Getting ready for lockdown

[Artistickatt]

I have three of my six original eggs getting ready to go into lockdown. All three have lost the appropriate amount of weight all along, they show veins and movement.

As a last night as I was getting some of the last weights, I noticed that too are very difficult to candle anymore (I would expect that), but one is still way easier to candle and looks less dense, but there’s obvious chick movement. Seeing that I set them at the same time, what do I do? I know that they can stay in the incubator for 24 - 48 hours, but I’m not sure if that’ll be long enough to hatch the last one.

I would think that one would need to go possibly several days longer. Thoughts from the experienced hatchers.

 

[KsKingBee]

The porosity of the shell will dictate how much moisture is lost during the incubating process and can extend the timing if it is thicker. It could extend pipping by a few hours to a day or so. Sometimes the embryo can look like it is retarded but will still hatch along with the other eggs. Really, it is a wait-and-see scenario. There could be other factors as well as not all eggs are created equally.

 

[Artistickatt]

Thus being more luck than science. Makes sense. We have had higher than usual humidity here in Centeal Texas this month (we got 15 inches of rain here in one week). I had been trying to keep the humidity at 55% but this last week it kept drifting near 60%. The eggs are at exactly 15% weight loss as of today and I am preparing to lockdown (on schedule). On the site here, it says 60% for the hatch. My original intention was 65% based off of reading the books. Do I increase the humidity for hatch at this point? I have been trying to decide which is more important, the bump in humidity over the set humidity level or the overall humidity level at hatch versus set.

(I know so many just throw their eggs in with the fist number they see and have them hatch. I seem much more prone to anxiety about it and read 100 sources … and truly over the last two months your the only one I treat as WORD)

 

[KsKingBee]

We set our incubator at 45% and the hatcher at 60%. 65% should be fine since your eggs have lost the 15%.

 

[Artistickatt]

As of last night, the eggs had lost 16% but I have it set and am trying to dial in the humidity. If I ever do this again, I am going with a different incubator for this. I can see the flaws with this desktop system for sure. (I feel myself trending to sleeping in the room with it to manage it). When I added water to the second reservoir, it swung to 70%. Lockdown officially started at midnight, so I am just stuck waiting to loose the extra water in the trays to bring it down.

A treat though with the last weighing was that, I got complained at by two of the three eggs , a first. One of those was the egg I was worried about and candled looked more like others .

(One more question, I know I am so bad at that)

How do I handle the chicks to tame them without them imprinting on me?

 

[KsKingBee]

Feel like Columbo do you? Easy, don't handle them. Hand feed them so they know you as the provider of goodies but don't hold or pet them. They are all different, just like your kids are, but as long as they don't get the idea they are 'above' you they will be less likely to flog you when you enter their breeding area. Holding them or letting them sit on your shoulder is being 'above' you. If they are 'superior', they will treat you like any other bird that is encroaching on their territory. (applies to cocks only)

 

[Artistickatt]

Yep Columbo, that ages me . In some ways, it’s been a very long three months taking a Peafowl 101 course.

Ah sure just like with parrots (I grew up with a Grey), your the boss not them. And above always. I have tried to treat these chicks more as “farm animals” and not as pets. Outside at all times, brooder or pen, not in the house running around.

I can see where my oldest chick right now (the male wild type) could be a handful later. But I know he was raised in a barn the first 4 weeks and is absolutely not comfortable with people putting hands on him. I have made strides to have them take worms from me and I can stand in their area or playpen/run and they are not wary of me. I call that success with these chicks, I know to keep this male at arms length for sure.

Just don’t want to screw up the next batch Lord, the minutes are crawling by….

 

[KsKingBee]

I just lost my Gray, had her 34 years. I sure miss her.

 

[Artistickatt]

I am so sorry for your loss. My parents lost their Grey “Bogart” 2 years ago. She was like having a sibling. Only this summer have they begun to be able to talk about her. They got her as a naked chick from a breeder when I was 15… I am now 52. She was older than my kids. I live next to them, and Bogey is missed by four generations of our family. Here is a video my dad took.

I had to explain to him today, sternly, that this these chicks are NOT pets, and the repercussions of that. He was hoping they would be and they might visit them when I let them range during the day. So you can see where I need tame but not pets. Sigh….