Filling the incubator 6-3-2011 Join me for my 1st attempt?

[stitch81]

I was given another dozen RIR to put in the incubator for another try. Set them today. This time I'm using the hatcher tank as the incubator. Much less air flow than the first time around, so we'll see if that was the issue. I'm also going to do the dry hatch again, keeping humidity around 35% or so. Hopefully I have better luck this time around.

 

[equine chick]

I have eggs arriving this week and will be setting eggs probally on saturday. Going to throw a few of mine own in for a test hatch as well. I really hope for a better hatch this time.

 

[jfulcher]

We have a shaker!

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

Ok, my hatch is officially done. I hatched 4 out of 15...not great, but the chicks sure are cute! I'm loading the incubator again next week with some mixed Polish from a neighbor...no more shipped eggs for me.
Here's my RIR:

The first EE

Mystery chick...it hatched out of an egg marked RIR. Any thoughts? I'm thinking Black Orpington? The eggs were an assortment from My Pet Chicken.

Second EE:

 

[ItsAZOO32]

Quote:
What color was the Mystery Egg?

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

Quote:
What color was the Mystery Egg?

It was light brown. It actually looked exactly like the RIR egg.

 

[Taylorhens]

Okay, here are my final numbers. I've officially shut down the incubator and eggtopsied those that did not hatch.

Started with:
12 bantam mottled cochin
15 wheaton Marans

Knew I was in trouble right away with the cochins as I candled them the night they arrived and had lots with displaced air cells fromshipping

Day 8:
6 cochins clear, including all the ones with displaced air cells. No development in any of them. Did not crack them open to see if fertile. Threw them out
2 cochins with very distinct blood rings. Threw them out
The Marans eggs were VERY dark and couldn't see a darned thing in them, so I left them all in

Day 18:
3 Marans obviously rotten. Threw them out.
1 cochin looked like it had quit about half way through, but I left it in just in case.

Hatched:
2 cochins pipped day 19. One hatched 24 hours later on day 20 and one hatched 36 hours later (with help) on day 21
2 Marans pipped and hatched quickly on day 21
1 more Maran hatched day 23 with help

Eggtopsied:
Remaining cochin was a quitter about 1/2 way through as suspected
7 Marans were infertile, one rotten
1 Marans had a neary fully developed chick, was not shrink wrapped, just didn't pip. Don't know why. Head was not even up near air cell, was about 1/2 way down the egg
1 Marans was shrink wrapped, did not look quite fully developed.

So all in all, I hatched 5 of 7 of the viable eggs, which is not bad. I love my 5 chicks DEARLY. All are doing terrific, even the ones I helped. But still disappointing to start with 27 eggs and end up with 5 chicks. I had no incubation problems. Temp and humidity were right on target throughout.

I will take a break for a few months as I have travel plans and can't be here to watch and incubator or take care of chicks. But in the fall some of my other hens will be laying. I will try again then with my own eggs.

 

[stitch81]

Quote:
What color was the Mystery Egg?

It was light brown. It actually looked exactly like the RIR egg.

I had a black chick hatch out of a RIR egg too. Apparently there are a few different varieties. My daughter's teacher gave me another dozen RIR, she said 4 of them should definately be the reddish color, but she said the other 8, who knows what color they will be. I'm trying to get a few other eggs (mixed breeds) from a local gal here in town. If I can get some I'll just put them in with the RIR since I just set them today.

 

[hudsonnascarfan]

well out of the dozen eggs i had in lockdown 3 hatched out on there own and my wife decided she was going to help out the last egg that was zipping it had taken so long that it was stuck to the shell but she wet it down with warm water and it came right out im thinking that the rest are all done we have 2 more that were pipping but they havent moved in a while and the humity in there hadent droped below 78% so i dont know why that one was dryed out but the one she helped out is doing good so far now the fun is going to start trying to guess what they are 3 came from brown eggs and the last one was a white egg and all 4 chicks are yellow fuzz balls

 

[hudsonnascarfan]

well this being my first hatch im thinking with the power outages we had and the few temp spikes id say it wasent all that bad
and i might try to go pick up the other batch of eggs and give them a try nit im not sure yet i might just wait and hatch out some of my own eggs this winter i really dont want to over load my chicken coop this summer and not have the money to build a second coopbut ill at least beable to give these chicks to the grand kids