INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[kanina]

I love your two mommas working together and all snuggled up. Most adorable thing I've ever seen.

Hatching started yesterday. We only have two hatched so far and another pipped. I'm trying to figure out when to call it quits. Monday evening was the beginning of the 21st day. Do I keep them in there until Wednesday? I'll post some pictures later.

 

[Faraday40]

I love your two mommas working together and all snuggled up. Most adorable thing I've ever seen.

Hatching started yesterday. We only have two hatched so far and another pipped. I'm trying to figure out when to call it quits. Monday evening was the beginning of the 21st day. Do I keep them in there until Wednesday? I'll post some pictures later.

Yes, the 2 mamas are working well. Also, I saw my rough, tough, squirrel-chasing EE, Tyrion, playing mama. She's never gone broody; too many things to do. However, she's standing around them, letting them peck food off her beak, & even calling them over for treats. It's like she's saying, "Come here little ones. Come & let Auntie Tyrion spoil you." LOL (Another great moment in "chicken TV")

I'd love to see your chick pics. If your eggs are in an incubator, then there's no rush to pull the plug. Most should hatch within 24hrs of the 1st chick out, but best to keep the incubator going for at least 48 hrs after the 1st chick. (so Wed night) By then you'll know whether or not the remaining eggs have pips. I candle, tap, & search for signs of life. If there's a response, then I continue incubating. If nothing, then I carefully open the egg like an assisted hatch. The "egg-topsy" will give knowledge about what happened to the chick to cause death. I do it very carefully - just in case there are red blood vessels or movement or any signs of life.

 

[kanina]

Ok, baby photos! I did take some videos that are posted on my IG account of the hatch. I took short videos because I didn't know how long she was going to take, but oh man was she ready. (I'm using she as a hopeful pronoun, I don't actually know.)


Top egg is the one we're following. From pip to freedom was about 4 hours. The bottom one hatched overnight and from pip to freedom was roughly 16 hours.

Here you can kind of see the egg is cracked all the way around. This is about when I started recording. Taking quick pictures between videos.

Here's the fun stuff. She was a squeaker. Watching DVR and she was louder than the TV, even in her egg. She had lots to say.

Most of her body is out at this point.

Last but not least, the exhausted baby. I did reach in and pull the egg out because I was paranoid it was too crowded.

Last but not least, both bitties this morning. These are hopefully going to be OEs and honestly the only thing I was really hoping would hatch to add to my flock. They're a cross of my EE rooster and Maran hen.

 

[Faraday40]

Ok, baby photos! I did take some videos that are posted on my IG account of the hatch. I took short videos because I didn't know how long she was going to take, but oh man was she ready. (I'm using she as a hopeful pronoun, I don't actually know.)


Top egg is the one we're following. From pip to freedom was about 4 hours. The bottom one hatched overnight and from pip to freedom was roughly 16 hours.
View attachment 1186625

Here you can kind of see the egg is cracked all the way around. This is about when I started recording. Taking quick pictures between videos.
View attachment 1186627

Here's the fun stuff. She was a squeaker. Watching DVR and she was louder than the TV, even in her egg. She had lots to say.
View attachment 1186629

Most of her body is out at this point.
View attachment 1186630

Last but not least, the exhausted baby. I did reach in and pull the egg out because I was paranoid it was too crowded.
View attachment 1186631

Last but not least, both bitties this morning. These are hopefully going to be OEs and honestly the only thing I was really hoping would hatch to add to my flock. They're a cross of my EE rooster and Maran hen.
View attachment 1186633 View attachment 1186634

aww! Looks like you're going to have a very fun day parked in front of the incubator. Can you take a pic of your cardboard dividers? (I'm always curious about how others keep their eggs separated.)

 

[Indyshent]

Hello IN BYCers...been a while since I've posted and a LOT has happened since then. Long story short we will be moving to MI. in a few months to help my brides elderly parents ( lost my Mom last November ) so I need to begin to transition out of raising B.Y.chickens. I have 8 hens left that need a home.

So glad to hear from you again, but so sorry it's under these circumstances! Best of luck finding a buyer. You might want to try craigslist.

 

[tmctlt]

So glad to hear from you again, but so sorry it's under these circumstances! Best of luck finding a buyer. You might want to try craigslist.

Hello again!! Yeah I actually posted there first but then thought of all our fellow BYCers and posted here as well. Hope you and yours are well.

 

[kanina]

aww! Looks like you're going to have a very fun day parked in front of the incubator. Can you take a pic of your cardboard dividers? (I'm always curious about how others keep their eggs separated.)

I went home at lunch to find another bitty from my barnyard mixes had finally hatched. She pipped when I got home last night around 5pm and finally hatched around 1115am. I saw another pip on one of the OEs. My divider is just the sides of the party lights I got for the ladies to hopefully help stimulate them with light. I slit one side to help the bends and taped it with painters tape together and to the sides of the bator.

Below is the picture of them all separated at day 18, but before I got them all spread out and the thermometer/hydrometer back in. I'll get you another one when we open up Wednesday.

 

[Faraday40]

I went home at lunch to find another bitty from my barnyard mixes had finally hatched. She pipped when I got home last night around 5pm and finally hatched around 1115am. I saw another pip on one of the OEs. My divider is just the sides of the party lights I got for the ladies to hopefully help stimulate them with light. I slit one side to help the bends and taped it with painters tape together and to the sides of the bator.

Below is the picture of them all separated at day 18, but before I got them all spread out and the thermometer/hydrometer back in. I'll get you another one when we open up Wednesday.
View attachment 1186753

I like it. Simple & very effective.

I made compartments using strawberry containers. Cut out the tops & bottoms to increase air flow. My family loves to tease me about my little "chick jails."

Simple home-made egg turner.

 

[Finnie]

Anybody in need of a livestock guardian dog? Or apparently he's used to being a house dog.

https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/pet/d/rare-kuvasz-dog-needs-new-home/6386512055.html

It's in Whitestown.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

How do you deal with the time change/darkness at both ends of the day?

I work part time (thank goodness as I don’t know how I would have any outdoor animals full time). On at least one day a week - it’s barely light when I leave and dark when I get home. I don’t have the energy to do my normal stuff (nor the light). The girls are already headed to bed when I get home.

When I leave on those days, I make sure they have all that they need for the day. On the days that I’m home, I spend a little more time with them throughout the day (collecting eggs, cleaning roost board and nests, tidying up run, etc). Other days I leave later in the morning and can do a little bit extra before I leave (as far as tidying up goes).

My coop at the moment is a tsc prefab. I am planning on something better for them soon, but I have added extra security and extra hardware cloth all around the base. Anyway, there are no bells and whistles - no automatic doors or anything like that. I did get a heated waterer given to me when I got them so that was a bonus! So, I worry that because their coop is smaller, I have to clean it more often to help with any issues that could arise.

Maybe I already answered my question. Just wonder how others deal? I don’t like the shorter days myself.