JUNE - JULY HATCH-ALONG!!!!!!!

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Oh I understand now. I would be a terrible guinea caretaker I think. I'm out in the coops several times a day and always handling the chickens, lol.

My coop is split into a third for guineas and 2/3 for chickens. We are at the chicken side often enough that the guineas hear us often. Being well habituated is probably one reason why the guineas were comfortable enough to start a nest in there despite our presence! I’m trying to view just having these eggs in the coop as a win no matter what, because at least we didn’t feed those particular eggs to our predators!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Yeah I removed it this morning from the lockdown incubator. I checked the other eggs whilst I did. Two birds are definitely internally pipped in the air cell. And two others look like they are "right there". I don't hear chirping though, but the incubators are kind of noisy.

Sorry that your egg didn’t make it! Hoping for the others to behave for you!!!

 

[starri33]

@Mixed flock enthusiast , might sound crazy or dumb, but I am wondering if you couldn't take some kinda grass type product and use it for a screen, then set up a game camera or such where you can watch them without intruding on what they consider their personal space. I watch these camera's where they are filming a wild hawk. It's cool, you ought to be able to get something where it sends the pictures to your phone. Possibly that would help you catch it before all of them meet a untimely fate. I'm not as unhappy with the final tally, once I saw the "count" it's at least 45%. Everything I've read says if you can get at least a 40% you are doing good, I will admit to being jaded with a 80% or better. Incubators are turned off, going to be cleaned and put away today. Wait for my Ebay eggs to come in, decide what other kinds I want to hatch. I'm suppose to pick up some NN Bresse mixes this month and I am going to check out some NN Chicks today, There is a Roo in the one's I am picking up and I want him to have a harem, rather than just 2 girls. This is the little guy I had to rescue yesterday, that was fun, my hands were shaking, he was squirming. But we did it. He currently looks like one of those guys from the 50's with his feathers slicked back.

 

[Bookworm0124]

Oh how exciting! And what a GREAT picture of the pipped egg under the Welshie!!!! Are you hatching WH? You are getting the best hatch rate of shipped eggs!

She's a great Mama so far. Hasn't gotten off the nest at all today. I just went and checked and from what I could see we have 3 pip'd! They are WH from Quacky Acres. I'm pretty excited about the hatch rate so far.
And can I just say... Proud mama moment. I just got in from processing my Drake and m 8 year old was wonderful. There were some tears, but she did amazing. And even helped pluck!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

@Mixed flock enthusiast , might sound crazy or dumb, but I am wondering if you couldn't take some kinda grass type product and use it for a screen, then set up a game camera or such where you can watch them without intruding on what they consider their personal space. I watch these camera's where they are filming a wild hawk. It's cool, you ought to be able to get something where it sends the pictures to your phone. Possibly that would help you catch it before all of them meet a untimely fate. I'm not as unhappy with the final tally, once I saw the "count" it's at least 45%. Everything I've read says if you can get at least a 40% you are doing good, I will admit to being jaded with a 80% or better. Incubators are turned off, going to be cleaned and put away today. Wait for my Ebay eggs to come in, decide what other kinds I want to hatch. I'm suppose to pick up some NN Bresse mixes this month and I am going to check out some NN Chicks today, There is a Roo in the one's I am picking up and I want him to have a harem, rather than just 2 girls. This is the little guy I had to rescue yesterday, that was fun, my hands were shaking, he was squirming. But we did it. He currently looks like one of those guys from the 50's with his feathers slicked back.

Yes, a camera is really a great idea!

Your assist pics are amazing!! Was the chick shrink wrapped? It looks like a little mummy in that first picture - great job successfully freeing it!!!

