and I and our 2 dd's worked well together getting them out without affecting the others pipped. My 13yo was in charge of the lid, dd20 pulled the chicks out, I pulled out shell debris, and dh misted them with warm water. We also have the humidifier on next to the air hole just in case (we live in the desert).


We went to Cracker Barrel for our Christmas Dinner, and by the time we got home, our three pipped CCLs were out and crawling around. We used the same method to get them out and into the brooder. Now if any hatch tonite, there is nothing sitting on top of them (maybe I will sleep better and no pregnancy-chick-dreams?).

I took the pad out...it was quite dry. We found that using a syringe and squirting warm water into the air hole is working better and we can see all the eggs better.

Now the important question...CCLs are autosexing right?...but why are some yellow and some brown? The darker brown was the first to hatch, and he is showing the others how to drink water and eat!!!

So we have a darker brown one with a yellow undercarriage and spot on his head, a lighter brown, and 4 yellows. Some of the yellows have tiny black spots on their backs so we can tell them apart nicely! Next post will hopefully have the video...

There are white Cream Legbars our there. They are not SOP from Britain but some are breeding for them. They are supposed to be auto sexing still but it is harder to see the pattern.

Look up the auto sexing but dark brown with a distinct chip monk pattern are girls.

 

[ronott1]

chicken pickin and gardening mama,

do these air cells look pretty good for me? lockdown is TOMORROW!!! AAAHHHHHH!!!!

They look good!

 

[Cynthia12]

Never dreamt of dropping the baby, but every single pregnancy I had, I would dream about giving birth to half animal, half human babies. Once it was half alligator. Another time it was half cat. One time I had a dream that while I was giving birth, our town was being attacked by pterodactyls. Gah...the dreams we have while pregnant!!!

LOL sounds EXACTLY like my DH!!! Only it's not "I don't want them crappin all over the house", it's "I don't want all that dust again in the house!" and "You already have enough chickens, we don't need anymore" and "Great, now when it is time to do something away from the house, you'll use the chicks as your excuse to stay home cuz the "need" you to be here just in case". I tried to show him a baby one candling session, and he sighed, like it was such a bother for him to get up off his butt to come look.

That's ok, though...I always end up getting my way when it comes to my chickens, regardless about how he feels about it. All I have to do is pout

I did have a bad dreams with my third child, never had in the pregnancies before. I dreamed that he was born without legs from the knees down. Kept having this same dream. Well, he was born with what was the number one birth defect in our country at that time back in the 80's. He is pretty much paralyzed from the waist down..no feeling at all from the knees down..kind of like my dreams. I also always dreamed it was a boy. Not many people had heard of Spina Bifida. Now, since a 5 year study has been done, and I was part of that..a lot more public awareness is there. He is now 32 years. Started walking with a walker, then to crutches, now in a wheelchair, which is much easier on him that the crutches. Lives on his own in the next town over. Was living by the University in Orem, did a bit of school, but keeps having to go in for surgeries..some minor, some not so! Needs more surgery now. He's a pretty strong guy in a lot of ways.

 

[Cynthia12]

I have three on the mat, one half out, one zipped and six more pips! They're popping out like popcorn!

 

[Cynthia12]

I only have one egg that made it to day 14 candle, today will be day 18 candle and I am praying to see good signs. I am making myself wait till atleast noon to candle, then I will lockdown. Everyones pictures of chicks are making me feel optimistic again!

You will get some babies..bet ya anything! Well, almost anything.

 

[roostereggs]

@Wisher1000

Mine? Mine?

ROFL!!! I can't use the emoticons with my new tablet

 

[ronott1]

LOL, sounds like my weather here in Virginia for the day! Dropped down to 23 overnight (currently 29), high temp today of 61, then drop down to 37, with a high of 42 tomorrow. Weather needs to make up its mind

Lows for the Sacramento area are low 30s with Highs near 65.

Congrats! How can you tell there's an internal pip? Can you see sumthin?? How bout with dark eggs??

Listen for chirping. They will also begin pecking the shell to make the first pip. They will peck the shell hundreds of times to make the external pip. They they often rest for up to 24 hours.

If you have an early hatcher and pipper, do you still rotate them and can you still open the incubator to prepare for lockdown?

Lockdown is a bit false. You can open the incubator for necessary work in there. Just do not open it too much. Be quick and spray a bit of water or drop in a wet piece of wadded up paper towel.

Mine? Mine? Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! MINE! (vague movie reference)


My DH started out being a butt about them, but he is a trooper now and usually collects eggs and will even feed and water for me if needed. He's a keeper.
Ask him if you can put a flyer up in his window for "straight runs" since he doesn't want to sell them. If he balks, shrug it off and say you'll just put an ad in the local paper. No biggie. <chuckle> The owner of our feed store didn't like it that I wasn't buying hatchery chicks from him anymore, once I started hatching my own, but he got over it when he realized I was buying more feed!

I have three on the mat, one half out, one zipped and six more pips! They're popping out like popcorn!

