January 2023 Hatch-a-long

[gimmie birdies]

Maybe Barry White. I named him, "Lester" if that is any hint, for my hopes.

 

[Kool-Kemp]

I currently have 36 eggs in incubator. Started on New year eve, so tomorrow is day 6, when I will candle them all the first time. They are old eggs so I just hope I can get half of those developed and good to keep.

 

[junior67]

Good luck to everyone here!

Wow you all have such patience waiting till day 6 to candle. I have a hard time even waiting till day 3 and most times take a quick peek at a couple on day 2. LMAO! Then all on day 3...... I candle just about every other day after that. I am so bad, but I just have to take a peek.

I have one external pip and 3 internal last I checked. Won't check for any more internal ones now so just have to wait for the external. I have 5 that should hatch tomorrow or Sat, Most likely at least 3 will be tomorrow if not all. I am just hoping it is before or after I work so I don't have to try to watch on the camera while at work. hahaaa! The external pip I am guessing happened around 8-9pm so guess I see when that one hatches.

Once these hatch the guy I am hatching them for may be giving me some more of his silkie eggs to hatch.

 

[WallyG74]

Good luck to everyone here!

Wow you all have such patience waiting till day 6 to candle. I have a hard time even waiting till day 3 and most times take a quick peek at a couple on day 2. LMAO! Then all on day 3...... I candle just about every other day after that. I am so bad, but I just have to take a peek.

I have one external pip and 3 internal last I checked. Won't check for any more internal ones now so just have to wait for the external. I have 5 that should hatch tomorrow or Sat, Most likely at least 3 will be tomorrow if not all. I am just hoping it is before or after I work so I don't have to try to watch on the camera while at work. hahaaa! The external pip I am guessing happened around 8-9pm so guess I see when that one hatches.

Once these hatch the guy I am hatching them for may be giving me some more of his silkie eggs to hatch.

I like to wait until day 10. It’s like smoking meat. If you a-lookin, you ain’t a-cookin!

 

[junior67]

I like to wait until day 10. It’s like smoking meat. If you a-lookin, you ain’t a-cookin!

10 days would kill me! I figure mom gets up once a day at least for a bit so me taking a min to look isn't going to do any damage or slow anything down. Heck my broody would be off for 30 min up to 1.5 hrs and babies all hatched on time under them. So far in all that I have hatched I haven't had an issue peeking every other day at some (I don't take the time to candle them all that much but a few) and they hatch between day 20-21.

 

[junior67]

baby #1 is out. It was a talker in the egg when internally pipped and came out screaming just as much and woke me up this morning since the incubator is in my bedroom. haahaa.

#2 has pipped.

 

[sevenhelmet]

After letting our bakers dozen sit overnight, we’re off and running. Planned hatch day of 1/27.

 

[WallyG74]

10 days would kill me! I figure mom gets up once a day at least for a bit so me taking a min to look isn't going to do any damage or slow anything down. Heck my broody would be off for 30 min up to 1.5 hrs and babies all hatched on time under them. So far in all that I have hatched I haven't had an issue peeking every other day at some (I don't take the time to candle them all that much but a few) and they hatch between day 20-21.

For me, all that extra handling is just another chance to drop it. I’m fairly clumsy when handling delicate things. They get all in your head. Kinda like icing the kicker when the game is on the line and you need that 3 points.

 

[FunClucks]

I weighed and candled all my eggs last night (day 5ish for most, day 4 and day 2 for two of them). All 23 eggs are alive!!! I'm seeing veins, eyespot, and embryo for those that are 5ish days along. Seeing mass and veins and some embryo for the others. They're also losing the correct amount of weight, so 49-52% humidity seems to be working properly. (0.12*beginning weight)/3 = target weight loss for day 6.

Super excited, but OMG, where am I going to put them all!!! My hatcher only holds 22, so there's already an egg placed on top that I've been hand turning (it and the two it interferes with). I was sure I'd have a couple quit, and was not actually planning to raise 23 chickens! Guess we'll see how they look in another week...

Is it weird that the mass of veins that encompasses the embryo is stuck to one side of the egg? It's like it chose one wall, and is slowly work its way to encompass the whole egg, and is about 1/3-1/2 there. I've seen candling pictures, but they all show veins and embryo, I didn't realize that if you hold the egg horizontally and then rotate it, basically the back half of the egg is clear when you candle it around day 5-6ish. Is this normal? This doesn't mean my egg rotation is faulty, does it? Cause the turner is working great, except for those three where I put the 23rd egg.

 

[Jen Leigh]

I'm a little late to the thread, but I set my first batch in December and 7 of 8 in lockdown hatched between Jan 2-4. They are silkies so tiny and adorable. Not at all as loud as my Australorp chicks when I brought them home last year!