DECEMBER Hatch-A-Long!😊

[LadyAchee]

Hoping to join with my broody WL who went broody a month ago also. This will be my first possible hatch. I moved her into a dog crate in the coop and gave her 6 eggs from my mixed flock. She's my favorite hen so I am anxious to see the outcome. Hatch due date will be Christmas!! Pictures of broody hen, my cockerel, and the 6 eggs.

 

[halefamily_flock]

While we are covering things that might go bad, I have this wiggling worry in the back of my head. My egg shells are hard. I don't mean a little hard, I mean at times I have given eggs back to the flock when we had an excess by throwing them 10' in the air and allowing them to splatter in the run. Sometimes, they remain intact... The run is sand/clay soil with (at best) 2" of dried leaves - its not like one of those mattress commercials, i assure you. Very little "give" there.


That said, the eggs don't typically have obvious calcium deposits on them, most of the time. So, I shouldn't worry, and assume those were just improbable, but entirely possible, egg landings, right???

When I was collecting eggs to set, I made sure the hens had extra calcium to nourish the eggs during development. Didn't realize how solid the eggs had become (since I had been saving & collecting vs. eating them). About halfway through the incubation, I cracked a couple of the eggs I didn't set and realized the shell was much stronger than I had expected. It took some force to crack open! I worried for the remainder of the time that I had fed them too much calcium and the babies wouldn't be able to get out. They all made it out just fine! Those egg teeth are like little pickaxes

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Hoping to join with my broody WL who went broody a month ago also. This will be my first possible hatch. I moved her into a dog crate in the coop and gave her 6 eggs from my mixed flock. She's my favorite hen so I am anxious to see the outcome. Hatch due date will be Christmas!! Pictures of broody hen, my cockerel, and the 6 eggs.

Welcome! Happy you can join! Christmas hatch that’s awesome I have some expected that day as well with my staggered hatches. Will have to give them all Christmas names!

 

[FortCluck]

Try that! Make sure you throw a damp paper towel in when you open the incubator to keep the humidity from dropping to much.

Do antibiotic ointment with no pain relief... it doesn’t dry out like oil does

 

[LadiesAndJane]

First baby is out! Soon as she started zipping, she was done. Hopefully she’ll encourage the others to come out soon with her peeping and rolling around.
This was also a test breeding for my Silkie cockerel. Trying to determine if he was recessive or dominant white. Looks like he is recessive with this completely black baby like her mama!

 

[FortCluck]

My pullets are playing me! They’re singing egg songs but no eggs... now the rooster sings an egg song I want fertilized eggs!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Do antibiotic ointment with no pain relief... it doesn’t dry out like oil does

I know but that’s all she had available at 2 AM in Australia! I prefer bacitracin.

 

[FortCluck]

I know but that’s all she had available at 2 AM in Australia! I prefer bacitracin.

I didn’t even read it... I dislike oils on membranes. I have had bad experiences with it!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I didn’t even read it... I dislike oils on membranes. I have had bad experiences with it!

I know we were just trying to make do with what she had in her house! Haven’t heard back from her for a bit so hopefully everything is going OK

 

[FortCluck]

I know we were just trying to make do with what she had in her house! Haven’t heard back from her for a bit so hopefully everything is going OK

Hopefully