December Hatch-A-Long 2014

[Sustained]

sorry you had a rotten egg already

I can't wait to be able to candle but I'm a bit nervous I won't be able to make decisions... I tend to second guess myself and I would also hate to discard any that could potentially make it. My neighbor who is hatching these eggs with me will have to be the final call so I don't drive myself crazy. Friday cannot get here soon enough so we can get started on this crazy adventure!

I'm just relieved I found it before it exploded all over my bator lol I've been pretty disappointed in the seller from the day I got the eggs so I'm not really holding too much hope for this batch. They were really badly packaged, a few were cracked already and one had dirt in the cracks so I'd guess it was put in the box cracked already, the eggs were really dirty, and now I'm wondering if they were even fertile. I guess time will tell.

How cool to have neighbor to hatch with! I'm always jealous of anyone who has 'chicken people' for neighbors Once you get the hang of candling it's pretty easy to tell when they're bad. Sometimes you end up with one you're just not sure of. In those cases I just hang onto it and try again in a few days. I've caught all the rotten ones before they ooze or explode by taking out ones that are suddenly mostly black when you candle and you can't see anything. This is the first time I've smelled the bad one before finding it.

 

[aidensmomma]

I turned the A/C and threw a fan in the room...opened the doors and the vents...it's only a few hours in to day 2 but want to get the humidity under control. I'm now a little concerned about the dark maran eggs....of course, I can ALWAYS find something to worry about

The maran's apparently get too big without very low humidity? I think that's what I took away from that...anyone else hatching marans? did you do anything different? I've got light Brahma's that I"m really excited about...

 

[Renee572]

I'm just relieved I found it before it exploded all over my bator lol I've been pretty disappointed in the seller from the day I got the eggs so I'm not really holding too much hope for this batch. They were really badly packaged, a few were cracked already and one had dirt in the cracks so I'd guess it was put in the box cracked already, the eggs were really dirty, and now I'm wondering if they were even fertile. I guess time will tell.

How cool to have neighbor to hatch with! I'm always jealous of anyone who has 'chicken people' for neighbors Once you get the hang of candling it's pretty easy to tell when they're bad. Sometimes you end up with one you're just not sure of. In those cases I just hang onto it and try again in a few days. I've caught all the rotten ones before they ooze or explode by taking out ones that are suddenly mostly black when you candle and you can't see anything. This is the first time I've smelled the bad one before finding it.

my neighbor is my kind of crazy. She's my best friend and we share our 4 chickens that live in my yard. Her kids and my kids share in doing the chicken chores and we all enjoy the yummy eggs. So when we lost one of our chickens we knew we would get a couple more chicks and when I brought up hatching them ourselves she was totally onboard. Come on Friday!

 

[Sustained]

my neighbor is my kind of crazy. She's my best friend and we share our 4 chickens that live in my yard. Her kids and my kids share in doing the chicken chores and we all enjoy the yummy eggs. So when we lost one of our chickens we knew we would get a couple more chicks and when I brought up hatching them ourselves she was totally onboard. Come on Friday!

lol that's fantastic! And now I'm a little more green with envy. I'd love having a friend next door! I'm 'that weird lady on the corner that has chickens in her yard'

I hope you both have a great hatch.

 

[Renee572]

Getting nervous! I pick up my eggs on Thursday and my neighbor has yet to give me the incubator that we are borrowing from a friend of hers. I texted her about it yesterday but she never really answered if she was getting it. I'm beginning to stress because without the incubator I have 12 fertile eggs that will not become chicks! :/

 

[Sustained]

Getting nervous! I pick up my eggs on Thursday and my neighbor has yet to give me the incubator that we are borrowing from a friend of hers. I texted her about it yesterday but she never really answered if she was getting it. I'm beginning to stress because without the incubator I have 12 fertile eggs that will not become chicks!

