INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Pollitos6]

Farm update! Candled all the eggs I set in the incubator. So far only 2 weren't developing out of 60+! I set every chicken egg I had for a week. I may continue hatching, I have a close friend at TSC and they are selling out nonstop.
My first Muscovy hatch is due anytime. These eggs are Broody raised so I'm hoping for a few ducklings! My other 4 hens are brooding but we are about a month out. We have 3 Muscovy boys from last year we have to cull. Extremely aggressive drakes and not respecting the ducks that are nesting.
We have 1 goat doe left to kid anytime and a calf due in August. Paprika our oldest goat is an excellent milker, getting almost a half gallon daily. She's a very good girl I adore her. Gracie our newest Hereford cow was bred by an Angus bull before we bought her. She should calve late August.

wow 58 fertilized eggs out of 60 that is AWESOME!. i have Luna " my broody orpinton" sitting in 5 eggs. I candled the eggs after 8 days ( this was my first time candling) and I was expecting to see veins and some movements inside the eggs but two eggs I am pretty sure was a no go ( no vein or air sack). the other three I am not quite sure so I let her keep them. I was able to see air sack and what it seems to be spider web inside the egg but did not see any movement, is it too early for the baby chick to move? I will check it again in a few days and see.

 

[sunnie7]

I am very sorry about your silkies being attacked. I never had a problem from 2007-2000. I lived in Florida and and my chickens were in pens under shade. There was a space in the pen wire on top or the ceiling wire. The hole was 6 inches by 2 ft. And covered with a tarp. Well the roacoon found the hole and ripped 4 Polish to shreds. Then washed it's hands in their water!

I now live in "Kentuckiana" 20 minutes from Louisville but in Indiana. I have 23 chickens . I don't even know what to be aware of here.

Hi!! I’m In Henryville about 20mins from Louisville too! I live right next to the state forestry and have had issues with raccoons and foxes. We have also seen coyotes and a bobcat last week on our property right next to our house.
what types of chickens do you have? I recently expanded we have 2 bantam Cochins of our original flocks from 4 years ago and have now went to all large breed...speckled Sussex, black Americaunas, buff Orpington, Brahmas, Golden laced Wyandotte and then we had our first hatch of 20 mixed breeds 4 weeks ago! Sold 8 yesterday so we are at 24 chickens, 3 Pekin ducks, and down to 5 of our 5 guineas but I have guineas eggs that just started PIPing today in the incubator!!!

 

[Faraday40]

I was able to see air sack and what it seems to be spider web inside the egg but did not see any movement, is it too early for the baby chick to move? I will check it again in a few days and see.

At 8 days, you can usually see spider veins and a blob in the center. (Colored eggs are a little harder to see through.) If it's not moving, don't worry, it could just be resting. If you can't see the air cell, then it's possible the shell is just thick. Using a stronger light in the dark may help.

I like to mark any I feel may be clears and re-candle around 10-14 days. If you just take a quick peek you'll notice shadow (good fertile egg) vs. no shadow (a brightly glowing ball = no embryo). By then I'm more confident to toss the clear eggs.

If you're incubating a breed with very dark eggs (like Marans or Welsummer), then you may not know fertility until hatch. If it's sweating or smelling bad, then toss it.

 

[Faraday40]

Happy Mother's Day to all those fellow moms out there.

DD made French toast. DS scrambled some eggs. (With the Covid19, he's learned how to cook eggs all by himself..... hard boiled, scrambled, over-easy, and sunny side up.) DH made bacon and coffee. They even picked some flowers for the table.

I also got these:

They were supposed to hatch last night but waited until breakfast today. Another nice surprise!

 

[sunnie7]

Happy Mother's Day to all those fellow moms out there.

DD made French toast. DS scrambled some eggs. (With the Covid19, he's learned how to cook eggs all by himself..... hard boiled, scrambled, over-easy, and sunny side up.) DH made bacon and coffee. They even picked some flowers for the table.

I also got these:

They were supposed to hatch last night but waited until breakfast today. Another nice surprise!

what a great day!!!! I have guineas hatching now! One so far and another has an external PIP! today is only day 25 so thought it would Be tomorrow the earliest!
what kind of incubator do you have to have such a great picture or is your hatch done and it’s open?!

 

[Pollitos6]

At 8 days, you can usually see spider veins and a blob in the center. (Colored eggs are a little harder to see through.) If it's not moving, don't worry, it could just be resting. If you can't see the air cell, then it's possible the shell is just thick. Using a stronger light in the dark may help.

I like to mark any I feel may be clears and re-candle around 10-14 days. If you just take a quick peek you'll notice shadow (good fertile egg) vs. no shadow (a brightly glowing ball = no embryo). By then I'm more confident to toss the clear eggs.

