April Hatch Thread--Come Join Us!

[PugBug]

This is BAD, and I hope DH does not keep track of the chicks- I don't think so since there are so many... but I was just adding up what chicks I have that I've hatched- only 9! 9 living chicks out of approximately $800 worth of shipped eggs! I hatched probably 20 live chicks total, but have lost all but the 9. The rest of my chicks have all been bought. That is depressing as all get out when you think of it. Actually makes me ill honestly to think of all the wasted money! Of all the eggs of set, I've only had 3 really good hatches. When I think of it I am wondering what the heck I'm still doing this for

 

[Deerling]

This is BAD, and I hope DH does not keep track of the chicks- I don't think so since there are so many... but I was just adding up what chicks I have that I've hatched- only 9! 9 living chicks out of approximately $800 worth of shipped eggs! I hatched probably 20 live chicks total, but have lost all but the 9. The rest of my chicks have all been bought. That is depressing as all get out when you think of it. Actually makes me ill honestly to think of all the wasted money! Of all the eggs of set, I've only had 3 really good hatches. When I think of it I am wondering what the heck I'm still doing this for

I'm sorry, that would be so hard! And I know what you mean about that stomach ache when you think about wasted money. What incubator do you have?

 

[hokankai]

Yikes...that IS a lot of money. Sounds like you've got yourself $100 chicks! I have a $40 roo from my last hatch. Shipped eggs, 1/13 hatched and I'm 99% sure it's a boy -_-

 

[Everlong9750]

This is BAD, and I hope DH does not keep track of the chicks- I don't think so since there are so many... but I was just adding up what chicks I have that I've hatched- only 9! 9 living chicks out of approximately $800 worth of shipped eggs! I hatched probably 20 live chicks total, but have lost all but the 9. The rest of my chicks have all been bought. That is depressing as all get out when you think of it. Actually makes me ill honestly to think of all the wasted money! Of all the eggs of set, I've only had 3 really good hatches. When I think of it I am wondering what the heck I'm still doing this for

Oh wow, that is stomach turning Are you able to hatch from your own flock instead of paying the extra for shipped eggs?

 

[Serenity Lane]

I'm thinking that this (my first time hatching in an incubator) may be my last, at least for a while. Not that it's becoming a bad experience, it's just easier and cheaper to pick up chicks once somebody else hatches them. Maybe I'll feel different when they actually hatch, I don't know.

I only began this hatching project because I wanted silkies and the only breeder I found local to me didn't respond to my emails and having live chicks shipped was too expensive or I had to buy more chicks than I wanted. I guess I kinda jumped the gun buying my eggs 2 weeks ago because I went to TSC today and, surprise surprise, they had silkies. Granted they are all white so no color variety. Still, I can't complain for $1.99 a chick. I spent $10 on my eggs plus $12.00 for shipping and as of today, day 11, I have 4 eggs developing/moving. If you add in the $50+ cost of the incubator and IF all 4 developing chicks hatch, my average cost per chick is $18+, which I suppose is not bad considering the quality of the eggs I got. I saw pictures of all of her other birds so I know these will turn out to be nice as well.

Maybe I'm a little disappointed for another reason.. Honestly, I thought my family would be more involved in this. I have a 6 almost 7 year old son who loves science and loves building things so I thought this project would be right up his alley. When we built the incubator, it was me and my boyfriend, our son, and a friend of mine. I bought everything we needed at a few different stores and I came up with the basic design after doing tons of research. My boyfriend set up the wiring so the entire bator plugs in, that feeds an outlet on the bator. One plug is on constant for the fan and the other plug is tripped on and off by the thermostat for the light/heat. My friend helped a little here and there, mostly by taking pictures so we could document "The Great Chicken Project". But who's missing from this picture? My son.. Mr lets build something cool. Apparently he abandoned the "Great Chicken Project" in our garage to go in the house and play wii games. He says he thinks its cool, it's just slow going now. I'm sure his interest will increase once some hatch. Since setting the eggs, I've been on my own. The day I set them, around noon, I had to work from 3pm to 2am. I asked my boyfriend to check the temp and humidity for me once or trice.. His answer was that he didn't want to be bothered. It's not like it was hard.. Walk up stairs to a spare bedroom and look through the glass. Long story short, all checking on them and egg turning has been done by me. I wanted this to be a project the whole family could enjoy.

 

[animaladdictions]

I forget who asked but red pepper flakes or powder in with some food will increase egg production for about 3-5 days I do like 1/2tsp to1tsp per LF bird

Also I am on day 17 today!!!!!! and I need some advice on lock down as this is my first time with an incubator....

I will/ am thinking about... moving the eggs to a still air incubator to hatch as I have goose eggs in with them that will not hatch for a few more weeks but if I do this I would like to wait as long as possible before moving them to the still air... as I do not trust it overly much

1) right now the eggs are rocked back and forth with a brinsea advanced... when do I need to turn this off... earliest and latest and pro's and con's for each

2)when should humidity be raised earliest and latest with pros and cons

3)should I just hatch them in the brinsea along with the goose eggs...
~ as I would think that the extra humidly would not effect the goose eggs as much as they should be at a higher level anyways....Right?

