June Hatch-A-Long

[jlynnp]

I just put my Lavender orps and black orps in lockdown today. I am trying hard not to get excited because I have only hatched one chick!

How well were you able to candle your eggs? The Lavenders were hard, but not nearly as hard as the blacks, their eggs are so dark.

Good luck with your hatch. I sure do love the shape of the Orpingtons! Such fluffy round bottoms are they!

Well I sorta suck at candling eggs!! I did candle them at 7 days and in my opinion they all looked good. I really should dp it again but think I will wait until I put them in lockdown. I havr hatched a few more chicks - not many mind you! In fact I have hatched 2 chicks but several quail. At least these are not shipped eggs so I have high hopes for them. I only have Buffs right now but love them and the Lavenders are so pretty!! I hope to expand to Jubilees next year.

 

[mrchicks]

My two that are working on zipping right now are from my eggers and a SL Polish roo. They should be interesting looking birds.

 

[minnehaha]

JLYNNP- I suck at candling too! However: I know what a dud looks like and these are filled with chick, nice air cell and the bottom is empty looking. I could only see movement on one. I only candled twice, and removed the duds. My last candling was day 16. I did not candle again before putting them into lockdown.

Jubilees are so pretty! I also like the chocolates! I wish I had a Buff, they are so pretty!

 

[minnehaha]

Hatch day is so darn stressful. I have two external pips and 3 internals so far. Only one is a shipped egg. The others are my mutts. And of course I keep sitting in front of the incubator cheering them on.

How are you seeing internal peeps? Wouldn't you have to take them out of the incubator during lockdown? Or is there some other way you do that?

 

[missnu01]

Ok my hatch is done. I have 8 chicks and 9 quail. Great except I started with 47 eggs. I put 12 chicken eggs and 15 quail into lockdown. My first pip was the morning of day 19. So I think my temp was too high. I was having trouble keeping it steady. I got no CLBs and all my blue black splash ameraucana are grey. My quail are either yellow or striped dark with one light striped. One chick has a seriously deformed foot. I read up on here about making a shoe but this

looks impossible to me with its toes crumpled into a ball. I'm gonna try to post pics. Can it live like that? If it lays I don't care how it looks.

too high temps will cause curled toes and hey live just fine. I had one chick from cackle last year that was all club footed on one side. Looked like someone had taken its foot and wadded it up like paper. It never kept her form anything, walking running scratching roosting...

 

[missnu01]

 
Hatch day is so darn stressful.  I have two external pips and 3 internals so far.  Only one is a shipped egg.  The others are my mutts.  And of course I keep sitting in front of the incubator cheering them on.  

How are you seeing internal peeps?  Wouldn't you have to take them out of the incubator during lockdown?  Or is there some other way you do that?

The only time I've seen an internal pip was when I happened to hear a chirp prior to having any external pips. I took one out and gave it a quick candle and then out it back and none of the eggs were any the wiser, and every single one hatched with no help from me whatsoever. Only time I was actually able to not open the incubator for the whole hatch... I usually get perfect hatches, but I also usually help a couple along..This time I was solely an observer...

 

[missnu01]

Kind of late joining in but im soo excited!! lol have 6 eggs that are doing good so far they are due to hatch on tuesday the 24th and are already wiggling in their shells! kind of thinking i should move them to lockdown a day early in case they start pipping early... anyone think it would be bad to do this?? should i just sit on my hands lol we hatched duck eggs in this incubator before this batch and they pipped a day early...why im kind of worried these might too... 

My incubator stays at 102 and I always have all chick's hatch by day 20..This last time I got smart and locked them down on day 17 and 10 hatched on day 19 and 7 hatched during the night so the morning of day 20 I had all 17 chicks... so sure lock them down early doesn't hurt at all. By the end they don't really need the turning..In fact turning them a day too long can wreck your hatch because the chicks can't get in position. So do it early, but never do it late. The turning is so the chicks don't develop wrong stuck to one spot In the egg... but in the middle and definitely at the end the chick's are moving on their own..so definitely not going to get stuck. I now lockdown on day 17.. Every hatch prior I've had one or 2 pip at the wrong end... no more. No more. Give them an extra day to get right In there

 

[missnu01]

I have have a question for you guys...
OK my brinsea is programmed to turn the heat from 102, to 99, after 18 days.. I can easily turn down my food dehydrator to whatever I want without a screwdriver or anything... I get perfect hatches with the brinsea, not sometimes, but most times. I've lost one egg that made it to lockdown...1.. and you can't beat that. So I want to replicate the brinsea but here is my question. In he dehydrator I have room for 200 or so eggs, and only 20 in he brinsea, so I have different groups of eggs going at different times and I was going to use the brinsea as the hatcher, but I feel like that preprogrammed shift from 102-99 must be beneficial, so should I move my newer eggs to the brinsea and leave the lock down eggs in the dehydrator and turn it down to 99? Or should I go with my original and more practical beginning idea of using the brinsea as a hatcher? I'm so conflicted I have great confidence in my brinsea, but using the food dehydrator is new for me. First run getting ready to go into lockdown tomorrow...I mean the eggs are developing great so far..so that's good. But...but...but... I've never had a bad hatch or anything close and I'm not sure I can take the letdown..and no its my first time with shipped eggs. So I'm giving a little leeway there... but still if it it goes to lockdown as an egg it should in 2-3 days move to the brooder as a chick. And that's all there is to it.

 

[Cynthia12]

too high temps will cause curled toes and hey live just fine. I had one chick from cackle last year that was all club footed on one side. Looked like someone had taken its foot and wadded it up like paper. It never kept her form anything, walking running scratching roosting...

Just in case, here are some photos of how I boot. I use electrycal tape. I know, sounds terrible..works great! Easy to use..stays put, and then, easy to get off. Not sure how it sticks to good until you are ready to take it off. Doesn't not stick to the toes or foot..you make it stick to itself.


I round the corners once it's on .. with blunted scissors.

 

[minnehaha]

The only time I've seen an internal pip was when I happened to hear a chirp prior to having any external pips. I took one out and gave it a quick candle and then out it back and none of the eggs were any the wiser, and every single one hatched with no help from me whatsoever. Only time I was actually able to not open the incubator for the whole hatch... I usually get perfect hatches, but I also usually help a couple along..This time I was solely an observer..

So basically when you hear chirping it is considered an internal pip because they have the oxygen from pipping through to the air sac?