Hatch with me! Placed in bator on 5-13-2010. First hatch!

[morninggloryhatchery]

Does that look like a Cuckoo Maran to you?

I love that hen though. Has been giving me 1 egg a day since she started laying, although I don't like it when she picks on the other smaller hens acting like she's all that when the rooster not out

 

[eggsited chickens]

This looks like my Black Star, but that doesn't mean anything...I don't know all my chickens.

eta: I just looked up a black star and found out they are also known as black sex links.

 

[UGAchick]

I didn't really think about that as a risk of hatching eggs, but you really can't be sure of what you are getting!

 

[VillageChicken]

I'm 2 days away from lock-down on my first batch ever. I have a few questions for all you seasoned pros.
- On day 18 I plan to candle and mark the air sac so I can place it at the highest point. I heard that chicks can rock and roll in the egg before pipping. They will be on a wire rack that resists rolling but that depends on how hard they rock! If one rolls, do I put it back in its original position? Should I make sure they cannot roll at all? Should I not open the incubator for ANY reason?

- I know the humidity is supposed to upped - where should it be? Does 65% sound right? I've read other places as high as 90%. If my humidity was high for the first week - about 60% - should I wait a day before increasing the humidity? Air sacs look about where they should be according to some diagrams I've seen online. They're not all the same size though... the Marans sacs are definitely a bit smaller.

- Just curious - why does humidity have to be so high for 3 days? Does it take that long for the membranes to absorb the water and soften, or is that to help any early pips? How does a broody hen increase the humidity on her last 3 days? Does she sweat more in anticipation?
I'll rig something so that I can add water without opening the lid.

Anything else I should do? I actually went two nights without candling a single egg, even though I have to hand turn.

Thanks.

 

[AshleyFishy]

Quote:
I would love to know to! Was going to ask some of those questions once I got out of jury duty.

 

[eggseroneous]

Quote:
Hi, I put mine in on the 18th, so we are close...I have my date set for the 7th? I usually put an arrow through the 20th, 21st, and 22nd on the calendar.
Most of the time they are right on with starting on the 21st, then ending on the 22nd. I use a hover 1588...love it! I have 18 eggs. I've seen movement in every one so far!

Yes, you're right on your hatch date, it is my hatch date too. I just mentioned the lockdown date on mine which is on June 4th. I use a really neat little calendar that someone posted on here a few weeks ago. It says if you set your eggs at night, the next day is day one. If you set your eggs in the morning, then that day is day one.

So we will be hatching around the same time!

Last time mine started hatching on day 19 and went until day 24!
Here is the hatching calendar---no credit to me--someone else posted this and I'm sorry I can't remember who it was!

 

[UGAchick]

I wonder if the black chicken is a welsummer? They have similar eggs to a maran and are black. Just a thought...

 

[eggseroneous]

Quote:
Maybe it is something to do with the hardness of the eggs? Maybe the eggs are harder? My cuckoo maran was from the lightest color egg. The rest were very dark(BCMs). A few ended up being infertile, but the others were fully formed chicks, just didn't pip. Can't really candle them either..I couldn't see a thing!

 

[AshleyFishy]

Yeah I'm worried about mine, can't see anything in there

Just to dark. Anyone have any ideas how to get 'baked' on egg white off of something? My broken egg is 'glued' in and I can't budge it

 

[eggseroneous]

Quote:
I have a still air LG too. From the general consensus I've found here at BYC, your humidity should be at 35-45 during incubation and 60-65 at lockdown. If I fill both water troughs the humidity goes up too high, so I just use one. I DO keep them filled at lockdown and it's perfect. I also keep BOTH red plugs OUT. Those eggs need to breathe!

I would strongly recommend getting a hygrometer. It'll take a lot of the guesswork out and you can relax!

It all depends on the temp/humidity where you keep your 'bator too!

I hope I don't come off sounding like a know-it-all, because I'm not! This is only my second hatch. I'm just saying what has worked for me, and some advise I've gotten here at BYC. I love this place!