April Hatch Along

[South OH Chicks]

I downloaded the hatchabatch app pretty neat.

 

[Calichicken2015]

So happy to see an April Hatch Along! First time incubating chicken eggs. Starting out with 6 Speckled Sussex, 6 Heritage Barred Plymouth Rocks, 3 Wyandotte (assortment). 15 eggs total. They are shipped eggs so trying not to get my hopes up. The box arrived a bit damaged and I'm anxious that they were scrambled even tho intact.

Set them on April 1st. Left them upright for the first 48 ours and hand turned to hopefully re-attach the air cells. We candled and weighed them before they went into the incubator, but honestly I don't know what we were looking for. Tried to find the air cell, but it was unclear on most of them.

Using a new Incuview and took at bit to stabilize the temps - found out I needed to lower the ambient room temperature setting on the unit. We don't heat our house over 70. It usually hovers @ 68. It's been working like a champ since I adjusted it.

Excited to candle this weekend (maybe Monday?). I can't decide if I should candle at day 7 or wait till day 10.... I've read conflicting things on that.

Anyhoo...happy to be here and follow along with everyone's journey. (now to go catch up on my reading)

Welcome and good luck!!! I usually candle by day 7.....or...sooner

LOL! I am not very patient

Can't find my other post. Someone asked me about my humidity. Up till now it's hovered between 48 and 52, usually right around 50.I just added a bit of water to a couple of channels trying to get the humidity up some. Temp hovers right at 99.5 sometimes tipping toward 100 but goes right back down. Never below 99 except when I had opened the lid to get some for candling. I thought Saturday would be the 21st day but since I began them on a Sunday 3 weeks ago, I guess Sunday is our target hatch day. This is my first ever hatch and I'm like a kid waiting on Christmas! Just came home from work and found 1 with a pip hole!

YAY! Waiting to see baby pics

So what is an estimated hatch time from first pip hole? Is that the right term? Or peep hole? I'm gonna be like those folks that kept watching the giraffe not give birth hahaha

I am watching that giraffe too!!!! I started watching I think a month ago expecting it was ANY day now..now I think we have started watching since conception

LOL!!!

Oh my. We have a baby Bielefelder and it's a girl!!! When I think about the poor condition of the packaging, the terrible air cells, how they traveled half way across the country, and how they really all just looked like a terrible mess at the first candling (I really scored myself a zero hatch rate and kept three in the bator on the slimmest chance those awful blood ring looking veins might produce something) this little baby is a huge miracle!!

CONGRATS!!!!

 

[Calichicken2015]

I downloaded the hatchabatch app pretty neat.

Sounds fun!!! May have to check it out!!!!

 

[Calichicken2015]

I..I have a pip! She's talking to me! She is, however, malpositioned (shipped eggs, abandonment by broody...I was expecting this). The membrane still looks moist and she's moving and peeping up a storm, so I'm...umm... some people say to just observe for a while? Should I do that? I don't want to intervene too early and hurt my first ever baby!

Give her some time. Watch the membrane for browning. It should stay paper white to wet grayish. Not tan or brown.

And remember, since she didn't use the air cell, she may take longer. Patience is tough, but trust me, you don't want her out of there before that yolk is absorbed.

Good advice here!!! It is so hard to be patient and not worry...but hatching is a process and they need that time

 

[Cerise1924]

Hi! I am a newbie, and I'm SO EXCITED! My husband used to raise chickens, but being born and raised in the city, I never had that experience. We retired and moved back to hubbys hometown and now we have begun our adventure! We put 8 Leiper Hatch shipped eggs on lockdown Wednesday, and 3 have hatched. They are so precious! I've read that we should leave the babies in the incubator temporarily, but for how long? We did not candle them, but these three came out like gangbusters. A couple more have pipped.....what do we do now? I am wearing out the floor to the 'nursery', looking through the incubator window. Help!

Congratulations, and welcome! What a wonderful beginning to your adventure in chicken-keeping.

The traditional advice is to keep them in the incubator until they dry off. They can go without food and water for a day or two, as they are living off energy absorbed from the yolk. Also, chicks stumbling around and peeping can encourage the others to hatch out. There's also a concern that if you open the incubator to take chicks out, the humidity can drop rapidly and that can endanger other chicks who have pipped.

