Anyone hatching Dec 14th? Looking for hatching buddies for 1st hatch!

[Rin]

Quote:
yes, 21 days should be correct if they weren't too hot/cold during incubation. Also, it depends if they were laid that day, I heard they could be kept about 10 days before their viability is just like slim to none and I've heard others say as low as 5 days. Mine were about 5 by the time they got here, but they weren't all laid the same day so I'm not entirely sure how old they were. Took three days in the mail. They were viable (except the two who weren't fertile).

 

[sekinkead]

4CrazyGirlz, I think I am going to try the egg carton thing for hatching mine as well. I have been reading the same posts where everyone says they have increased their hatch rate.

 

[4CrazyGirlz]

Ok, lets keep out fingers crossed that it helps. My girls are going to be quiet upset if our hatch rate is much lower than the 9 we have right now.

We are heading out in the morning to assist an aunt in making a coop for some of the babies!!

How messed up am I in the head that I am wondering who else might want me to hatch some chickens for them?? At least I am in good company here at BYC!

 

[Suechick]

Hi ya'll. I haven't checked in all week and I see I have a lot of catching up to do.
I'm a little disappointed with my hatch. I candled my eggs on Monday and only have a few out of 20 that are doing anything.
Ugh. I was hoping to have enough chickens after this hatch but it looks like I will need to hatch again. I don't know if I'll even get 3 chicks out of 20 this time.

 

[Rin]

Well, the temps have been incredibly erratic the past few days... outlook is not too good for me. I'm worried they got too hot or too cold and were either cooked (yes. THAT bad) or made sick by sudden chills after. Let's put it like this, last night it was too cold when I went to bed so I turned the room heater on to try and warm them up a little(this has worked well whenever this was an issue). For some freak reason it got WARM in the early AMs and my eggs when I woke up were definitely hot enough to cook them in their shells. Mind you, I went to bed at 1am and it was cold enough they were getting to 98 at the tops of their shells consistently(they're supposed to be 101.5 in still air). When I woke up at 7am... the digital term gave a reading of 102.8

I opened the bator to try and let the heat out and flicked off my space heater. They were still holding at 102 but lower area of it, like 102.4. I HAD to get to work but came home for lunch to make sure they stabilized as for some reason after 9am it got REALLY COLD again... this is the freakiest weather I've ever seen. Since when does it get colder DURING THE DAY than the night before (when it was raining at night and not during the day TOO? wth?) But when I came home at 12 for lunch they were back down to 101.7... now it's night and they're starting to get too cold again. I don't know what to do. All I feel I can do is try anyway and hope for the best. Mind you at one point the digital term read /103/ but for some reason my mercury read 101... I'm not sure which to trust.... pretty huge difference there.

 

[Eggcellent]

Quote:
Don't give up on them Rin - I had a batch that had spikes over 108 and I didn't lose any at all. Beautiful, healthy chicks too.

I would trust the mercury thermo unless you have a digital made specifically for incubation. Some of the cheaper digitals can swing wildly even though the temperature is stable.

 

[4CrazyGirlz]

Wow! Those are some crazy temp changes. I hope your thermometer is off instead of it being the actual temp yo-yoing like that.

We were gone all day, so I had my sister come over and turn the eggs for me. She said she felt more honored than when she has been able to keep my kids because I am so psycho over the eggs. LOL! Then she sent me a text a little later telling me that she had to come back over and check on them because she was afraid that she had forgotten to turn one. LOL!! I said, "SEE, their little lives are a lot of pressure to have on you!!!" She said she knew if something went wrong she would never hear the end of it. LOL! And yes, she is probably right.

 

[ZooMummzy]

I'm hatching December 12th, if all goes well! This is my second hatch, the first one I have done almost completely by myself. I'm a little nervous

 

[RichwoodsChickenKing]

37 in incubator, due on the 18th. mostly barred rocks. looking for some maran eggs

 

[muddyriverdogz]

I have 12 in the bator that are do on the 13th.They are Delawer's.