 

[Bookworm0124]

@Mixed flock enthusiast , might sound crazy or dumb, but I am wondering if you couldn't take some kinda grass type product and use it for a screen, then set up a game camera or such where you can watch them without intruding on what they consider their personal space. I watch these camera's where they are filming a wild hawk. It's cool, you ought to be able to get something where it sends the pictures to your phone. Possibly that would help you catch it before all of them meet a untimely fate. I'm not as unhappy with the final tally, once I saw the "count" it's at least 45%. Everything I've read says if you can get at least a 40% you are doing good, I will admit to being jaded with a 80% or better. Incubators are turned off, going to be cleaned and put away today. Wait for my Ebay eggs to come in, decide what other kinds I want to hatch. I'm suppose to pick up some NN Bresse mixes this month and I am going to check out some NN Chicks today, There is a Roo in the one's I am picking up and I want him to have a harem, rather than just 2 girls. This is the little guy I had to rescue yesterday, that was fun, my hands were shaking, he was squirming. But we did it. He currently looks like one of those guys from the 50's with his feathers slicked back.

What awesome pictures!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

She's a great Mama so far. Hasn't gotten off the nest at all today. I just went and checked and from what I could see we have 3 pip'd! They are WH from Quacky Acres. I'm pretty excited about the hatch rate so far.
And can I just say... Proud mama moment. I just got in from processing my Drake and m 8 year old was wonderful. There were some tears, but she did amazing. And even helped pluck!

Awesome news about the babies and momma!!! I think that all five of our ducks have gone into some kind of broody, non egglaying state. Only two are really acting broody, in a pretty lackadaisical way. Lichen still walks around fluffed up most of the time and quacking like a broody hen would cluck, like she’s oddly imitating a broody hen... Do yours do that? It’s weird not getting duck eggs anymore, as they’ve been our most amazingly consistent layers for 8 months!

Sounds challenging to process your own drake, so good on your DD! We are looking at that soon, our cockerels that we bred are coming in on 8 weeks. We’ve decided to process at 3 mo and it will be a family project...

 

[CluckNDoodle]

@Mixed flock enthusiast , might sound crazy or dumb, but I am wondering if you couldn't take some kinda grass type product and use it for a screen, then set up a game camera or such where you can watch them without intruding on what they consider their personal space. I watch these camera's where they are filming a wild hawk. It's cool, you ought to be able to get something where it sends the pictures to your phone. Possibly that would help you catch it before all of them meet a untimely fate. I'm not as unhappy with the final tally, once I saw the "count" it's at least 45%. Everything I've read says if you can get at least a 40% you are doing good, I will admit to being jaded with a 80% or better. Incubators are turned off, going to be cleaned and put away today. Wait for my Ebay eggs to come in, decide what other kinds I want to hatch. I'm suppose to pick up some NN Bresse mixes this month and I am going to check out some NN Chicks today, There is a Roo in the one's I am picking up and I want him to have a harem, rather than just 2 girls. This is the little guy I had to rescue yesterday, that was fun, my hands were shaking, he was squirming. But we did it. He currently looks like one of those guys from the 50's with his feathers slicked back.

Wonderful job hatching and helping the chicks that you did! What a cutie! As hard as it can be to do assists, the ones that make it are so worth it in my opinion.

If I'm remembering correctly from your earlier numbers then you had more like a 58% hatch rate! For shipped eggs that's great! With 19 viable eggs and 11 hatched that's all you calculate into your hatch rate because the 11 infertile eggs only apply if you're trying to evaluate a flocks fertility, not your success when hatching the eggs!
So I think this should be your final tally right?
58% (started with 30, 11 infertile (3 broken), 8 quitters, 11 live chicks)

 

[starri33]

Yes, a camera is really a great idea!

Your assist pics are amazing!! Was the chick shrink wrapped? It looks like a little mummy in that first picture - great job successfully freeing it!!!

Thank you, I'm going to work with the idea it was shrink wrapped, the membrane had pulled away from the shell, and there were places that it was really really hard, he's still got olive oil on him since I didn't have coconut oil at hand. I was worried about him as his little leg was jerking like he was having a seizure, but he's doing fine this morning.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Thank you, I'm going to work with the idea it was shrink wrapped, the membrane had pulled away from the shell, and there were places that it was really really hard, he's still got olive oil on him since I didn't have coconut oil at hand. I was worried about him as his little leg was jerking like he was having a seizure, but he's doing fine this morning.

Wonderful that it’s doing well!!!