OK, here's the latest report. I just weighed eggs and candled at the same time.
Weight:
Today's goal was 2605 grams for all 47 eggs. They weighed 2586 grams. That is off by 0.7%. Not bad for not paying attention.
I weighed a couple with huge air cells. One had lost 12.3% and another had lost 16.1%. They should have lost 11%.
The one that lost 12.3 had been washed and was 6 days old when set. There is no explanation why the other lost so much. It was a freshly laid egg the day it was set.

Clears:
Out of 47 eggs, 7 failed. 5 had no development, 1 had a blood ring and 1 had something dark floating inside.
Of the 7 pulled, two were 10 days old when set, one was 9, one was 7, one was 6, one was 3 and one was set the day laid.
Of the remaining eggs still growing, five were 10 days old when set, three were 9, nine were 8 days old.
7 of the eggs set were washed and only one of them has failed.

I washed them with a solution of 2 1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup organic ACV and 2 Tbsp of Fruit Fresh.
Fruit Fresh is an ascorbic acid product that keeps fruit from turning brown. The downside is that it has other ingredients I don't like.
I found pure ascorbic acid powder that I'll use in the future. http://www.myspicesage.com/ascorbic...|34312308482&gclid=CJbT48mY07sCFa9aMgodDgYAxg

That leaves 40 eggs cooking.
I'm hoping most hatch. I want to divide them into 3 groups to test fermented feed and probiotics with dry feed and a control group.

ETA
Another good thing about the fertility is that they are from 2 different flocks and 2 untested roosters along with the time of year and a little frostbite, I'm relatively pleased.

Great news on the hatch and the fertility of the Roosters!

 

[Aphrael]

LOL, my dh hates anything bird related. But he has been SO into this hatch! He was reading stuff online at work, calling to check things with his cousin who has a chicken farm in Wyoming and 'correcting' me on my bator techniques, plus turning and watching them pip and hatch. We were talking earlier and I asked him, why the sudden interest in the chicks? He replied, if YOU are interested in something, then *I* like it also. How sweet! #bestesthusbandever

Awwww. How sweet.

Sounds like he's a keeper.

So mid morning today, our first two CCLs hatched! They didn't have much room because they were from the 5 smaller eggs that were tetris stacked on top, and because of the maxi pad. Luckily they kept falling asleep and stayed relatively calm until there were 3 hatched. It took a few hours. Dh and I and our 2 dd's worked well together getting them out without affecting the others pipped. My 13yo was in charge of the lid, dd20 pulled the chicks out, I pulled out shell debris, and dh misted them with warm water. We also have the humidifier on next to the air hole just in case (we live in the desert).


We went to Cracker Barrel for our Christmas Dinner, and by the time we got home, our three pipped CCLs were out and crawling around. We used the same method to get them out and into the brooder. Now if any hatch tonite, there is nothing sitting on top of them (maybe I will sleep better and no pregnancy-chick-dreams?).

I took the pad out...it was quite dry. We found that using a syringe and squirting warm water into the air hole is working better and we can see all the eggs better.

Now the important question...CCLs are autosexing right?...but why are some yellow and some brown? The darker brown was the first to hatch, and he is showing the others how to drink water and eat!!!

So we have a darker brown one with a yellow undercarriage and spot on his head, a lighter brown, and 4 yellows. Some of the yellows have tiny black spots on their backs so we can tell them apart nicely! Next post will hopefully have the video...

Aww. Such cuties. Can't wait to see pics of them dried, fluffed and curious!

Mine? Mine? Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! MINE! (vague movie reference)


My DH started out being a butt about them, but he is a trooper now and usually collects eggs and will even feed and water for me if needed. He's a keeper.
Ask him if you can put a flyer up in his window for "straight runs" since he doesn't want to sell them. If he balks, shrug it off and say you'll just put an ad in the local paper. No biggie. <chuckle> The owner of our feed store didn't like it that I wasn't buying hatchery chicks from him anymore, once I started hatching my own, but he got over it when he realized I was buying more feed!

I have three on the mat, one half out, one zipped and six more pips! They're popping out like popcorn!

The seagulls trying to gobble the fish?

Congrats on your popcorn babies! Can't wait for pics!

Ok, a little off topic (but not really)...

I posted before about my excitement regarding my next incubation after this one...with either my mom's new EE cockerel, or my Chocolate Orpington bantam cockerel, being the daddy. (BR and CB pullets).

Looks like the EE will be the daddy of those. He has completely taken over the girls. My poor bantam, named Pip (short for Pipsqueak, because of his crow...it sounds like a man yelling after being kneed between the legs

), was being assaulted relentlessly by the girls. So I removed him from the flock, and got him his own girl...a Choc. Orp. bantam pullet that is one week younger than him.

He is one happy boy, lemme tell you! And she sticks to him like glue!! So, it looks like my next hatch will be EE over BR or CB, and then, once the CO pullet starts laying, it'll be pure Choc. Orp. bantams!!

Here she is:




Here she is with Pip:

She is very pretty, and they look so cute together. They will make lovely babies.

 

[Kalalyn21]

Here are my two that have hatched so far. Took them out after being in for a day. Nothing else has piped yet. One is a SBEL and the other is a FBCM with not sure who the daddy is. Could be pure marans but not sure yet.