Breeding and Raising and Hatching of Barnyard Chickens!!!!!!!!!!

[COChix]

Congratulations! That's awesome. Hope you have a great hatch!

Thanks Amy and thanks for the support on the bator thread.

Sounds like u r doing great!!! But remember NO opening bator when they r hatching!! Not even to take the chicks out if ur humidity isn't high enough take and put a wet sponge in a bowl inside the bator. U probably know this but far to often people open up the bator to see the chicks and get pics. And good luck!!!

Thanks, this is my first incubation/hatch so it has been a great learning experience. I do have sponges already in the bator that I have been adding moisture too throughout the past 18 days. I need to take my turner out and get a few more sponge squares and to get my humidity up to 65%. Once the turner is out I am sure I can fit a small bowl in there. Thanks

 

[uzisuzuki]

Greeting, I have been lurking for about a month. I was waiting for today to post. Today is lockdown for us and our mixed flock.

our flock consists of the following

Buff Orph roo

Hens
Barred Rock
Dark Cornish
Delaware
Easter Eggers
Rhode Island Red
Welsummer

Our flock just turned one year old on 04/16/15, I set 42 eggs on 04/9/15. 14 from a fellow Colorado BYC member and 28 of ours (15 from our EE and 13 from our brown egg layers).

I got my Ovascope last night and was able to candle. Used my iPhone for the shots.

our eggs clears and early quitter

Fertile - still super hard to see into the dark eggs and the green very much. Just selected the better photos.

Lockdown is today and here are the stats.

We have 28/42 heading into lockdown.

From PC's eggs -
2/14 fertile - blue eggs should be Amerecauna's

From our flock
26/28 fertile

15/15 of our BO x EE were fertile
11/13 of the BO x our brown egg layers
1 clear
1 early quitter

OMG, I cannot believe this! I am so eggcited! Gotta take the turner out today and get the second bator (we will use for holding chicks durning hatching, if needed) running.

Any last couple days advice? I am so nervous and so proud of Rocco and our flock. I cannot believe I will have some chicks soon.

I can't wait to see what your chicks look like! This is so exciting!

 

[DUCKOBSESSED]

Good luck @COChix !

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Sounds like u r doing great!!! But remember NO opening bator when they r hatching!! Not even to take the chicks out if ur humidity isn't high enough take and put a wet sponge in a bowl inside the bator. U probably know this but far to often people open up the bator to see the chicks and get pics. And good luck!!!

Not that I am advising anyone to do what I do, but I open my bator frequently during hatch with no ill effects. I have never lost a pipper/zipper. BUT I maintain a high enough humidity that I can open the bator, remove my chicks, pull shells or even assist if I feel necessary. While I agree not opening is a great precaution, it's not the end of the world either, depending on your humidity levels at the start. People have made new people scared to open the bator even to add water when it's low and I think this is sad. The risk of opening the incubator when you have adequate humidity is a slim risk, (especially if no pippers or zippers). I'm all for sharing methods and thoughts on how individuals differ in their incubation practices, but I do not think that there is enough understanding between hatchers as to the fact, that nothing is absolute and just because someone does something different-even defy the "laws of hatching" does not mean they are doing it wrong as long as it's working for them and their chicks.
I respect there are many people that are hands off hatchers. I respect that many people will leave their chicks in the bator for 24+ hours. (I disagree with it. But I respect it.) I would never tell someone you should not leave your chicks in the bator, that just because they CAN survive for three days they shouldn't have to go without food/water. Instead I say, this is what I would do: .....there are other's that believe this, but I have found that this works best for me. I believe that a person should find their own comfort level in hatching and find what works for them.

 

[DUCKOBSESSED]

Not that I am advising anyone to do what I do, but I open my bator frequently during hatch with no ill effects. I have never lost a pipper/zipper. BUT I maintain a high enough humidity that I can open the bator, remove my chicks, pull shells or even assist if I feel necessary. While I agree not opening is a great precaution, it's not the end of the world either, depending on your humidity levels at the start. People have made new people scared to open the bator even to add water when it's low and I think this is sad. The risk of opening the incubator when you have adequate humidity is a slim risk, (especially if no pippers or zippers). I'm all for sharing methods and thoughts on how individuals differ in their incubation practices, but I do not think that there is enough understanding between hatchers as to the fact, that nothing is absolute and just because someone does something different-even defy the "laws of hatching" does not mean they are doing it wrong as long as it's working for them and their chicks.
I respect there are many people that are hands off hatchers. I respect that many people will leave their chicks in the bator for 24+ hours. (I disagree with it. But I respect it.) I would never tell someone you should not leave your chicks in the bator, that just because they CAN survive for three days they shouldn't have to go without food/water. Instead I say, this is what I would do: .....there are other's that believe this, but I have found that this works best for me. I believe that a person should find their own comfort level in hatching and find what works for them.

