August Hatch-A-Long

[Mvan42]

Took three of the six shipped brlw out of the incubator today. Still no development or movement. Good thing they were scrambled inside. So sad. As for the three left they are looking good. Two have partially detached air cells. Is there anything I should watch for on hatchday or will they be ok.

 

[jolenesdad]

Took three of the six shipped brlw out of the incubator today. Still no development or movement. Good thing they were scrambled inside. So sad. As for the three left they are looking good. Two have partially detached air cells. Is there anything I should watch for on hatchday or will they be ok.

how bad? is it totally moving around with bubbles, or is it just moving around but still sort of contained?

They should be fine and in general the air cell will have "reattached" or solidified by day 14/15. If it has not, and its that big, it still can be fine, but you should consider hatching upright then, because that would be a severely detached egg.

 

[jolenesdad]

Sick Hen Update:

Going on 10 days of isolation. Eating and drinking now. I take her outside in my backyard to dustbath in a container with sand and DE. She has entered a full on molt. Her comb is NOW starting to get pale, which I am going with is not a worry because of the molt, especially since she is eating and drinking regularly now.

She still oscillates between a sort of regular poop and a green bile poop, which concerns me. Other than that, I am feeling very positive. None of my other hens are molting yet, and last year it did not start until a little later than this, so that's a bit of a concern, but, we shall see. I don't think she is acting sick anymore, however.

The amount of time in isolation REALLY bugs me the most, because she is the lowest hen on the pecking order after her attack, It Took me FOREVER plus FOUR rehomes of naughty hens to get her back in the flock last year. Im actually thinking of putting her with the chicks I just hatched. She doesn't 'mother' chicks, so they still need heat, but as soon as they're off that which could be very soon with out weather, she wouldn't harm them. Then it may be an easier integration to the flock.

Of course, with all of my bullies gone, I may just be able to drop her back in. Lets hope. Since she is molting, I am going to wait until after this huge heat wave to get her back outside... she is too used to the AC.

Hmmmmmm. The saga continues.

Oh! Also!

The one-eyed chick from this hatch is doing GREAT. She fl) is smaller than the others and that concerned me but she maintains a good crop and is growing so thats fine. She definitely only has 1/3 of an eyelid, and you can see a glimpse of eye underneath. No one bothers her in the brooder.

 

[Mvan42]

how bad? is it totally moving around with bubbles, or is it just moving around but still sort of contained?

They should be fine and in general the air cell will have "reattached" or solidified by day 14/15. If it has not, and its that big, it still can be fine, but you should consider hatching upright then, because that would be a severely detached egg.

They are not real bad. Just a little movement by the air cell. One is slightly bigger than the other.

 

[Kris5902]

Today is “brooder tote” cleaning and setup, then a final candling and into lockdown. I think I’m going to strap the brooders and paraphernalia into my little water jug cart to get them down to the incubators. I plan on keeping them down in the totes as long as I can before moving them up to the barn; mostly because swapping the batteries on my heatplates in the middle of the night is annoying.

 

[igorsMistress]

Anyone in here do staggered hatches with one incubator? I need some advice...

Picked up eggs from BlueBaby that she set 7/27. 21 days will be 17th. When should I increase humidity? When I see pips? Thursday? Friday? I don't want to start too early because I have 5 more eggs to hatch later.

 

[Mvan42]

Anyone in here do staggered hatches with one incubator? I need some advice...

Picked up eggs from BlueBaby that she set 7/27. 21 days will be 17th. When should I increase humidity? When I see pips? Thursday? Friday? I don't want to start too early because I have 5 more eggs to hatch later.

I have that going on right now. My broody keeps moving nest so I put the egg in the incubator but I plan on giving it back to her before hatch day

 

[Compost King]

Today is “brooder tote” cleaning and setup, then a final candling and into lockdown. I think I’m going to strap the brooders and paraphernalia into my little water jug cart to get them down to the incubators. I plan on keeping them down in the totes as long as I can before moving them up to the barn; mostly because swapping the batteries on my heatplates in the middle of the night is annoying.

as hard as all this work can be, I find it so rewarding. I do not have a battery issue with heat plates, I had no idea that they had battery powered ones. I can see that being a real pain.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

View attachment 1876293
View attachment 1876294Top right are my brahmas from May, 13 weeks old and they are as big as my year olds on the left.
Bottom photos are my Lavender Araucanas from the June hatch-a-long, my kids have named therm all elvis
Im quite happy as it appears i have 5 hens out of the 6

Wow, that was lucky! Adorable little lavender pullets!!!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

All 4 Marans that made it to lockdown are externally pipped! It's looking pretty dry in there though so I'm watching closely...

View attachment 1876292

Just catching up, did they hatch? Go marans!!!