Hatch due Monday-couple of questions

[SuziQ991]

This is my first time incubating. I bought 20 beautiful eggs from a fellow byc'er and she was so kind as to mark each egg to identify them. Hmmm how do I keep this straight when they are hatching? I thought about writing down where each egg is located in the incubator and watching when they hatch. But if I am not there when they hatch I will be on here asking "What breed"

Another question, They are due on Monday, is today-Friday- lockdown? Or is it Saturday??
Thanks for your help!

 

[SarahIrl]

Today should do just fine, and maybe check out pictures of the various breeds as chicks by searching for them online?

 

[bikermom]

Wish I could help but I'm new to hatching to... Good luck though... I'll be watching this thread.

 

[FarmGirl01]

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Great advice. There are lots of chick pics out there. What breeds are they? Some look really different. Marking their location won't help because they roll around during the hatch. Lets use know and maybe we can help some more. Good luck.

 

[SuziQ991]

Thanks all! I am going in to lockdown today!! Now I am really excited! Most of them are Ameraucanas with a few olive eggers and marans thrown in there. So I guess it would be easy enough to tell the difference huh? I am doing my breed search now! Hopefully next year this time I will have a colorful egg basket! Thanks! I will keep you updated!

 

[Spring Chook]

Good luck for monday. I'm on tenterhooks too. I have 4 eggs under a broody bantam due to hatch tomorrow. One is an Olive Egger, and the others are Black Copper marans. I have 12 other marans and olive egger eggs in a friends' bator. its so exicting. Just hope we dont get too many boys....

 

[SuziQ991]

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Thanks and good luck to you too!

 

[SuziQ991]

Oh - My - Gosh!! I just took out the turner and I already have a pip! She was cheeping at me! Oh how cute. Is it too early? My humidity was not even up yet. Do you think it will be ok? I put paper towels down and just layed the eggs on there. I sure hope I did everything right.

 

[SarahIrl]

It'll be just fine, you probably won't see any zipping until tomorrow anyway, they can take FOREVER to start to get out! If you're not too sure, wipe a damp, warm, paper towel over the zip and then shut the bator and leave it shut. I add more water using a thin flexible tube and a syringe (from the pharmacy) as the paper towels dry out very quickly in the bator and you don't want chicks sticking to them when they are lying down and drying out! I used disposable cleaning cloths under my eggs, they hold water a little better. Too wet and your chicks will be too wet also, even still in the eggs. Imagine the bathroom sink after a steamy shower, the moisture will get in the pipped bit of the egg too. Just add enought o get your humidity up to 70% and the first hatching will push it up a lot, mine went up to over 80% at times.

 

[wolftracks]

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How cool!

I have eggs due tuesday, but my last 3 hatches all came between 1 and 5 days late

Lockdown tomorrow, so I hope I have chicks by friday.

Good luck on your hatch!