Mahonri's First Annual New Year's Day Hatch/Jan 2010

[Cornychick]

Congrats to everyone! I am seeing some very beautiful chicks on this thread. Mahonri, what day on your hatch was it this morning when you decided to check the remaining eggs? I am getting ready to go into my second hatch in about a week and had quiters on my first hatch, but unfortunately I waited too long to intervene.

 

[SoCalChick]

4 more piped! So far thats 5 piped.

These babies seem to be taking there time?!!!!!

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Just great Pinkchick--here I thought I could get some work done and now I will be glued to YOUR hatch. But thanks, I love it! Come on fuzzy butts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah, I wanted to add to this thread my feelings on dry hatch. I am very grateful to Bill Worrell sharing his story about it and all those who continue to pass it along.

However, not all eggs are best done this way and that will be tricky. I would love some input here. I have silkie eggs (Yes, I know--I need to stop--but silkies are so cute) Anyway, 1/2 the eggs look great and the other 1/2 are wayyyyy small in air cells. One I had to toss already.
So the porosity of the egg is a big issue in dry hatch.

To all the chicken experts out there, is this actually not a bad way to weed out some of the layers who lay these porous eggs? My thoughts are that if they don't hatch, then the only ones that do, will be good, hard shelled eggs. Better genetics. I seem to recall Pips & Peeps talking about this (not positive who it was) What is your thought?

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Work?????? Who can work at a time like this?!?!?

...... more chirping and pipping going on in there right now!

I only use the dry hatch method, unless I am hatching Marans and that wasn't until recently with the last hatch. I thought I would give raising the humidity a try. I did get a better hatch rate with them, opposed to the dry method I tried with them in the past. Where I live is so humid all ready....I barely have to use any water in the 'bators. On my last hatch I couldn't get the humidity up past 50% ...go figure, but we did have a unusual artic weather snap go through and we had the woodstove going non-stop for 3 weeks. I had to keep pots of water on the woodstove to raise the humidity in the house and when that didn't help the bator, I finally gave up and left it be at 50%, even with the Marans and 21-28 of them hatched.

*edited because I can't spell or type this morning*

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Quote:
Work?????? Who can work at a time like this?!?!?

...... more chirping and pipping going on in there right now!

I only use the dry hatch method, unless I am hatching Marans and that wasn't until recently with the last hatch. Thought I would give it a try and I did get a better hatch rate with them, opposed to the drier hatches I tried with them in the past. Where I live is so humid all ready....I barely have to use any water in the 'bators. On my last hatch I couldn't get the humidity up past 50% ...go figure, but we did have a unusual artic weather snap go through and we had the woodstove going non-stop for 3 weeks. I had to keep pots of water on the woodstove to raise the humidity in the house and when that didn't help the bator, I finally gave up and left it be at 50%, even with the Marans and 21-28 of them hatched.

*edited because I can't spell or type this morning*

I am a little confused. So you don't do the dry hatch with the Marans and they do better?

 

[Lop333]

I have a chick and another pipped!!the first is a barred rock I'm thinking......
so how long till i can take them out of the bator??

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Sorry, after re-reading my post, I see why I confused you. I will edit. Anyway, I used to only hatch using the dry method until recently when I thought that I would try raising the humidity with the Marans to see if my hatch rates would increase with them and yes it did increase with the higher humidity. I still hatch everybody else (everybody being any other breed than Marans) using the dry method. I have found that when I try a higher humidity with my Welsummers the hatch rate decreases. So, in answer to your question...I do not use the dry method with my Marans because of the decreased hatch rate.

 

[riftnreef]

It would seem that I did something wrong this go round. Out of the 10 that made it to lock down, only two have shown any action...one has been working its way out since about 3pm yesterday. You can see the membrane in the egg is brown and nasty looking. One other has pipped at the wrong end, and is struggling mightly to get out. Every one else is silent...

I hope it improves, but it's not looking so good.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
General rule I believe is 24hrs in the bator but I tend to stray from the rule depending on how each individual chick is progressing. If they are in there causing chaos with the other eggs and they are doing good and dried out quite a bit I put them in the brooder, but that is just me.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:

My fingers are still crossed for you!