Hatch-Along - Setting eggs this weekend (Jan5/6) WHOS WITH ME!

[SilkieSensation]

I have 6 Rainbow Layers hatched out of an original 48 set. We had to cull 1 & 2 are resting back in the bator because the other babies I got Thursday from Ideal are a bit rambunctious for them & were trampling them. I had to have JJ cull 1 that couldn't get it's legs under it & ended up face down in the sand in the bottom of the brooder gasping in sand instead of air. 5 of the 6 were assisted hatch to at least some degree because we ended up with low humidity & had shrinkwrap issues. I was actually really surprised any hatched at all after having temps swing from 90 to 116F. These have to be VERY hearty babies to have survived. The next batch is due the 5th but may also be running behind due to temp issues. This bacth was 4-5 days late.
The 5 in the middle with green dots on their heads are the Rainbow babies.

 

[nothingbutbirds]

You have this backwards. Most pure bred LF birds can be sexed by feathers. Pullets have 2 rows 2 different lengths & roos have 1 row all the same length. It works until they are about 3-4 days old & then the difference isn't as noticeable. Mixed breed birds can not be feather sexed unless they are specifically bred with a fast feathering roo over slow feathering hen to produce the opposite in the babies.

thats just what a hatchery told me so i guess they must have a lot of unhappy customers.

 

[fisherlady]

I have 6 Rainbow Layers hatched out of an original 48 set. We had to cull 1 & 2 are resting back in the bator because the other babies I got Thursday from Ideal are a bit rambunctious for them & were trampling them. I had to have JJ cull 1 that couldn't get it's legs under it & ended up face down in the sand in the bottom of the brooder gasping in sand instead of air. 5 of the 6 were assisted hatch to at least some degree because we ended up with low humidity & had shrinkwrap issues. I was actually really surprised any hatched at all after having temps swing from 90 to 116F. These have to be VERY hearty babies to have survived. The next batch is due the 5th but may also be running behind due to temp issues. This bacth was 4-5 days late.
The 5 in the middle with green dots on their heads are the Rainbow babies.

So cute! I do love the 'chipmunk' pattern when they are little!

 

[FeyRaine]

Well, wish I could join the better late than never club, but it isn't looking like it --
end of day 21 chicken egg, 28 duck eggs, & nothing, not even a wobble.
I'm not really surprized, I'll leave then in another day then candle but I'm pretty well moving on already.


Jaylee, my single tiny hatched chick is still going strong.
My DH was able to buy her 3 buddies today at the poultry show,
they are frighteningly larger than she is, I'll post pics tomorrow, but her body is the size of their heads, and she is older!
They are silkies, I wasn't sure at first b/c of the size diff. & they were very confused at first by her.
But at least one of them after 3 hrs of Jaylee insisting, is now pretty much acting like her broody hen,
litterally taking her under her wing (well what there is of a wing), and Jaylee pecks at their beaks like a chick would to a broody hen.
So I'm still pulling her out every few hrs to hand feed just to be 100% certain she is getting plenty of food.
As long as the "giant" day old silkies watch where they step (Jaylee can almost walk under 2 of them) then things should work out ok.

& w/ all this early training, if any of these are in fact pullets, Jaylee should train up a silkie broody hen to rival Gracie herself ; >
given my luck w/ diy bator, if things don't go better w/ the LG I'll be back to just using broody hens anyway.

Ok, this isn't relevant to this thread, but I'm about to explode I'm SO excited!
Today I got my Trio of SQ/Heritage Buckeye !!!! They are everything I hoped for and more, please excuse me gushing but I've wanted these for over 10 yrs,
it is a dream come true today for me : )

This is me picking up the HUGE yet totally gentle Roo about 90 sec. after I let him out of the carrier:



Hen laid an egg on the ride here, JUMBO, & already set big end up waiting on me to get that LG fired up!!
Can you tell I'm just a little happy?

 

[tammir]

Thanks for the feather info - I know I've seen it in one of the other forums, but couldn't remember where. How do you know if you have an LF breed? All of my hens are easter eggers, one EE Rooster, one Leghorn Rooster, and I think the other rooster was either a Rhode Island Red or a Red Star- these two were mystery eggs from someone who had no clue who was pairing up with who in the run so I really don't know. I guess I've got a lot of roos and only one or two hens - time to post chicks for sale! I have two very noisy chicks that hatched earlier this evening in the bator, with two more that have pipped in there, hopefully I've got hens in this bunch!

Today certainly has been a crazy chicken day, started off with only the occasional peep out of the bator and all 9 from last week were still okay, took my mean rooster Penny to the farmer around 10:20, stopped at McD's for my son- he loves their pancakes & hates mine

then into town for some errands & visit mom for a little while, home by 2:30 and held my 9th (and only assisted hatch) from last weekend as Miracle struggled to hold on and after 30 minutes died in my hands, then around 5:30 the first of the next chicks hatched! I think I will never do another staggered hatch again - this is just too crazy for me!

 

[fisherlady]

Well, wish I could join the better late than never club, but it isn't looking like it --
end of day 21 chicken egg, 28 duck eggs, & nothing, not even a wobble.
I'm not really surprized, I'll leave then in another day then candle but I'm pretty well moving on already.


