FEB HATCH-ALONG THREAD ...COME JOIN US.... EVERYONE!

[Adam7]

I woke up this morning to my very first baby

She is stuck in the egg carton.. I feel like I should take her out.. If I don't see another egg with a pip would it be safe to remove her really fast?

 

[Maah]

MaahBeaker what is a cheater candler?

Well, im using a Brinsea Mini incubator. It has a clear dome, and the silkie eggs are quite light so the air sack is pretty easy to see. All I do is hold my bright LED light up to the side of the bator & I can "candle" them without taking them out. That's all I meant by it.
I have a picture of me doing it. It's not as clear as looking in person cuz the camera picks up the light/reflection a lot. But here it is... Look close & you can see the air sack.

 

[Maah]

Well, I am here at my son's bowling tournament. It just started.

I got up at 5:30 (EST) and there were no chirping or star cracks yet... But, I held my light up to the bator & did my cheater candle and chick #4 did internal pip!! I could see the beak and chick movement in the air space. So cool. She's got a bit to go so I'm hopeful she'll hold off until I get home. I didn't see any internal pips on any of the other eggs, but did see a little movement against the membrane/sack on one other egg... I know it's working at it.

So that's the only update I have so far.

Adam, congrats in the chickie-doodle!!! I think you should be ok to leave her be for a bit. She'll take a little to gain her strength an will start crawling all over the place. Yahoo!

Keep with the updates & pics everybody...
I've got hours here until I can get home to check my own babies.

 

[gapeach717]

Nope! I candle on day 3 as a preliminary fertility check. I put a pencil slash on the ones that aren't developing and check again in a week.

ditto! Day three is when my candling starts.....it doesnt stop....ever....so far *snort*

 

[gapeach717]

Ok so today is grandpas birthday and he is in a nursing home for physical therapy and gets out tomorrow. But what to take him hummmm. Maybe I will go to Atwoods. Sure lets go. I found him a cute mallard duck ( plus 3 more bantams) one was hurt so I got it for free. So we get there and I sneak past one nurse then another. Wand another. Can't find grandpa. Found him. With my hand in my coat pocket I told him happy birthday and asked him if he wanted his present. He said baby you didn't have to. And I handed him his baby mallard duck. He started to tear up and just smiled holding his new baby. He said can we take it swimming in the pond tomorrow? Lol grandpa soon but maybe inside first!

So I left Atwoods with one duck and three chicks bantam. Oh my my babies need to hatch. I still have till the 7 th Aaaahhhhhhhh.

i seriously just got all choked up and i am glad i am wearing my glasses and not contacts. OMG!! Love!!! I have a special relationship with my grandpa too. I'm his "fishing buddy". He is in Daytona and been very ill for a long long time, but some how he just keeps pushing past all these crazy milestones no one ever thought he could. Its a miracle every day. My whole world will shatter when he loses this epic battle against 4 diff cancers and emphazema.(sp?) I loved hearing this story this morning. Now to go find kleenex!!!

 

[gapeach717]

I woke up this morning to my very first baby

She is stuck in the egg carton.. I feel like I should take her out.. If I don't see another egg with a pip would it be safe to remove her really fast?

ACK!!! look at her little chipmunk self just hanging out waiting for her friends to hatch!!!

what are the baby food jars for?

 

[gapeach717]

Well, im using a Brinsea Mini incubator. It has a clear dome, and the silkie eggs are quite light so the air sack is pretty easy to see. All I do is hold my bright LED light up to the side of the bator & I can "candle" them without taking them out. That's all I meant by it.
I have a picture of me doing it. It's not as clear as looking in person cuz the camera picks up the light/reflection a lot. But here it is... Look close & you can see the air sack.

sneaky sneaky!! LOVE IT!!

 

[Adam7]

ACK!!! look at her little chipmunk self just hanging out waiting for her friends to hatch!!!

what are the baby food jars for?

It's really common to put them in homemade incubators as they help keep the temperature stable. They are filled with water. It takes longer to heat up more mass a well as to cool down more mass making the temperature more even. One more chick pic!!

 

[gapeach717]

awww i love your babies!!! I have water in cups under the base rack....I have heard of using rocks as well! Thanks for the info!

 

[Brookhavens]

ditto! Day three is when my candling starts.....it doesnt stop....ever....so far *snort*

See and I am just the opposite. I put them in and forget to candle sometimes. The batch that went into lockdown last night I had totally forgotten about until this past Thursday. Normally I keep an incubation/hatch sheet on my eggs but this one set I forgot. I was setting eggs in the bator and had to move trays around and when I saw their tray I was like "What are these"? Thank goodness I wrote the date on all of them so I knew when they went into lockdown.