April 2023 Hatch-A-Long

[BarnyardChaos]

Welcome BYC'ers to the April 2023 Hatch-A-Long! I know many of us are in the Easter hatch-a-long, but a lot of us are planning or starting NOW for other April hatch dates. Everyone is welcome. Let's hear your plans, and see your April eggs, incubators, brooders, and babies!

 

[BarnyardChaos]

And since I started the thread, I get to go first.
I'll be setting another batch of eggs about March 13-15 for a target hatch date of April 5th, the "Pink Full Moon" date. I'm calling this group the "Chili" tribe. My previous hatches are "Alfredo" (26 in Feb.) and "Barbeque" (30 in March). They will be barnyard mixes from my own flock of BPR, RIR, Australorp, EE, Ameracauna, and Leghorn.

 

[kurby22]

So far, 13 have hatched and several more have pipped! Little black baby is my “just hatched” black watermaal

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

OEs are hatching. Cemani over OE hen.

 

[CastielH]

Three whites hatched so far! Still drying off but figuring out this whole "walking" business

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Yay! Here we go again...
I've loaded the two incubators an hour ago, with 42 eggs total!

This includes three extra eggs stacked on top to replace clears or quitters. Barnyard mixes all, from my own flock. Hatch date April 5th - on the "Pink Full Moon" date. This group I'm calling "Chili." They are for a few friends who want to start their own flocks. My previous hatches in Feb. ("Alfredo," 26 chicks 5 weeks old) and March ("Barbeque," 29 chicks, 1 week old) are to replace my aging-out layers and stock the freezer. They are in my basement brooder and an outdoor brooder coop and all doing great!

Anyway, here are the "Chili" eggs:

I've been keeping a log this year to record all the pertinent information, hopefully so I can learn from what I'm doing right and wrong. I track air cell growth, weights, and the time from external pip to hatch. If anyone is interested, here's a pdf of the file I made. If you would like the editable Excel file, message me with your email address and I'll send it to you.

 

[Dinoroar]

I though my march hatch was wrapped up last night but While clearing out the remaining eggs I found an April fools surprise

 

[kurby22]

Some of the second batch of beebies! I love them!

 

[Iluveggers]

A few of the new fuzzy butts:

 

[lilwanderer]

Everybody, meet Popeye!

And why not throw in his sibling: (They share the same mama, different father though i believe. )