April Hatch Thread--Come Join Us!

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

 

[Arkansas81]

Well I candled another 12 tonight all are doing very well, so got 48 cooking away!!! Can't wait to see how many hatch...

 

[KuroKitsune]

theres one baby chick out of its egg in the bator! all the sudden i thought i heard peeping and yep! little tiny chick moving around in there! so excited cant wait for more!!

 

[KuroKitsune]

the first baby button quail chick!!

 

[lawatt]

my goodness: my broody Basque is on day 14 of her nest, and the SPPR that followed her is on day 6, still both hunkered down & determined -- and now two ADDITIONAL girls have gone broody, the two of them both crammed into a single nestbox next to the other two, and sitting on two fake eggs between them.

my only question here is, is there any worry with any of the broodies "stealing" the chicks from the first two once they hatch? i.e. if i start the new two on some eggs, will they stick with them or will they try to short-cut to being moms once the first two clutches hatch?

thanks! delighted with all the springtime incubation going on!

 

[NinetreesMom]

Our first broody hen, Marshmallow (a Coronation Sussex) is sitting on 3 Light Sussex and 1 Buff Orpington egg. This is my first attempt at hatching, and her first time being broody, so we will see! So far (day 7) she is doing great. Hope she keeps it up and we get some cheepers!

 

[Member 151789]

Ok, I have a question. I am going to dry hatch, so this means no humidity at all until 18 days. When I hear peeping, I am supposed to stuff paper towels in the water wells and fill them with water to insure the chick not being glued to the shell. My question is, aren't you NOT supposed to open the bator lid for the last 3-5 days of hatching? How will this work? I will post the link to this information regarding the humidity tomorrow when I'm not on my iPad.

Thanks!
Caohorse

 

[Bitterroot]

Ok, I have a question. I am going to dry hatch, so this means no humidity at all until 18 days. When I hear peeping, I am supposed to stuff paper towels in the water wells and fill them with water to insure the chick not being glued to the shell. My question is, aren't you NOT supposed to open the bator lid for the last 3-5 days of hatching? How will this work? I will post the link to this information regarding the humidity tomorrow when I'm not on my iPad.

Thanks!
Caohorse

Not necessarily. I think anything under 30% is considered dry. Exactly how much you need for your hatch will depend on a lot of things. Sorry I'm being vague here, I'm a newbie myself and don't want to give you some inadvertently erroneous advice. I checked my eggs' progress via weight rather than drawing air cells, and my humidity needed to maintain the right weight loss was 20-30%.

When you get to day 18, lay them down on their sides if they're not already, fill up your water wells, and add a sponge if you need to. Close and try not to open again. If you don't have eggs in there yet, I'd give the bator a "dry" run to see what sort of humidity you get filling each well, and then the ones all together. That'll give you an idea of what to expect when the time comes.

 

[LBKS]

Lockdown begins today (so that no early hatchers get shrink wrapped while I'm at work). So excited! Looks like I can maintain a 65 percent humidity with both plugs out, so should be fine to go for today. It helps that we just got rain - so humidity should be easier to keep high too.

I guess I better go back to bed and pretend I'm a broody on my eggs to fall asleep It wouldn't do to go to bed early because I stayed up all night - then miss the actual progress!

 

[LONDON HENS]

What are yours?

They are crested cream legbars x welsummers.