6th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2015 Hatch-A-Long

[Amberjem]

I picked up my eggs today yippeee!!!

also got a couple more egg thermostats and am calibrating them checking to see they are marked right now in glass of ice

 

[chickkrakidd]

This might be a little early, but would anyone be interested in having a Valentine's Day HAL?? I think I'm gonna try to do my first hatch then so I have plenty of time between now& then to build an incubator ( or two) and save eggs and basically just be a little more organized& prepared. I'd be glad to organize a Valentine's Day HAL, if someone would wanna help me with it.

 

[bantambury]

This might be a little early, but would anyone be interested in having a Valentine's Day HAL?? I think I'm gonna try to do my first hatch then so I have plenty of time between now& then to build an incubator ( or two) and save eggs and basically just be a little more organized& prepared. I'd be glad to organize a Valentine's Day HAL, if someone would wanna help me with it.

im most likely going to hatch around then bc im test hatching a few eggs for my friend in indiana

 

[Aphrael]

@Aphrael and @ronott1 The disease I was thinking about is this one:

http://beautyofbirds.com/eggproblems.html
Infectious Bronchitis (IBV):

This common infectious disease only affects chickens of all ages and is caused by Coronavirus. It targets the respiratory tract, as well as the reproductive organs and the urinary system.
IBV is the most contagious poultry disease; once introduced into a flock, the infection rate is 100%. Therefore, if some hens are unaffected, this disease can be excluded.
Infectious Bronchitis is suspected if no other environmental reason can be identified, and the hens have previously produced well, and then all of a sudden started laying poor quality eggs.
This disease may affect both the external and internal quality of the eggs, which can be misshapen or soft-shelled. In those eggs that have a shell, the egg white inside the egg is runny.
Initially, respiratory symptoms are typically (but not always) noted and generally the egg production decreases and the egg quality deteriorates over time.
There is no effective treatment against this, although birds often recover, they may never be good egg layers and the eggs they do lay may never be of a good quality again.
The spread of this disease can only be stopped by quarantining infected birds and sanitizing / disinfecting the premises. A vaccination is available (Nobilis by Merck), but vaccination is not always effective in preventing the disease.
Rarely proves fatal; however, increases the hens' susceptibility to other pathogens, such as e-coli or mycoplasma infections.
Those that recovered from this disease will be immune to further exposure, but may never lay well again due to damage to the uterus/shell gland.​

Thanks so much!

@Aphrael I think you said that there were no respiratory symptoms and the other hens seem fine. Since there really is no treatment for it, try the wormer to see if that helps. If not then they may just lay eggs like that.

I would try to hatch eggs from the though--It might be a way to get there genetics back into your flock.

Thank you both so much for all the info! It is greatly appreciated.

Yes, that is correct Ron, all the other birds seem fine and no other problems with eggs at all (other than a molt causing the older hens to not be laying right now

). So, since it says if some are unaffected this disease can be ruled out, I think I'm good on that front. I did have one rooster in late spring who had some kind of sneezes or something for about a week. But no other birds did it at all, he only did it for about a week before it just stopped, and he never had any other symptoms. Also, the egg quality didn't start normal and then deteriorate for those two hens. Their eggs have been "off" since they began laying. So, it seems I am looking at the capillary worms and/or lack of nutrition (if they were being bullied away from the food pan). I can take steps to eliminate both of those. So yay! I am going to try to hatch the eggs I've gathered from them. I eliminated the ones that seemed kind of "jiggly" inside when I candled them, but will be setting the rest.

All but one of my orders have arrived today for the Hatch-A-Long! They are resting on the dining room table until tomorrow!

I gambled BIG TIME and bought a bunch of shipped eggs:

- 18+ Silkie Eggs
- 12 Welsummer
- 12 Assorted Bantams

I ordered 12 Black Copper Maran eggs as well, but they were shipped out later than I expected so will be a day or two behind. Oh well. =/

.... OH BOY!

It helps to have lots of friends and family needing chicks right now (they'll be late Christmas gifts). I tried to pick the breeds they wanted. If they don't hatch, then I guess everyone will be getting socks instead!

The little bantams are...for me.

LOTS OF PEEPS TO BRING ON THE NEW YEAR!!!

Oooo. That'll be a really nice mix of chicks!

The Arkansas blues often hatch over a two to three day period of time. It is very frustrating and the incubator can get quite smelly....

I bet it does. It doesn't smell too great to me even after just a normal 1 day hatch.

I got my eggs today! This is what one of the boxes looked like:



Sheesh! The eggs were all okay thanks to some excellent packaging, but still sheesh.

OMG!!!