If you're incubating a breed with very dark eggs (like Marans or Welsummer), then you may not know fertility until hatch. If it's sweating or smelling bad, then toss it.

very informative, Thank you so much!!!
I have another question, since my hen is new at this and her fist time. If my hen decides to break broodiness before "hatching day" how long to I have to run to the store and get me an incubator?
Thanks

 

[Pollitos6]

Happy Mother's Day to all those fellow moms out there.

DD made French toast. DS scrambled some eggs. (With the Covid19, he's learned how to cook eggs all by himself..... hard boiled, scrambled, over-easy, and sunny side up.) DH made bacon and coffee. They even picked some flowers for the table.

I also got these:

They were supposed to hatch last night but waited until breakfast today. Another nice surprise!

Oh wow how cute. Sounds like you have a nice mothers day. What type of incubator are you using? I rather let my hens sit on the eggs until hatching day but I would like to have an incubator just in case of emergency.

 

[Faraday40]

what kind of incubator do you have to have such a great picture or is your hatch done and it’s open?!

What type of incubator are you using? I rather let my hens sit on the eggs until hatching day but I would like to have an incubator just in case of emergency.

Out of 9 quail eggs only 3 were fertile, so the hatch is done. The adults are over 2 years old & just moved here last month. Perhaps age and the move decreased quail fertility.

The incubator is a home-made cooler-bator. I made it sideways so the lid flips down to open. I did this on purpose, to make myself a very large viewing window. That way we can watch "chick TV" the hatching channel, clearly at every hatch.

I modified it a little over the past 5 years and it still works great. In fact last year when DS did his 4H project comparing incubators, this one got 100% hatch rate and the Brinsea got 93%. Incuview came in 3rd and Hovabator 4th.

I don't have a pic at full capacity on hand. I can fit up to 5 doz for incubation (....as long as the number goes down to 4 doz by lockdown or have a broody hen for the overflow). I use egg cartons (Lid & bottoms removed) zip tied to a PVC pipe along the middle. That makes a see-saw to manually turn all 12 eggs at once. I started hatching in egg cartons to keep air cell upright and prevent hatched chicks from playing soccer with their unhatched siblings.

However, DS doesn't like how we must manually turn eggs, adjust it, and monitor temp/ humidity. So this year he earned a grant from the farm bureau to make his own incubator. He's going to put an Incukit in a cooler, add a double pane plexiglass window (used photo frames from thrift store), and make an egg turner kit. Quite ambitious. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[Faraday40]

very informative, Thank you so much!!!
I have another question, since my hen is new at this and her fist time. If my hen decides to break broodiness before "hatching day" how long to I have to run to the store and get me an incubator?
Thanks

It's not very common for a hen to quit. Most of the time she's just taking a long bio break and will return. Put her back on nest and see if she settles back down. If she does leave for good, there are a few things you could to extend the warmth.

Put eggs in an insulated container - like lunchbox or mini cooler - with a hand warmer packet near eggs..... or heating pad...... or microwaved rice (Place dry rice in sock & close with rubber band) BTW- I like this for headaches.

Remember the goal is to keep them at 99.5'F, so pretty close to human body temp. Don't make it too hot. These things will help keep eggs warm while you go to store.

Eggs can also go dormant, so if they do chill to room temp, there's a strong chance they'll hatch a day or two late. I once had a hen leave the nest and return to the wrong one (when we had snow on the ground!) It was over an hour & the eggs were pretty cold. I put her back on her eggs and all 3 hatched.

A new & easy incubator is the Nurture Rite 360. It's so easy to set up, use, and clean. It also has good view for hatching.


If you really don't see that you'll have much future need for an incubator, then ask around to see if you could borrow one. Many schools have them and only use them once a year. Any BYC member near you? Other friends/family with chickens? Home school families? Free is always good.

 

[Pollitos6]

It's not very common for a hen to quit. Most of the time she's just taking a long bio break and will return. Put her back on nest and see if she settles back down. If she does leave for good, there are a few things you could to extend the warmth.

Put eggs in an insulated container - like lunchbox or mini cooler - with a hand warmer packet near eggs..... or heating pad...... or microwaved rice (Place dry rice in sock & close with rubber band) BTW- I like this for headaches.

Remember the goal is to keep them at 99.5'F, so pretty close to human body temp. Don't make it too hot. These things will help keep eggs warm while you go to store.

Eggs can also go dormant, so if they do chill to room temp, there's a strong chance they'll hatch a day or two late. I once had a hen leave the nest and return to the wrong one (when we had snow on the ground!) It was over an hour & the eggs were pretty cold. I put her back on her eggs and all 3 hatched.

A new & easy incubator is the Nurture Rite 360. It's so easy to set up, use, and clean. It also has good view for hatching.
View attachment 2134269

If you really don't see that you'll have much future need for an incubator, then ask around to see if you could borrow one. Many schools have them and only use them once a year. Any BYC member near you? Other friends/family with chickens? Home school families? Free is always good.

Thank you !! you are like Wikipedia lol