Hatching Eggs / Paypal CHAT Thread

[Bettacreek]

II just write the set date on each egg. Makes it easier on me so when I have 10 or so batches, I can tell which eggs need to go where. My desktop calender has the set and hatch dates. Set date has number of every breed, hatch date has breeds, but no number until lockdown. I make a note in the set date box as to how many are left after each candling. Works well for me anyways, but I always work better with what appears to be disorganized chaos to everyone else, lol.

 

[mama2my4]

Mine is similar to SAH's but I only put the colored dots on my calendar for set and lockdown days.

 

[mama2my4]

Hmmm.... Me thinks I am going to need more legbars eggs! I am obsessed and I don't even have chicks yet! Lol

 

[mzstre]

Very cool system, Sah! It's actually very similar to mine except mine's not so pretty and color-coded Projected hatch date on top of the egg, breed code on the site, I write lockdown and hatch dates on my calendar before I set them (used to set them and forget to write it down... that was bad!). That's about it but it does keep me on track!

Woke up this morning with a realization -- I love the way our subconscious does that! I'd candled last night and had quite a number of eggs with "saddle" air cells. Some with development, but it's been my experience that they don't hatch well when the air cells do that. Now, I do let my shipped eggs sit for 24 hours before incubating, but because I've been running staggered hatches all winter, the egg turners in the big incubator are always on. So they're getting turned immediately which means the ones that have loose air cells at ALL are going to saddle. Sooo... obviously that's changing! I do have two still-air hatching 'bators (usually only one is in use, but I've needed two a couple of times) so for now on, the shipped eggs go in a still-air for the first two days, upright in cartons, then get switched to the main incubator.

I jut wish I'd realized it earlier... Ah well! And good morning everybody!

I incubate shipped eggs without turning for the first 4 days and some still develop the odd "saddle" air cells.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I was wondering if any one would share their egg system. Like, how do you keep yourself organized for shipping, incubating and hatching?
I have a system that works for collecting, and incubating, but I am a little less happy about my hatching system. That has a lot to do with my still air basic incubator I use for hatching. I just started the fingernail polish on the legs to tell breeds apart (green NP for BCM and white for OE, since they look the same). It does wear off in a couple of days, but I think I may start toe punching... Just don't know if I do enough hatching to justify it.

I collect eggs and each breed goes in a different cardboard egg carton. I go from left to right in the cartons and what I don't sell/ship after a few days goes in my incubator. We have a calender to keep up with what goes in (how many of each egg) and the important days till hatch day. On day 19 we put different breed eggs in separate baskets so that when they hatch we will know which ones are which. When they hatch we take them out basket by basket and label them by leg bands. We use the swirly ones because they are easy to get on and off and come in a variety of colors. We separate our chicks by hatch dates and they go in the brooders as others go out. Right now... we don't have enough brooders (project for this weekend) we have 3 totes of chicks in our house and its getting a bit noisy. Our greenfire assortment is actually about 2 weeks old and they are really noisy but, we are making a new, never used brooder for them because of the chicks they are we don't want any sort of cross contamination at all- still hoping there are pairs of everything

. We have a grow out pen (unfortunately it is being remodeled so everyone is still in brooder stage) and then when they get to laying age they get integrated into the specific pen for their breed or they get a new coop. hmm.... 6 acres, 2 horses, 9 goats and 200+ chickens- where are we supposed to live?

 

[Sahwithchicks]

Thanks everyone for sharing!!!

The wipe off wall calendar is a new addition. I was just looking at the small color dot labels on the other calendar, but it was getting so covered with dots, I was taking more time to figure out what was supposed to go in lockdown. The wall one makes it real easy, and I look at the small dot calendar to figure out what day eggs are when I candle. I have force myself to only candle once a week, I do it on Wednesdays.


