December Hatch-A-Long 2014

[Peep-Chicken]

How can I keep track of the chicks? All three that hatched are black, so I am getting kind of confused as more and more hatch.

Is it possible they could be sex-linked? The smallest black chick has no white spot on his head, the other two blacks both have white spots

Hope everyone else has good hatches

 

[Renee572]

How can I keep track of the chicks? All three that hatched are black, so I am getting kind of confused as more and more hatch.

Is it possible they could be sex-linked? The smallest black chick has no white spot on his head, the other two blacks both have white spots

Hope everyone else has good hatches

I have read some people put some food coloring on them to keep track or you can buy little bands that you put around their leg but you have to change the size as they get bigger.

I can't speak to the Sex Link part, I have no idea. I think my 1 has a white spot on its head.

 

[Denwendairy]

Over the past couple of days, I've read this thread from beginning to end! It's exciting that so many of you are now at the stage that I can't wait to get to!
I have 26 eggs in the incubator that are on day 6. We are due for lockdown on Christmas Day. We have set eggs from white ameracaunas, black copper marans, lavender orps, Easter Eggers and olive Eggers. Did a quick candling (left eggs in the turner and just shone the light through a few of them) and everything looks on track.
Looking forward to the updates!

 

[Renee572]

Over the past couple of days, I've read this thread from beginning to end! It's exciting that so many of you are now at the stage that I can't wait to get to!
I have 26 eggs in the incubator that are on day 6. We are due for lockdown on Christmas Day. We have set eggs from white ameracaunas, black copper marans, lavender orps, Easter Eggers and olive Eggers. Did a quick candling (left eggs in the turner and just shone the light through a few of them) and everything looks on track.
Looking forward to the updates!

good luck, it's so exciting!

 

[ochochicas]

Got up today and checked the broody. Seven eggs have hatched out of the eight. All the chicks are dry and walking around so I know they hatched yesterday. My broody is amazing - I love her! The one remaining egg is the legbar and I would guess it will never hatch. It has until tomorrow morning and then I'm tossing it. Will post pics of the chicks later.

I, too, have wondered about the black chicks with the white spot. I had eight hatch in November. Four had white spots. All of them are cockerels (I think at this point). One of the chicks with the solid black head is also a cockerel. The three black chicks that hatched yesterday all have white/yellow spots on their heads. I hope they are not sex linked!!! That would mean my hen has produced 6 cockerels out of 7 chicks. Maybe my luck is really that bad...

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Got up today and checked the broody.  Seven eggs have hatched out of the eight.  All the chicks are dry and walking around so I know they hatched yesterday.  My broody is amazing - I love her!  The one remaining egg is the legbar and I would guess it will never hatch.  It has until tomorrow morning and then I'm tossing it.  Will post pics of the chicks later.

I, too, have wondered about the black chicks with the white spot.  I had eight hatch in November.  Four had white spots.  All of them are cockerels (I think at this point).  One of the chicks with the solid black head is also a cockerel.  The three black chicks that hatched yesterday all have white/yellow spots on their heads.  I hope they are not sex linked!!!  That would mean my hen has produced 6 cockerels out of 7 chicks.  Maybe my luck is really that bad...

Wow, I hope as well they aren't sex-linked. That means I would only have one girl. Congrats on your hatch.

Can anyone help me with a problem I have been having? So I noticed this one egg in lockdown leaking a honey like fluid. I know this is bad, but I opened the bator and took it out. Anyways, the egg had a yellow chick, and the chick appears dead. The egg leaked out nasty fluids, a few other eggs are doing this. I had this exact same problem in May with my second hatch. All 12 chicks died before they could hatch from it, only one lived. I put the chick back in the bator, although I'm pretty sure its dead. Should I toss it?



It seems to only effect the yellow chicks, what's the problem?

Thanks.

 

[ochochicas]

After breakfast I went to check on the chicks. My barred rock hen was sitting on the nest and the one remaining egg! Momma hen had taken her babies to a different part of the hen house, unharmed. I put them all in a dog crate and moved them to a horse stall so they will be undisturbed. I already know in my mind that the legbar egg won't ever hatch, so I don't care what the BR hen has in mind.

Four of my babies are from my Speckled Sussex and the other three are hatched from a black copper Marans. You can see the huge white spots on their heads!!!! I hope they aren't all boys since I'd really like to get some olive eggs next year.

 

[Skink]

Wow, I hope as well they aren't sex-linked. That means I would only have one girl. Congrats on your hatch.

Can anyone help me with a problem I have been having? So I noticed this one egg in lockdown leaking a honey like fluid. I know this is bad, but I opened the bator and took it out. Anyways, the egg had a yellow chick, and the chick appears dead. The egg leaked out nasty fluids, a few other eggs are doing this. I had this exact same problem in May with my second hatch. All 12 chicks died before they could hatch from it, only one lived. I put the chick back in the bator, although I'm pretty sure its dead. Should I toss it?



It seems to only effect the yellow chicks, what's the problem?

Thanks.

That sounds like you have a contaminated egg. Leaks are very bad and if it is happening to/has happened to all your eggs, it is probably because of a build up of pressure from bacteria thriving within the egg. Even if they don't smell bad, a beaded or leaking egg is a disaster in the incubator and is best gotten out ASAP, especially if you have other healthy eggs in there! I think opening briefly during lockdown would be less of a sin than letting an egg bomb go off.

I think the fact all the chicks are yellow is coincidental. However, if this egg and the ones in May are coming from the same parent stock, and they all went leaky at the same time rather than one going leaky and being left to spread the bad, I would question the health of the hens. If you are consistently getting contaminated eggs from those hens, it is likely that it happened before lay, or they are laying more porous eggs than not. There are lots of ways eggs can get contaminated, though, and if it is just the one egg, I would consider that it was from handling. Even as careful as we are, our bodies are practically zoos for microbes, and an egg going bad here or there is something everyone is bound to experience!

I hope your other eggs are well and behave as hoped!

As for everyone questioning the possibility of sex links, sex linked chicks are born as a result of being a first generation crossing of sex-specific color varieties. If you are concerned, I would research the ingredients for black stars. If you are making the same cross there is reason to worry, but otherwise it is coincidental!

 

[Renee572]

After breakfast I went to check on the chicks. My barred rock hen was sitting on the nest and the one remaining egg! Momma hen had taken her babies to a different part of the hen house, unharmed. I put them all in a dog crate and moved them to a horse stall so they will be undisturbed. I already know in my mind that the legbar egg won't ever hatch, so I don't care what the BR hen has in mind. Four of my babies are from my Speckled Sussex and the other three are hatched from a black copper Marans. You can see the huge white spots on their heads!!!! I hope they aren't all boys since I'd really like to get some olive eggs next year.

so cute! Congrats

 

[ChickenLady2014]

Shout-out to my broody hen! I could hear peeping when I got home from work. It took all my willpower to leave the hen alone and not take a peak. When I went to lock up for the night this little bugger came out to say hello. It hatched from one of my Speckled Sussex eggs. There are at least 2 other chicks under the momma - one olive and one more sussex I think. Waiting for the others to hatch now.

Aww it's so cute, I can't wait until mine hatch. Love them little fuzzy butts.