Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

@BlueBaby No hatching here but will be cheering you on! I have had good results with my black aussies except they go broody 2 to 3 times a year! Maybe I'd be interested in some of those splash babies but I expect I'll soon have one going broody within the next month or so.
@ejcrist Congratulations! How exciting baby chicks!
@DesertChic Sometimes ya gotta break the "rules"!!

I still have some Blue ones left over from my Oct. 20th hatch (4 boys, 2 girls), if you would be interested in adding more of the colors to your Australorp flock. The Blues bred to the Blacks will throw off chicks %50 Black, and 50% blues. That also helps the future Blue chicks develop better lacing on the feathers. Out of my next hatch of only 6 eggs, any Splash pullets are already spoken for, so only the Splash cockerels would still be available. I might sell you some hatching eggs that some would hatch out as the Splash for your broody.

 

[BlueBaby]

Quick question: when chicks start hatching in your incubator, you're supposed to wait till they all hatch before removing them unless they've been in there for 24 hours already, correct?

Here's our first hatchling from about an hour ago:

We were hearing strange noises that woke us up this morning so we checked around and found out we're grandparents again for the 287th time. It's pretty cool. Now I can't get back to sleep.

I take mine out and put them in the brooder when they start getting too active in moving around, when they start shoving the other eggs around and walking over the other chicks still trying to hatch out.

 

[ejcrist]

Thanks everyone for all the info. Me and my wife have been reading your replies during breaks from sitting in front of the hatcher. Gosh, this is more addicting than crack. I see how easy it is to get glued to the incubator/hatcher. I used to wonder what all the fuss was about when people talked about the joy of hatching eggs but now I know. It's one of the coolest things I've ever done.

In case anyone who hasn't incubated their own eggs is thinking about doing it, here's what we did. We collected eggs from our 25 layers over a 3-day period and put 42 in the incubator (Sportsman 1502). I followed the directions and left the factory setting of 100F on the incubator, and added one small sponge to the water pan to get the humidity to about 48% average. We only have one cock in the coop/run with the layers so I was guessing about 1/3 of the eggs were fertile. Not sure how everyone else does it but we didn't candle the eggs till day 18 when I transferred them to the hatcher because I was more concerned with keeping everything sanitary than seeing what was going on. When I candled I found out 22 eggs contained chicks and it was tough to see anything in those eggs though the Ovascope. I did all the candling in about 20 minutes because I was worried about keeping the eggs out too long. The non-fertile eggs were easy to spot - totally clear. After I transferred the fertile eggs to the hatcher I set the temperature to 99F and added a large sponge to get the humidity up to 60%-65%. Then, miraculously we saw the first pip on the afternoon of day 19. And then this morning everything started happening. So far we have 6 hatched and all but 2 are pipped so everything seems to be working out good. It's really a fascinating thing to watch nature in action like that. If anyone reading this hasn't hatched your own yet, I highly recommend it. It's one of the coolest things you'll ever do.

 

[BlueBaby]

Thanks everyone for all the info. Me and my wife have been reading your replies during breaks from sitting in front of the hatcher. Gosh, this is more addicting than crack. I see how easy it is to get glued to the incubator/hatcher. I used to wonder what all the fuss was about when people talked about the joy of hatching eggs but now I know. It's one of the coolest things I've ever done.

In case anyone who hasn't incubated their own eggs is thinking about doing it, here's what we did. We collected eggs from our 25 layers over a 3-day period and put 42 in the incubator (Sportsman 1502). I followed the directions and left the factory setting of 100F on the incubator, and added one small sponge to the water pan to get the humidity to about 48% average. We only have one cock in the coop/run with the layers so I was guessing about 1/3 of the eggs were fertile. Not sure how everyone else does it but we didn't candle the eggs till day 18 when I transferred them to the hatcher because I was more concerned with keeping everything sanitary than seeing what was going on. When I candled I found out 22 eggs contained chicks and it was tough to see anything in those eggs though the Ovascope. I did all the candling in about 20 minutes because I was worried about keeping the eggs out too long. The non-fertile eggs were easy to spot - totally clear. After I transferred the fertile eggs to the hatcher I set the temperature to 99F and added a large sponge to get the humidity up to 60%-65%. Then, miraculously we saw the first pip on the afternoon of day 19. And then this morning everything started happening. So far we have 6 hatched and all but 2 are pipped so everything seems to be working out good. It's really a fascinating thing to watch nature in action like that. If anyone reading this hasn't hatched your own yet, I highly recommend it. It's one of the coolest things you'll ever do.

Congratulations on your hatch! I am glad that you have now had the experience in doing it this way.

 

[FeatherPugs]

I still have some Blue ones left over from my Oct. 20th hatch (4 boys, 2 girls), if you would be interested in adding more of the colors to your Australorp flock. The Blues bred to the Blacks will throw off chicks %50 Black, and 50% blues. That also helps the future Blue chicks develop better lacing on the feathers. Out of my next hatch of only 6 eggs, any Splash pullets are already spoken for, so only the Splash cockerels would still be available. I might sell you some hatching eggs that some would hatch out as the Splash for your broody.