I thought about doing the hatching baskets, but because I use a still air cheapie hatcher, I assumed there wouldn't be enough room.
Also thought about about the spiral leg bands and heard bad things about them, so never took the leap. I was using zip ties but didn't like the chance of the chicks growing into them, which probably wouldn't happen, but still. The chicks would also peck t them.
Might have to try the spirals! What size do you use?

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

Thanks everyone for sharing!!!

The wipe off wall calendar is a new addition. I was just looking at the small color dot labels on the other calendar, but it was getting so covered with dots, I was taking more time to figure out what was supposed to go in lockdown. The wall one makes it real easy, and I look at the small dot calendar to figure out what day eggs are when I candle. I have force myself to only candle once a week, I do it on Wednesdays.


I thought about doing the hatching baskets, but because I use a still air cheapie hatcher, I assumed there wouldn't be enough room.
Also thought about about the spiral leg bands and heard bad things about them, so never took the leap. I was using zip ties but didn't like the chance of the chicks growing into them, which probably wouldn't happen, but still. The chicks would also peck t them.
Might have to try the spirals! What size do you use?

I use size 4 when they are first hatched- that size is usually good for 2-3 weeks and then we go to size 6 (we go up every 2 sizes after that)

 

[Bettacreek]

For hatching, I use dollar tree baskets and zip ties for banding. The zip ties are great, you just need to check on a regular basis and take them off before sending any of them to new homes. I refuse to keep them on when they leave. I use cat nail clippers to cut the squarish female part of the zip tie off to get them off. The hatching baskets are okay, but poults don't follow the rules and clamber out of the baskets.

As for aircells, personally I disagree with the whole aircells reattaching if you leave them upright and unturned. Every single egg I've tried it with has never shown a lick of improvement, even when I've left them unturned for an entire week.

 

[CFellows]

Wow! you guys are way more sophisticated, when it comes to your egg systems then I am. My incubator has three trays in it so I just set eggs once a week (every Thursday) and move the trays down as they get closer to hatch day. If I have different breeds I just mark them in pencil on the eggs. It is super simple because I dont have to mark anything on the calendar, I just know every Thursday chicks come out, racks get moved down and new eggs go in.

 

[GableBabble]

I was wondering if any one would share their egg system. Like, how do you keep yourself organized for shipping, incubating and hatching?
I have a system that works for collecting, and incubating, but I am a little less happy about my hatching system. That has a lot to do with my still air basic incubator I use for hatching. I just started the fingernail polish on the legs to tell breeds apart (green NP for BCM and white for OE, since they look the same). It does wear off in a couple of days, but I think I may start toe punching... Just don't know if I do enough hatching to justify it.

DH swears by punching...me not so much. I used zip ties for a while. I now use colored scrap booking masking tape. The chicks stop fiddling with it after a few minutes.

For eggs:
I have two day planners and a calendar. I keep up with shipping dates for eggs I owe in one planner, and in the other I keep set, hatch and misc dates in the other. On the calender I use highlighters to color code days and breeds hatching. I have a dry erase board in the kitchen over my eggs that lists breeds, eggs gathered per day and who has orders that need filled.
On the counter I have a few large egg flats. I color the start of the rows (they are sitting so that a "row" is six eggs) with a sicker marked in perm marker ink. Each ink color is a different breed. Written on the top part of the egg is also a breed code.
At the top of each flat is a sticker with a date. The date tells me when the eggs needs to be shipped by or set by.
In the incubators I have each row set up for breeds/hatch dates/etc. Like I have some goose that were set on one date, but will hatch at the same time some chicks do. so they are in the same drawer, just in different sides of the drawer.
I'm not sure any of that makes any sense to anyone...lol

Brooder boxes:
I have three bantam, 4 LF, and two Duck/goose. I group them by age range mostly. On the wall of the boxes I have a color code chart with breed names and dates they hatched. This chart is removable so I can change them out at any time. At the bottom of the chart is est amounts they eat and drink a day, weight at hatch, and weight each week.