April Hatch Along

[spruce creek]

The eggs are in!! The count down is on,I couldn't quite wait 48 hours for the incubator to even out, so hopefully the temp. holds true, my oldest egg was 8 days old so I wanted to get them in, and they look a little pourus unfortunately but I made sure my hands were clean and tried not to touch the eggs at all!! So excited and hopeful for this hatch! Ended up with 11, my little hen wasn't giving up that 12th egg. I've got my eye on her but haven't found where she is laying yet. Little sneak! Oh well maybe she will hatch some on her own!?

 

[RoseViewFarm]

The eggs are in!! The count down is on,I couldn't quite wait 48 hours for the incubator to even out, so hopefully the temp. holds true, my oldest egg was 8 days old so I wanted to get them in, and they look a little pourus unfortunately but I made sure my hands were clean and tried not to touch the eggs at all!! So excited and hopeful for this hatch! Ended up with 11, my little hen wasn't giving up that 12th egg. I've got my eye on her but haven't found where she is laying yet. Little sneak! Oh well maybe she will hatch some on her own!?  

We are countdown buddies! I set mine at 11:45a. I will need to put them in the new turner when it arrives, but other than that they are set and the countdown has begun!

so sorry for you. That's irritating and sad.

Thank you. Luckily the seller is being more than accommodating and is just as frustrated as me. Looks like I'll be in the May Hatch-along too! And since the bator will be going and I've got time, I guess it'll have to be full!

 

[slantrhymes]

I set 8 bantam Cochin eggs on Sunday morning after losing both Cochin eggs from the last batch before lockdown. The first chickens I ever raised were beautiful sweet LF Cochins, and I want one for my flock. Hopefully one of these eggs makes it!

 

[slantrhymes]

There is one other that has a much less pronounced bulge, but a bulge nonetheless. I'm wondering if they are both from the same hen.

They will go in and we will hope for the best!!

Could be. Sometimes hens at the beginning or end of their laying cycle have weird "quirks" in their eggs as the oviduct is starting up or winding down. Alternately, if the flock as a whole doesn't have a balanced diet, there are specific shell deformities that can arise from that across multiple hens.

Who knows? Good luck to the bulgy eggs!

 

[MaggieMay'sMom]

Ok, first time hatching/incubating anything.

I'm so excited and happy that this April Hatch Along tread was started.


I set 18 BR and Choc Turkey eggs last night 4/10 ( Does that mean I start counting today at 8pm? Day 1?)



The BR jake ( they will be 1yr on the 18th) is the only one mating at this time. I guess that makes him the boss.

I'm using a Brinsea Octagon 20 advanced incubator.


I'm wishing I had bought the 40

.

Temp is at 99.5 and humidity is 43% with the vent half opened (per Brinsea instructions.) I'm at 4400 elevation.

Should I close the vent for a few days to get higher humidity?

I've read so much info my head is spinning.

I candled but could not see the air sacks?

I will try to wait and candle again at day 7.

I'm not expecting much as not all my hens (4) are sitting. I will be happy with a few turkeys and consider this a trial run.

 

[WVduckchick]

Ok, first time hatching/incubating anything.

I'm so excited and happy that this April Hatch Along tread was started.


I set 18 BR and Choc Turkey eggs last night 4/10 ( Does that mean I start counting today at 8pm? Day 1?)



The BR jake ( they will be 1yr on the 18th) is the only one mating at this time. I guess that makes him the boss.

I'm using a Brinsea Octagon 20 advanced incubator.


I'm wishing I had bought the 40

.

Temp is at 99.5 and humidity is 43% with the vent half opened (per Brinsea instructions.) I'm at 4400 elevation.

Should I close the vent for a few days to get higher humidity?

I've read so much info my head is spinning.

I candled but could not see the air sacks?

I will try to wait and candle again at day 7.

I'm not expecting much as not all my hens (4) are sitting. I will be happy with a few turkeys and consider this a trial run.

Wow! Gorgeous birds! Welcome!!

