Lock down question!

[lilblessings5]

If May 9 - is day 21 - which day do you lock down on? Thursday would be day 18. Is this the day you lock down on? Or do you consider 19, 20 and 21- 3 days and lock down on day 19?

 

[happytxchick]

Thursday. Some people even suggest day 16 or 17, but I just do 18.

 

[hipeatall]

Yes, I too would do lockdown on day 18... Thursday

Soooo what are you hatching?
My Naked Necks go into lockdown on Wednesday... soooo exciting!
Hoping for a great hatch for both of us!

 

[lilblessings5]

Quote:
It does start getting exciting at this point- doesn't it?

I am hatching wellsummers and cuckoo marans I got from Flashpointfarm! Good Luck with your hatch as well. how many do you have in the bator?

 

[hipeatall]

Wellsummers and Cuckoo Marans... with those super fun dark eggs! I have a couple of Cuckoo Marans. They are really lovely birds with such a great temperament. Our Cuckoo Marans Roo is very respectful of us and takes great care of his girls... a gentle giant.
Somehow I was able to limit myself to just 14 eggs this time... I seem to have a tendency to overfill the incubator (stuffed 46 in our last hatch!)... but with 26 chicks in the brooder already, I found some self control!
Yes, it really does get exciting at this stage...

 

[lilblessings5]

I hope to get a respectful Roo- I'm a little leery of keeping any around since my smallest is 3 and loves to go into the coops and play with the chickens.

I have 4 roos now that are 12 weeks old. So far they haven't become a problem- but i noticed they are eyeing me when I enter into the coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you set them on Sunday, April 18, then the same time of day you set them on Sunday May 9 is when the 21 days of development is up. Then that same time of day on Thursday, May 6 is when you should go into lockdown since that is the time that 18 full days of development is reached. It is not an exact science and if you are off several hours, it is not a big deal.

It can be confusing. It helps me to think if it that they have one full day of development after 24 hours of development, not 1 second after I put them in the incubator. Lockdown should come after 18 days of development, not after 17 days and 1 second of development. And the day of the week that you set them is the day of the week that the 21 days is up.

I'm sure you realize that all your eggs will not hatch exactly 21 days after they started. Hatching is a process. They pip. They rest, sometimes a long time. They zip. They gather strength and push out of the egg shell. They are wet and very tired. They rest. Eventually they get up and start knocking the other eggs all over the place. They eventually dry off. Others can be at various stages of this process.

Also, if your average incubation temperature is a tad high, they can hatch a day or two early. If it is just a fraction low, they can be a day or two late. It is a worrying time, but very rewarding when it is over.

Good luck!!! We do expect photos.

 

[hipeatall]

Quote:
Oh, I sure hope you get a respectful Roo too!
My son was 6 when we got our first chicks and our first 2 roos (both Light Brahma's) that we raised from day old turned out to be the meanest roo's... my son wouldn't leave the house without a stick and a water gun... so they had to go. The 3 roo's we have now are all sweet and respect us (a Cuckoo LF Marans, White LF Faverolles and a Black Bantam Cochin)... thank goodness!
I've read that over-handling them can cause them to be mean... but honestly, we can't help ourselves... and try as we might, we over-handle all of our chickies!!!