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

[Chase Family]

My heat source when out while we were sleeping last night. The temp got down to 68. I hope all my little babies will be ok. At most the incubator was at 68 for 7 hours (from the time I went to bed to the time it was noticed). However I think it was a lot less then 7 hours.

 

[mamashomestead]

They are so cute! Are they just running around or do u have them fenced in??

 

[ChickenCanoe]

My heat source when out while we were sleeping last night. The temp got down to 68. I hope all my little babies will be ok. At most the incubator was at 68 for 7 hours (from the time I went to bed to the time it was noticed). However I think it was a lot less then 7 hours.

This should give you the information you need.

http://www.brinsea.com/customerservice/poweroff.html

It also says if the power goes out during the first 7 days, it may be best to cool the egg quickly down below 68 and hold them there.

Also, thermometer reading will not be the same as embryo temperature which can lag quite a bit.

 

[chiqita]

My phone just skipped over 300 posts again! It is prejudice I say!

 

[Nonyah Biz]

Questions about candling. I am new at this and need help understanding what I am seeing.

I don't have a candler, I went to my local farm store yesterday and bought one but took it back as it was not as bright as the flash light I have modified with plumbing parts and I couldn't see into the eggs as well with the candler.

So to describe what I see: I cannot see any veining (I don't think my light is bright enough, all eggs are brown except one green one) but it does look like the yolks have gotten bigger as well as the air cell. Is this a good sigh?

Out of the 29 I set I see this enlarged yolk in 27, 2 still look about the same as before. Does this mean I have 27 growing?

I need a candler, but cannot decide which one I want or if I want a better flashlight. Lowes has a 500 lumen flashlight that I am leaning towards. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

use a high powered LED mag lite the real mag works awesome i have green 2 green eggs and can see in them.i just cup my hand around outside egg and hold over flashlight

 

[Aphrael]

Bwahahahaha!! Well, he didn't ask about the pen with straw by the driveway, so 'ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies'…yup, that's my strategy.

I like that strategy!

Sat down last night to candle with dh and 13yo dd. We see Day 10 embryos clear as day...and shadows moving in the Marans!. They are about the size of a quarter now and very active.

Then dh asks me how many do you have in there, and I tell him 31. He says...ummm...are you sure? I say yep...I started with 32 and culled a clear one this weekend. So I count and there are 32, and I am like What.The.Heck? Sure enough...there are 32 chicks and I am having a blond moment. Either that or someone slipped in another egg. But it was likely a blond moment!

Chicken math is *confusing*!

I like to think of myself as fairly intelligent...but now I can't even count eggs???

I just went back to look at my original photo...and yes there were 33.

I was hoping for a second flock of not more than a dozen. Maybe I need to get prepared to start selling eggs next summer to help pay for their feed!

As for the candling, we do it every day. Mostly because I wanted this to be a learning experience for the family. And there is NO way I could stop myself!

Yay for developing babies!!

use a high powered LED mag lite the real mag works awesome i have green 2 green eggs and can see in them.i just cup my hand around outside egg and hold over flashlight

I use an LED flashlight that is fairly bright as long as the batteries are fresh. It works decently, though not as good as some of the photos I've seen people put up.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

My heat source when out while we were sleeping last night. The temp got down to 68. I hope all my little babies will be ok. At most the incubator was at 68 for 7 hours (from the time I went to bed to the time it was noticed). However I think it was a lot less then 7 hours.

I'll bet they're okay.

They are so cute! Are they just running around or do u have them fenced in??

My goats?..they are fenced and boy oh boy was that a rough time figuring out a fence that would hold them. There is a saying, something about...if your fence can't hold water...it can't hold goats. I spent many stress filled days believing that was true.

 

[Gardeningmama]

Questions about candling. I am new at this and need help understanding what I am seeing.

I don't have a candler, I went to my local farm store yesterday and bought one but took it back as it was not as bright as the flash light I have modified with plumbing parts and I couldn't see into the eggs as well with the candler.

So to describe what I see: I cannot see any veining (I don't think my light is bright enough, all eggs are brown except one green one) but it does look like the yolks have gotten bigger as well as the air cell. Is this a good sigh?

Out of the 29 I set I see this enlarged yolk in 27, 2 still look about the same as before. Does this mean I have 27 growing?

I need a candler, but cannot decide which one I want or if I want a better flashlight. Lowes has a 500 lumen flashlight that I am leaning towards. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Question: Do you have them in a turner? I ask because the only time I used the turner I would candle and have a hard time seeing the development. It was as if the embryo and veining network sat on top of the yolk under the air cell. I could see some veining of course, but that embryo was never visible in the early stages. I would get so frustrated, that's one reason I won't use the turner. I like them laying on the floor of the incubator so when I pick up the egg and candle that baby is right there pressed up against the shell.

Quote: I have the Coast G50 with Focusing Lens from Home Depot. It's $42.00, but is awesome, the lens is inverted rounded so the egg fits perfectly in to shut out the light. Unfortunately, right now mine is stuck shut, and I can't change the batteries. I need to get it open, UGH!!

 

[Avlana]

use a high powered LED mag lite the real mag works awesome i have green 2 green eggs and can see in them.i just cup my hand around outside egg and hold over flashlight

I do the exact same thing. Works great!

 

[mstricer]

You can use the pipe insulator and not have to cup your hand around which I found difficult with larger eggs