Chics-in-the-Sun's wacky two broodies and an incubator hatch-fest!!

[chics in the sun]

I'll try to keep this short and easy to understand. Here is the story of the wacky two broodies and a borrowed incubator:

My lovely little Olive Egger, Ginger, began showing signs of broodiness several weeks ago. A week after she started, her Ameraucana half-sister, Sky, decided Ginger was getting just a bit too much attention and she better join the mama party, too. I watched them for a few days and they both appeared to be in full broody mode, so I bid on two auctions ending the same evening for a total of 14 eggs - 8 Speckled Susex and 6 Appenzeller Spitzhaubens - to let them set, 7 each. A few days later I caught Sky in the corner of the coop, devouring one of her own eggs, happily covered in egg goo.

I continued to watch her and there were no other such incidents. She kept wanting to sit with her sister in the same 90 degree nest box, though, even when I tried to place them in two nest boxes facing eachother, she ended up like this:

I decided I could not fully trust little Sky with 7 not-so-cheap eggs, and that I better get an incubator for some of them. The Sussex eggs came first, with extras, so I gave Ginger 8 and Sky 3. I borrowed a friend's brand new incubator and we picked up a dozen eggs for her at a swap, 'cause hey, the incubator is running - might as well throw them in with the Appenzeller eggs. The more the merrier.

And so I waited for the Ap eggs, and waited, turns out the nasty storms had wrecked havock at the seller's place and the eggs did not get to me till 2 weeks after the auction.

In the mean time I had to set the eggs from the swap before they got too old. Here is what I now have going:

Broodies setting on 11 Speckled Sussex eggs, due to hatch on May 14th
Six auracana and six olive eggers in the incubator, due to hatch May 17th
Just recieved 8 Appenzeller Egg (two free ones), two freebie LaFleche and two Serama eggs to be put in the incubator tomorrow.

I had planned on putting all the viable, developing SS eggs under Ginger and letting Sky finish off the ones in the incubator, but right now they ALL look like they are developing!! (except I can't see the Olive Eggers, as they are in Marans eggs). My friend that those eggs belong to also does not want to move them under Sky, even though she has proven to be a good and diligent broody so far. The humidity in the room the incubator is in is nearly the same as the humidity inside the incubator, as I am in Florida. What would happen if I opened it just a few times to turn the Appenzeller eggs and get hatchlings out during "lockdown"? This is my first attempt at incubator hatching, and boy have I made a mess for myself. Oh, and Serama eggs only take 19 days to hatch, so lets throw that in the mix!!

 

[chics in the sun]

Okay, after getting advice from a few hatch-aholics, I found another incubator to borrow - it is a styrofoam kind, still air. That will be the 'hatchery'. I came to an agreement with my friend - she is okay with me putting half her eggs under the broody sisters, and half into the 'hatchery', which I have set around 70% humidity and 100 degrees.

So far it doesn't look like one single Sussex egg has developed.

I do have some of the Appenzeller Eggs developing, one LaFleche, and one Sumatra.

Of course, since the Sussex eggs all look like they are duds, I figured I needed another breed to put with the Appenzellers (I only keep one of each, so I need at least two types to raise together and then integrate into the flock) - chicken math struck, so now I have:
7 Blue Jersey Giants
5 Marans, various colors
2 more Sumatra

Due out on the 27th!

 

[TheJuan-n-Only]

Wow I'm guessing you finished the huge coop you had started when we went to the swap!!! That's a lot of birds!!!! Hope everything went well.