BYC's 2025 Spooktacular Halloween Hatch-Along

[redinator]

If they're having trouble keeping comfortably warm even while under the heat plate, are you able to lower it any further?

I did, but you blew my cover . . . I was convincing myself I needed to hatch more chicks next time, lol.

 

[ronott1]

Congratulations for the new hatchlings!

 

[ella2025]

Had to take chicks out today to record some information. It's easiest for me to do this by rounding up all of one color.
So here's pics of most of the chicks, I say most cause if appears im missing a couple.

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The ones in the 3rd pic look like little penguins, lol. They are adorable!

 

[ella2025]

I got a 21% hatch rate despite 18 of 19 eggs being fertile. Next hatch I think I'll store the eggs for less than 3 days before setting (this time I stored for at most 2 weeks, turning the eggs 3-5x a day) and candle less. I'm not exactly sure what caused the super low hatch rate, but I'm still learning and am gonna experiment with different things next time. Also if I get a broody hen around the time I need to incubate eggs, I might just let them do it and separate them because they seem better at it than incubators.

 

[redinator]

I got a 21% hatch rate despite 18 of 19 eggs being fertile. Next hatch I think I'll store the eggs for less than 3 days before setting (this time I stored for at most 2 weeks, turning the eggs 3-5x a day) and candle less. I'm not exactly sure what caused the super low hatch rate, but I'm still learning and am gonna experiment with different things next time. Also if I get a broody hen around the time I need to incubate eggs, I might just let them do it and separate them because they seem better at it than incubators.

Same. I learn something with every hatch and I'm trying to break bad habits like candling too often or taking chicks out too early. The second part was because my other incubator was too small to keep them in too long. I'm also figuring out some of my birds might not be fertile.

 

[african chickens]

Anyone want to vote on which of my pets has the best costume, here

 

[ella2025]

Anyone want to vote on which of my pets has the best costume, here

 

[ella2025]

I will remove the rest of the eggs tomorrow.

 

[ella2025]

No pip, no sounds. Today I actually cracked and peeled the outer shell of the air cell on 17 the silkie egg that was alive but stopped moving. I poked at the fully formed chick inside and it never budged even once. That explains why it hasn't made any progress in the last 2 days. Somehow it died.

 

[redinator]

No pip, no sounds. Today I actually cracked and peeled the outer shell of the air cell on 17 the silkie egg that was alive but stopped moving. I poked at the fully formed chick inside and it never budged even once. That explains why it hasn't made any progress in the last 2 days. Somehow it died.

I lost the chick that had a difficult hatch.