January 2023 Hatch-a-long

[WallyG74]

I think the ones that made it to almost hatch got put into lockdown too soon.

Why do you think that? Not being a smart butt. What facts or experience points you to that reason?

 

[junior67]

The chicks I hatched went to their home tonight. I will miss their cute peeps and fluffy butts!!! 10 of the 12 pictured since each of my girls were holding a baby.

 

[I Like Turkeys]

First chicken egg has hatched, and turkey + duck are 6 days from hatch. I presume the chick hatched is from my easter egger rooster and one of my rhode island red hens(brown eggs, appears to have peacomb.. may be wrong though)Still hoping I get my promised bantams to hatch

 

[3KillerBs]

I will get incubator photos tomorrow in the daylight, but I am wondering if I might be accidentally trying to incubate my homebrew OE's first egg.

I'd taken it for a Marans egg, though sort of wonky-shaped, being long and thin, and tucked it in just as an off-chance thing since the weight was good (I prefer to incubate 60g+ eggs, though will go down to 50g when I have a lot of fairly-new layers).

I noticed that the OE -- who hatched last Easter -- had FINALLY gotten a red comb and then I got another long, thin, Marans-dark egg today. It seemed weird that one of my FCM girls, who had been consistent layers of large, well-shaped eggs, would have two weird ones in a row.

Well, no, it's one of the Marans's eggs.

Finally, after 9 months, I got my very first olive egg from my freeloader hen. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/9-months-later.1559546/

 

[WallyG74]

Still hoping I get my promised bantams to hatch

Why wouldn’t you and who promised?

 

[gimmie birdies]

Most people candle on day 18 and then just lock down. I look for certain things before lockdown.
Below both eggs are day 18. The top egg is not ready to lock down, too much fluid.

The egg below is ready. All beneath the air cell is dark and it has a good slope.

The pic below is a pic we see all the time for hatching eggs, the dip of the the slope should be placed up at lockdown.

Fat end angled up slightly. You can place eggs fat end up-ish on rope cord like the pics below. Then other chicks cannot play soccer with the unhatched eggs.

 

[FunClucks]

Most people candle on day 18 and then just lock down. I look for certain things before lockdown.
Below both eggs are day 18. The top egg is not ready to lock down, too much fluid.
View attachment 3372203
The egg below is ready. All beneath the air cell is dark and it has a good slope.

View attachment 3372202
The pic below is a pic we see all the time for hatching eggs, the dip of the the slope should be placed up at lockdown.
View attachment 3372205
Fat end angled up slightly. You can place eggs fat end up-ish on rope cord like the pics below. Then other chicks cannot play soccer with the unhatched eggs.
View attachment 3372215

Super helpful! Thank you!

 

[FunClucks]

Incubator eggs!!! 9 days to go!!! Starting weights range from 51-67g. Colors are wonky but you can see size and shape. lightest eggs and ones on top are light blue. There's 4-5 green tinted blue, then the Starlight green egger eggs that look olivey brown in this picture but are really a nice green, and there is one light tan egg from the olive egger who wasn't.

I didn't set the medium (smallest) prairie bluebell blue eggs, they were just too small. Pics taken inside at night - I'll try again in the daylight, but may not have much better luck. I included a couple pics of eggs in the daylight for comparison. The picture with gray decking in the background is the one that has the actual color of the eggs. Except the blue egg in that picture is about half that blue in real life.

 

[sevenhelmet]

We have embryos!

Day 7: I candled the “Baker’s Dozen” for the first time this morning. Two have blood rings, and one appears to be infertile. The rest are all showing signs of development with spidery veins and visible embryos. All the air cells looked good- no saddling or squishiness that I could tell, which is amazing based on what I’ve read about shipped eggs. Still handling these eggs as little as possible.

We have a long way to go, but fingers crossed for ten healthy chicks…

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have been watching the hatching eggs on the site I have ordered from. The eggs are flying off the shelves. I am glad I ordered early. I am looking forward to more people joining our hatch-a-longs.