Janoel Incubation Experience

[n3kms]

I found one of my chicks dead in the nest yesterday. There were 10 that went from the incubator to broody. They had all been up and eating the day before. My guess, either something was wrong with it or possibly she accidentally stepped on it. They had all appeared quite healthy and she was being very attentive to them.

 

[Heron's Nest Farm]

I went out to find a few chicks screaming and cowering as she attacked!

I kicked her out. i feel bad for her as she seemed so confused and is desperately trying to get back in. Weird. Must be hormonal.

They are all doing great without her. eating and drinking. She actually hatched for 5 days.

 

[bramblefir]

[COLOR=A52A2A]All of the pictures are so pretty!  I love the old flooring next to the chicks.  So artsy!!!!!![/COLOR]

I would try more than 2 days apart unless you have a ton of incubators for hatching.  If you did hatches a week a part you would only need 1 for incubating and one for hatching.  That would give you time for lockdown with high humidity, hatching and clean up.  That is where I am at.  Are you going to hand turn?  

Bear with me as I'm on my phone.

I "hand turn" by shimmying the whole bator just enough that the eggs roll around. I'll try setting one week apart.

The old floors are actually vinyl photography backdrops. I love them! I'll have to find the link when I'm back to my computer.

 

[bramblefir]

Here's the place where I get my photography backgrounds: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SwankyPrints

 

[WildfireSmitty]

I went out to find a few chicks screaming and cowering as she attacked!

I kicked her out. i feel bad for her as she seemed so confused and is desperately trying to get back in. Weird. Must be hormonal.

They are all doing great without her. eating and drinking. She actually hatched for 5 days.

I had that happen with one of my Australorp hens. She went nuts after hatching, and has always been a nut ever since then. It was almost as if something traumatizing had happened during or after hatch. It's been over a year now and she is still off the rocker.

As for "squished" chicks under broody, I have seen it happen numerous times. I not sure why it happens. I think it happens mostly in nesting boxes due to smaller spaces.
What I do now is (I find there are not as many "pancakes") When the first couple chicks hatch, I will move the broody and the box she is hatching in. I will put the box about 5-6 feet off the ground, and put her dry chicks on the ground under a light. I have only ever done this with Australorps. The hen will still hatch out her other eggs while checking on the little ones. It's best to make sure they go undisturbed. If the chicks frighten and scatter, momma will leave the eggs to go protect the little ones. I find I have been pretty successful with this.

Right now I have a couple hens sitting on eggs. I made sure to set them on the ground in their own coop. When they hatch on the ground I have no worries at all.

 

[n3kms]

My broody started sitting on 2 eggs about six days after I put eggs in the incubator. When I realized what she was doing I decided I wanted her to raise the incubator chicks. I got a small separate coop and run but before I moved her she had gotten off her nest and gotten back on the wrong one twice. But once I moved the chicks in with her I candled the two she had sat on and they had continued to develop so I put them in the incubator. They pipped yesterday and I ended up helping little shrink wrapped chicks out this morning. I about waited too long on the first one and it kept looking pretty weak but then I gave it a drop of Nutri-Drench and she perked right up. Think she's a crested cream Legbar. If not she is at least 3/4. But she looks purebred. Not sure on the other. Unfortunately. I will now have two chicks in a bedroom, three in the garage, nine in the grow out coop, nine with a broody and the other 17 in the big coop. I worry I'll forget to feed someone.

 

[Heron's Nest Farm]

My broody started sitting on 2 eggs about six days after I put eggs in the incubator. When I realized what she was doing I decided I wanted her to raise the incubator chicks. I got a small separate coop and run but before I moved her she had gotten off her nest and gotten back on the wrong one twice. But once I moved the chicks in with her I candled the two she had sat on and they had continued to develop so I put them in the incubator. They pipped yesterday and I ended up helping little shrink wrapped chicks out this morning. I about waited too long on the first one and it kept looking pretty weak but then I gave it a drop of Nutri-Drench and she perked right up. Think she's a crested cream Legbar. If not she is at least 3/4. But she looks purebred. Not sure on the other. Unfortunately. I will now have two chicks in a bedroom, three in the garage, nine in the grow out coop, nine with a broody and the other 17 in the big coop. I worry I'll forget to feed someone.

That IS a lot of juggling. I don't have that many runs going, but next year I believe I will!

 

[Heron's Nest Farm]

SO I candeled today.
1 of my eggs was a clear (yay for my roosters!)
3 of my friends eggs were clears (yay for their roosters!)
All of the eggs I bought on ebay were clears

BUT she agreed to send me more! YAY

The one egg that was a freebee was a Lavender orpington over Gold laced orpington and I am excited that it is really alive and kicking. I am excited about what it will look like!

OK, who has candled? How many lavenders are sticking around until lockdown? Any ducks in?

 

[Lyss]

Woah been missing and this thread up to 24 pages

.
My bator is still empty

..... My new Pekin male is also still to young to do his jobs and my girls have gone of the lay for some reason anyway and I couldn't find any eggs around. Turkey breeder says I can have some of his eggs when it warms up again though so i'll be back in, in about 4-5 months, again

... Looking into shipping some eggs now.

 

[WVduckchick]

Well I candled this morning, day 7. Looks like out of 18 lavender orpingtons, 2 are clear, and another is either clear or early quitter. Several look really great! Some of these shells are really tough to get a good view through, so veining isn't real obvious in some, but I see good blobs lol. I went ahead and weighed them all again, and I'm just getting ready to calculate weight loss. Some of the air cells are still flat... not tilted yet, but seem to be growing well, so I'm ok with that, I suppose.

Heron's Nest, I'm really curious to see your LO over GLO. That is going to be interesting! I bet it will be beautiful!

My ducks are growing like little weeds, they are 18, 19, and 20 days old now.
So far, I suspect I have 3 girls and 1 boy. Thought it was 2 and 2 when I vent checked them, but quacking seems to be coming from 3, so I guess I'll have to wait for curly tail feathers...

Check out the crest on this cute little girl! Looks like a little white cotton ball! And she's one of my loudest quackers! haha