April 2021 Hatch - A - Long

[goat114]

My current incubation is the first time I’ve ever had a quitter from a dry hatch with non-shipped eggs - this one will be a 75% hatch (3 of 4) assuming nothing else goes wrong. With shipped eggs and a dry hatch, I usually get an 80+% hatch rate. I have never had an egg from any source make it to lockdown and not hatch. Granted, I’m in the very humid southeast, and I incubate small batches, so my numbers aren’t huge to begin with.

Okay

 

[goat114]

I get 90%+ and I’ve dry hatched for over a year now

Awesome

 

[Austrian Chickens]

I leave the chicks up to 48 hours in the incubator. I used a little rope to hold the eggs in place.

3 chicks hatched one egg left

 

[Erba]

I got 8 chicks from the 12 eggs that went into lockdown. That is pretty good for shipped eggs. I am so pleased and they all got out by themselves. Though a couple of buddies were helping, by pecking at their shell.

 

[SegiDream]

I tried hand turning twice with 42+ eggs and I never did it again. I had the turners at the time, but the duck eggs were too heavy for the turner. I refuse to hatch duck eggs this year. All they do is make my incubators nasty and I have to soak them for hours. Duck eggs are a messy egg to hatch. Chicken and quail are definitely my preferred eggs to incubate.

Yeah I understand that. I think I want to "upgrade" the styrofoam to a wood box before I jump to working on a turner. My workplace has acrylic sheets (waste product) with small cutouts that I think would be great for an egg tray. They're lightweight, perfect size for a chicken egg and I could line the edges with duct tape. Just have to wait for the right time and opportunity to ask for one.

Ducks are just plain messy creatures IMO. But I've seen the call ducks at show and they are so darn cute it's tempting, then I remember - shoots vertical poop, muddy and may quack loudly a lot. I think if we hatched other types of bird it would be for the holiday dinner table. I raised peafowl in the past and love them but not ready for something like that just yet...

 

[LadiesAndJane]

My NR360 is now a sea of fluffy chicks, today is day 21 and I can't tell how many are left to hatch in there because of all the fluff balls blocking the view lol For you experienced hatchers (this was my first time) would you remove the dry ones or continue lockdown? I'm torn on what to do. I don't want to risk any unhatched eggs but I feel like they are cramped in there... But that just may be me overthinking it lol thoughts? Advice?

Quickly remove the dry fluffed babies it’s no problem at all!

 

[spryng]

Quickly remove the dry fluffed babies it’s no problem at all!

Thank you! I removed the dry ones and I'm up to 16 hatched so far

 

[FortCluck]

Yeah I understand that. I think I want to "upgrade" the styrofoam to a wood box before I jump to working on a turner. My workplace has acrylic sheets (waste product) with small cutouts that I think would be great for an egg tray. They're lightweight, perfect size for a chicken egg and I could line the edges with duct tape. Just have to wait for the right time and opportunity to ask for one.

Ducks are just plain messy creatures IMO. But I've seen the call ducks at show and they are so darn cute it's tempting, then I remember - shoots vertical poop, muddy and may quack loudly a lot. I think if we hatched other types of bird it would be for the holiday dinner table. I raised peafowl in the past and love them but not ready for something like that just yet

I have a muscovy and she is the best duck ever, but I did not hatch her. She is great at bug control especially the no see ums that are always bugging us while we do yard work.

We do quail for meat, pets, and eggs. Chickens we stopped processing, but I think we are going to have to do a few cockerels with this hatch since I know not all will be pullets.

In my dream world everything I hatch would be a pullet LOL

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Thank you! I removed the dry ones and I'm up to 16 hatched so far

How many total?

 

[spryng]

How many total?

22 total but at lockdown only 18 were viable and one is still trying to hatch so we may end up with 17 which is pretty good!