June Hatch-A-Long

[5 Acre Rooster]

I'm rejoining the June hatch.. I just set 6 Cayuga duck eggs. Of course my chicken eggs are still in the incubator (the few that haven't hatched yet). I didn't want to give up on the chicken eggs just yet since they were only due to hatch this morning, but I didn't want to wait any longer to set the duck eggs either. I received them in the mail on Friday, shipped from AZ to NY. Since twenty something chicken eggs hatched so close to each other this weekend, I'm thinking the last few aren't going to hatch, but I don't want to give up too soon. I'll take them out if no pips by Tuesday.
I've never hatched duck eggs before so this is going to be a sorta new adventure. Should be interesting. I'm hoping to get at least 2 ducks out of the 6. I don't think I'm setting my goals too high, although you never know with shipped eggs. We'll see how many are actually fertile and developing when I candle next week. ((Fingers crossed))

Good luck. Actually some of MY personal best hatch was with shipped duck eggs. 1st shipped setting and turned out 100% way back when. Most chicken eggs I had shipped turned out a lot worse. Heres to watching waiting and hoping.

 

[chickengirl1193]

I started with 35 eggs and ended up with 14 in lock down. So far 10 have hatched, this is my first hatch also.  

What are you feeding them?

Well I had 7 eggs go into lock down with movement and 3 have yet to hatch...
I feed fermented feed and use southern states all grain start and grow. They have access to grass all day and free range when I can be home to watch.

 

[CaseyV]

I currently have 5 Rhode Island Red due to hatch today. (had 7, 2 already hatched)
I also have 14 Buff Orpington, 10 Speckled Sussex, 4 New Hampshire due to hatch June 12 and 4 Eastern Wild Turkey due to hatch on June 19. I am awaiting a dozen of Lavender Orpington to set this month also.

 

[mollybuck]

I ran home at lunch. I just couldn't wait. .and we have 3 hatched! 2 while I was there! There are 4 more piped! Only 1 not doing anything yet!

 

[Kim Z]

15 Guinea eggs just went into the incubator! Now four
loooooooooong weeks to go.

i aim to live vicariously through all of you for the month.

 

[erinnoie]

We have a couple pips!! I'm Facetiming with my mom to watch them, lol!! How exciting. Day 20 starts at 6pm tonight.

 

[Meca]

I have three left in there from yesterday's hatch also. I candles them and saw no movement but put them back in for a few days anyways. Lots of people let them go to day 25 just to be sure. There is the float test that people use for late hatchers. From what I understand you get a container of water that's the same temp as your incubator and put the egg in. If it floats it's dead. If it sinks and is still it's a maybe. If it sinks and rocks it's still alive and just late. Just do it quickly. There's lots of threads on it here.
Congrats on your new babies!

I think I will leave them and see what happens. I hope that they hatch. I have to say I watched one actually hatch and it was the coolest thing I have seen in a really long time!!

I'm all ready plotting what I'm hatching next.

 

[jlynnp]

Hi everyone. I am new to all this, my first hatch which was 16 Cream Legbar was horrid with only one of the eggs hatching. But I am determined to get it right. I currently have 9 Penedenesecna eggs and 2 Olive Eggers set to hatch on the 8th and 9 quail eggs I will start tomorrow, they should hatch if they are going to about the 21st. These are my own Quail eggs and I am not sure of fertility as they are young birds who have just started laying.

 

[mamaj323]

Some of my babies from the last two days! Love them!

 

[Farmer Viola]

Hi, I've been reading many posts (found the forums about a week ago), and not sure what to do...I put 41 eggs in my LG incubator and turner on May 11th, I filled up the water reserves (with sponges) and kept the thermometer at 99.5 until the 29th. (I candled some eggs and there was large dark spots in the eggs. Did not candle all the eggs and really didn't know what I was looking for... Figured the fact that it looked like there was stuff in there I was good to go. I added water about every 4-5 days to the reserve.

what was the humidity for the firs 18 days exactly? do you have a hygrometer?

personally I have had the best hatches using the dry incubation method. there is a link in my signature with all the information about it. the basic idea, is that you don't add any water for the first 18 days. the eggs need to evaporate and lose water weight, which will create humidity inside the incubator on it's own. I find 30% is about perfect for me.

also, make sure to measure the temperature at the top of egg level. below or above, will not give an accurate reading.

Quote: ok so when you stoped turning and moved them to the hatcher, did you candle any of them at all to know if they were developed?
I would probably candle them now, if I were you.

Lockdown (keeping the lid shut on the incubator to retain humidity) needs to be enforced once there is an external pip on the shell of an egg. then, the membrane is exposed to air, and humidity is important. removing the lid releases all the humidity so that is why we enforce lockdown.

since you have no pipped eggs, it is safe to open the incubator and candle the eggs. at this late stage, you should see very dark shapes, and probably movement. any eggs with clear/liquid in them below the air cell line have most likely quit developing.

it is possible they are alive and just a few days behind, this can be because of high humidity. it takes them longer to lose all the water (egg white) because the humidity was higher throughout. again, the egg's overall goal is to lose water weight (egg white) while the chick's body grows inside, consuming that space.

lockdown humidity goal is 55-65%