However...
I tend to find the humidity gets very high with hatched chicks in there, and that makes it impossible for my chicks to dry off in the incubator. I make sure that I have a brooder all ready and set at 95 degrees, and then I will quickly and carefully scoop out the first chicks and bring them to the brooder. Sometimes, I might place in a warm, damp paper towel in the incubator at the same time I take the babies out, if I have concerns about humidity dropping.

It's an individual choice, but I like taking the chicks out.

 

[Calichicken2015]

Ok, I need votes....

I loaded my bator about 48 hours ago with Serama and SDW OEGB eggs. Today, I sold a couple of Serama cockerels, and the guy gave me 4 eggs from his girls. I definitely want to set these eggs, but I don't have space for them.

My choices:
1. Toss 4 eggs that are already set, and put these 4 in.
2. Wait a couple days to be able to check development on the current ones, pull any clears, and add these 4.
3. Put these 4 in the other incubator until I pull clears from the full one.

I don't really want to fire up the other bator, but I guess for a few days, that's probably my best option, to not make these any more behind, developmentally.

FIRE IT UP!!!!!

LOL....Sorry, I am NO HELP if you are trying to limit your hatching

And it's only for a FEW days....unless the opportunity for more eggs comes along...RIGHT????

 

[WVduckchick]

Hi! I am a newbie, and I'm SO EXCITED! My husband used to raise chickens, but being born and raised in the city, I never had that experience. We retired and moved back to hubbys hometown and now we have begun our adventure! We put 8 Leiper Hatch shipped eggs on lockdown Wednesday, and 3 have hatched. They are so precious! I've read that we should leave the babies in the incubator temporarily, but for how long? We did not candle them, but these three came out like gangbusters. A couple more have pipped.....what do we do now? I am wearing out the floor to the 'nursery', looking through the incubator window. Help!

I grew up a city girl too, hubby in the country. I'm sooo glad I converted!

Good luck with the rest of the nursery babies! Post some pics too please. I'll have to google that breed, I'm not familiar with it.

I downloaded the hatchabatch app pretty neat.

I've heard that the app starts on day 1 instead of waiting 24 hours first. Unless they updated it, you may want to wait 24 hours before starting the app

Good advice here!!! It is so hard to be patient and not worry...but hatching is a process and they need that time

Thanks!

Congratulations, and welcome!  What a wonderful beginning to your adventure in chicken-keeping. 

The traditional advice is to keep them in the incubator until they dry off. They can go without food and water for a day or two, as they are living off energy absorbed from the yolk. Also, chicks stumbling around and peeping can encourage the others to hatch out. There's also a concern that if you open the incubator to take chicks out, the humidity can drop rapidly and that can endanger other chicks who have pipped.

However...
I tend to find the humidity gets very high with hatched chicks in there, and that makes it impossible for my chicks to dry off in the incubator.  I make sure that I have a brooder all ready and set at 95 degrees, and then I will quickly and carefully scoop out the first chicks and bring them to the brooder. Sometimes, I might place in a warm, damp paper towel in the incubator at the same time I take the babies out, if I have concerns about humidity dropping.

It's an individual choice, but I like taking the chicks out.  

I'm with you. I take them out when there is a break in the action. Humans can live 3 days without water too, but would you want to??

 

[Calichicken2015]

Hi! I am a newbie, and I'm SO EXCITED! My husband used to raise chickens, but being born and raised in the city, I never had that experience. We retired and moved back to hubbys hometown and now we have begun our adventure! We put 8 Leiper Hatch shipped eggs on lockdown Wednesday, and 3 have hatched. They are so precious! I've read that we should leave the babies in the incubator temporarily, but for how long? We did not candle them, but these three came out like gangbusters. A couple more have pipped.....what do we do now? I am wearing out the floor to the 'nursery', looking through the incubator window. Help!

Hi There!!!! CONGRATS!!! And I suspect you will not be sleeping much tonight..LOL!!!! I usually leave my newly hatched babies in the incubator until they dry a little and are rested up from the bid ordeal of hatching

They also lean, roll and peep at the other eggs in there....encouraging them to hatch. Once they are standing up and totting around a lot a scoop them out quickly! Post pics when you get a chance

 

[PeepsInCarolina]

Thanks everyone for your help! I am already totally smitten with my new babies!

 

[mich9510]

I decided to upgrade my incubator to a hovabator genesis. OMG what a differences! I thought my LG was ok. And it is but now I have the genesis with the automatic egg turner and I loooooove it.
The only problem is that it only holds 42 eggs with the Turner in it. I'm using my LG for the other 11.
When I candle on day 4 i will toss the non-developing ones which will make room.