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

[Chicken Happy]

First chick out. Just had to be a 'wrong way' chick. Pipped at the wrong end. GAH! After 10hrs, I helped out. He was stuck in quite the yoga pose - not a chance he would have gotten out. Did have the cord still attached to the membrane and I am letting it dry out. He is not moving about too much. Exhaustion and the leg that was wrapped about his head has not relaxed yet. Going to leave him alone and rest. Now lets see what the other 4 do.

 

[Aphrael]

ok candled for last time and on lock down

now to wait and see

.......

Are those Schleich figures on your incubator there?

I put my eggs in the hatcher tonight, 1 araucana was not fertile. I only candle to find the dip in the air cell just as I put them into hatcher. I only lost 1 so far for the hatch-A-long.

I had 10 out of 10 RIR's hatch Friday and they were eggs I had bought off e-bay that were mailed to me. 100% hatch rate on mailed eggs. WooHoo!

Wow! Nice! Congratulations on the great hatch!

 

[ronott1]

First chick out. Just had to be a 'wrong way' chick. Pipped at the wrong end. GAH! After 10hrs, I helped out. He was stuck in quite the yoga pose - not a chance he would have gotten out. Did have the cord still attached to the membrane and I am letting it dry out. He is not moving about too much. Exhaustion and the leg that was wrapped about his head has not relaxed yet. Going to leave him alone and rest. Now lets see what the other 4 do.

I am sure he will be up and about soon.

 

[Aphrael]

First chick out. Just had to be a 'wrong way' chick. Pipped at the wrong end. GAH! After 10hrs, I helped out. He was stuck in quite the yoga pose - not a chance he would have gotten out. Did have the cord still attached to the membrane and I am letting it dry out. He is not moving about too much. Exhaustion and the leg that was wrapped about his head has not relaxed yet. Going to leave him alone and rest. Now lets see what the other 4 do.

Poor little fella. Glad you got him out alright.

 

[ronniewayne]

Are your RIRs Fogel line?

yes they are . I love them great layers though they start late when they start the eggs are large . the brick shapes ,nice tails , and that dark color. I was working this afternoon on my hoop houses as I plan to set up 5 groups this year 4 hens each. hatch a lot and cull like crazy next year.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Sorry to bug ya'll again, but I have a bunch of noob questions that may seem silly, or that have an obvious answer...

1. When hatching upright, does that prevent "drowning in the shell"?

2. What exactly IS drowning in the shell? Does that mean the air cell fills up with fluid and they drown?? I know that's probably a stupid question, but I've never done this before and that's why I'm asking.

3. I have read that you can hear peeps coming from the eggs. Does that happen when they pip internally? Or can you hear a peep before they pip internally?

4. Is there any way to tell if they've pipped internally besides candling?

5. What happens if an egg's air cell hasn't "dipped down" like the rest of them? (One of my eggs during today's candling session hadn't grown much, but some of them had already dipped down, others were in between. Just that one didn't look like it grew much at all since day 14 candling. Today is day 17 for me, I go into lockdown tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.)

6. Should I bump up humidity today? I know that it should be 65 tomorrow at lockdown, but since I've been incubating dry, should I boost it a bit now so it's doesn't go from 16% to 65% right away?

7. I know the average hatch for a chick is 21 days, but does that mean the chick is actually out of the shell? I'm guessing I should see a pip tomorrow after lockdown, or the day after that, since it takes time from pip to zip to hatch?

Ok that's all for now. SORRY!!!! Hope someone can answer, I'm so afraid I'm going to screw something up!

 

[Nonyah Biz]

Are those Schleich figures on your incubator there?

Wow! Nice! Congratulations on the great hatch!

why yes they are got them in my stocking from my kids lol

 

[SoManyHats]

Okay, I'm going into lock down with:
8 SFH x RSL
6 Marans
3 Cochin x Silkie
1 Silkie
1 SFH
5 blue - unknown cross
3 greenish blue - unknown cross
6 Silkie- size eggs - unknown cross

33 total!!

 

[All Henned Up]

[COLOR=4B0082]Who did you purchase the eggs from on ebay. What is the user name? I may get me some of those! You may send a private message if you do not want to disclose the name on here.[/COLOR]

There user name on e-bay was 2010pigeon23 Heritage RIR, 100% hatch rate

 

[LearningChicken]

I need some advice!!! I think I need to move my broody and the babies out of the hen house/coop based on what I have read. I put pictures of my hen house/coop below. My coop also has 2 full grown turkeys (approx 50lbs) that live full time with the girls.

I have a few questions on what to do that those of you who have much more experience than I do can hopefully answer...

1. Is it too late to move my broody to a secluded area?
2. Is my brooding box ok to put her in - It is made of 2 french doors (6ft x 2ftx4ft) Pic below
3. What type of bedding material do I use? Sawdust, shredded paper, bath towels, hay, straw
4. Will she reject the babies with just days to go if I move her now? She already kicked 1 egg out of the nest yesterday =(

So many choices and I just want to do what is best for my babies!!!

Nesting Box - 8 in drop to floor

Hen House - approx 2 ft off the ground
Brooding Box (Used for baby Chicks last spring)


Thanks in advance for any advice!!