I would love it BUT I have just started a month's round of strong cancer meds that usually put me down like a brick. It hard just taking care of them without worrying about new littles who are in quarantine. I sure wish it was different tho. Oh well something will come along. I'll hatch along with you vicariously!

 

[BlueBaby]

I would love it BUT I have just started a month's round of strong cancer meds that usually put me down like a brick. It hard just taking care of them without worrying about new littles who are in quarantine. I sure wish it was different tho. Oh well something will come along. I'll hatch along with you vicariously!

I hope that those meds will end up helping you. I can understand meds putting you down like a brick. Most meds do me that way. Thank goodness I haven't needed any that often. My Blues from the October hatch are already running around in the same coop and pen of the bigger ones now, and have been for about a week now. It has been fun to watch them playing keep away, and trying to take food from the hens mouth. There is plenty of food out there for all of them to go around.

 

[DesertChic]

I take mine out and put them in the brooder when they start getting too active in moving around, when they start shoving the other eggs around and walking over the other chicks still trying to hatch out.

That's actually what I do as well. I try to let them fluff up a bit, but sometimes they're just too rambunctious and I don't want them to negatively affect the rest of the hatch. I always have the brooder setup and warm for them and it just takes seconds to pluck them out of the incubator. I've never known this habit to negatively impact my hatches, so I keep to it.

 

[ejcrist]

That's actually what I do as well. I try to let them fluff up a bit, but sometimes they're just too rambunctious and I don't want them to negatively affect the rest of the hatch. I always have the brooder setup and warm for them and it just takes seconds to pluck them out of the incubator. I've never known this habit to negatively impact my hatches, so I keep to it.

Yep, I totally agree with your methodology after our experience today. We still have a couple more to go but we've been moving them to a temporary brooder we set up in our dining room until they're all up and walking around good and then I'll move them to one of the brooding pens I set up in the multi-penned coop. We noticed once they're out of the shell and rested they fluff up pretty quick and then they're full of energy. I think if you don't remove them they definitely have the potential to make it harder on the remaining chicks that worked hard to position themselves to get out. And you're absolutely right, we haven't seen any adverse effects whatsoever in removing them. In fact I think they're doing better because it encouraged them to explore, stretch their legs, and get some exercise.

I have one in the hatcher right now that appears to have a large chunk of shell stuck to him but he's still fairly damp so I'm thinking to leave him in there a while, like maybe till I get up at 4:30 before helping remove it if necessary. My guess is he'll work free himself but if not I'm planning to moisten the area and see if we can free him of it. I'll only do that as a last resort though as I've read it's best to keep hands off. Have you ever had a case like that before?

Yeah, all in all this has been one exciting day. Actually it's been an exciting weekend. Saturday we processed 31 Cornish Crosses with the help of family and friends and had a really outstanding cookout. I got a Yardbird plucker and it worked way, way better than I ever could've imagined. We processed all those birds in a little under an hour. And then we had the hatching experience. And then today my wife's heritage Buff Orpington laid her first egg. What more could a chicken farmer ask for? Anyway, can't wait to hatch the next batch.

 

[DesertChic]

Yep, I totally agree with your methodology after our experience today. We still have a couple more to go but we've been moving them to a temporary brooder we set up in our dining room until they're all up and walking around good and then I'll move them to one of the brooding pens I set up in the multi-penned coop. We noticed once they're out of the shell and rested they fluff up pretty quick and then they're full of energy. I think if you don't remove them they definitely have the potential to make it harder on the remaining chicks that worked hard to position themselves to get out. And you're absolutely right, we haven't seen any adverse effects whatsoever in removing them. In fact I think they're doing better because it encouraged them to explore, stretch their legs, and get some exercise.

I have one in the hatcher right now that appears to have a large chunk of shell stuck to him but he's still fairly damp so I'm thinking to leave him in there a while, like maybe till I get up at 4:30 before helping remove it if necessary. My guess is he'll work free himself but if not I'm planning to moisten the area and see if we can free him of it. I'll only do that as a last resort though as I've read it's best to keep hands off. Have you ever had a case like that before?

Yeah, all in all this has been one exciting day. Actually it's been an exciting weekend. Saturday we processed 31 Cornish Crosses with the help of family and friends and had a really outstanding cookout. I got a Yardbird plucker and it worked way, way better than I ever could've imagined. We processed all those birds in a little under an hour. And then we had the hatching experience. And then today my wife's heritage Buff Orpington laid her first egg. What more could a chicken farmer ask for? Anyway, can't wait to hatch the next batch.

Definitely a good chicken weekend! Congrats!

I have had a few chicks with gunk of one sort or another stuck to them. Just use warm water on some sort of soft towel or paper towel, and work slowly and gently. One chick had so much gunk on the side of its face that it's eye was stuck closed. It took me nearly 10 minutes of gentle persuasion to finally free it's poor little face.

 

[BlueBaby]

I have a question, and wonder if anyone else here has had the experience to enlighten me. Ok, I live in the valley, and will be hatching out my chicks. A person who wants some of my chicks lives up in the mountains where it is colder. They will be picking up the chicks. What could be put into the box with the new chicks to keep them warm enough for like the say 3 to 4 hours drive back to the persons home?