4) if I move the eggs to the dry air incubator what should the temp range be... and when should I move them (on day 20 or as the start to break through?).....
~and is slightly hotter or cooler temps more ok for hatching eggs.....my dry air incubator either seems to run hot or cool for the air temp like 93-100/101 or 98-104/105 which of these ranges would be the safer one to hatch with

GETTTING NERVIOUS!!!!!!!

As you've probably already realized by now, everyone has their own methods for hatching. I've been hatching for years and I'll tell you what methods I use but ultimately you should go with your gut on what you think is best in your situation.

1) Most people will tell you to stop turning on day 18 but I have found that stopping a little sooner helps to prevent backward or upside-down chicks so I stop turning on day 16. The extra two days gives the chick a little more time to get into the correct position for hatching.

2) I move my chicks (all species) to the hatcher after external pipping has occured. I run a dry incubator throughout the entire incubation period until I see the external pip. I then move the eggs to the hatcher and get the humidity up to around 70%. This is how I've always hatched chicks and it works great for me but like I said, everyone's different.

3) I personally wouldn't keep them in with the goose eggs as the higher humidity could be too much for them. Goose eggs need to lose quite a bit of weight before hatching so I'd be careful with that. If your goose eggs look like they're losing sufficient moisture already, than a couple days with higher humidity may not hurt them. My geese are very valuable and extremely difficult to hatch so I wouldn't risk it myself. As for keeping goose eggs at higher humidity levels than chickens, I don't. Like I said, I run a dry incubator throughout the entire incubation until external pipping with all species. The only time I would advise against doing this is if your humidity is extremely low (under 25%). Mine stays around 26% - 28%.

4) This one is difficult to answer. I leave temps around 99-100 for hatching. If your still air varies that much...7 degrees up or down....I don't know if I'd risk it. If the eggs are just as valuable to you as your geese than I might suggest leaving them to hatch in the same incubator as the goose eggs, however, if your goose eggs are most important to you, I might go ahead and move them to the still air and try REALLY hard to keep the temp stable. That one is going to have to be your call.

Don't get nervous. I'm sure it'll all work out okay. If not, you're not alone. We all have had unsuccessful hatches and know how it feels. We're with you!

 

[KuroKitsune]

candled a few of the eggs i got from Laurie McSparron from barn of angels in ND a few mintues ago and at first all i saw was veins but then as i stood there looking at it i noticed a dark spot...then after a second or two the dark spot wiggled around! tiny little chick moving around was so cute! today at noon i'll of had these eggs for a week and at 12:20am thursday will be a week since i put them in the bator. cant wait for the chicks to hatch!!

 

[animaladdictions]

These were taken with the cell phone so not the greatest. Little goose hatched EASTER SUNDAY! Gotta think of a good name for him...

The little call ducks were just a couple days ahead of him. My next batch of Calls is due in five days if all goes well! And a couple more dewlap babies a few days later! I just love these little buggars!!!

 

[animaladdictions]

This is BAD, and I hope DH does not keep track of the chicks- I don't think so since there are so many... but I was just adding up what chicks I have that I've hatched- only 9! 9 living chicks out of approximately $800 worth of shipped eggs! I hatched probably 20 live chicks total, but have lost all but the 9. The rest of my chicks have all been bought. That is depressing as all get out when you think of it. Actually makes me ill honestly to think of all the wasted money! Of all the eggs of set, I've only had 3 really good hatches. When I think of it I am wondering what the heck I'm still doing this for

Oh dear...you sound like me when I started buying shipped eggs! I learned the hard way, it saves a LOT of money in the long run just to go ahead and spend that fortune on live chicks. If it all goes smoothly you can save a ton buying hatching eggs but with me it didn't work out that way at all. I spent a small fortune just trying to get my flock established (money we didn't really have)...then there's the food, and the building supplies, and the medications, and the bedding materials, and the....it NEVER ENDS!!!! I think if I had all that money back, I'd be a wealthy woman! Whoever said raising birds was inexpensive was ummmm WRONG! They are worth it though. They bring so much joy to my life!

 

[Brookhavens]

This is BAD, and I hope DH does not keep track of the chicks- I don't think so since there are so many... but I was just adding up what chicks I have that I've hatched- only 9! 9 living chicks out of approximately $800 worth of shipped eggs! I hatched probably 20 live chicks total, but have lost all but the 9. The rest of my chicks have all been bought. That is depressing as all get out when you think of it. Actually makes me ill honestly to think of all the wasted money! Of all the eggs of set, I've only had 3 really good hatches. When I think of it I am wondering what the heck I'm still doing this for

They say your first chick costs you $1000 (eggs, feed, coop, meds,etc.) Think of it this way and it might make you feel better: If you had another hobby you would probably spend just as much. Have you checked craigslist for eggs? Why not join in on one of the swap threads on here. I've been getting some very nice/rarer eggs for a lot less than buying a dozen or so outright.