First HG-only hatch

[beccabonny]

Lockdown! Hoping to see pips tonight. I set a second batch in the first brooder after I moved the first batch to the lockdown brooder. I can’t wait to see what colors and personalities emerge!

I don’t know if it’s the stock (Myshire) or that I played podcasts not stop in the brooder, but this covey is much more docile than my last stock.

Parents are a variety of ssc, Pansy fee, and some randos. I’ve set up a camera to satisfy my need to constantly check the eggs.

 

[sourland]

Good luck for a successful hatch.

 

[ButtonNomies]

Good luck!! xx

 

[beccabonny]

Still nothing as of this morning. I did the stupid thing and didn't use extra thermometers. I think the temp ran low the entire incubation, but switching to the lockdown 'bator was even cooler. I grabbed my extra thermometers from the kitchen and got a reading of 80F. Have they been at 80 since day 14?!? I hope not! If so I'm a quail murderer I mean...I don't know how I could be so careless! There's just a lot going on that wasn't when I started the incubation. My semester, my daughter's school year, season change tasks. Definitely want to invest in dedicated thermometers and humidity monitors for my breeding project.

I turned up the heat and left my calibrated cooking thermometer down there to stay. I used my thermometer gun (which is tbf not super accurate...usually use it to make candy) and eggs were reading 85-88 at surface temp.

I saw a pip. At this point, I'd be so excited to get one baby from this batch. I finally picked up an egg candler since they had them at runnings (along with so many winter coop things! Wouldn't mind keeping the water from freezing, but I feel like my husband can make a device). Best $9 ever spent. It was SO MUCH EASIER to check batch 2. I smell something, but every one seemed to be developing so just keep checking, I guess!

One of my roos had a bleeding ear/side of his head this afternoon. I don't know who did it. He's the most docile, sweetest male. I split the brooder and stuck him on the other side since it's usually my rehab cage. Definitely time to reduce the adult protein intake; it seems to be making my hens more aggressive than they should be. I can't imagine this guy provoking anyone. Anyway, give him a few days and the vetricyn and he'll be as good as new - just have to figure out who the jerk is! Nobody had any obvious blood on them. It's him and maybe seven hens in the aviary.

 

[beccabonny]

Seven pips now! Almost half! I also saw one egg rocking and rolling, which I rarely get to see. Having trouble keeping the humidity up; I did a dry hatch this time but for hatching I'm trying to keep it around 50%.

My thermometer gun still reads the shell temps in the 80s. That thing is terrible. Hopefully it is at least consistent so that I can use it as another test method.

I hope, just hope, we have some fluffballs tomorrow.

 

[beccabonny]

Ended up with 18 babies, 2 quitters and 2 that were unfertilized but too hard to see due to dark shells. So far, looks like we have tibetan tuxes, a silver pharaoh, some falb and grau fees (yessss!) and some pearl fees along with a few pharaohs. Time to candle batch 2!

We had one baby with curled toes (last to hatch) and one white that looked to have some abnormalities. The white one didn't make it. Curl toe is still hanging in, one foot is straight and the second is on round two of taping.

The kids and I have been working to handle them each individually every day to hopefully keep them used to handling.