Incubators Anonymous

My most recent hatch, I started with 10 eggs, and who knows what i did, but I only got 4 chicks out of the 5 that made it to lockdown. They hatched yesterday. The 10 started out as 16, but I gave 6 to a classroom hatch, and last I heard they had 5 out of 6 going strong. The 4 I hatched are happily hanging out with a broody silkie.

Well, from a previous hatch I did (hatched 3/1) I have a silkie that just isn't growing. I had 4 of her smaller hatchmates keeping her company inside - so I added her to the broody mom, and moved the 4 friends out with the rest of their hatch, outside. So, no more chicks inside!! The non growing silkie (3 weeks old) is the same size, if not smaller than the day old barnevelder and polish chicks.

Well, my plan to try to wean off hatching anymore after this last hatch didn't work out so well....

I found an ebay listing for Frizzled Polish eggs 50 miles away from me. I won the auction, and contacted the seller, and she discounted a 2nd dozen by the ebay shipping costs. She threw in 6 extras. I drove up and picked them up myself. So, I have 30 frizzled polish eggs that did not have to go through the Postal service obstacle course. There are Tolbunt, White Crested Black, White crested Blue, Buff Laced and a few others. She puts in at least 2 from each of her pens that lays. I'll be setting these today, in a different incubator than my last horrible hatch.

I think I need to stay off my computer......
 
I woke up Sat morning to a peeping incubator.

I moved the 1st group of chicks into the brooder late Sat afternoon .
Here they are in order of hatch:

1st =From my Laced orp - but looks like father was my lav or blk/lav split orp
1st.jpg

2nd =From my blue laced orp hen
2nd.jpg

3rd =From my Buff Colombian Orp hen (probably the silver laced orp dad)
3rd.jpg

4th =Pure lav orp
4th.jpg

5th =Silver Laced orp
5th.jpg

6th =Laced orp (but darker) Probably from my blue laced orp
6th.jpg


More orps continued to hatch Sat night thru Sunday morning. I moved these out to the brooder late Sun morning:
7 gold laced orp
8 lav orp
9 lav orp
10 & 11 ???? (I think my laced orp roo may have mated with my lav hens)
12 silver laced orp
13 blk/lav split orp
14 lav

7th.jpg 8th.jpg 9th.jpg 10th.jpg 11th.jpg 12th.jpg 13th.jpg 14th.jpg

There's one more orp egg - pipped. It started later, so still within the hatch window.
One pipped upside-down & died in shell.
One quit around 2 weeks old & one just never hatched but the yolk was partially absorbed.

So I'll probably get 15 orp chicks /18 eggs.

Then there's the useless chickens - the kids' bantams.....
I thought they were supposed to hatch in 19-20 days, so I started them a day later. They're hatching today. (seramas, OEG, & silkies)
IMG_7788.JPG
 
@Faraday40 your babies are absolutely adorable! I'm loving them! I just had a few orpingtons hatch the other day from shipped eggs. 8 eggs made it to lockdown (2 of which had been cracked but I sealed than with nail polish). I got 5 big fluffy Orps and 2 birchen marans :)
Congrats! Especially with the nail polish trick! I never even tried to set a cracked egg, but I guess if you paid for it (+ shipping) you'd want to try all you can. Please share some pics.

My shipped eggs were expertly packed, but the PO had other ideas. Almost all had detached, rolling air cells. A few were "scrambled" with broken yolks inside the eggshell! Most membranes partially reattached and turned into very strange saddle-shaped cells. The embryos were able to fully develop but had problems turning, pipping, & hatching. :( I'm very happy to have any chicks after that.... and what adorable chicks! We're very, very excited. (Poor DD has school today & tomorrow, so she had a hard time leaving this morning.)

I was surprised most by the silkies. I picked up 10 eggs - about an hour's drive. The woman wasn't sure who was laying or if the roo was even mating. She had tried hatching some & only got 3 chicks from a doz eggs. I had 2 clears, 1 blood ring, and 7 went to lockdown. All 7 hatched. She had a rainbow of colors, but all my silkie chicks look shades of buff.
 

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