Did anyone else set eggs today on Valentine's Day?

[comptonsgonecountry]

We are locking down on Saturday! I'm crossing my fingers because I have 9 out of the 15 that I set, thriving. Another reason why I'm so anxious for this hatch, we have a farmer up the road that wants to start a laying flock and asked if I could hatch some of my own out for her. So once this group has hatched, I will be cleaning out the bator and going for round two!!!

We live amongst the Blue Ridge Mountains in VA. It's been a mild winter for us too. But personally I love the humidity and heat that summer brings. My hubby tells me all the time that I should walk around in a comforter

Not a bad idea!

 

[SkippyRoo]

Comptons,

that sounds like a great opportunity to flock a local farmer! i hope to sell some also and maybe do one more hatch after this. Will you disinfect your bator? How?


I candled again tonight, day 15, and culled out three more, five in total. One was infertile, don't know how i missed it, and two others were just stalled and not developing like the others, they were ones that were shipped though. There has not been much change in the air space. i had been worried that it was too dry because it had gotten down to 17% humidity at some point so i have been boiling water like crazy, really i can get soo obsessive when worried hehe, just to keep it up in the twenties for 3 days. So now i will just let it be until lockdown on Friday night. i got to watch some embryo movement and pulsing which was exciting to see.

On a side note, i killed one of our roosters today, a Brown leghorn he was so beautiful but he has chased my 5 yr. old daughter and made her cry a few times so had to go. She is soo ****** at him and wanting him dead haha. This is the first time she has been so adamant about me killing one of our flock. Payback is a b**** for aggressive roos.





ok well good luck y'all,

Scott

 

[comptonsgonecountry]

Comptons,

that sounds like a great opportunity to flock a local farmer! i hope to sell some also and maybe do one more hatch after this. Will you disinfect your bator? How?


I candled again tonight, day 15, and culled out three more, five in total. One was infertile, don't know how i missed it, and two others were just stalled and not developing like the others, they were ones that were shipped though. There has not been much change in the air space. i had been worried that it was too dry because it had gotten down to 17% humidity at some point so i have been boiling water like crazy, really i can get soo obsessive when worried hehe, just to keep it up in the twenties for 3 days. So now i will just let it be until lockdown on Friday night. i got to watch some embryo movement and pulsing which was exciting to see.

On a side note, i killed one of our roosters today, a Brown leghorn he was so beautiful but he has chased my 5 yr. old daughter and made her cry a few times so had to go. She is soo ****** at him and wanting him dead haha. This is the first time she has been so adamant about me killing one of our flock. Payback is a b**** for aggressive roos.





ok well good luck y'all,

Scott

Scott,

I'm happy to be lending a hand to our local farmers. I love how most of them are all about bartering! In return for me hatching out the chicks and doing some work around their farm, my girls will get the chance to go to the summer camp they hold. Perfect trade off!

I disinfect my bator with one part bleach and one part water. I let the solution sit in the bator for a couple minutes and then scrub with a used toothbrush. I then put it out in the sun to dry... just some added disinfected straight from nature itself

I'm sure others have great ideas on how they go about disinfecting theirs.

About candling, I think I will hold off until this Friday to candle for the last time. You see, I just set some more eggs in the same bator a couple days ago and while I had it opened I candled a couple of the ones that are due to hatch on the 5-6. The two that I checked out seemed to be doing well but not much in the way of air cell growth. My eggs are a bit dark so the only thing I can see are faint veins and dark masses. I take the veins as a good sign.

As you can see, I will now have to go purchase another bator to hatch this upcoming batch in. Thank God I have a understanding hubby who just rolls his eyes when he sees me setting more eggs. I figured once this hatch that is due on the 5-6 is threw, I will set more of my flocks eggs. I can't wait to see what my girls chicks will look like! I hope I get a good hatch.

Heres to Happy Hatching!!!

 

[comptonsgonecountry]

Oh, about the rooster... did you send him to freezer camp?

 

[SkippyRoo]

Yeah, He is in the fridge now. I'll let him rest there for a few days then make some soup!

Wow, that sounds great to barter for summer camp!!

I was thinking of using bleach or a bleach alternative.

My eggs are dark too. I was thinking that my candler might not be bright enough also. So it looks like you are or will be in full swing for another hatch! I want to do another but i am waiting on a breeder of Red sussex in colorado. She wants to wait until May to ship eggs or chicks. That seems so far away and my daughter and i will be moving out of our cabin in April to quasi camp while finishing building our new little house, so i think i won't have very stable temperatures there since the house is not even insulated yet. Oh well!

Yes, Cheers to hatching!!

 

[Jake1297]

Tomorrow is the day, 11 of my eggs are going into lock down followed by another 6 (silkies) on Saturday. Anxious to see how many made it through the power failure. I had 17 of 19 fertile when candled before the outage.

 

[comptonsgonecountry]

Tomorrow is the day, 11 of my eggs are going into lock down followed by another 6 (silkies) on Saturday. Anxious to see how many made it through the power failure. I had 17 of 19 fertile when candled before the outage.

Jake,

Wish you all the luck! I too go into lockdown tomorrow. Eight of my barnyard mix eggs will hopefully be hatching by the sixth.

 

[SkippyRoo]

Jake & Comptons,

Good Luck to you two! Jake will you be candling before lockdown? when i candled the other night I was definitely able to see movement which was great. i'm hoping the the outage didn't stall yours. I imagine if you candle you'll be able to tell.

I have 31 still and will candle friday night then lockdown!!!!!!!! My daughter and I will be staying close for lockdown and will share any developments with you. i'll be hoping to hear your news too!!!

 

[Jake1297]

I just put mine in lock down. 12 noon EST. I last time I candled was the 14th day and all was very dark, too dark for me to see movement. Even if they or some of them don't make it, it'll give me an excuse for another hatch.

 

[comptonsgonecountry]

Jake and SkippyRoo,

Glad to see you both are on lockdown!

Jake, I have my fingers crossed for you. Were you able to see any veins by the air sack?

SkippyRoo, this is my third shot at incubating. I was so excited to show my hubby and girls the baby chicks moving in their eggs. We saw what looked like a chicks foot up by the air sack. I hope the chick is suppose to be positioned feet up. I guess I should research it a little more. Were you able to see veins by the air sack? I was amazed at seeing the veins. The last two hatches I used a dollar store flashlight and it wasn't nearly as bright as the $5.00 led flashlight I found.

Something I learned this morning while locking down the chicks. For the life of me I could not get the humidity past 50%. I added four cups that held drenched paper towel in each one to the four corners. Filled up the canals with drenched paper towels and still nothing past 50%. By accident I knocked one of my hygrometers out of the egg carton I had it sitting on and did not notice until I got back from work. When I returned home, I checked out the humidity and temps to record in my notebook, lo and behold humidity was at 70%. I guess the hygrometer needs to sit on the floor of the incubator and not up were the eggs are. Does this sound right to you all?

I can't wait to hear updates and see pictures!