February Violets: A Hatching Journey

Dragon Feet · Jan 17, 2023

Greetings
my
fellow
chicken
people

This year I am attempting to hatch eggs from an incubator for the first time. I got a Nurture Right 360° for myself as a Christmas present and set it up a few days ago. I placed six brown eggs inside it on the evening of the fourteenth.

Excitement and worry have already taken root

I'm really praying everything goes well. Tips will be greatly appreciated!

Since they are due in February and the representative flower of that month is the violet I thought it would be a fun thread title. Here I will share this harrowing hatching journey and hopefully, eventually, the chicks growing up.

What kind are they you may ask?

I believe all the eggs are either from my Buff Orpingtons or my Rhode island Red hen. I do have nine Easter Eggers but to the best of my knowlage none are laying right now.
My rooster is part BCM.

I'm pretty curious to see what this mix turns out like. Do any of you have examples of it? I'd love to see!

I forgot to introduce myself lol...

Hello!

You could can call me Dragon or Feet or Shellie if you like!

I like the color pink, crocheting, origami, reading and art!

I'm a chicken lover who has been infatuated with the birds since I was eleven. I got my first flock of six Barred Rock pullets for my thirteenth birthday and have since then owned chickens for about six years.

I have learned so much but I still have a lot more to go!
I'd especially like to get into chicken genetics. Any recommendations on where to get started?

Cute Pics of My RIR Girl
She did such a good job modeling!

Dragon Feet · Jan 17, 2023

Funny story, I kept getting scared by the incubator. I keep it in my room so the cats can't reach it and during the night I would get woken up by a sound like rolling rocks. It was always loud and sudden and it scared me so bad. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from cause I'd never heard such a thing before. Today I figured out it was just the bator turning the eggs.

FunClucks · Jan 17, 2023

If you're interested in genetics Nicalandia's Ask Anything thread is an awesome read. I think I only retain about 60-70% of it, but what I do understand is super cool.

Good luck with your incubation and hatching!!! So excited for you!!!

I got a Nurture Right 360 for Christmas too!

You held out longer than me, I think I got that thing on the 25th of December, and I loaded it up with 19 eggs on the 30th. But I didn't stop there, I kept adding eggs on day 1, day 3, and day 8. Now I have to deal with a staggered hatch if I want my last two eggs to have the best chance of making it. Unless you have a second incubator, staggered hatches are too much trouble, so I wouldn't recommend doing what I did, LOL. Classic newbie mistake!

Dragon Feet · Jan 17, 2023

FunClucks said:
If you're interested in genetics Nicalandia's Ask Anything thread is an awesome read. I think I only retain about 60-70% of it, but what I do understand is super cool.

Good luck with your incubation and hatching!!! So excited for you!!!

I got a Nurture Right 360 for Christmas too!

You held out longer than me, I think I got that thing on the 25th of December, and I loaded it up with 19 eggs on the 30th. But I didn't stop there, I kept adding eggs on day 1, day 3, and day 8. Now I have to deal with a staggered hatch if I want my last two eggs to have the best chance of making it. Unless you have a second incubator, staggered hatches are too much trouble, so I wouldn't recommend doing what I did, LOL. Classic newbie mistake!

Lol yes! It was so difficult for me to wait but I was too busy to keep an eye on eggs. When are yours due to hatch? I'd love to see pictures when they do! What kinds do you have in there?

Also I will definitely check out that thread! Thank you

FunClucks · Jan 17, 2023

Dragon Feet said:
Lol yes! It was so difficult for me to wait but I was too busy to keep an eye on eggs. When are yours due to hatch? I'd love to see pictures when they do! What kinds do you have in there?

Also I will definitely check out that thread! Thank you

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/january-2023-hatch-a-long.1557500/

Pics of my eggs and incubation details throughout. On page 18 is the still-air incubator I rushed to set up after I realized I needed two. Also I overloaded my 22 egg incubator after I realized which eggs belonged to my favorite hen, so I've been hand-turning eggs this whole time even though I have an automatic turner - yea don't do that either!

One cool thing - ALL of my chicks are still alive and developing. Looks like my rooster was totally taking care of everyone and doing a good job of it. Sucks that I couldn't throw away a few clears and just use the auto-turner, although I'm crossing my fingers all the babies make it.

SourRoses · Jan 17, 2023

I'm about to start some too. I kept waiting for more eggs from one particular hen, "just 1 more, 1 more". Now I have 28 total to stuff in the NR 360.
I did the same number last time with 6 on top of others, and just candle and remove any not developing on day 3 so the turning can work smoothly after that.

Tip: those rubbery perforated shelf liners work well under the turner, there is enough clearance.
They quiet down the sound of turning, keep the eggs from jiggling back and forth when it comes to a stop, and really help at hatch time when the first ones out want to play rolly polly with their siblings eggs.
The first time I used the shelf liner I picked very thin one, cut it to fit with a hole in the middle for the turner attachment. Then I threw it away with all the hatching junk in it, lol.
So this time I got a thicker liner, it also has enough clearance! And I think this one is better because there's no chance of it getting kinked up, it lays in place better.

I like to use a dry hatch method (30% humidity until lockdown boost to 75%ish) since our climate is humid it works very well. Some drier climates need a higher humidity but I would caution any newbie against overdoing it. The instructions that come with incubators often call for too much. You want the eggs to lose enough moisture before hatch. Every time I candle I draw updated outline of the air cells on the shell on a few eggs for a general idea of how fast the moisture is evaporating. The most correct way, of course, is to weigh them from the start to finish. But drawing can be done at any time, and if you take a picture you can then compare it to the chart.

Dragon Feet · Jan 17, 2023

SourRoses said:
I'm about to start some too. I kept waiting for more eggs from one particular hen, "just 1 more, 1 more". Now I have 28 total to stuff in the NR 360.
I did the same number last time with 6 on top of others, and just candle and remove any not developing on day 3 so the turning can work smoothly after that.

Tip: those rubbery perforated shelf liners work well under the turner, there is enough clearance.
They quiet down the sound of turning, keep the eggs from jiggling back and forth when it comes to a stop, and really help at hatch time when the first ones out want to play rolly polly with their siblings eggs.
The first time I used the shelf liner I picked very thin one, cut it to fit with a hole in the middle for the turner attachment. Then I threw it away with all the hatching junk in it, lol.
So this time I got a thicker liner, it also has enough clearance! And I think this one is better because there's no chance of it getting kinked up, it lays in place better.

I like to use a dry hatch method (30% humidity until lockdown boost to 75%ish) since our climate is humid it works very well. Some drier climates need a higher humidity but I would caution any newbie against overdoing it. The instructions that come with incubators often call for too much. You want the eggs to lose enough moisture before hatch. Every time I candle I draw updated outline of the air cells on the shell on a few eggs for a general idea of how fast the moisture is evaporating. The most correct way, of course, is to weigh them from the start to finish. But drawing can be done at any time, and if you take a picture you can then compare it to the chart.

View attachment 3378053

Thank you for the tips! This is quite helpful! I'll definitely get a mat and also start checking the air cells! How long can eggs safely be handled outside the incubator?