December Hatch-A-Long 2014

[LindaB220]

I have hatched Many of eggs in a still air incubator----usually 70 to 80%, has been lower and higher. I did this NEVER using a hydrometer/humidity meter---did not own one for years. I just filled the smaller water reservior for the first 18 days, then both of the reserviors the last 3 days adding a small wet sponge if I felt it was needed. With the still air I keep the temp around 101. I think the biggest thing that helps me have a good hatch is when I close the incubator on day 18---after I candle the eggs, remove the turner and fill both reservoirs is--I DO NOT open the incubator again for NOTHING till all the eggs hatch or day 22---which ever comes first! If I need to add water I do it with a flex straw through a vent hole. If a Chick looks like it needs Help----If it will hang in there till all hatch or day 22---I will help it---Nothing can make me open it before. I do the same in my Big Hatcher and I usually hatch close 100%.

You can put the eggs into another incubator while you add the fan kit---should work fine. I have added fans to my styrofoam incubators too but I always used a small fan I had laying around and a lower voltage power pack(looks like a cell phone charger)--But I have alot of "stuff" laying around! If you have questions, just ask--BUT ask before you do it is best---plenty of people here to help you. Good Luck!!

Excellent info.

 

[ftpagain]

Hi ftpagain,

Eggs are wonderful things. You get different colors with different breeds. Some lay blue eggs and some lay white or brown. If you breed a blue egg layer rooster with a blue egg hen you get blues. It you breed a blue egg layer rooster with a brown layer hen you get olive egg color eggs. The rainbow mix is a bunch of different kinds of chickens laying a different color egg. This is the joy of raising chickens for eggs. You get to choose what color of egg you want.

i wonder if there is a chart of some sort for all this. would be so handy!!!

 

[LindaB220]

i wonder if there is a chart of some sort for all this. would be so handy!!!

Not really a colored chart but a great info sheet on different breeds. Amounts of eggs, size, color of eggs, disposition. A great all around sheet.


http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/hendersonschickenchart.pdf

 

[Renee572]

Temps been steady at 100, humidity steady at 46. Algebra final tonight. I'm feeling so calm about today, maybe it's all this lovely rain we are getting today! After this final, I have one on Saturday and then one next Thursday,after that I can enjoy the hatching next Friday and Saturday! I'm so excited.

 

[ochochicas]

so right now i have 102 eggs in and only one of then is this dark green color. as i was candling them last night i couldn't see any veins inside or anything and nearly cried. after sometime i convinced myself that i saw "something" and put it back.
can someone tell me what breed lays dark green eggs or does the darkness depend on their food?

Egg color is genetic and will be determined by the parents/genetics of the hen. A dark green egg is a result of a blue egg layer being crossed with a dark brown egg layer. The most common blue egg layers are Ameraucanas, Legbars and Araucanas. Dark brown egg layers typically are Marans and welsummers. If you get one copy of blue and one copy of the dark brown gene, resulting eggs will be dark green. They are also called olive.

Chances are if a hen hatches from the egg you have it will not lay olive eggs. If the father is a blue egg producer, you will get a lighter green egg. If the father is a brown producer, you could get a medium brown producer or medium green. Do you know what kind of rooster fertilized the eggs?

One of my breeding goals is to get different colors of eggs from my pullets. I have an Australorp that lays brown eggs, but when the bloom dries they almost look pinkish-purple. I crossed her with an Ameraucana and hope to get a purplish egg color. You never know what will happen though. Plus I think I only got 1 or two pullets from them.

 

[ftpagain]

Egg color is genetic and will be determined by the parents/genetics of the hen. A dark green egg is a result of a blue egg layer being crossed with a dark brown egg layer. The most common blue egg layers are Ameraucanas, Legbars and Araucanas. Dark brown egg layers typically are Marans and welsummers. If you get one copy of blue and one copy of the dark brown gene, resulting eggs will be dark green. They are also called olive.

