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

[CluckNDoodle]

@CluckNDoodle is it normal for my broody hens comb to flop this early?

I haven't really taken note of how long it takes but I don't really worry about it when I see it because it is normal for their combs to lose color and shrink when they go broody from the hormone changes. Some hens are much more noticeable than others. My Leghorn for example, she has a very large red single comb so she looked really rough when her comb turned kind of grayish and shrank significantly but she was very healthy otherwise!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

With my ducks that pipped on the bottom I would move the eggs to the backup Hatcher whenever I needed to grab a duckling out, being afraid those eggs would have major difficulties if it rolled. The only two eggs I’ve ever lost out 100 hatched so far are two eggs that pipped, one bottom and one in air cell, but both were rolled to the bottom of the incubator and never hatched.

Is moving them so they don’t get rolled something I should be doing?

View attachment 1862787

So exciting that's they're starting to pip!! My losses have never been from chick soccer honestly. You really shouldn't have to worry about them rolling at that point unless you have a staggered hatch and it's preventing a chick from being able to get into position...with that said, I did just have that really early summer chick that got into position and pipped externally while rolling in the turner.
Do what makes you comfortable though! If you see a need to open the incubator anyway then I don't think it would hurt to separate them either. The primary reason we wait it out and let them kick each other around is to keep the humidity stable.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Little baby! A second has hatched as well, an EE. I’m trying to figure out the breed on this little dude. The dad is an easter egger, and his mom has to be either Polish, White Leghorn, Brown Leghorn, or Salmon Favorelle (s/he came from a white egg.). It is blue/grey with a white dot on his head, but it can’t be a sexlink because his mom wouldn’t be barred...View attachment 1862989

Sooooo adorable!!!

 

[jolenesdad]

So exciting that's they're starting to pip!! My losses have never been from chick soccer honestly. You really shouldn't have to worry about them rolling at that point unless you have a staggered hatch and it's preventing a chick from being able to get into position...with that said, I did just have that really early summer chick that got into position and pipped externally while rolling in the turner.
Do what makes you comfortable though! If you see a need to open the incubator anyway then I don't think it would hurt to separate them either. The primary reason we wait it out and let them kick each other around is to keep the humidity stable.

This early it shouldn’t matter they’ll be hatched by the time any would need to come out if all goes well. That little ones pip is getting larger so it’s still plugging along.

 

[john_wrightson2003]

@jolenesdad have any of your chicks hatched yet?

 

[jolenesdad]

@jolenesdad have any of your chicks hatched yet?

Not yet!

6 pips!

I think I’ve witnessed every egg shaking so I’m pretty hopeful for a good ending to a pretty abysmal start. Hatch day starts tomorrow at 2 pm.

 

[john_wrightson2003]

Oh wow, im so excited for you!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Welp, my broody is done. 4 Black Copper Marans, and a splash copper maran. The BCM with the broken leg is doing ok, it kinda just wabbles wherever it needs to go. But 5 eggs out of 7 eggs is amazing for me! That's the best hatch I've had for a long time! The other 2 eggs were just duds.

Glad that you had so many hatch! You don’t have to count the clear eggs against your hatch rate!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

T

Three pips under mama so far. I’m so excited and nervous— my first hatch!!! How are you guys so patient? I can hardly wait for babies!

eyinf to catch up so sorry if I’ve missed an update, but how’s it going???

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Yay!!!!

And just in time to close the month, I’ve got Two pips!!!!! Wooohoo!

....aaaaaaand one is my sweet lady wheaten marans!!!!

The other doesn’t look like it’s through the air sac but we will see.

Yeah! I keep meaning to look up what a wheaten marans is... Maybe I should just ask - what’s that???