August Hatch-A-Long!

[Heidisgran]

it's not because you helped it hatch....I have taken to putting a blob of antibiotic on their umbilical cord right after they hatch...I think the bacteria in the incubators is worrisome...boy it sure is a lot simpler when momma raises them....I have a hen wandering around with her 4 babies....I can't stop watching how amazing they are!

 

[Heidisgran]

you might google that!! I'm thinking things are mixed at that point! so you won't know until it feathers what you have lol

 

[jnjmanning]

I had read that even if you kept them in cartons, you were still suppposed to take them out at lockdown. I did. Could this be why I lost some?

I cannot say for sure if it was or not.

 

[jnjmanning]

I have another question but not sure how to ask. Complicated but I will do my best.

I know that after a rooster mates with a hen, she can lay fertilized eggs for upto a month(if all goes well). But if she were placed with another rooster and he mated with her, would her eggs still all be fertilized by the first rooster or would the eggs be mixed? I don't want to have to keep them penned up. SO I was thinking if I left a hen and rooster together until I started getting fertilized eggs I could put her back with everyone else, but I'm thinking the eggs could be fertilized by any rooster that mates with her. I hope I explained my question well enough.

Yes you are correct. She will hold sperm form any roo who breeds her. So if you have 3 roos and she is exposed to all three, you collect an egg a day for 7 days, you could get chicks from all 3 roos. If all 3 bred her. Usually there is a head roo and he will fight to keep others from mating. So sometimes he is the only one who will get to her. It all depends on roos, timing, so forth

 

[baseballchick]

I cannot say for sure if it was or not.

This is interesting because everything that I read says to take them out if cartons and lay down to hatch

 

[turkenlurken]

I have read that with shipped eggs you should always hatch in cartons fat end up due to the possibility of unstable air cells.
Mine are local but I am putting them in egg cartons leaned to the side for hatching--many people do that so they don't roll around, stepped on etc.

 

[jnjmanning]

This is interesting because everything that I read says to take them out if cartons and lay down to hatch

Experienced hatchers have found if you use a auto turner, or incubate in cartons upright and turn yourself, that the hatch rate is better if they remain upright to hatch. Some use cartons and lay them on their sides in the cartons to incubate, and hand turn them. Then it would be fine to take them out and lay them.

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

2nd pipped egg seems to be zipping towards small end of egg instead of around? Only gone 1/2" so far.

 

[jnjmanning]

2nd pipped egg seems to be zipping towards small end of egg instead of around? Only gone 1/2" so far.

Sounds very confused to me. Usually a sign of a malpositioned chick.

 

[nicole63021]

Have an external pip!!!!!!!