Chances are if a hen hatches from the egg you have it will not lay olive eggs. If the father is a blue egg producer, you will get a lighter green egg. If the father is a brown producer, you could get a medium brown producer or medium green. Do you know what kind of rooster fertilized the eggs?

One of my breeding goals is to get different colors of eggs from my pullets. I have an Australorp that lays brown eggs, but when the bloom dries they almost look pinkish-purple. I crossed her with an Ameraucana and hope to get a purplish egg color. You never know what will happen though. Plus I think I only got 1 or two pullets from them.

great info! thank!

i don't know anything about the breeds of the parents. the lady i got them from just has an assortment running around so who knows.
this is what the eggs looked like before they went into the incubator. the colors are a bit lighter in the picture due to the lighting

the one I'm talking about is 2nd top left.

i am also trying to figure out ways to mark/label the chicks as they hatch to remember which batch and what egg they came from. any ideas any one?

 

[ochochicas]

The green eggs just looks like an Easter Egger to me.

I mark my chicks with food coloring. It has to be reappied very 10 days or so. This is much easier to do on lighter color chicks. My black chicks had white bellies, so i put the food coloring there. Some people use tiny zipties on the legs, but you have to make sure to take them off as the chicks grow or they will strangulate the leg.

You'll also notice as the chicks hatch they will be jumping all over the incubator. It is very difficult to tell who is who once you have more than 3 or 4 chick in there at a time.

 

[Debs55]

Temps been steady at 100, humidity steady at 46. Algebra final tonight. I'm feeling so calm about today, maybe it's all this lovely rain we are getting today! After this final, I have one on Saturday and then one next Thursday,after that I can enjoy the hatching next Friday and Saturday! I'm so excited.

Im right in the middle of finals week too! and hatch day is tomorrow lol

 

[ChickenLady2014]

Hi there and welcome!!!

I am on Hatch 2 & 3 with shipped eggs so, I don't know if I should give any advice....However, I do research a ton... from what I found...make sure your bator is running and keeping temp a day or even two before.  Sit the eggs fat end up for 24 hours...you will need to check for the air cells and see if they are intact & cracked eggs by candling.   My first hatch had all the air cells not intact and they were also looking like older dehydrated eggs...much different incubation than my two right now....I tried to get the air cells to re-attach by incubating them fat end up in egg cartons and not turning them for the first few days...However, they never re-attached.  My current ones 2 of 4 re-attached.  Sweet!

You may want to set them all together on Saturday or two of the shipments in one bator and one in the other.  They say eggs are viable for a week...you'd have to know how old those eggs are though.  Or maybe you have an alternate plan come lockdown on day 18...?

There is a really good section in here on Incubation101 and shipped eggs. Give her a read through.  Best of luck!

1st Pointer I would Suggest is No Staggered hatch unless you have Other Incubators to use as a hatcher to move the 18 day old eggs into and have enough other incubators so when the next 18 day old eggs are ready they can be moved into a fresh incubator/hatcher--not one that is being used. Just hold your eggs for a couple days then set them all together.

As far as silkies, I do nothing different--they do hatch most of the time a day earlier than normal size eggs, But they just sit tight in the incubator till all the others hatch or day 22---no problem.

Thank for the great advice, I will be setting 30 barnyard mix tonight in 1 incubator & then on Saturday set the remainder of shipped eggs that are suppose to come tomorrow & another 10 or 12 of my own eggs in the second incubator. Wish me luck & good luck to you all.

 

[aidensmomma]

I'm on page 7 of a 14 page term paper.....with finals next week My eggs went into lock down this afternoon and I already see some wiggling. I write a little, check for wigglers, write a little....it helps me from going crazy. This is my favorite part. I've got a new mini brooder in my hatching room for day olds up to about a week old so they'll stay nice and cozy warm until they go to the big brooder outside. If we keep having 75 degree days, they may go out a little sooner. Good luck fellow hatchers!