DECEMBER Hatch-A-Long!😊

[Msoul]

Hey all! Ok heres updated pics on some of the 1st December hatch I did not all 8 chickies in the pics but its some of them...but now the hatch addiction got me again so we set 22 more set to hatch on 12/26 so round 2 for December hatch

 

[rottngrrl]

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!
Wow, I think you must be a kindred spirit. I could totally see myself doing what you did!
I ended up with 4 incubators my first go round, though not quite on the scale you are working with.
You have a very ambitious project on your hands.
What are you going to do with all the chicks?
What breeds are you hatching?
Only thing I can add, is to make sure you calibrate your hygrometers.
You did the right thing removing the welsummer egg. Any leaking egg could end up contaminating the other eggs.
Good luck with your hatches, several of us have chicks expected on Christmas Day as well.

Thank you! I tend to go all-in on stuff, but even by my standards this has gotten quickly out of hand! I will keep the breeds that I purchased to grow them out and make my final selections when they are between 3-6 months old. I will likely keep a few of my "farmyard mutts" as well (I have quite a few different breeds out there in my relatively young, hodge-podge flock, so some should be pretty interesting; the others I will sell here locally and I am sure they will be gone as soon as I post them.

The breeds that came from the hatchery are as follows (missing the cream legbar which was such a bummer!!):

• Barred Rock
• Blue Andalusian
• Welsummer
• Black Australorp
• Lavender Orpington
• Buff Brahma
• Easter Egger
• Olive Egger

And I am picking up Black Copper Marans on Sunday.

Regarding the humidity, I dug out my costly paperweights, the Inkbird hygrometers that I never used on a different project (iguana enclosure) and hooked them up. Sure enough the humidity was higher than the box-unit displayed. It's starting to look more like the Starship Enterprise in the corner of my office with all the tech hanging off the wall. A a new probe for a wifi unit we have used in the past for various things will be be here in a few days so I will be able to check on temp/RH when I am away from the house/office. We were also looking at getting a cheap wifi video camera to be able to check on them as they progress (i.e. nearing hatch and I'm out working in the back section of our property), and then to watch the chicks that do hatch.

I don't think I'm addicted to this chick hatchin' hobby AT ALL.

It is going to be so cool to read about other peeps' experiences and see their little babies hatch, too. This is very exciting!

 

[rottngrrl]

biggest piece of advice now is to not pull anything before day 10 unless you CLEARLY see a blood ring.... give those babies every chance to surprise you

Thank you for this! I was wondering if I should just pull all the ones that didn't look like they were developing even though its only day 4. PATIENCE! haha

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Hey all! Ok heres updated pics on some of the 1st December hatch I did not all 8 chickies in the pics but its some of them...but now the hatch addiction got me again so we set 22 more set to hatch on 12/26 so round 2 for December hatch
View attachment 2441620View attachment 2441621View attachment 2441622

Cuties!
What breed is the one in the second photo? Interesting colors

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

1 of my eggs was a quitter. Down to 10 eggs, I hope no more quit. My broody cochin bantam is sitting on 6 Bielefelder eggs.

 

[Msoul]

Cuties!
What breed is the one in the second photo? Interesting colors

That adorable chickie is from my EE. We hatched one with the first batch that looks a little lighter in coloring. This picture is the 1st EE from the December hatch I did so a little lighter I will have to get a picture now that it's a few weeks older tomorrow for you.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

That adorable chickie is from my EE. We hatched one with the first batch that looks a little lighter in coloring. This picture is the 1st EE from the December hatch I did so a little lighter I will have to get a picture now that it's a few weeks older tomorrow for you.View attachment 2441682

So pretty! Almost looks like a mauve!

 

[Liviepaigesmom]

Good Morning!!

These are Sebrights crossed with Pekin (or Cochin if you are American) - a wee project of mine hehe.

I have two incubators set up. One has the yellow egg cradles in it with auto turning - I use that for incubating up to day 18. And the second incubator is set up for hatching - the eggs get transferred into this on day 18 and stay there to hatch.

When I initially set my eggs I write their due date on them in pencil - so I can easily see which eggs are which - and I tend to put one rows worth of eggs in at a time (usually). I find putting smaller batches of eggs in frequently resulted in better hatch results because the eggs are very fresh.

By having two incubators set up this way I find that you're not having to "change" your machine between incubating settings and hatch settings. Each machine has it's own setup and once you find a setting that works best for you, you leave it that way. I also selected my hatching machine "because" it has a very easy to clean design - I can have it cleaned, disinfected, and back to operation in 30 minutes.

This is genius!

 

[Liviepaigesmom]

Welcome!
Looks like you already got some good advice from @The Kooky Kiwi !
Dry incubation works well, but is climate dependent. What is your ambient humidity?
Humidity is a tool in incubation and you may need to make adjustments depending on how your eggs progress.

Good luck with your hatches!

I Found this chart but the numbers seem high to me 70%. I'm in Maine. I bought an accurite humidity reader but im not sure how accurate that is either. Its frustrating! It does say the humidity in my house is about 48 and the highest I have seen since getting it is 52. I have bought 2 or 3 meters/thermometers and they all say a different thing!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I Found this chart but the numbers seem high to me 70%. I'm in Maine. I bought an accurite humidity reader but im not sure how accurate that is either. Its frustrating! It does say the humidity in my house is about 48 and the highest I have seen since getting it is 52. I have bought 2 or 3 meters/thermometers and they all say a different thing!

Yes, even accurate hygrometers need to be calibrated with the salt test. You can read up on this almost anywhere. It’s also used to calibrate hygrometers for people who keep cigars! Method is the same. You take your hygrometers and put them inside a Ziploc bag or a Tupperware container along with a small cup of salt with just enough water to make it into a thick mush, you don’t want the water to dissolve the salt completely. You leave the hygrometers and the salt inside the bag or other container for approximately 4 to 6 hours. If your hygrometer is accurate it should read 75% on the nose. If it’s off then you just add or subtract that number so you know what your actual humidity is if you use that hygrometer. I just write the difference on a piece of colored tape and stick to the hygrometer. You will find that all of your hygrometers will be slightly different. Frustrating but that’s the way it is. As long as you know what the differences between your hygrometer and 75% then you can use them in your incubator. Your ambient humidity sounds about like what mine is here in Hawaii. You will likely do well with dry incubation. My incubators tend to run between 35% and 45% without water.
Check what humidity your incubators run without water with a calibrated hygrometer before you set your eggs and then you’ll know what you’re working with.
Hope this all makes sense!