HALLOWEEN Hatch-a-Long 2016 w/ Hosts, Mike, Sally & BantyChooks

[Cynthia12]

I just had my 6th one hatch. Another leghorn pipped.

These Aussies are so cute, had to do another fall photo shoot with one.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I just had my 6th one hatch. Another leghorn pipped.

These Aussies are so cute, had to do another fall photo shoot with one.

Oh. My. Goodness!

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Congrats @Cynthia12 so cute!!

 

[mlm Mike]

Boo! I have a hen sitting on 4 eggs

Welcome!

Just fired up the incubator, getting it all ready and steady for our eggs. Collected a dozen from our girls this last week, so excited to see what the little fuzz balls will be like!

Hoping (if the incubator regulates easy) to be setting tomorrow or the next day, that'll be putting our hatch for the 17th or 18th of october (if my math is correct)

We did weighing for our first ever incubating for the September Hatch-along and I will be doing so again, found it so wonderful and reassuring for humidity control and air sac development.

Hoping for a better hatch rate from our eggs though than the breeder we got them from...it was only 50%, including the infertile and duds.
When we had gone into lockdown we ended up with a 70% hatch rate.

It'd be cool if our eggs did much better! They are not a pure breed though, so we'll see what we end up with. They are different tones of brown. Mama girls are all BCM crosses (mother was unknown...too many and no record kept at breeders but roo was a BCM)

i'm so excited to hatch again! I can see how easy it is to end up with more chickens than planned....

Good luck!

One week mark. 68 coturnix eggs get candled for fertility tomorrow. Unlike my last hatch I haven't had to remove any stinkers or cracked eggs at this point. I used an Incubator Warehouse egg turner in my Hovabator Genesis last time, which was responsible for the cracked eggs. Hand turning 4-6 times a day this time.

Eggs represent:
Pharoah
Cinnamon (roux)
Silver
Manchurian
Itallian
A&M

And crosses of the above.

Spooky hatch coming up!

Good luck!

Day 12: I am so anxious, also worried that none will hatch. I know 3 are absolutely not fertile so that brings me down to 5 eggs.

.
On top of all that it is raining and pouring and my silkie hen just went broody.

and

Just had an impulse buy on eBay.... 6 Fawn & White Indian Runner hatching eggs!!! They will be set 28th/29th September, so they are due to hatch a couple of days before Halloween.

Wonderful, good luck!

Very exited! My ayam cemani eggs will probably be getting here today or tomorrow!

Quote:

 

[Pensmaster]

I just had my 6th one hatch. Another leghorn pipped. These Aussies are so cute, had to do another fall photo shoot with one.

Awesome pics

 

[mlm Mike]

Quote:

Quote:
good news!!! meal worms I am sure you can spoil him quickly!

Quote:
You betcha! lil man is getting his beard!!!






my smiley wether

Pando is so sweet!!



love her!!



pheebe is just perfect! cant wait for her babies too! we will breed in nov.

I had to unplug my incubator, I couldn't get the temp below 114. I'm going to let it cool off, then try again and see if my husband can help me turn it down.

Good luck, hope you can figure it out.

Candled my broodys eggs tonight, day 9...they all look like something good is happening, i used my phone flashlight to candle, and the white egg i could see the little thing moving around! The others i still have a hard time with, although there was veining.

Quote:

Good luck with the rest of the hatch!

I have a hen that seems to have caught the hatching bug. LOL! She is a Buff Orpington so it was bound to happen. I collect the eggs everyday, two to three times a day. However, that hasn't stopped her. She has spent the last several days hoarding as many eggs as she could get her feathers on. So, I relented and gave her a couple duck eggs. She gets a visit from me at least once a day to give her a gentle petting and collecting any eggs the other hens may have slipped in. This is her first hatch, but she is doing pretty good so far.

Okay so I have a total of 20 eggs in the bator. 2 different hatch dates...actually one, I'll explain.

