August Hatch along?

[MichelleBelle]

Ok, I have made incubator modifications, have 4 calibrated thermometers (1 for each corner of the incubator). Filled it with 42 eggs and today is Day 2. Perhaps I will have some little friends for my lonely single hatchling, "Shelly." 2 batches in one month? I might be developing a hatching addiction, lol

 

[anvia]

Ok, I have made incubator modifications, have 4 calibrated thermometers (1 for each corner of the incubator). Filled it with 42 eggs and today is Day 2. Perhaps I will have some little friends for my lonely single hatchling, "Shelly." 2 batches in one month? I might be developing a hatching addiction, lol

What breeds are you hatching?

 

[MichelleBelle]

What breeds are you hatching?

I'm most likely hatching Easter Eggers. The person I purchased my flock from (as chicks) said that they were Ameraucanas, and I believed that's what I was getting. However, as I've learned more from this site I suspect that the majority of birds I purchased must be "Easter Eggers" as their color patterns are not consistent with accepted Ameraucana varieties. A couple of them appear to possibly be pure bred, and if so, I have one silver and one blue hen. The rooster is blue. Some of the chicks have convincing blue black splash coloring, and look consistent with Ameraucana characteristics, and the rest are obviously EEs. What breed are you hatching?

 

[anvia]

Oh how lovely! Are these eggs your birds have all laid? I love the blue / black / splash colours, but I get very lost in the genetics.

I love blue eggs - so pretty! Do you get a range of colours? I’ve tried auracanas (not my forte - never got a single one to adulthood) and did better with crested cream legbars - but they were ever so nervous & skittish & insisted on roosting everywhere but inside their lovely safe chookie house. I don’t have any blue layers right now.... but I have plans!

This time we are hatching quail - jumbo golden ones - I think they are Coturnix?... It’s a first time for us... & I don’t really know what I’m doing! I’m currently wondering when I should start lock down- The more I’m reading the more differing opinions I’m getting - so I think I should really I really put the internet down & get cracking on sorting out their housing... but we took on some ex batts on Saturday & so we’ve been kind of busy spending time with them & getting them to learn to walk & drink & eat. They are doing really well - we saw the first dust bath today which is brilliant - I think dust bathing is the key - once they start doing that their chicken instincts seem to kick in.
What was quite sweet today was that 3 of our last ex batts poddled over with us, promptly broke into the newbies quarantine pen (sigh) & started chatting away & showing the new ones how to be a chicken - it was really quite touching! & quite surprising seeing as our ex batts are running a chicken mafia most of the time! If the newbies get accepted by the existing ex batties then that would be brilliant. I’m currently wondering whether to pop an adolescent cockerel in there too... they are ex caged hens & they are so so naive and I’m worried they will be vulnerable to everything (including the ginger mafia) - I thought maybe a young cockerel might be good to integrate with them for teaching them to forage & hide from predators... although useless against the mafia.... the cockerels all live in fear of the batties....

Chicken politics! - I could watch them all day! Plus all this is distracting me from fussing over the eggs - so that’s good too!

 

[Sakai]

I just went in to check on the hatching eggs before going off to sleep. There are 2 eggs that the chicks are just now trying to peck their way out; 1 tan egg, and one blue egg. Maybe both of them will be out of the shells by the time I get up?

How is everything going? How exciting!

 

[BlueBaby]

How is everything going? How exciting!

Chick #1 from the blue egg is white colored and lived.
Chick #2 from the tan egg died.
Chick #3 from a tan egg has a naked neck, darker skin and legs, still drying off.
Chick #4 from a tan egg has a naked neck, lighter skin and legs, sill drying off.

More eggs still to hatch.

 

[MichelleBelle]

Oh how lovely! Are these eggs your birds have all laid?
I love blue eggs - so pretty! Do you get a range of colours?

... but we took on some ex batts on Saturday & so we’ve been kind of busy spending time with them & getting them to learn to walk & drink & eat. They are doing really well - we saw the first dust bath today which is brilliant - I think dust bathing is the key - once they start doing that their chicken instincts seem to kick in.

Chicken politics! - I could watch them all day! Plus all this is distracting me from fussing over the eggs - so that’s good too!

Yes; I am incubating eggs my EEs have laid. I get eggs ranging in color from dark mint green to a pretty sky blue.

I'm across the pond, in the USA, and therefore some of your terminology is lost on me. When you say you took on some "ex batts"- what does that mean? I gleaned from the rest of the paragraph that you took on additional chickens, and it sounds like they've never seen the light of day, nor the outdoors? Did you rescue them? Were they tossed out from a chicken egg or meat factory? It sounds like they desperately needed the help you are giving them.

Yes, a distraction from constantly fussing over the eggs is a grand thing. I'm currently renovating an old farmhouse built in the 1860's (which in the USA is considered a really old house). Keeps my mind off wondering how each and every little egg is developing (or not!)

 

[ChickensAndYoga]

Had a power outage for no idea how long. Lost all 7 eggs...

Cleaned and reset everything. Had already been collecting the particular eggs I wanted from my birds. So in they went .Started today around 8am.

10 farm mixes. 7 bantam mixes and 3 unknowns from my BR roo and mix of hens .

 

[anvia]

Had a power outage for no idea how long. Lost all 7 eggs...

Cleaned and reset everything. Had already been collecting the particular eggs I wanted from my birds. So in they went .Started today around 8am.

10 farm mixes. 7 bantam mixes and 3 unknowns from my BR roo and mix of hens .

Oh no! I’m sorry - good luck with the new hatch!

 

[MichelleBelle]

Had a power outage for no idea how long. Lost all 7 eggs...

Cleaned and reset everything. Had already been collecting the particular eggs I wanted from my birds. So in they went .Started today around 8am.

10 farm mixes. 7 bantam mixes and 3 unknowns from my BR roo and mix of hens .

Oh no! That really stinks! Lucky that you had been collecting more eggs to incubate though. Hopefully this setback won't cost you too much time. My eggs are hopefully hatching at the end of the month, too. Best of luck for no power outages and smooth sailing the rest of the way!