That is crazy! It looks like someone drove the delivery truck OVER them!! I can't believe the eggs were actually intact in there. That must have been some iron clad packing. I hope they hatch for you. There are some really beautiful eggs there.

I'm close to the Putnam and Kanawha County line, near Charleston. That's cool! I have a blue Andalusian hen (she's actually entirely black) I named her Raven bc she looks just like a raven (with the exception of a really dark red comb& wattle) She has the blue-green shine to her just like a raven. But I am confused, did u mean the breeds that you listed will all be crosses with the black Australorp roo?? For example: RIR chicks will actually be a RIR/black Australorp mix?

I have some RIR/BA. They make beautiful hens. Mine are all shiny black with the green sheen and a bib of red lacing on the neck breast. The roosters didn't turn out so pretty.

They were black with splotches of red in no particular pattern.

I candled my 19 duck eggs I set last week and..... All are going strong so far!

Next step...... Getting the 2 dozen RIR eggs set in the morning I just went and picked up! Everyone in the house is excited.

Yay! Go little duckies go!

started this adorable project! I have a post up in buy sell trade (everything else) for custom orders, if any of you are interested!

@ronott1 id love to donate 3 breeds of winners choice for one of the contest prizes!

Those are so cute!

I read you could and you can use MeggaPro Egg Wash you get from TSC OR a nice damp washcloth to wipe them down. Don't soak them. I would go with the egg wash.

I wash any of mine that are soiled with warm water and Dawn dish soap and then gently pat them dry.

I love your donation for a prize!

We could use it for a random post prize?

I will get back on later if I have time. A huge storm is headed my way and I need to go secure some things in the yard.

Uh oh! Stay safe Ron. I hope it doesn't hit you too hard there.

 

[Cynthia12]

I got my eggs today! This is what one of the boxes looked like:



Sheesh! The eggs were all okay thanks to some excellent packaging, but still sheesh.

I showed a few photos a few pages back. I've had boxes look great..but what was inside was pretty sad. :/

 

[Cynthia12]

oh ok! thanks so much!
two years of hatching im still learning lots!

I don't wash them. If there is a thick piece on there, I pick it off. Yep.
Someone asked about washing their bator...I use a bleach mix..half water and bleach..spray bottle..and then, like ron, in the shower it goes..I rinse it with hot water first, then I rinse it with cold water. Then, I turn on the bator to a high temp..around 110, let it dry up that way. Then, I am ready to set eggs. Tomorrow..come on eggs...I want to set tomorrow night.

 

[Cynthia12]

I love your donation for a prize!

We could use it for a random post prize?

I will get back on later if I have time. A huge storm is headed my way and I need to go secure some things in the yard.

Heard about that storm! Man, it's going to be windy. Good luck Ron.

 

[tommysgirl]

My eggs are somewhere between Petaluma CA and Lakeport CA !!!

Tracking info said they left Petaluma this morning at 10:38 a.m. but when I went to the Lakeport PO at 4:10 pm they were not yet there. The two towns are just 2.25 hours apart!!!

I am sure they will show up tomorrow morning early but I am so bummed that they are spending that much more time in transit and becoming a bit more viable with every minute in transit. Living where I live I am beginning to think I should not even try to hatch shipped eggs. But then I rethink. If I get even 1 chick out of this it will be fantastically worth it. Even if I get zippo I will only be sorry for my broody. And if that happens I will be contacting all y'all Northern CA types @Kaylish and @ronott1 to fix her up with some chicks from you hatches

 

[Cynthia12]

My eggs are somewhere between Petaluma CA and Lakeport CA !!!

Tracking info said they left Petaluma this morning at 10:38 a.m. but when I went to the Lakeport PO at 4:10 pm they were not yet there. The two towns are just 2.25 hours apart!!!

I am sure they will show up tomorrow morning early but I am so bummed that they are spending that much more time in transit and becoming a bit more viable with every minute in transit. Living where I live I am beginning to think I should not even try to hatch shipped eggs. But then I rethink. If I get even 1 chick out of this it will be fantastically worth it. Even if I get zippo I will only be sorry for my broody. And if that happens I will be contacting all y'all Northern CA types @Kaylish and @ronott1 to fix her up with some chicks from you hatches

I'm in the same boat..really expecting them tomorrow.

 

[emvickrey]

This might be a little early, but would anyone be interested in having a Valentine's Day HAL?? I think I'm gonna try to do my first hatch then so I have plenty of time between now& then to build an incubator ( or two) and save eggs and basically just be a little more organized& prepared. I'd be glad to organize a Valentine's Day HAL, if someone would wanna help me with it.

I would most likely participate in a Valentines HAL. It's about the time I start back hatching anyway. It would give me a good excuse to get silkie eggs from somebody else for a change instead of selling them all the time.