March 2017! Hatch with us!

[dannyelle123]

Ooooof. That looks icky, but that probably means the chickens will love it.

One thing, though: I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be fermenting in glass containers. The build-up of gasses from fermentation can cause pressure that'll make the glass explode. It looks like you need a bigger container anyways... Maybe pick up a lidded plastic bucket!

Good idea! Luckily I had unscrewed the tops before that happened... Evidently the heat from using the oven caused the fermentation to go crazy!

 

[dan26552]

She's on day ten, one quitter out of twelve eggs so far.

 

[orrpeople]

She's on day ten, one quitter out of twelve eggs so far.

What a good girl!! :yiipchick

 

[lilwildrabbit]

  Sweet!  Some hens are very accepting, some are not.  I've slipped chicks under a hen at night and found it dead in the morning.  But another one, I gave chicks to her in open daylight and she gladly took them in.  Glad Mima is a good one!

And psssst... FYI.... you can't tell a story like that without PICS!!   Guess we have to train you too.! 

I agree pics girl!!! Lol glad your doing great!! Makes me happy!!

 

[dan26552]

What a good girl!! :yiipchick

Yeah. This'll be her second clutch, one last August in which she hatched 6/10 and this current one.

 

[lilwildrabbit]

I

I have seen many make it all on their own.  Just went toward the wrong end for no apparent reason.  So I suggest giving it time to try on its own.  And remember, even extra time, since they miss the air cell, the first hours are like the time that normal pippers spend breathing the internal air.  They do a lot of absorbing during that time.  So chipping them out too soon can be bad.  Just watch for the membrane to get brown-ish.  Even though we don't see them move a lot, they normally move enough to keep the membrane moist.  Paper-white to gray-ish wet is what you want to see.  When it gets yellow to brown, they aren't moving enough and the membrane starts drying, and sticks to the feathers. 

Big holes vs little holes...  I'd rather see them with a nice, open, small hole, with just a beak in it.  Big holes tend to let more air in (especially in incubators with fans), and speed up the drying out process.  You want them to stay moist and not get stuck.  So as long as they have breathing room, a bigger hole doesn't really help. 

But, if it starts to dry out, you may have to do the zip, remove the membrane, and let him push himself out.   

Curious... Do you incubate with them laying down or upright?  I think ones that are laid down tend to be malpo more often, and especially more rounded eggs. But that's just my thinking and wondering. 

was courious about that myself is it better to leave them in the turner at lockdown?? Or lay them down I can do both but would love to know which one is better before I build my incubator this summer

 

[lilwildrabbit]

She's on day ten, one quitter out of twelve eggs so far.

Glad all is well!!

 

[dan26552]

Glad all is well!!

 

[yeye5]

Update: I swapped the ceramic eggs out for real ones yesterday evening, while mama hen went out (unwillingly--I really had to lift her off the nest) to do her business. When she went back into the nest box, she was clucking softly. Eyed the eggs really closely for a few tense seconds (remember, I've never done this before, so I'm sitting there like, "DOES SHE KNOW? IS SHE GONNA EAT THEM?"), then softly rolled them under her breast with her beak. Hooray!

Went out this morning and she's sitting on them, all fluffed up, and absolutely doesn't want to leave the nest even when I leave it open. Fingers crossed! She and I are both first-time hatchers, so hopefully between us we can figure it out.

It sounds like she's already figured it out. My personal advice when you find a good broody is--Let Her Do Her Job. Then sit back and revel in the miracle you both share.

 

[yeye5]

good luck! That is a tense moment, huh!

I'm up to broody #4 this year already. Guess I'm giving her some eggs tonight. She doesn't appear to be breaking. Broody #1 is on day 16!

NICE!