"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[Cody A]

Here they are

Oh very nice!

Cool looking birds Forgetful. What is their temperament like? They look like they'd be flighty.

Thank you for posting your photos.

Your photos are nice also.

 

[Cody A]

Welcome the Layers thread Tasha. Glad you found us

 

[Cody A]

Whew! Hatching is hard work. These babies have been popping out since Monday and there's still more to come.
This is the hatch I'm doing for my Sister. There's 50 in this group. Had to snap a pic before I delivered them today they were getting a little rambunctious. Ameraucanas mostly, some Maran crosses and I don't know what else. Barnyard mix!

 

[forgetful]

Cody thank you! They are actually very calm and friendly. I don't try to hold any of my birds, but they are right under foot whenever I go check on them, and eat out of my hand readily. Now If someone came stomping up, the bantams can fly up pretty dang high. I was impressed the first time I saw it. Nice looking chicks!

 

[mixedUPturk]

Just found this thread. I'm a new (chicken) Mommy. They will be 12 weeks Monday. 16 pullets and 1 cockeral, I ordered off the Internet from Cackle hatchery. RIR but of course after reading here I realized they are production reds lol. Anyways glad to see fellow Louisiana peeps here.

Welcome! Id love to see your fluffies!

Cody those things are addorable! Great job! Do u have a bought or DYI incy?

I tell u, i got a LG, second hand, basically free from a friend, and its gonna make me grey and bald! Temp spikes and incorrect gauges have me ready to crush it like Godzilla!

I might have two hatch out of 22 original, 6 were eliminated clears on the first candle. Could cry at my results after working so hard!

 

[forgetful]

MixedUP, I have a LG as well. It does the job but man do I dislike it. Its so flimsy, and I want more space. I've been highly considering building another one from scratch

 

[mixedUPturk]

MixedUP, I have a LG as well. It does the job but man do I dislike it. Its so flimsy, and I want more space. I've been highly considering building another one from scratch

I seriously think i could just leave them under a lightbulb in my spare bedroom without AC and do better than this. Granted its my first hatch but: i traced and monitored air cells as well as weights, going as far as to calculate individual weight loss percentages and i can See the Math is on track but the eggs dont look like i expect from pics, and im Positive that the incy and its fluctuations have comprimised my hatch. Really! i sound mad but i want to cry at the loss!!

 

[forgetful]

Sometimes too much recording can compromise the hatch. The most I do is candle maybe two or three times throughout the process to check air cells. I also never adjust the temperature. It will naturally fluctuate as you open and close the incubator. The only thing I adjust is the humidity, and I run it dry until day 18. That normally allows my air cells enough dryness to shrink, since its so humid here.

 

[mixedUPturk]

Riight i never touched the temp or huidity, ran dry in south LA. We also never needed to handle them for more than 15 minutes, the weighting and tracing takes only seconds per egg, and basically i never opened the incy unless it was turning time and my hands were washed...

 

[campingshaws]

I use an LG. On my last hatch I filled the water troughs with river rock pebbles. I think it helped keep the temp more stable, especially since I was hand-turning. I also splurged for the brinsea spot check and that made a HUGE difference. I had right around a 50% hatch, not bad considering there were days I didn't turn the eggs at all. I ran the temp right around 99, instead of the 102 generally recommended for the still air, and most of the babies popped out early. I had way fewer assists with these changes, because I usually have chicks glued in, and I had way fewer die in the shell.

I'm still not super good at hatching, but those are my tips.