Ella2025's Experiment Broody Hen Hatch-A-Long

[ella2025]

I also plan to get those Cream legbars and Marans next spring and will need the space for them.

If I keep reminding myself of this, I'll be able to wait.

ME TOO! I HAVE to get Marans sometime.

 

[ella2025]

If you're using one of those 360 incubators then I don't think the bowl would fit definitely, and if it does fit I'm guessing it'll just spin and probably spill . I'm using one of those cheap Chinese rectangle incubators with rollers for egg turning. Mine is 30 egg capacity so very big too.

My incubator looks exactly like this one although I don't remember the brand name. If I don't fill it to the brim with eggs then I can fit that bowl in there.

 

[redinator]

View attachment 4228584
My incubator looks exactly like this one although I don't remember the brand name. If I don't fill it to the brim with eggs then I can fit that bowl in there.

The new one I'm testing looks very similar. I read a review that the eggs tend to push forward into the next egg. I did a test run with some fake eggs and found out why.

If the eggs are large and they touch the egg in the next row it causes them rotate against each other and push forward. If the next row is staggered it isn't an issue.

I hope that makes sense, I'll get pictures if it isn't.

 

[GreenJay]

The moment I took them out on the grass they started dust bathing -- they're still doing it and it's adorable. They are so much bigger than a week ago, and they tripled in weight already!
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Beautiful beautiful babies!
Glad Saffron's toe straightened out!

 

[redinator]

This makes sense, but all my eggs I've cracked in the past had a dot this size, and until I incubate it for a day, it looks like that. Eggs from the grocery store have a much much smaller, barely there dot on it. For me at least, only after 1 day of incubation will see a much bigger dot with a clear bullseye. I'm not sure which is correct, but I'll save the rest of Bippy's eggs until Friday and see if they're actually fertilized.

Mine my be a bit more evident since I tend to forget to collect them daily. Especially during the summer I'm sure they develop a bit while in the nest box for a day

 

[redinator]

I'm trying so hard to hold off until spring. I'm planning to add more Orpingtons then.

With any luck I'll have Buff Orpington/EE crosses to hatch next spring

 

[ella2025]

The new one I'm testing looks very similar. I read a review that the eggs tend to push forward into the next egg. I did a test run with some fake eggs and found out why.

If the eggs are large and they touch the egg in the next row it causes them rotate against each other and push forward. If the next row is staggered it isn't an issue.

I hope that makes sense, I'll get pictures if it isn't.

Yeah! That makes sense. I probably can't put that many eggs in there. When I was hatching saffron and pepper they were the only ones in the entire incubator, meaning there weren't many rows. But they were rolling around up and down the rollers every time it turned and it was interesting. When I have some spare time I'll try with some fake eggs.

 

[ella2025]

With any luck I'll have Buff Orpington/EE crosses to hatch next spring

I have some BO ameraucana cross Easter eggers I'm gonna hatch!!!

 

[redinator]

I have some BO ameraucana cross Easter eggers I'm gonna hatch!!!

This is my EE cockerel, Buckbeak. He's the only chick I hoped was male. The way I understand it, which is minimally, when he breds with my brown egg layers the offspring have a 50% of being Olive Eggers. That's assuming he actually has a blue egg gene.

Edit: forgot the picture