April Hatch Thread--Come Join Us!

[Mtn Margie]

Yeah Barnyard Mixes! I don't know that I will ever try shipped eggs. I think our elevation, plus shipping would be quite a challenge; something that I need more experience for anyway. For now, I will stick with the home grown eggs.

 

[annabell254]

I moved my broody Squeak today and OMG!!! you would have thought I was breaking the girl in half or something worse by how loud she was screaming. She could have scared a dinosaur. At first it was just the "I'm not happy about this."

squawks but when I went to put her in her new nest box it turned to "HE'S TRYING TO KILLING ME!!!!" screams.

It literally made my hair stand on end. This wasn't the cluck-cIuck-cluck-kiiing mad hen either she was convinced her life was about to end. Poor silly little girl. I may have to rename her after this. LOL
Then she wouldn't sit on her eggs for like an hour but now she has settled in. I'll leave her be for the rest of today.
Another silly happening with my broodies today was Cornelia got off her eggs for only 2minutes to stretch her legs but she has to have some nasty cramps cuz she gets off walks about 4 steps tries to stand up strait and just stops like half way up. Then in extra slow motion she sinks right back down to her belly. Then that was it. She turned around and waddled like a duck back to her eggs. It made me laugh. You gotta love the everyday suprises of raising animals.

I love broodies... have three right now and just got in from exchanging eggs.... the dummies she was on for some goose eggs..... she was peeved to say the least, but she is a good girl and I did not loose any fingers! some go mental on you for even thinking about looking at their eggs!

and try to MOVE them! HA! I creep in, in the middle of the night....and then worry for the rest of the night that the screams of terror from my hen will draw the cyoties!!! but they do stay put on their eggs.... most of the time!

 

[whitetail98]

Hey I have 18 blk astrolopes and 13 americanas incubating right now. The astrolopes are due to hatch this Saturday and some are already shaking and peeping! The americanas are due next wk. I will post pics as they all hatch!

 

[Irishgirl]

I love broodies... have three right now and just got in from exchanging eggs.... the dummies she was on for some goose eggs..... she was peeved to say the least, but she is a good girl and I did not loose any fingers! some go mental on you for even thinking about looking at their eggs!

and try to MOVE them! HA! I creep in, in the middle of the night....and then worry for the rest of the night that the screams of terror from my hen will draw the cyoties!!! but they do stay put on their eggs.... most of the time!

I don't have any broodies yet, but I'm totally looking forward to it! I'd much rather have the hen hatch the eggs than stick them in the 'bator.

"Screams of terror"

 

[Arkansas81]

Anna-you and i sound the same! we like the same ideas...MORE IS BETTER-NEVER CAN HAVE ENOUGH

. I already have a pure basque hen and rooster-I've almost convinced myself that I need to make a pure pen for them too. I just am trying not to have to many at one time. the basque is a very rare Spanish breed and I don't know how we even ended up with them...the hatchery we got ours from doesn't even advertise them, they were supposed to be red production-the best layer breeds. as soon as the rooster started to develop (Emmett) I knew we had something I'd never seen before so I started researching and low and behold I got me a real winner!!

there is a thread on here about them but from what I've been seeing the breed is very rare in the u.s. so I am assuming that it is going to be very hard to find any chicks/hens to put with them. I am to scared to set shipped eggs-I want to get more experience under my belt before I spend a fortune..so I decided to invest in quality chicks, which hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I've found some really good quality breeders in my back door...so I guess I'm pretty lucky.

the hatchery I got my first birds from sells a really rare Egyptian breed that me and my daughter just loves...kinda looks like a peacock. the hen and rooster are just glorious but then that means I will have to build yet another pen...deal with maybe having more roosters than I need, trying to get enough hens that will be worth the trouble. BUT I really wouldn't mind in doing all that but I know it will just have to be put on the list for now.

I'm setting my mixed flock eggs tomorrow...I have a still air bator and what I did was take out both plugs and put in a hot wet washcloth. my temp is holding steady between 95-100 degrees, and my humidity is 40-50% which I would like to hold my humidity right around 40% this time around. last time I held my temp right at 100 and humidity 20-35%, then upped it to 70-80% for lock-down. all my eggs (43) made it to lock-down, every single one were fertile and thriving...but then quit sometime 18-25 day lock-down. so I'm thinking that if I up my humidity a tiny bit for 1-17 days of incubation then maybe my chicks won't be so big and won't have such a hard hatching.

HOW DO I MAKE A HATCHER?

 

[TheCrazyChick]

I have a Black Copper Marans that I think is trying to be broody the last few days. She is mental, to say the least. Hasn't laid in 3 days (VERY uncharacteristic of her!) and spending hours and hours in a nest box. Hisses at me when I try to check under her. Today though she ran downstairs with the rest of them when I went out to take the Winter Deep Litter out and exchange for fresh pine shavings. So far she hasn't gone back. Was kinda hoping I could stick a few eggs under and see what she'd do, but obviously not trustworthy yet! Dang!

I'm building a broody box just in case she decides to get serious again.

 

[annabell254]

ok, so I candeled my goose eggs just now...today is day 14.... two had stoped devoloping

(tossed them), two had crazy air sacks

( a circle in the middle at the fat end where it should be and then an ovel off to one side, all connected so it looks like a fat L)! (left them) two looked great

and one .... I swear I could not find an air sack at ALL

!?!? but something looked to be devoloping! (I have a very weak light so I cannot see much) I did leave this one as well... all 5 went under a broody Sussex who accepted and could cover them all... I plan to mist them once a day when she gets off to feed......

so do you think the crazy air sack eggs have a chance??? and what is up with the no air sack... could I just be missing it...could it maybe just be moving around?

I know I heard talk of this before but I spaced on it... sorry and need a refreasher coarse

 

[Jerome 123]

We set egg the 29th.The incubator holds 50 emu eggs

.first time using this bator

 

[Arkansas81]

anna-i would leave everything alone till lockdown. I thought I saw 2 that had blood rings but decided to keep them in just in case...they hatched. so I would not give hope on them till lockdown. when and if you do a lockdown in a bator do a sniff and look really good for any and all development, if it is really hard to see in the eggs-all you see is black mass then there is a chick in there. if the eggs actually glows then toss...if you put a bad egg in the bator and it starts to rot during lockdown then you can harm all your hatch with bacteria.

the only way I could see anything decent in my eggs from day 14 on is that I put the egg fat end on the light-where the air sac should be and kinda held it to the side-then I could see the chick. so to see the difference and to know what you are looking for look for the air sac-it will glow, if your eggs glow toss them before lockdown. black dark mass then you have a winner!!

 

[Mtn Margie]

We set egg the 29th.The incubator holds 50 emu eggs

.first time using this bator

What 'bator? And what do you do with all your emus?