January 2017 Hatch-a-long

[supergirl105]

I am ECSTATIC!! my babies(call ducks) are on day 13 and I try to candle them every couple days just to make sure they are still alive and I just candled 1 an I SAW ITS BEAK

its so freaking cute! I can't help but love them already but my boyfriend is a complete jerk and he's like I don't get excited until they are out of the egg and healthy blah blah blah! Oh well that's him! I'm beyond thrilled and excited! I'll post a recent candling video when its done uploading to YouTube

I understand the feeling!
The first time that I incubated eggs I couldn't believe when I candled them and they were bouncing around inside the shell!! All the stuff I'd ever read said you see a dark or light, but it was like a duckie ultrasound!

 

[gimmie birdies]

I set some NN store eggs under a hen a while back she broke an egg and wrecked the bunch. Not long after my son got married in MT and his in-laws had NN I put 3 in my incubator for 1/10. Wish me luck.

 

[NysiaAnera]

Well, my hen who got evicted from her nest seems serious about starting over, so we gave her 12 new eggs tonight. I hope she makes it all the way this time. Her others would have started hatching tomorrow, poor things. So, let the countdown begin!

 

[ducky723]

I understand the feeling!
The first time that I incubated eggs I couldn't believe when I candled them and they were bouncing around inside the shell!! All the stuff I'd ever read said you see a dark or light, but it was like a duckie ultrasound!

Yes exactly lol I'm excited day 14 today yay!! Lol

 

[butterfliesdoku]

Out of 27 Easter Eggers I've removed two so far: 1 infertile and 1 quitter on day 11.
I also removed 1 out of the 5 Gamefowl eggs, it had a huge crack upon candling (also a quitter).
There's a Bielefelder egg i'm not too sure about so I'm leaving it in.

 

[PamperedChicken]

I'm new to BYC and this is my first Hatch-a-Long. Last night I put seven LF Barred Cochin eggs into the incubator (borrowed a Brinsea Octogon 20 from a good friend) that were shipped from Georgia. Both mom and dad are barred and stunning - see pic. Candled them after a 12 hour rest. Only one seemed pretty loose, but I'm fairly new at hatching so wasn't sure exact what I was looking for. I marked the shells with my initial observations so I can keep track. This is a third attempt over a four year period. My first try was pretty successful since it was the 'first try"...3 Marans from chocolate eggs given to us at an egg show. What a great experience! I was out of town, but my husband kept calling me and keeping me updated. He was as excited as a little kid. The second attempt was Ameraucana eggs purchased at the Ohio National. None hatched. I think I cooked them. I was using a cheap foam incubator and couldn't get the temperature regulated. Total bummer. I think I'm looking at a Jan 12/13th hatch date. Praying to the chicken gods for a good turn out this time.

Just candled my Cochins. Three are right on target and looking good! One is iffy, and one looks like a quitter (nice red spot but also has what looks like the red ring of death). I broke open one that was clear. I had marked it when it was delivered because it didn't look good. Very loose inside, and pourous shell. There was nothing there. Not fertile. I hope I get some good chicks out of this. Disappointed with that yoke color. Maybe I'm just used to the dark yokes of my spoiled girls.

 

[NysiaAnera]

This is unbelievable to me! I discovered this today. The poor hen in the middle has now been evicted from two nest boxes! First she was in the far right, which was commandeered by Buffy. Then she chose the box on the far left, which today was commandeered by a Black Australorp. Now she is in the middle box. If this keeps up, we may end up with all the nest boxes in use, and this one trying to brood an egg out in the snow!

 

[PamperedChicken]

This is unbelievable to me! I discovered this today. The poor hen in the middle has now been evicted from two nest boxes! First she was in the far right, which was commandeered by Buffy. Then she chise the box on the far left, which today was commandeered by a Black Australorp. Now she is in the middle box. If this keeps up, we may end up with all the nest boxes in use, and this one standing trying to brood an egg out in the snow!

I've never hatched the natural way. How do you handle this? Do you give her a partitioned area?

 

[NysiaAnera]

I've never hatched the natural way. How do you handle this? Do you give her a partitioned area?

Personally, I do not. I just leave the hens to it. Usually, the mommas take good care of the chicks, and there are no problems. We have had some mishaps and tragedies, like one last month who lost all but 3 out of 14, and another one who rejected all the black chicks, and I ended up brooding 6 chicks inside. That was only 2 incidents, and not the norm for us personally. I tried separating broodies a while back, and the result was not good. One was allowed back, but the other was treated like a stranger and repeatedly attacked by the rest of the hens, so I decided never to do that again. Now they all just stay together, and no one loses their spot in the pecking order. My flock is very used to having chicks and mean mommas around. What I will do is on day 19, I will put a screen (1/4 inch welded wire) in front of the nest box so the chicks cannot get away from Momma while the rest are hatching (this is what happened to the one last month, I forgot to put the screen up and they got away from their momma and it was too cold for them). The screen stays in place for a few days, I take it down 24 hours after the last one hatches. If need be, I will put a small dishes of water and chick starter in. This is only if the last ones are more than 48 hours after the first ones. The screen also prevents the momma from leaving before the last ones are quite able to follow her. Right now I also have 4 other mommas with chicks, all different ages.

 

[PamperedChicken]

I like the screen idea!