April Hatch Along

[WVduckchick]

39 Bourbon Red turkey eggs in lockdown. Hope I get a lot of birds. They are so much better as chicks than chickens. They are so much more curious and playful. Chicken chicks are fun, but I believe turkey poults are better.

Best of luck! Can't wait to see them. Poults sure are adorable and personable!

I have ten eggs collected and ready to go into the incubator but was hoping to get 12, well my biggest girl seems to have stopped laying, and looks like she might be starting to molt, and my little hen that lays great has taken to hiding her eggs and trying to make nests in the woods, or the wood shed, or where ever else she can! Not sure if she is going broody or just upset by the ravens that are curious about the coop. :-( But the incubator is on!! So 10 or 12 by Tuesday they are going in!! Trying to give the incubator 48 hours but it's hard to wait, especially if there is no eggs to collect!!!

Are you sure the biggest girl isn't trying to go broody?

Good luck getting as many eggs as you want. Is this your first hatch?

P.S. -- I know its recommended, but I never warm up an incubator that long. I have even set them, and then turned it on.

Hi all may I join.
Just put in bought eggs from breeders on Thursday the 6.
This is my most important and expensive hatch. I am changing breeds. Going fom Partridge Rocks to Ameraucanas.
This hatch is all bought from local breeder and hatchery. One dozen Black Copper Marens, one dozen Blue and black Ameraucanas and one dozen barnyard for the heck of it. LoL
I don't have a rooster any more so none of my hens are fertile. This is why I bought eggs and one reason I am changing breeds.
Good luck on hatches all. Lots invested aell around.

Nice!! Good luck with changing breeds, you've picked some nice ones. Changing seems to equal adding, without subtracting, for me.

 

[spruce creek]

Well, 10 or 12, it's still going to be great to have you along with us! What breeds are your chickens?

Not sure on breeds. They were given to me by a neighbour in the fall, the are mixed though, my little hen we believe is a cross between a production red and a bantam? and my big hen, well she is big and black, maybe I'll post a pic of them on here and see if anyone can tell what breed they are!? I haven't been able to yet.

 

[spruce creek]

Best of luck! Can't wait to see them. Poults sure are adorable and personable!

Are you sure the biggest girl isn't trying to go broody?

Good luck getting as many eggs as you want. Is this your first hatch?

P.S. -- I know its recommended, but I never warm up an incubator that long. I have even set them, and then turned it on.

Nice!! Good luck with changing breeds, you've picked some nice ones. Changing seems to equal adding, without subtracting, for me.

It's my second attempt at a hatch, our first one was a fail unfortunately. We live in a humid place and I followed instructions on the incubator to keep humidity at 50% and think we drowned them, it was an awful heart breaking learning experience. Hoping this one goes better!!! My humidity is holding at 30% with no water added, so hoping that will make a difference. Temp. seems to be keeping at 99.5. I might put them in today,lol. I don't know if I can wait another day! My biggest hen is losing more feathers than usual so I thought she might be starting to melt, and isn't laying everyday. But my little red is just trying to hide hers so I thought she might be going broody. I went out of town not to long ago and left my chickens in the care of my in-laws, when I came back it took a few days to figure out that she had a nest in the woods with 9 eggs in it. they were soaked so I got rid of them and she went back to lying in her box for a few days, then started trying to lay in new places again. She's a sneaky one!

 

[Dyeworthy]

I have overdue eggs, I may have killed them. I water candled them today, they are all low floaters, with only the fat end out of the water. I'm hoping that is a good sign.

 

[spruce creek]

39 Bourbon Red turkey eggs in lockdown. Hope I get a lot of birds. They are so much better as chicks than chickens. They are so much more curious and playful. Chicken chicks are fun, but I believe turkey poults are better.

Good luck with your hatch! Thats a lot of turkeys! I raised 36 wild turkeys a couple of years ago but have never hatched them. We got them as day old poults and they were great! They would fly up and roost in a big spruce tree beside our house at night! It was quite a sight to see them all taking off!

 

[spruce creek]

I have overdue eggs, I may have killed them. I water candled them today, they are all low floaters, with only the fat end out of the water. I'm hoping that is a good sign.

How overdue are they?

 

[WVduckchick]

It's my second attempt at a hatch, our first one was a fail unfortunately. We live in a humid place and I followed instructions on the incubator to keep humidity at 50% and think we drowned them, it was an awful heart breaking learning experience. Hoping this one goes better!!! My humidity is holding at 30% with no water added, so hoping that will make a difference. Temp. seems to be keeping at 99.5. I might put them in today,lol. I don't know if I can wait another day! My biggest hen is losing more feathers than usual so I thought she might be starting to melt, and isn't laying everyday. But my little red is just trying to hide hers so I thought she might be going broody. I went out of town not to long ago and left my chickens in the care of my in-laws, when I came back it took a few days to figure out that she had a nest in the woods with 9 eggs in it. they were soaked so I got rid of them and she went back to lying in her box for a few days, then started trying to lay in new places again. She's a sneaky one!

Ah, I see. Its very humid here also, and no water keeps me around 30% also, and works well. Hope it works for you too!
And yes, those hens can be sneaky little boogers! lol

I have overdue eggs, I may have killed them. I water candled them today, they are all low floaters, with only the fat end out of the water. I'm hoping that is a good sign.

Floating doesn't really tell you anything, except that the air cell is big enough to float the egg. When water candling, you need to watch for them to wiggle in the water. That will tell you they are alive!

Doing nothing does NOT prove they are dead though. They can rest and not move. Even sinking doesn't prove they are dead.

 

[Dyeworthy]

...

I have overdue eggs, I may have killed them. I water candled them today, they are all low floaters, with only the fat end out of the water. I'm hoping that is a sign

How overdue are they? 

Ten days

 

[spruce creek]

Ah, I see. Its very humid here also, and no water keeps me around 30% also, and works well. Hope it works for you too!
And yes, those hens can be sneaky little boogers! lol



Floating doesn't really tell you anything, except that the air cell is big enough to float the egg. When water candling, you need to watch for them to wiggle in the water. That will tell you they are alive!

Doing nothing does NOT prove they are dead though. They can rest and not move. Even sinking doesn't prove they are dead.

I read on here to leave the red ventilation plugs out from the beginning unless you need to adjust temp. in the first 18 days. Last time I left them in until day 18, any thoughts on this? I am using a forced air little giant incubator. I was thinking leaving them out would help with the humidity levels too.

 

[WVduckchick]

Ten days

TEN days OVERDUE? I'm sorry, I think they are goners.

I read on here to leave the red ventilation plugs out from the beginning unless you need to adjust temp. in the first 18 days. Last time I left them in until day 18, any thoughts on this? I am using a forced air little giant incubator. I was thinking leaving them out would help with the humidity levels too.

Just my 2 cents, but I never close any vents. Ventilation and air exchange is an important part of hatching that often gets ignored. The egg cannot lose moisture and the chick can't develop and grow in a totally sealed environment. I actually poked more holes in my Styrofoam hatcher (mainly for adding water, but also for extra ventilation), and I do sometimes stick a paper towel in those extra holes if I am fighting humidity in the winter time, but I try to keep them open when possible.