July 2022 Hatch-A-Long

[FreedomFarm13]

And I won't have to worry about handling during shipping because I'm gonna drive the 3.5hrs to get them so I know they're well taken care of! Eeeeee!!!

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

And I won't have to worry about handling during shipping because I'm gonna drive the 3.5hrs to get them so I know they're well taken care of! Eeeeee!!!

That is dedication but totally worth it!

 

[FreedomFarm13]

That is dedication but totally worth it!

Yes, it is. Wanna give them the best chance possible. I haven't had any Ameraucanas for 3 years, and these little guys are gonna be restarting my breeding program, so I want as many as I can get to choose from. I plan on getting some self blue ameraucanas and blue/black birchen marans from the same place next week, so may be adding that batch to the July hatchalong then. Also ordering bielefelder eggs, but they'll actually be shipped from out of state, so I'm not sure if they'll make it in time to be a July hatch or not. We'll see. So glad to finally be working with some of these breeds again! I miss it for sure.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Yes, it is. Wanna give them the best chance possible. I haven't had any Ameraucanas for 3 years, and these little guys are gonna be restarting my breeding program, so I want as many as I can get to choose from. I plan on getting some self blue ameraucanas and blue/black birchen marans from the same place next week, so may be adding that batch to the July hatchalong then. Also ordering bielefelder eggs, but they'll actually be shipped from out of state, so I'm not sure if they'll make it in time to be a July hatch or not. We'll see. So glad to finally be working with some of these breeds again! I miss it for sure.

That sounds like a wonderful start to a breeding group!

 

[FreedomFarm13]

That sounds like a wonderful start to a breeding group!

Yeah, I have plans for Isabel Ameraucanas, a sex-linked crele-type blue/green egg layer, and some dark olive Eggers. Gonna be some fun projects, in addition to breeding pure birds to the sop. So much fun!!!

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

I made the mistake of popping into Trader Joe’s yesterday to check Julian dates on eggs. I’ve been wanting to try hatching some of the TJ fertile eggs for awhile. It’s not a store that’s very close to me. I only go there when I’m already in the area.

I was shocked and thrilled to find some of the TJ brand fertile eggs that were only a week old. That’s the best I’ve seen! I brought them home and got them to room temperature (which took an unusually long time). Into the incubator 7 eggs went. The remaining eggs I cracked. About half looked fertile.

Now I’ve got eggs double layered in the incubator like a true hatchaholic. I should be able to thin the TJ eggs pretty quick. However,I’m still starting to panic a bit about how I’m going to grow out all these birds. There are now 30 eggs in the incubator. 23 of which looks awesome on day 7 and should have decent hatch rate. Plus the 29 chicks we ready have brooding. I can’t decide if I’m horrified or excited to have this many.

 

[junior67]

I made the mistake of popping into Trader Joe’s yesterday to check Julian dates on eggs. I’ve been wanting to try hatching some of the TJ fertile eggs for awhile. It’s not a store that’s very close to me. I only go there when I’m already in the area.

I was shocked and thrilled to find some of the TJ brand fertile eggs that were only a week old. That’s the best I’ve seen! I brought them home and got them to room temperature (which took an unusually long time). Into the incubator 7 eggs went. The remaining eggs I cracked. About half looked fertile.

Now I’ve got eggs double layered in the incubator like a true hatchaholic. I should be able to thin the TJ eggs pretty quick. However,I’m still starting to panic a bit about how I’m going to grow out all these birds. There are now 30 eggs in the incubator. 23 of which looks awesome on day 7 and should have decent hatch rate. Plus the 29 chicks we ready have brooding. I can’t decide if I’m horrified or excited to have this many. View attachment 3157035

How exciting!!! But lol. I don't have as many as you but I am thinking the same thing. I have 12 that are almost 10 weeks old, only keeping 7 or 8 of those. Then 2 that are 6 weeks old, 5 that are around a week old, (not keeping the 5 or 1 week olds) 1 that is 4 days (not sure if I am keeping this one). And 22-26 eggs coming this week....

 

[mamablair]

Welp eggs are in! I planned on only doing 3 silkie eggs and the rest should be EE x Silkie crosses. But I ended up with a jumbo EE egg, that I was afraid was a double yolk so swapped it for another silkie one. Lol.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Maybe the Trader Joe’s eggs were meant to be. I candled this morning and all local ‘production white’ eggs look like they’re now quitting. I saw some movement but the veining has started to recede and get muddled. I was really hoping for some white egg layers.

I had a bit of panicked moment but all the shipped eggs look great. Especially the Legbars and Silverudd’s.

 

[Bird Lady Bekka]

And I won't have to worry about handling during shipping because I'm gonna drive the 3.5hrs to get them so I know they're well taken care of! Eeeeee!!!

I drove 3 hours last night to get 24 pearl guinea eggs, so I can totally relate! didn't get home til almost 01:00am! lol

I'm pretty new here, so this is my first hatch-a-long. ^^
So far, I've hatched 2 batches of duck eggs and one batch of turkeys. The ducks seemed to be a bit easier than the turkeys.

Anyone have advice on hatching guineas?

Here's the reward from my long drive, set at 100.5°F, ~55% humidity at 01:30 am June 20:



Thanks in advance and happy hatching!!