Anyone have a hen or eggs set for October? Join us!

[thebanthams]

I too have three broody hens at the same time ! I am waiting on my favorite one Minnie a silkie, she is the first one to sit on her eggs, and is due any time !! I cannot wait any longer !!!

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

Hi! I'm probably a bit late for this thread, but I've got 48 eggs which have just been put into lockdown (Tues 2/10 evening) and are due on Thursday, and another 48 due next Thursday.

I'm pretty excited because, although I've incubated before, this is the first time I've done my own eggs. Okay, eggs from my own chickens. And I heard some eggs peeping at me when I put them into lockdown just now! Yay!

Anyway, the eggs are a mix of:
One rooster is mostly barred Plymouth Rock with some Australorp blood (very dark barring), the other is mostly Wyandotte, crossed with who-knows-what (mystery chick that turned into such a gorgeous rooster I didn't want to give him up).
I have 4 RIR cross light Sussex girls (I don't think any of their eggs made it into this batch, but they're in the one due next week);
2 light Sussex cross girls (one is silver-laced Wyandotte, the other a mystery) who both look mostly light Sussex (except for the Wyandotte's combe);
2 Anconas
and I borrowed my dad's two ISA Browns and one white Leghorn.

Very, very exciting.

Oh, my sister also has 3 duck eggs in a little incubator that are due tomorrow (Wednesday). But when they were candled at 1 week, only one of them seemed to be developing. There was also an 8-hour-long blackout the day after they were candled (I set my eggs as soon as it finished -- it was a planned blackout).

from Rachel.

PS, I'm in South Australia. In case you're wondering about the date. 2/10 here means the second of October.

You're not late. Mine aren't in lock down yet
I wish I had an incubator that could hold that many eggs.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

I do too.

My eggs are going into lock down on Saturday!!!

Can't wait!!! The only thing is, I think I only have 4 or 5 that are going to hatch, out of 10. Phoo.

Oh well, I think I have too many chicks around here as it is.

 

[CALI CHICK]

I do too.

My eggs are going into lock down on Saturday!!!

Can't wait!!! The only thing is, I think I only have 4 or 5 that are going to hatch, out of 10. Phoo.

Oh well, I think I have too many chicks around here as it is.

Yep, that's what my husband says (too many already)! I hope you get a great hatch. Why do you think only half of yours will hatch...just curious.

Today is officially "hatchday" for most of mine. Out of 13 eggs, 5 have hatched.

I'm hoping at least 4 more hatch. But like you, I've got 4 in lockdown that I don't expect to hatch. They just didn't look developed as much as the others. Right now there aren't even any more pips.

Fortunately I've got to take my son to a couple classes, get groceries and go to the feedstore..............So, that will keep my nose out of the incubator window, stressing over those eggs!

 

[CALI CHICK]

SilkiesForEver, what part of California are you located in?

 

[maryhysong]

ok this sounds like fun ;=) I was given some older Welsummers, 4-5 yrs old, one roo and 3 hens. I saved all the first eggs I got (pretty much one a day or every other day) so likely all from the same hen, until I had 7 and they were about 10 days old. I borrowed an incubator and also set 13 eggs from my barred rock banties which are in with my full size Buff Orpington roo. I will probably sell all the banty chicks, I set them mostly so that if the Wellies don't hatch and the banties do, I'll know it's not anything I did wrong.

Although of course as a newby I did several things wrong. I didn't think to rotate the eggs while they were sitting at room temp before I set them. Dummy me I put them in the bator before it was actually all the way up to 100 (still air bator with an ordinary thermometer, so hard to tell a half a degree) So they spent about 24-36 hours over 90 but not quite 100. I'm imagining that means that they might take longer than 21 days.

My flash light is not the brightest and I"m having trouble with the candling, especially the Welsummer eggs, but I can see well defined air sacks in them. But a couple nights ago I was trying again and one of the banty embryos jumped! I'm so excited it's actually working ;=) Sat Oct 6 is 21 days from the day I set them so figure they should hatch anytime after that.

 

[Rachel96]

Hi everyone!

I had a bit of a surprise this morning when I woke up to find 4 chicks had already hatched!

And I haven't even got the brooder set up yet... I need to buy a better light and some feed containers (the quails stole the ones I normally use) and was planning to do that today. I've put the chicks in another (non-turning) incubator for now, until I get that light.

This is the second hatch I've done in this incubator, and both times I've had chicks start hatching late Day 19 or early Day 20. I'm not sure what that's about...

You're not late. Mine aren't in lock down yet
I wish I had an incubator that could hold that many eggs.

I have two incubators - both hold 48 eggs. They're the same, and quite good; they turn, they tell me the temperature/humidity, and all in all I get reasonably hatches from them. The only thing bugging me is that I CAN'T SEE IN THE TOP!!!! Which is all right most of the time, because the eggs are just sitting there boringly. But in lockdown, when I can't open the lid, I want to see what's happening!

Here's a pic of the four that have hatched. It's quite interesting - there are two dark ones, one has pink legs and the other grey, one light one, and one that looks like a quail chick (yellow with black stripes)!

 

[SIMZ]

Cute!! Congratulations on the early babies!

 

[SilkiesForEver]

SilkiesForEver, what part of California are you located in?

Sacramento.

 

[chatelaine]

First chick out today. Peeping away and snuggling up to hen.