7th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2016 Hatch-A-Long

[ronott1]

it hatched! all yellow!!

That is great!

I should have some yellow ones too--The Trader Joes mostly turn white. One had some blue on it and one had red last year.

 

[shahtir101]

That is great!

I should have some yellow ones too--The Trader Joes mostly turn white. One had some blue on it and one had red last year.

thats cool! so far 3 yellow chicks have hatched

hoping for a differant color now

 

[Jessimom]

Electricity is back on! Yay! Checked bator and it didn't drop a single degree.

So hatching continues...

Yeah!! I'm glad it's back on. You have to love wood stoves. I miss having one, but I love the fact that it's usually so warm here that I don't need one! The last week or so, I wouldn't have minded having one! Great job on keeping the 'bator warm. Amazing you didn't lose any heat!!

I hope your power stays on!!

 

[S5apiotrowski]

May I ask what why people build a pond? Is it a dry area normally? Up here some people trench and drain the low spots on worked land. We don't do it (our land's full of sloughs, just not going to happen) but others do. Pond building is non existent here so I'm not familiar with this.

I would love to build a pond - stock it with fish, build a walking path around the pond... if I built a pond, then I would hatch some ducks... maybe get a couple swans too!

As much as I want to build one - it seems like too much trouble right now (would have to clear some woods) -- but the neighbors across the street currently have and are using an excavator... maybe they won't mind if I borrow it?

 

[venymae]

I set my eggs the morning of Dec 11th. Central time.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Quote:
The vitamin C dip is interesting. I had VERY dirty eggs that I set earlier this year and I had spritzed a couple of the last ones with rubbing alcohol after I washed them in warm water (honestly, they were that dirty) because the I was losing eggs from the 10 -18 days, most likely from bacterial contamination. I had one or two hatch, I was a bit shocked actually...lol.

But I don't suggest rubbing alcohol at all...just wanted to share my experience from what I tried. My eggs are now super clean, thank you nesting boxes!

I can't imagine how awful that would have been to have a mink do that...and then have to deal with it both mentally and physically.

So terrible!


RoodyRodchester: I look at incubating like an art form...sort of like anesthesia. Sometimes it just takes that one factor to be changed a bit and then everything turns out. Please don't be too disheartened. I think it takes a bit of crawling before we can walk. We just have to persevere.

The links Chicken Canoe are very helpful, as well as all the information on BYC. I think my first hatches were decently successful with what I had to work with. But I changed a few things on my Christmas hatch and although I had a pip and some peeping...nothing hatched, they died in shell and I lost them all.

BUT I've reassessed what I may have done, I've changed a few things and I'm hoping for the best for my New Year's hatch.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Sorry but it got too daunting to keep up with all the reading so I dropped out. I was one of the earlier setters. This was my first time hatching. I ordered 6 Heritage RIR and they sent 9. I put 12 of my own eggs in the bator along with those 9 making for a total of 21 eggs. After week two I discarded a yoker (one of my own) and one of the RIR had a blood ring so that bid didn't make it leaving 19. I couldn't see much development in most of these eggs because of how dark so I was going off the air sac. I set them on 12/5 at 6PM making 12/26 at 6PM day 21. The remaining 11 that I contributed all hatched early on 12/25. I saw one pip the morning of 12/26 of a RIR shell. The RIR took so much longer to hatch. I thought I was only getting 3 and they just kept pipping. I pulled two of the RIR out yesterday and put in the brooder and this morning I pulled 3 more out to put in the brooder. I discarded one eggs last night because I am pretty sure he didn't make it and left two eggs in the bator. Last night I noticed another had pipped at the end of day 22 (lol). He hasn't made much progress but I am sure he is working diligently to get out of that shell. I just thought the timing of hatching fresh local eggs versus shipped eggs is very interesting. I suspect it will take him the duration of the day to hatch probably pushing him into 24 days in the incubator. Out of 21 eggs, 17 hatched. Not bad for a newbie. The Dark Cornish/White Rock Crosses are the cutest. There are 6 of those. 5 Red Ranger/White Rock Crosses and 6 RIR. Well, one of the RIR hasn't finished hatching yet but I have faith he will make it. The little beak is sticking out of the hole he pipped and he is clearly working on getting out.

That's awesome!

And don't worry, you are not the only one having a difficult time keeping up. Look at me, I'm w-a-y back here...lol. But I'm gonna get there...eventually.

 

[BullChick]

Duck #3 has arrived.

Nice! Ducks are so cute!

I can't keep up today! I did eggtopsies a few hours ago. It looks like the chicken eggs all died on the same day as the duck eggs (this batch of duck eggs, which were set on the 18th). Without temperature fluctuations or anything else coming to mind, I don't know what happened. I also have a picture of the filled bread bootie. But first a cutie!!

I love the chili boot! Usually heat is the cause of them all dying on the same day.

I figured, but I never saw it. Oh well. I'll just "have" to buy a Hovabator. Darn!

 

[S5apiotrowski]

Just finished canning a 15 bean soup... now I can finally go to bed.

Checked on the eggs one last time - still 1 pip from about 12 hours ago - no progress. Not hearing any peeps - but seeing a lot of wiggles...

wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle ;-)

Looking forward to see what the morning brings!

 

[Pensmaster]

I'm in the same boat!  Set on the 11th and mine are as quiet as can be!

Same here I looked and looked but nothing.