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

[Cynthia12]

I love the Show Girls too.

 

[Cynthia12]

It finally snowed yesterday, and last, and is still coming down softly, not heavy. Pretty out there. My 6 pullets that I started letting out because of the 50 degree weather, just came out of the coop, walked through it to the grow out coop and went under the high part if and started eating grass that is popping out from the edge because of the coop covering it a bit..the big girls? They are still in the big run. Big Chickens!

 

[Peep_Show]

re: Hatching in egg cartons

The joys of using a carton to hatchare multifold: (1) your unhatched eggs don't get kicked around by clunky chicks; (2) it's good for shipped eggs with a wonky air cell as it keeps the juices in the right area; (3) it makes for easy cleanup; (4) it keeps your eggs sorted in one place.

My personal preference is to trim the carton as much as possible to promote good airflow top and bottom of egg and to facilitate those occasional chicks that insist on a low pip spot (easy to see) or that zip all over the shell.

 

[Peep_Show]

Do you think they are sex linked in any way. Hoping They all have feathered legs like the brahmas tooo

My first thought is "Yes," but I will defer and bump to those that have a better handle on linkedness as I've been burnt on assumptions before (as in the tale of Ethel the chipmunk sex-linked roo). (Chipmunk = females; Yellow = males)

 

[ChickyChickens]

DH always = Dear Husband for me.

Those NN's are darling!

X2!!!!

 

[ronott1]

I have never heard of a Day 8 cool down cycle - would you please explain this?
Thank you

Here is more on cool down cycle from Brinsea:

Quote: excuse me now--time to pluck a cockerel..Processing one today....

 

[Sueg4332]

could whoever post the night camera post the link again. Had big dog tracks in the muddy yard this morning. The day before the neighbor to the south of me lost 37 chickens. Want to see if its the other neighbors German shepherd. They have a tendency to turn him loose at night. Thought I saved the link but cant find it....
Thank you

 

[Book]

I ALWAYS feel so darn stupid when I do a staggered hatch!

I have two fluff balls in the bator right now and I NEED to hand turn the HAL eggs but others are pipping in there..... what to do.... what to do....

 

[chicken pickin]

I ALWAYS feel so darn stupid when I do a staggered hatch!

I have two fluff balls in the bator right now and I NEED to hand turn the HAL eggs but others are pipping in there..... what to do.... what to do....

Most people that do staggered hatches have 2 incubators, one is designated as the incubator and the other is designated the hatcher. This allows you to move eggs about to hatch to the hatcher.

If you are doing this in one incubator I would not turn the eggs until all the other eggs have hatched so you don't accidentally shrink wrap already pipped eggs. How do you plan to clean the incubator after the hatch with newly incubating eggs in it? Just curious since I have never done it this way.

 

[blackgoat]

Here is more on cool down cycle from Brinsea:

......recommend that smaller poultry, waterfowl and game bird eggs are cooled for 1 hour each day and larger eggs (e.g. duck and goose) are cooled for 2 hours each day from day 7 through to 2 days before they are due to hatch (the same point that automatic turning would normally be turned off).....

Does this only apply to automatic incubators where they are never opened? I am opening the incubator 3 times a day to turn the eggs. Is that comparable to the 1-hour cooling period? Or should I turn off the incubator for 1-hour each day?