Anybody setting eggs this weekend? (4-25-15)

[HerbGir1972]

We're setting tonight,
7 lav orps
6 bantam
7 EExEE
8 EExSLW
8 EExPPR
36

 

[goodb]

My broody buckeye (2nd of the season) hatched out 5 cute flufbutts Friday and Saturday. A backyard cross is due to hatch Wednesday and two more buckeyes are playing the game. I am blessed.


You can also see the video here.

Thanks for watching.

 

[Hollandfound]

Wow I've been wanting too brag, but I've been way too busy learning what not to do right after I did it unfortunately.

Anyways here is the hen who went broody and was tough to break.

So here are the eggs, I got her.

4
And then 4 more that I was waiting on became available. See here they all are....

Yes I figured out there were a couple of ooops there. and yes did you know you could candle eggs at day 3, but you really shouldn't. Ugh! Oh yeah and watch out if you get those eggs too hot while candling them,. I read if the eggs are heated to 104 degrees then the embryo will die. I'm still trying to figure out, if I cooked my eggs, but I don't think so. I hope not.

I'm waiting for May 21st and 22nd, which is 21days for the first ten and then the second 4.

I am contemplating taking the chicks that hatch out first out and put them in a brooder, in the hopes that she'll give all the eggs a good chance to hatch any thoughts here? Is there a better time to grab the chicks or will she just get upset and leave the nest?

 

[smarsh00]

T

...

Smarsh,

Concrete or soil, going out into the yard or not, cocci is outside...period. You may track it in on your shoes, or the bottom of the feeder...its a natural occurrence. So, you either go the medicated route, or you don't, cause unless you're keeping them in incredibly strict sanitary conditions like they do when there are 10,000+, your chickens will be exposed. Now I choose not to use medicated, and non-GMO food, so I can say my chickens (and they're eggs) are free from any of the stuff people these days want to avoid. That means losses (e.g. dead chickens), and higher feed costs (since I cannot free-range), hence the typically higher price of such things.

So, I say, if they're a pet, get medicated and do whatever you have to to keep them alive. If they're a profit center, then consider the cost benefits. Apple Cider Vinegar, Cod Liver Oil, fermenting feed, and adding some cheap but interesting feed with starter (e.g. black-oil sunflower seeds) can be as effective as the drugs.
[/quoteThanks for the info I'm not too worried about food cost right now because I just want to make sure they live and stay healthy. I have just 3 hens n can't keep Roos so out of the 6 chicks I will prob only keep 3 more hens. There pretty much pets so I want to do for them the same as I wld my lab or my cat. Thanks so much for any added advice as for this is all new to me

 

[RubyNala97]

Well, I couldn't stick to my guns. I had said I was going to do nothing until 3:00pm today, but at 9:00am I decided to take the 3 live chicks that were in the bator and put them into the brooder. I just felt sorry for them and the eggs they were constantly tripping over. But as Sally Sunshine says in her great article about assisting hatches, DO NOT RUSH THE HATCH! I rushed the hatch.

They were dry, but they had "stuff" on their feathers and were not fluffed out. When I put them into the brooder, the others, who had been there for more than a day, started pecking at the three of them. I had read that this was a normal behavior, so I just kept checking on them. The one that died appeared far more lethargic than the others (even though all three hatched out > 24 hours before I moved them to the brooder), so I made sure I dipped its beak in water and food, and put it back in the center under the light. 15 minutes after that, when I checked again, it was flat on the ground with its head to one side and the eye open...not what they look like when they're alive but looking dead. I picked it up, checked it everyway I could and determined it was dead.

Now I don't want people to think me unfeeling, but I raise chickens for money, eggs and meat. I expected a death, and I expect others will die at some point. Of the 30 chicks I bought alive last September, 15 males were culled for meat, and 3 of the 15 hens have died in the coop over the winter. So death happens, but I kick myself enormously for being the one who caused this little guy's death, I do try my best to give my chickens the best chances they can have.

I had 14 eggs left in the bator this morning, so at 3:00pm (beginning of day 23) I followed the instructions of Sally's assisting article. I candled them all again, discarded 1 as it was far clearer than I had thought...when opened, it had no development at all. I opened a viewing hole into 6 eggs. 5 were definitely dead due to mal-positioning (cause I put them in the bator upside down). One had its head above its wing, and no veining in the membrane above it, so I lifted its head out of the egg and put it back in the bator...it has not moved. The remaining 8 have done nothing since, and I expect are all dead due to mal-positioning. Again, I am really kicking myself for not checking that one very basic question...pointy side up or down? If you don't already know, its pointy side down!!

So, all in all, a lot of experience gained. I might make one suggestion to OP and anyone who starts a hatch-a-long thread, make that initial message hold some very basic FAQs...like pointy side down, no eggs older than 7 days, turn baby turn, DO NOT RUSH THE HATCH, and Sally's Hatching 101 post...etc...wish I'd been assaulted by them, I'd be feeling far less stupid now...;-]

Anyway, I got 19 new kids in my flock of 25...of course these guys will go into their own coop when they go out so I can feed them different food than the rest. No free ranging here, my dogs would just love me to let the chickens out. And between 8-10 weeks the males will go to be processed for meat, while the females will get put in with the rest.

I started collecting new eggs for another hatch attempt starting next Saturday. This is truly addicting. I am allowed 100 hens and 300 meat birds a year, so I'm working on it. In 6 months when my hens from this hatch start laying, I'm hoping to see some BCM-like eggs. Those eggs will then go into a hatch of their own, to get my 2nd generation.

Trust me, the first batch is truly a learning experience!! I had one that I rushed too. He didn't make it and after I kept repeating Sally Sunshines words too! I'm trying to let my kids understand that they will die. It's part of having chickens. But, exactly like you said, not because I rushed the whole process! And I'm waiting for more eggs to arrive also, starting a new batch. It is very addicting! I wanted to ask, did you do the float test on the remaining eggs, first? And hows' that one little guy doing that you helped his head out?

 

[WalnutHill]

I couldn't set on 4/25 but I did set on 4/28. Two pips and a zip started from ISA Brown hens crossed with two roosters, Light Brahma x EE and Salmon Faverolle x EE. So excited to see them!

 

[Pywakyt]

Okay it's been at least 12 hours since first pip, I have two or three pips so far. They are all on the wrong end. I took the first one out to see if I needed to assist and I heard lots of chirping so I just put it back in the bator. If no zipping by tonight I'll assist further if need be.

 

[Chickentera]

Heard chirping yesterday and this guy
came out at 2 a.m. this morning. Hopefully, I'll have more when I get home from work!

P.S. Pay no mind to the temp and humidity, some reason it dropped but everything is re-adjusted and stable.

 

[RubyNala97]

Okay it's been at least 12 hours since first pip, I have two or three pips so far. They are all on the wrong end. I took the first one out to see if I needed to assist and I heard lots of chirping so I just put it back in the bator. If no zipping by tonight I'll assist further if need be.

Best of luck! Why are they all pipping on the wrong end, I wonder???

 

[Pywakyt]

Because I set them upside down for the first two weeks on accident