Jan./Feb. 2014 hatch a long

[CarlieT]

went out this morning to let everyone out and found an egg that has to be from one of my pullet brahmas! too big for a bantie egg! the coop I keep my bantams is the coop I use to start my chicks when they're ready to go out! anyway Brahma's are moving by the weekend to their breeding pen!

looking forward to pics from your hatch

Here are some I have that are 3-4wks old. 5 blue orpingtons and 3 ameracaunas. From our play date outside this week

 

[Heidisgran]

Quote:

aren't they fun!!?

 

[CarlieT]

Oh my goodness, yes! They are so funny and cute!

 

[dolfi]

What breed??

. Well, here are the results! 34 healthy chicks out of the 36 eggs that were fertile. Giving the other two eggs the rest of the day, but I'm almost positive they are dead...

Wao that a very good hatch rate. I am on day 26 10 out of 25 eggs hatched. Hoping for more but it doesn't look like it.

 

[AmericanMom]

well!! you can look at it anyway you like that's not "wrong" but if you want to check the air cell and see movement clearly just before hatch...you would look down through the fat end...
are you eggs in a egg turner pointy end down? or laying on their side? how are you incubating?

My eggs are in a turner, pointy end down...

 

[otis7]

I broke down and fully candled by day 21 eggs (without turning the egg). The bottom of the egg (sideways) was light, so was the pointy end. The air sack on one was small, but looked less clear and more mottled. The air sack on the other was larger and clear, same light spot on the bottom on the egg and slightly light at the pointy end. Saw no movement. Are we doomed? Did they die day 18? Late? They are bantam/full size crosses, could that cause the chick to be smaller in a large egg (roo was bantam). Ugh, I'm loosing it.

 

[jan12]

Day 21 and no movement. I'm getting so nervous and sad something went wrong. First time, only two eggs...I feel like were just destined for failure. Ohh how I would love to see a fluffy little chick right now.

Good luck! Don't give up yet. Sometimes especially when the temp was slightly lower, they can hatch up to a few days late.

 

[Farmer Viola]

Quote:

I Lasted three days, threw up every night and finally admitted to myself I couldn't tolerate it.. mind you its not the butchering, I have always helped process our deer etc...
I once told my sister who couldn't understand how we could kill and eat the animals we raise that killing isn't done for the joy, its done for the necessity. We are meat eaters, I would rather raise my animals with kindness and care, knowing where the animal came from and how it was treated then some factory raised animal. Our animals are reverenced and the act is done quickly with as little pain as possible, and thanks are always given for the life taken to sustain us.

I suppose I have more of a problem with folks who have a problem with what we do, questioning how we can do it then with anyone else. Folks are desensitized these days, they go to the store and the meat is neatly packaged, they don't care what the animal went through to get there.

it's the disconnect between meat = animal
as long as it's nicely packaged they don't have to consider that it was alive. well, it was alive, and it was kept in a teeny tiny cage I wouldn't even put chicks in.
anyway. I have derailed enough!!! lol

Are you being over cautionary or is this what you recommend?

Why thanks for giving me the option haha, I joke

.
Well I have most certainly learned from it and now my eggs are going to be in the bator but not turning for another day yet. Thank you

.

The biggest part of the list below that I would recommend to you, is not candling or removing from the incubator until day 15. I feel it is very very important to allow the membrane to re-heal and it takes 2 weeks to do so. I do not let the egg tilt horizontal or upside down in order to keep it upright and help it heal, and I have seen this method work before. I will candle directly down into the incubator, just not removing it.

As for the temperature, I would not put my eggs in a hot incubator. I warm my incubator up for days beforehand to get the conditions right. I would not turn the incubator down to accommodate, since I have the dial "just right" I don't want to mess it up.
What I do instead, is warm the eggs up in my house by taking them from a cool room to a progressively warmer room over a long time (8hrs). I HAVE had eggs sweat before by just popping them in the incubator. everything I do is because something happened to make me change my ways

My detached plan:

• rest 24hr
• begin increasing temperature slowly over 8hrs
• add to incubator, but do not turn for 48 hrs - then begin turning
• remove incubator lid for 10-15min/day for daily cooling
• candle within the incubator, do not remove until day 15. air cell takes 2 weeks to re-heal. must avoid turning eggs on their side, only upright!
• stop turning early at day 16
• hatch upright in egg cartons (not on their sides)

 

[Farmer Viola]

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Well, here are the results! 34 healthy chicks out of the 36 eggs that were fertile. Giving the other two eggs the rest of the day, but I'm almost positive they are dead...

hooray love the pics! congratulations, fantastic hatch rate!

went out this morning to let everyone out and found an egg that has to be from one of my pullet brahmas! too big for a bantie egg! the coop I keep my bantams is the coop I use to start my chicks when they're ready to go out! anyway Brahma's are moving by the weekend to their breeding pen!

looking forward to pics from your hatch

first egg always so exciting!!!

 

[Farmer Viola]

I broke down and fully candled by day 21 eggs (without turning the egg). The bottom of the egg (sideways) was light, so was the pointy end. The air sack on one was small, but looked less clear and more mottled. The air sack on the other was larger and clear, same light spot on the bottom on the egg and slightly light at the pointy end. Saw no movement. Are we doomed? Did they die day 18? Late? They are bantam/full size crosses, could that cause the chick to be smaller in a large egg (roo was bantam). Ugh, I'm loosing it.

it should look very dark by day 21, sometimes I will find the small lighter area which is the yolk, and I will try and look for it to become "hollow" or absorbed but its hard to see in brown eggs especially.

if any areas are clear, I would suspect that it is a quitter.... very sorry hun

but I would leave it in the incubator until day 23 at least to be sure. you can candle it every day and look for changes/progress. you can also float test the egg before you break it open to be sure. I do recommend that if you determine it has quit, that you break it open and try to figure out when/why it happened.

were these your own eggs, non-shipped?