As a backup maybe you can make a cheap Styrofoam incubator? I used one my first hatch. It took some babying but it did a pretty good job overall. It would've done a GREAT job if my temp/humidity gauge hadn't been wayyyyy off. I was a newbie so I didn't know to check it instead of trusting it to be right. Oops. But anyway, for about $20 you can make one. And it's not hard at all. Just a thought. Sorry you're having this issue. I'd be panicking! But I'm a worrier lol

 

[Renee572]

Phew crisis averted. Checked in with the breeder today. He had planned to start gathering eggs for us last Wednesday but apparently the hens were laying so well he didn't have to start until yesterday so the eggs will be fresher than I originally thought. He said he hasn't collected a blue egg yet but he still has today, tomorrow, and early Friday morning as I asked to pick them up Friday morning instead of tomorrow. And he said that I can choose the eggs I want when I get there, yay!!

So anyway I msg'd my neighbor to let her know our eggs are being collected and she informed me that her boyfriend now has the incubator we are borrowing. Yay!! I can't wait to get my hands on it and get it figured out and set up. I still can't believe this is all happening.... wait I still can't believe I even have chickens and I've had them since April.

So I originally planned to set them Friday night but then I thought if they start hatching at night, we will all miss it. So then I thought maybe I'd set them on Friday morning but then again if they start hatching on time all the kids will be at school and miss it. So my next thought was to set them mid day Friday because our kids get out at noon on Fridays and that way hopefully no one will miss the exciting event!! But it will make for a weird schedule I guess. I just don't want anyone to miss it, I really want the kids to experience it and we chose to set them this weekend because my neighbor has her kids the weekend they will hatch otherwise they may have been with their dad and miss it altogether.

Ahhhhh decisions, decisions. And I have plenty more to make still because I'm still a bit unsure of how it's all going to come together!!

Since the eggs are local I wouldn't think I'd need to let them sit too long before setting them right? I guess I have to see what kind of incubator I'm dealing with to determine if I will have to hand turn them or not. And if I have to hand turn them then I will have to decide whether I will leave them laying on their sides of it I will use the egg cartons at an angle. Oh boy, I'm gonna be nuts the next 3 weeks... if having all my college classes ending around the same time isn't enough stress!! I am one crazy lady.

 

[Purpletie3]

Hello all...I would love to join your December hatch a long.

I just set some splash and sizzle eggs yesterday. They should hatch on 12/9. This will be my second hatch. I bought these from a BYC Member and I am soooo excited to see them progress.

I also ordered a little Brinsea which just came this eve. I am hoping to get some Rhodebars by friday I got off a E-BAy auction...Greenfire Farm lineage.

My first hatch was dreadful...shipped eggs with detatched air cells and a scrambled looking box. I did get one chick from that and he passed Monday. I cried for the day and I just received some shipped silkies this morning...unfortunately, only half made the journey. So sad.

So, I think I should change my name to "One who walks without chickens" But, I am a stubborn and determined gal!

 

[Renee572]

Hello all...I would love to join your December hatch a long.

I just set some splash and sizzle eggs yesterday. They should hatch on 12/9. This will be my second hatch. I bought these from a BYC Member and I am soooo excited to see them progress.

I also ordered a little Brinsea which just came this eve. I am hoping to get some Rhodebars by friday I got off a E-BAy auction...Greenfire Farm lineage.

My first hatch was dreadful...shipped eggs with detatched air cells and a scrambled looking box. I did get one chick from that and he passed Monday. I cried for the day and I just received some shipped silkies this morning...unfortunately, only half made the journey. So sad.

So, I think I should change my name to "One who walks without chickens" But, I am a stubborn and determined gal!

Yes please join us! Sorry to hear about your losses. I hope this next hatch goes really well for you. This will be my first hatch ever and the hatch date will be 12/12 once I set them on Friday. I am so excited. I got some local eggs and will be picking them up on Friday morning. Please keep us posted and post pictures too. I am curious to see more candling pics as I think that's the part of the process I am most nervous about at this point as I am afraid I will decide to toss something that could have made it had I left it!!

 

[mistyhollow]

I just set some splash and sizzle eggs yesterday. They should hatch on 12/9. This will be my second hatch. I bought these from a BYC Member and I am soooo excited to see them progress.

I am anxiously waiting on my splash and sizzle eggs from a BYC member. She shipped them out last Saturday. The estimated arrival date was Monday but I am hoping I get them before Friday! Would love to have been able to set mine the same day as yours and compared notes!