Agreed. I also open the bator to remove chicks and their shells. I had 18/18 hatch. NOT saying open it every 15min but i did it about once or twice a day over the 3 days they were hatching. I kept the humidity high as well. Around 70%.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Agreed. I also open the bator to remove chicks and their shells. I had 18/18 hatch. NOT saying open it every 15min but i did it about once or twice a day over the 3 days they were hatching. I kept the humidity high as well. Around 70%.

I use 75%. I used to leave them in long enough to be half dry and have a handful to take out at once. Then I had two get hurt on the stupid fan- one seriously, so now (until I replace the bator) I pull them once they start moving around and investigating. (I use the little giant with the fan attatchment that is sold for the bators.)

 

[COChix]

Thank you all for the wishes of good luck!

@uzisuzuki I am sure they will not be nearly as cute as Frost and Mercury and their chicken Mohawks! I am super excited to see what the chicks look like. I am also excited as Little One's (an EE) egg is fertile. She is the only egg I know for sure who laid it. All the others are going to be mystery chicks.

Amy, thanks for bringing up the whole to open the bator or not during lockdown debate. I have been keeping my humidity between 20-30% for the first 18 days and will shoot for 60-70% humidity. I say no higher than 70% as around 67% is when I start to get condensation build up on the viewing windows. Hearing from others like yourself and Duck that you open the bator during lockdown, really does help us newbies. Just like anything else with chickens, there are multiple ways to do things, find the one you like, makes the most sense to you and your flock and go with it.

 

[DUCKOBSESSED]

I use 75%. I used to leave them in long enough to be half dry and have a handful to take out at once. Then I had two get hurt on the stupid fan- one seriously, so now (until I replace the bator) I pull them once they start moving around and investigating. (I use the little giant with the fan attatchment that is sold for the bators.)

I use the R-com 20 and I love it. This is only my third hatch with it, before i had a Styrofoam one (don't remember the brand) and hated it. The turner broke the first hatch and i could not get it clean I used it for one season before replacing it. I take them out as soon as they start moving around because i have had several crack eggs and then i would have to stop the bleeding and sometimes assist.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you all for the wishes of good luck!

@uzisuzuki

I am sure they will not be nearly as cute as Frost and Mercury and their chicken Mohawks! I am super excited to see what the chicks look like. I am also excited as Little One's (an EE) egg is fertile. She is the only egg I know for sure who laid it. All the others are going to be mystery chicks.

Amy, thanks for bringing up the whole to open the bator or not during lockdown debate. I have been keeping my humidity between 20-30% for the first 18 days and will shoot for 60-70% humidity. I say no higher than 70% as around 67% is when I start to get condensation build up on the viewing windows. Hearing from others like yourself and Duck that you open the bator during lockdown, really does help us newbies. Just like anything else with chickens, there are multiple ways to do things, find the one you like, makes the most sense to you and your flock and go with it.

You are right, conddensation is more than enough. Have you ever checked the hygrometer for accuracy? Ambient humidity does affect the bator's humidity,but normally you don't see condensation at that low of hudmidity. What kind of incubator are you using? Just curious. I like to expand my theories and knowledge as often and as much as I can.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I use the R-com 20 and I love it. This is only my third hatch with it, before i had a Styrofoam one (don't remember the brand) and hated it. The turner broke the first hatch and i could not get it clean I used it for one season before replacing it. I take them out as soon as they start moving around because i have had several crack eggs and then i would have to stop the bleeding and sometimes assist.

I'd like to get the hova bator with the picture window before my next hatch, (thinking after the 4th of July). Not sure if I will be able to or not, but that is my goal. What do you use for humidity levels in the r-com for the first 17 days?