Mahonri's 3rd Annual, BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[ThePigeonKid]

I didn't get my eggs in the incubator until after the start date. So, my eggs aren't hatching now. The stress level is real high. So, I had to go to TSC

to get some kid colustrum and what do you know chicks are on sale for a $1 a piece. I bought 2 barred rocks, 2 new hamshire reds and 4 red pellets.

 

[ChestnutRidge]

I have 2 LC orps mixed in with my EO's too, guess I'll figured which which they are sooner or later. Still hatching!

That is so funny! Lemon Cuckoo will be beautiful

but hilariously similar to gold cuckoo.

what do the Basque Hens look like????

This is one of the pictures from the breed organization in Spain, Eoalak, linked below. In North America, we mostly have this color variety, marraduna.


Here are pictures of a flock in Spain: http://www.eoalak.com/es/content/marraduna-0 and here http://www.euskalroots.eu/galeria/gallery.html .
Here's a link to some pictures of a Canadian flock: http://forums.euskaloiloas.com/viewtopic.php?id=47 and another http://forums.euskaloiloas.com/viewtopic.php?id=81 .

ETA: I wrote up a history of the breed on my blog, linked in my signature ("Euskal Oiloa," which means 'Basque Hen' in the Basque language). Also, everybody you are seeing with Basques are getting them from James at Skyline Poultry in Tennessee. He's a member here, too. You can find him over on the Euskal Oiloa thread in the breed forum.

 

[chicken fever]

Do you have your vents open? Just a thought.......  But, they NEED oxygen now. All vents should be open.

Just wondering- i have both my vents open but my humidity has risen with every hatch then gone back to 65, now it won't go down! It's at 78 and the last BCM came out very sticky and its not drying fluffy, is gooey and drying kinda stiff. Anything I can do??? Other than that 9 successful hatches and 6 more pipped! Still waiting for 11 more to pip!

 

[ronott1]

what do the Basque Hens look like????
just got done grooming dogs. Thought having a Saturday hatch would be fun. I always work on Saturday.. Took me forever to groom those dogs.
A lot have hatched . Have to take time to count. M Cochin batams hatched was glad to see that because they are pullet eggs. hey are so cute. A amerucana or two hatched. Lots of the olive eggs/ cuckoo or BC hatched. ( one problem they look a like) some of the BC hatched.
Lost a Americana (just weak and died) and a BC was up side down in the shell. If I haven't been working might have b ENE able to save that one..
My eggs are getting so round on both ends it hard to figure out which end is up.
My humidity is going crazy in the Hova bator. And I am have a hard time keep it up to 50% in the new brinsea. Guess I should have read the instructions.
write more later Sueg

There is a thread for them on BYC: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/510045/euskal-oiloa-basque-thread

Post 8 has pictures of adults. Greenfire sells the one type, Marraduna, that are in the US and Canada. These something we don't have here - a Dual Purpose fairly large Mediterranean chicken. They come from a place that is hot and dry, just like it is in North and Central California where I live. In fact, we have a Mediterranean type of climate here.

Oh, they also lay an large to extra large egg. James Meeks, the thread starter for the EO Basque thread said that they are laying better than his leghorns.

 

[ronott1]

Chicks 10 and 11 of the 15 Basque eggs I set are out. Poor number 10 was pipped for 14 hours or so and was stuck. The cute little thing is recovering in the incubator with chick 10. The other 9 are hanging out under the Ecoglow 20.

I candled the eggs and as I thought one was a definate gonner. The last one does not look like it pipped internally. I am leaving it in for a day or so to be sure thought.

I will post pictures later.

Ron

 

[SarahIrl]

Well my hatch is done. I had a good look throught he lid of the incubator to see shell on the rack - yay! My one last remaining live egg! Had a look at the egg - no pip. Huh? Shoved in my egg manouvering knitting needle to roll the egg slightly - pipped at the wrong end. Stick fast, completely shrink wrapped. Oops. Removed egg, moistened membrane, put back egg. Seemed fine. Checked again half hour later, chick dead. On eggtopsy was unabsorbed yolk and had pipped through a blood vessel, always a risk when chick is upside down. So, that's me all done and dusted, incubator off, grand total of 0 out of 24.

This has NEVER happened to me before.

 

[ronott1]

Well my hatch is done. I had a good look throught he lid of the incubator to see shell on the rack - yay! My one last remaining live egg! Had a look at the egg - no pip. Huh? Shoved in my egg manouvering knitting needle to roll the egg slightly - pipped at the wrong end. Stick fast, completely shrink wrapped. Oops. Removed egg, moistened membrane, put back egg. Seemed fine. Checked again half hour later, chick dead. On eggtopsy was unabsorbed yolk and had pipped through a blood vessel, always a risk when chick is upside down. So, that's me all done and dusted, incubator off, grand total of 0 out of 24.

This has NEVER happened to me before.

So Sorry this happened

. My first hatch had 2 out of 12 develop and both did not make it at lockdown. Very frustrating. Those were shipped eggs from ebay.

 

[Mahonri]

I'm so sorry... perhaps you'll join us for the next Mahonri Hatch-a-long... Dec. 11th, 2012....

Well my hatch is done. I had a good look throught he lid of the incubator to see shell on the rack - yay! My one last remaining live egg! Had a look at the egg - no pip. Huh? Shoved in my egg manouvering knitting needle to roll the egg slightly - pipped at the wrong end. Stick fast, completely shrink wrapped. Oops. Removed egg, moistened membrane, put back egg. Seemed fine. Checked again half hour later, chick dead. On eggtopsy was unabsorbed yolk and had pipped through a blood vessel, always a risk when chick is upside down. So, that's me all done and dusted, incubator off, grand total of 0 out of 24.

This has NEVER happened to me before.

 

[ThePigeonKid]

Well my hatch is done. I had a good look throught he lid of the incubator to see shell on the rack - yay! My one last remaining live egg! Had a look at the egg - no pip. Huh? Shoved in my egg manouvering knitting needle to roll the egg slightly - pipped at the wrong end. Stick fast, completely shrink wrapped. Oops. Removed egg, moistened membrane, put back egg. Seemed fine. Checked again half hour later, chick dead. On eggtopsy was unabsorbed yolk and had pipped through a blood vessel, always a risk when chick is upside down. So, that's me all done and dusted, incubator off, grand total of 0 out of 24.

This has NEVER happened to me before.

Sorry.....

 

[EnnisLakeFarm]

I had my first pip at 9pm last night, now I have 3 chicks out - all Australorps. And one more pip at noon today. My temps are hovering at 98* and the humidity is way high. Did I kill the rest?

My Silkies haven't so much as wiggled and I thought they looked better at lock down than the Australorps.
At what point do I throw in the towel?