Handled With Care Farm and Rabbitry's First Hatch-A-Long!

[CYGChickies]

I'm posting this as sort of an announcement and I'll put up pictures once they're all set and I get the pictures uploaded. I'm going to set several eggs in my incubator. It's a refurbed GQ Sportsman from the 70s or 80s (I think). It has a new thermostat and heating system in it.
I'm going to be setting Coturnix Quail, Guinea Fowl, Silkies and eggs from my Easter Egger pen (great quality Auracauna rooster over varied-quality Americauna and Auracauna hens). I'll give the official count when I post the pictures of the inside and the eggs in the trays. This is my first time using this incubator and the first time I've ever done a hatch-a-long thread. I'm setting them at approximately 6:45pm on Sunday September 15th.
Anybody else who is hatching now or has any advice, questions, comments feel free to post. Thank you and wish me luck!

 

[CYGChickies]

This is a pic of my incubator.

A close-up of the "tag"

A billion guinea eggs! Also a few silkie and EE eggs--they're not as light as they look in these pics!

Jumbo Coturnix Quail Eggs

Another shot of some of the eggs including EE and Guinea

 

[CYGChickies]

Tonight we will be candling eggs and taking the infertile ones out. Also, it's time for the little quail eggs to go to the hatching tray. I can't wait to see how this bator does for us. I haven't seen the temperature fluctuated once so I have super high hopes!

 

[rachmickmurphy]

results of your candling???? subscribed when you first posted

 

[CYGChickies]

Well we ended up pulling about half of the EE eggs and about ten or so of the silkie eggs--a large number were older and we wanted to test a few different egg ages. The guinea eggs look to be going strong and almost all of them have development! The quail are impossible for us to candle with what we have now but I'm on the lookout for a candler that would work or even a DIY quail candler
We moved the quails to the hatcher, filled the water resorvoire and put a sponge down on the bottom then we locked the bator down. There's no window so it's soooo hard not to peek! As soon as these quails get their three hatch days all of the chicken eggs move down. So far the bator has performed perfectly and we expect excellent hatching rates, perhaps even double what we were getting in our cheap foam LG's. I'll keep posting and thanks so much for subbing! Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I'll have some baby pictures to share!

 

[rachmickmurphy]

newer phones torch function works a treat with most eggs i have never done quails though. my bator only has small inspection window i never get good hatching pics. someone suggested camera like plumbers use for drains they have their own screen but i havent looked into price i am guessing it wouldnt be cheap.

 

[CYGChickies]

Yes I imagine those would be pricey though I've never even seen one for sale so I have no clue. The quail's eggs are tricky because of their size and the big brown spots on them. It's hard to discern a spot from a shadow.

 

[rachmickmurphy]

Theres a thread bout a go pro in a bator I don't know how to link it here. Hows the quail eggs hope it all goes well with their hatch can't wait to see pics

 

[CYGChickies]

I think we may crack the bator open and check on the hatch rate tonight. In other news, our broody silkie hatched the first egg in her clutch. We keep our silkies in trio coops made of small wire so they can raise babies on their own. That's the great part of broody hens, we can't mess it up!

 

[rachmickmurphy]

congrads on your silkie babies. what colour? i dont have much lucky with broodies i had a silkie desert her eggs a few weeks back i know best mums and all that but not here i have a sussex in back pen on eggs a xbred in another pen and now a plymouth rock has decided to take up residience on a silkie nest not banking on anything from anyone though i dont even know how many eggs they have got i just leaving them alone hopefully might get a couple. i do have a couple of trio pens seabrights are in trios rir and australorps bantams also .i maily run groups 4hens 1roo we have numerous breeds and to keep hubby from freaking out a friend and i share birds we run same breeds different lines and swap roos every so often. he was here today we discussed maybe xbreeding 2 of our pure lines then penning the offspring in groups to see if they breed true. i hatched one of this mix last week for him it had yellow legs i had so hoped for white but i will hatch a few more maybe some will have white. not sure i want change my groups yet.