Jaylee, my single tiny hatched chick is still going strong.
My DH was able to buy her 3 buddies today at the poultry show,
they are frighteningly larger than she is, I'll post pics tomorrow, but her body is the size of their heads, and she is older!
They are silkies, I wasn't sure at first b/c of the size diff. & they were very confused at first by her.
But at least one of them after 3 hrs of Jaylee insisting, is now pretty much acting like her broody hen,
litterally taking her under her wing (well what there is of a wing), and Jaylee pecks at their beaks like a chick would to a broody hen.
So I'm still pulling her out every few hrs to hand feed just to be 100% certain she is getting plenty of food.
As long as the "giant" day old silkies watch where they step (Jaylee can almost walk under 2 of them) then things should work out ok.

& w/ all this early training, if any of these are in fact pullets, Jaylee should train up a silkie broody hen to rival Gracie herself ; >
given my luck w/ diy bator, if things don't go better w/ the LG I'll be back to just using broody hens anyway.

Ok, this isn't relevant to this thread, but I'm about to explode I'm SO excited!
Today I got my Trio of SQ/Heritage Buckeye !!!! They are everything I hoped for and more, please excuse me gushing but I've wanted these for over 10 yrs,
it is a dream come true today for me : )

This is me picking up the HUGE yet totally gentle Roo about 90 sec. after I let him out of the carrier:



Hen laid an egg on the ride here, JUMBO, & already set big end up waiting on me to get that LG fired up!!
Can you tell I'm just a little happy?

Sorry your eggs aren't showing any signs of hatching...
Glad Jaylee is doing good!

and really neat to hear how she has some buddies now and is doing her part in training a new Gracie!!!

Can't wait to see pics!!!

The buckeye are gorgeous!!!

I have seriously looked at them for our flock, haven't decided yet... you will have to keep us updated on their egg production and if any of them go broody for you!

 

[Outrun Acres]

I can hook you up with some Rainbow Layers if you want. PM me & we'll see if we can negotiate a price or a trade.

I'm very surprised Gracie is so calm with them. Most broodies would either take the babies & run or would try to chase you off for being too close & I have never seen ANY that would allow a dog near, let alone lay down with her babies & let them walk across the dog's paws. Gracie is truly astounding!

The pink is actually pretty common for EE. It's a lack of the blue/green pigment that permeates most EE shells. There are several pink eggs in my bators right now. My BF taught his OEGB baby to "play dead" & has been trying to teach a couple quail, but we haven't had any luck teaching them to play chess yet

X2

OK, I was totally ready to give up on my remaining 36 Rainbow eggs. I went in to candle 1 last time before tossing & heard a peep as I was reaching for the 1st egg. I got to looking & saw 2-3 eggs with nice big pips. I quickly put the lib back on & reached for the flashlight to peek into the corners of the bator from above. I found at least 6 pips!!! We have gone back to check several times (especially my BF "BigPoppy" since this is his 1st actual hatch that he has been able to watch) & we definitely have babies hatching...4 DAYS LATE!!!
Here is the 1 that has made the most progress so far:


Pic is blurry but you get the idea.

Yay! That is wonderful news! I have a couple on day 3 right now and can't see anything! You have given me some hope!

 

[dblea202]

its day 21 for us and still no pipping. they have slowed down a little with the wobbling this afternoon so maybe they are resting to get ready to pip??? I hope so!!! we want to see some action!
I kept telling myself I wouldn't watch the bator all weekend.....that didn't last very long!!

 

[dblea202]

Sorry your eggs aren't showing any signs of hatching...
Glad Jaylee is doing good!

and really neat to hear how she has some buddies now and is doing her part in training a new Gracie!!!

Can't wait to see pics!!!

The buckeye are gorgeous!!!

I have seriously looked at them for our flock, haven't decided yet... you will have to keep us updated on their egg production and if any of them go broody for you!

I agree!! buckeyes are beautiful birds! I had seen a post on craigslist of someone selling the fertilized eggs around where we live and had never heard of them so i looked them up and they are gorgeous! I want to get some of the eggs so badly!!!! but we already have four in the bator getting ready to hatch and a dozen coming this week so ill have to wait a little bit!!!!

 

[FeyRaine]

Updates:

In the bator--
1 chicken egg, day 22, no action, green egg, Black Ame Roo over my EE hen, their first egg together so odd shaped, not much hope.

4 Duck eggs day 29, candled last night ready to call it quits, pulled one that looked icky brown inside , BUT 2 of the 4 had movement!!!!
this am those 2 still seam alive, DH said he saw 1 wobble a little last night. Oh I sooo hope 2 of my WH duckies at least hatch, pls pls pls.
This is the point, right at hatching that most all the others died so I feel like I should *DO* something, but all I can do it keep the humidity way up & hope...

In the brooder--
My tiny Jaylee was moved to a brooder, & in w/ 3 younger than her Silkie chicks DH bought for me at Dalton show yesterday.
She is the size of their _heads_ oh my she is sooo small


It is risky w/ the size diff. but she just had to have some others to snuggle; so far so good, here is hoping...

And here is the 1st egg saved to go into the next round, Laid by the Buckeye hen on the way here yesterday,
it is on the left, on right is store bought large white for comparison


Here is the Hen who laid the egg


Here is same Hen (to be named) & "Mr. Buckeye", you can also see the pullet on the far left



Hope you don't mind all the pictures, I'm still very excited as you can tell.