Being at higher elevation, I'd say your plan is good. I keep my vents completely open all the time, but have you researched high-elevation hatching? It can be a little more tricky than us low-landers. lol

The humidity can be difficult to keep up in the Octagon 20 if you don't have the pump, depending on your local humidity. For lockdown, you will likely need help, so if you have a thick paper towel (like the Viva brand), or I use a piece of all-cotton craft quilt batting... anything thick that will wick, but hold some of the water.... drape it across the bottom, down through the wells, and up the other side, under the basket. That will help keep humidity up.

And good luck! Please keep us posted.

 

[MaggieMay'sMom]

Wow! Gorgeous birds! Welcome!!

Being at higher elevation, I'd say your plan is good. I keep my vents completely open all the time, but have you researched high-elevation hatching? It can be a little more tricky than us low-landers. lol

The humidity can be difficult to keep up in the Octagon 20 if you don't have the pump, depending on your local humidity. For lockdown, you will likely need help, so if you have a thick paper towel (like the Viva brand), or I use a piece of all-cotton craft quilt batting... anything thick that will wick, but hold some of the water.... drape it across the bottom, down through the wells, and up the other side, under the basket. That will help keep humidity up.

And good luck! Please keep us posted.

Thanks for the welcome WVduckchick!

My room humidity is only 40%.

I have done a little research on high elevation hatching, I do plan on adding some fabric for lock-down. Quilt batting sounds perfect. Thanks

I did not buy the pump. I may rethink that.

 

[MaggieMay'sMom]

So this web-site http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/2908/incubating-eggs-at-high-altitudes/

does not consider anything under 4921 high altitude?

This link was from Sally Sunshine's great incubating tread.
What Things are Different at Altitude?

Air always contains about 21 per cent oxygen but at high altitudes (1,500 metres, 4,921 feet, or more above sea level) the air pressure decreases - put simply, there is less air. Less air means there are fewer molecules bumping into each other so all the molecules move around faster. Thus, gases can move through the pores in the eggshell more easily (Table 1). This only partially offsets the shortage of oxygen at high altitudes but it results in eggs losing carbon dioxide and water faster than they would at sea level. The extra loss of carbon dioxide does not appear to affect the embryo.



I guess I will have to experiment.

 

[Kyanite]

So this web-site http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/2908/incubating-eggs-at-high-altitudes/

does not consider anything under 4921 high altitude?

This link was from Sally Sunshine's great incubating tread.
What Things are Different at Altitude?

Air always contains about 21 per cent oxygen but at high altitudes (1,500 metres, 4,921 feet, or more above sea level) the air pressure decreases - put simply, there is less air. Less air means there are fewer molecules bumping into each other so all the molecules move around faster. Thus, gases can move through the pores in the eggshell more easily (Table 1). This only partially offsets the shortage of oxygen at high altitudes but it results in eggs losing carbon dioxide and water faster than they would at sea level. The extra loss of carbon dioxide does not appear to affect the embryo.



I guess I will have to experiment.

Wow, this is new to my. I'm hatching for my first time and live at 6,000 ft. Our ambient humidity had been high due to a lot of rain and melting snow, but the last week things have dried out some and this time when I candled my eggs, I think the cells are too big. I have all the troughs in my incubator filled with water and am barely holding 35-37% humidity. Time to put the plug in I guess.

Last night was the beginning of day 10. I candled all the eggs. I think my air cells have grown too large as mentioned above. But, I saw LOTS of one chick dance parties going on in there. HOW COOL!!! One SFH and one CCL looked to be decent development but I saw no movement so I put a ? on them. 4/5 of the FBCM are too dark to see a stinking thing even in a pitch black room. One I can just see a dark blob on one side of the egg. I can see the air cells... kinda. I'll take the, if they don't stink, they fine, approach with them! lol

 

[MontainBourbons]

My bourbon red turkey hatch is starting. We were just checking for internal pips for the heck of it. 1 and a half days early though, should still be good right?