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

[Mahonri]

Hello all-
I'm not a big poster here now, mostly lurk and re-read threads of interest.

But I wanted to say that I'm playing along with the hatch! My aunt and I are doing a full assortment of 42 eggs from her farm and mine. I have white rocks and she has everything else

So- count me in, and we'll come back to post how many when its all said and done.

Oh, and thanks for making this thread possible. AWESOME IDEA!

Welcome to THE Hatch! You are participant #233

 

[dsqard]

How does stacking eggs in the Eco 20 play out when they start to hatch? I was under the impression from reading other threads that even 20 might be a little tight for the chicks come time to hatch.

I have a similar bator and when I have stacked in the past, after candling, by the time lockdown arrives I don't have eggs stacked anymore from pulling the clears and quitters. Even with 24 viable eggs it is tight. I usually wait after a few hatch and fluff out and take those out to make room for the next ones to hatch. I just try to time it when there aren't any pips or zips going on. I will also mist the eggs very lightly with warm water if I have to open the bator to make room.

 

[Mahonri]

I feel like I've been awake all night.

Come to think about it.

I've been awake ALL NIGHT.

 

[dsqard]

Welcome to THE Hatch! You are participant #233

Wow, we might just make it to 250 today!

 

[dsqard]

Mahonri, can you take one of your pain pills to get some sleep?

 

[Appalachian Chickens]

Is a candler required equipment? I don't have one.
Plus our eggs are fairly thick shelled and brown- will one even work on those?

 

[featherz]

Is a candler required equipment? I don't have one.
Plus our eggs are fairly thick shelled and brown- will one even work on those?

I use a coleman MAX flashlight from walmart and I can see through pretty much anything. Haven't tried a super dark maran egg, but I can see through everything else. I don't think it's required, but I like to see what's going on at least once so I can toss infertiles and quitters at around day 10.

 

[thechickonthehill]

My speed reading skills have really been improving lately . . .

Well, the good news for me is my eggs arrived yesterday... the bad news is EVERY one of them has detached air sacs and two actually have bubbles in them. So I am resting them in my back kitchen until tonight when I'll candle them and I am going to try them all as I know I can't get these colours round here. I am really (expletive) upset about the state of the eggs. It's not the breeder's fault, but I know enough to get them all to at least start and if I have unfertile eggs I'll be back on to the breeder. So, out of 24, I'd rather not set 24. I have about half a dozen of my own, but they haven't been kept for the incubator so probably aren't much good to hatch this time around. I've been eating my own eggs as I was follhardedly waiting on the special eggs. Oh well, if it's a total disaster I'll be setting my own eggs after the incubator is clear. I am NOT running more than one incubator this year, fact.

So, good luck everyone with their shipped eggs. I'll be foregoing the auto turner in place of egg cartons and a thin book propping up one edge of the incubator this time. Ugh.

Oh, so sorry! Sending good hatching vibes your way

!

This is Bernard, also known as That Very Big Chicken.

Beautiful Boy!

I have been trying to figure out what holiday pics to shoot and then I thought What about this for either April Fools Day or Halloween

This was yesterdays egg delivery!


These were from Rita and only two eggs weren't smashed to bits

Dick Hortsmans Silver Penciled Rocks did not survive either

Oh no!

Ok, you have marked that spot and I am happy to let you have it. I like my 79 degree spot in KY much better!

Well best I can do for the calendar contest. My submission for St. Patrick's Day:

Fantastic job!

My fall yesterday morning really did a non-life-threatening number on me. Nothing broken but skin in two places; nasty scrape on left calf and a some bits of gravel imbedded into my left thumb. Right side muscle tenderness from the "trying NOT to fall" maneuvers. A colorful bruise developing under the calf scrape, along my left forearm and somehow on the .. well... left side of my butt. I did not go to work today.



The THIRD box of eggs is sitting at my UPS Store mail-box, 54 miles away. I will get it tomorrow and just set that box a day late. The other two boxes arrived yesterday, so I have those to finish resting and set tomorrow. Luckily I have several incubators!

Ouch!

Here my hippe turkey (Uno, the only hatchee out of 3)

This is not something one needs to view before coffee in the morning!

OK... this one is just one of the small 2nd degree burns.....



and one of the three places that is 2nd to 3rd degree....



Don't throw up....

BE CAREFUL AROUND HOT LIQUIDS! PLEASE

OH . . . ow, ow, OUCH! Hope it heals well and quickly for you.

Well, on https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/3rd-annual-mahonri-easter-hatch-contests it says "...submit your photos on this thread as well as PM them to kathyinmo..." but it does not specify which thread, there is no link, and the place where it states that is not a thread. So I'm posting it here as well as sending it to kathyinmo.


July - Fourth of July

"I wanted to eat barbecue, not be barbecue!"

Love this!

Oh on a side note. For all of you trying to help me succeed with a hatch...
1) incubator has held at 99.8 steady for 3 days no variation at all.
2) humidity is 27 empty will it go up with eggs in it? Will that be too low for dry hatch?
3) I could not find a water weasel, I looked at 2 walmarts, toys r us, party galaxie, dollar general and the science museum someone assured me had them. I will probably find them Easter Sunday. Instead I put water in 2 ziplocks and put a thermometer between, surprisingly this is just a shade warmer. Right at 100. Any thoughts on that?
4) air cells on shipped eggs. I was surprised to see that most looked pretty good. I had a couple that were not as perfectly round, but where they should be. Still leave the turner off?
5) yippee, ordered the brinsea spot check thermometer and it's on it's way. Won't be here by tomorrow though.
No matter what, the eggs go in tomorrow, please, please, please let it work this time!

My egg-o-meter temps are always slightly warmer than the air temps.

Welcome to THE Hatch! You are participant #233

Wow!

Hopefully I will be able to take the last chick out of the bator in time to set at noon today. It pipped yesterday morning around 5:00 am, had been trying to zip since last night with little progress. Finally about 7:00 am today I pulled it to find that it was not only glued in but was HUGE so I guess that's why it had trouble zipping - no room to move. Anyway, got it de-shelled, bathed and returned to the bator to dry. It seems to be progressing nicely so I plan to set about 3 dozen in the incubator and have 2 broodies that are also participating that I will give 8 or 9 eggs each.

 

[dsqard]

I agree with featherz here. If you just get a real high lumens LED flashlight (like over 100 lumens) it will work. The "mag-light" size works pretty good. It is not necessary to candle, but it does help to get the ones that are not going to hatch out before you go into lockdown. You definitely don't have to have an "actual" candler. I have a spotlight that I put the rubber bottom of a plumber's helper on to "focus" the light on the egg. That is my candler.

ETA - my "redneck" candler

 

[Appalachian Chickens]

Thanks Y'all,

Looks like I'm going flashlight shopping.