Mahonri's 2nd Annual BYC EASTER HATCH. Post pics of your chicks!

[Cloverleaf Farm]

I'll be locking down Wednesday night very late, when I get home from work.

 

[marathonmultiplesmom]

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I would do it early if I had to choose.

 

[ChooksChick]

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I would do it early if I had to choose.

I would do it late!

I'm all about less moisture rather than more, though.

 

[turkeybreeder]

5 days to see some chicks

 

[marathonmultiplesmom]

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I would do it early if I had to choose.

I would do it late!

I'm all about less moisture rather than more, though.

My reasoning for early is to give them more time to orient. I usually get early hatchers and if they don't get the time to orient I get backwards hatchers. Last year I lost every backwards hatcher and this year is about 50/50 so far

 

[thebirdguy]

I forgot to share that my cracked egg that I waxed the cracks on (thanks to another thread on BYC) is alive and wiggling.. This is the first time I have tried this and I am hopeful it will hatch since it has made it this far... It had a really big spider web crack in it but nothing was oozing so I waxed it by dripping wax on the cracks from a lit birthday candle (all I had).. Here we are just a few days from the finish line and it is doing great!! I have it on the front row of the tray so I can keep an eye on it.. Will keep you posted!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Now, listen. You experienced hatchers aren't allowed to argue about when to lockdown! It's hard enough for us first timers .....

(I'm just SURE I'm gonna kill them all by doing it wrong. Probably already have ....

)

 

[marathonmultiplesmom]

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[superchemicalgirl]

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The New Years hatch was my first hatch. I locked down a day early. I had some problems keeping humidity up at the end of the hatch (which was probably due to me opening the incubator too many times to swipe out chicks but my Brinsea was really packed and the chicks were starting to peck at the ones trying to hatch and freaked me out). But no other problems locking down a day early. My hatch also started a few hours early but I continued to hatch for 24 hrs.

 

[dsqard]

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That is what I thought on my first hatch when everyone was getting pips and I had eggs in the bator that looked like the had just come out of the fridge. I thought I had killed them all and I was getting ready to throw in the towel. Then my DH found the first pip.

It doesn't really matter if you lockdown in the morning or the evening. The eggs will be OK. In fact I will probably lock down in the morning because my air cells are already a little large. I am definitly not real experienced at this but the eggs are more forgiving than we think.