First set was due to hatch on Oct 8 and second set due to hatch on Oct 11 (or sooner as they're Serama eggs)

I have them all sitting upright in my turner with the motor off as they are shipped eggs and the air cells are semi-detached. I've been hand turning them by tilting side to side 2 or 3 times daily.

First batch are a total of 12 Ameraucana eggs. 7 Lavender and 5 Black split to Lavender. I am currently on day 9 for these guys. I candled them tonight and found 2 with obvious bloodrings. The rest of the batch (10 eggs) were clears. I have not tossed them because I refuse to believe they will not develop. They.just.have.to. Has anyone ever had eggs not show development 9 days in and still had them develop at some point? I know it's a stretch. Is it probable they just weren't fertile? Ugh..


Second batch of eggs I bought from @Ra_ . I received 10 eggs. When I candled them tonight (day 7) I found 2 tossers (one stinky, one leaky), 1 clear/infertile, 3 fading, and 4 strong developing embryos. I'm happy so far as he's been having fertility/ hatching problems recently with his flock. He suggests only 'hatching experts' try and hatch his eggs at this point (which I most certainly am NOT! LOL) and so far I've got 4 going strong. So I must be doing something right

I hope to get at least a couple out of his eggs. That would be glorious!

Wish me luck!

Good luck!

I candled the eggs tonight, and I seen the spider vein things in 4 of them. I guess that proves that my boy is fertilizing them!

Hubby found out about the extra duck eggs in the incubator. This was his response...

I have to stop taking him to the store during "costume" season. LOL!!!

4 pips.

I'm going to have to keep myself busy today so I'm not constantly pestering my hen.

5 out plus one pip that's visible



I will get a better picture later.

Congratulations!

One chick out.

I just had my 6th one hatch. Another leghorn pipped.

These Aussies are so cute, had to do another fall photo shoot with one.

Awwwww, they are cute!

 

[junebuggena]

Three chicks hatched. One still just pipped. I'll post pics tomorrow, once everyone is ready to be up and about.

 

[BantyChooks]

Yup! About 5 min. Away

sweet!!  thanks for the pics!   yes it was pouring last night here later, its really foggy this am

good news!!!!  come on babies!!! veining is AWESOME!!!

its very cool to see!! congrats!

Oh how cool!!  I didnt know you were close!!! thats awesome!!

You all teased me fer the longest time...

 

[JChicken77]

Three chicks hatched. One still just pipped. I'll post pics tomorrow, once everyone is ready to be up and about.

Hurray!!!!!!

I just had my 6th one hatch. Another leghorn pipped.

These Aussies are so cute, had to do another fall photo shoot with one.

Absolutely adorable!!!!

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Quote: Thank you! I select for a lot of things that are not the norm. I've gotten A LOT of strange looks over the decades...

For instance, on top of the usual requirements...I select replacement rams that the flies don't bother as opposed to the rams who are covered with flies. Eventually I get a flock that's naturally resistant to flies because the flies don't like them...lol. I've even shortened the tails on my sheep (with breeding) so I can see the udders easier.
I kept the offspring from my 2016 Jan/Feb hatch, who are first eggs from the first pullets who were chicks last year. These offspring were laying by June1 at 5 weeks, 2 weeks earlier than their mothers' point of lay at 5.5 months.

I'm the one who does the genetic sourcing for our cattle, our sheep and now my chickens. We have a closed herd and closed flocks and bring in only males. All of our female replacements come from out own stock so we've seen what impact this can have years down the road. I've already seen some really positive results in my chickens and their eggs in the one year I've had them and been hatching. I'm a huge proponent of survival-of-the-fittest genetics. Wild animals are so hardy and resistant; only the toughest survive and reproduce. Our selections are based on the same principles; animals that thrive with less work in our climate. Plus, we're getting older...

I am really hard to please (yes, I'll admit that

) and I cull ruthlessly, which doesn't mean I don't care for the ones who aren't the best...it just means we don't use them for replacement breeding stock. (They can still produce offspring for slaughter/eggs or be shipped themselves)
I have a lot of pets too.