March 2017! Hatch with us!

[angieangie]

Ok so I was a day off Sunday was not day 21, yesterday was. But now I am on day 22 and absolutely nothing is happening! I was keeping it the lower end for the temp because as you might have read, I am trying the temp experiment with lower temps favoring hens hatching. So lower temps can make them hatch later right? I read that, I am hoping it's true. I read someone had hatches on day 25. Come on baby chicks hatch already!

 

[WVduckchick]

Ok so I was a day off Sunday was not day 21, yesterday was. But now I am on day 22 and absolutely nothing is happening! I was keeping it the lower end for the temp because as you might have read, I am trying the temp experiment with lower temps favoring hens hatching. So lower temps can make them hatch later right? I read that, I am hoping it's true. I read someone had hatches on day 25. Come on baby chicks hatch already!

Yes, lower temps will definitely delay hatching. How low were you running?

 

[lilwildrabbit]

Just a little too empty! 

Actually now there are 5 test eggs in it.  2 were several weeks old, one had gotten realllllllly cold, actually had condensation on it after I brought it inside, darn near frozen, and 2 normal eggs.  I can't remember what day I put them in there, I wasn't planning to fully incubate them.  But I checked last night, and I have veins in 3.  The strongest veins are in the egg that was cold.

If only I could sell more chicks, I'd fill it up!  I've got eggs coming out my ears!

And they are calling me an addict

 

[10AcreChick]

I had a close call yesterday, and hoping it did not hurt any of my eggs. When I got home, my incubator thermometer was telling me that it had reached a low of 90 during the day sometime (who knows when). I thought, must have been a short power outage, and didn't think much of it cause it was already back up to temp. After supper, I checked them and it was dropping again, and fast! I tried turning the thermostat up, no success. Quickly took the 47 eggs out and put into a container and covered with a heating pad, threw a thermometer in for good measure, set it aside and turned to fixing the incubator. It uses a heating element assembly from a space heater and a wafer thermostat. My husband had to disconnect something...the "high limit" or something, he called it...we had a small fire when one of the elements blew...plugged everything back in. Strange thing, but good thing, is now my differential on my temp is smaller than it was before! Bad thing is, when I open that lid, it calls for a LOT of heat and doesn't have the thing that tells it to turn back off (because the lid's open, the thermostat thinks it needs heat), so I have to unplug the heat to turn the eggs, then turn it back on. But it doesn't drop it much.
Luckily, they are only on day 17 now, and lockdown isn't until tomorrow. Few more turnings, and then good to go hopefully! Come on, babies!!!

 

[dawn secord]

In February I purchased an incubator to try and hatch some eggs out of an older bantam frizzled cochin hen and my partridge silkie roo. I have 4 chicks from them - all partridge. Of course while I was hatching them, the cochin laid some more eggs and my old silkie started sitting on them. Good grief. All three eggs hatched and to our excitement - all have frizzled feathers. They are about 2 1/2 weeks old now.

I have them in a nesting box at night and then put them in a coop during the day - it is in the 80s right now (Southern California). So, this morning I go to check on them and there are two hawks in our palm tree over the barn making baby hawks. So sad - love to see wildlife - just not in my back yard.

Here are photos from this AM. Any idea what kind of hawks these are?

 

[10AcreChick]

In February I purchased an incubator to try and hatch some eggs out of an older bantam frizzled cochin hen and my partridge silkie roo. I have 4 chicks from them - all partridge. Of course while I was hatching them, the cochin laid some more eggs and my old silkie started sitting on them. Good grief. All three eggs hatched and to our excitement - all have frizzled feathers. They are about 2 1/2 weeks old now.

I have them in a nesting box at night and then put them in a coop during the day - it is in the 80s right now (Southern California). So, this morning I go to check on them and there are two hawks in our palm tree over the barn making baby hawks. So sad - love to see wildlife - just not in my back yard.

Here are photos from this AM. Any idea what kind of hawks these are?

Oooooh! Those babies are so cute! I want soooooooooooommmme!

 

[WVduckchick]

In February I purchased an incubator to try and hatch some eggs out of an older bantam frizzled cochin hen and my partridge silkie roo. I have 4 chicks from them - all partridge. Of course while I was hatching them, the cochin laid some more eggs and my old silkie started sitting on them. Good grief. All three eggs hatched and to our excitement - all have frizzled feathers. They are about 2 1/2 weeks old now.

I have them in a nesting box at night and then put them in a coop during the day - it is in the 80s right now (Southern California). So, this morning I go to check on them and there are two hawks in our palm tree over the barn making baby hawks. So sad - love to see wildlife - just not in my back yard.

Here are photos from this AM. Any idea what kind of hawks these are?

Hi dawn!!

Cute chicks, congrats! Have you gotten any females YET??

I'm not sure about your hawks. They give me the willies to look at them. Hopefully someone else can identify the for you. They don't look like the redtails that frequent my yard.

 

[Mylied]

In February I purchased an incubator to try and hatch some eggs out of an older bantam frizzled cochin hen and my partridge silkie roo. I have 4 chicks from them - all partridge. Of course while I was hatching them, the cochin laid some more eggs and my old silkie started sitting on them. Good grief. All three eggs hatched and to our excitement - all have frizzled feathers. They are about 2 1/2 weeks old now. I have them in a nesting box at night and then put them in a coop during the day - it is in the 80s right now (Southern California). So, this morning I go to check on them and there are two hawks in our palm tree over the barn making baby hawks. So sad - love to see wildlife - just not in my back yard. Here are photos from this AM. Any idea what kind of hawks these are?

Those look like redtails to me. That's what we have all over. They love dining on chicken dinner, which I unfortunately know from experience. You can't mess with them, as they are protected. You're not even allowed to "harass" them, whatever that means. Just keep your babies covered and they'll be ok. Supposedly shiny wavy things around will keep the hawks at bay. Like old cds or mylar strings.

 

[Mylied]

Just a little too empty! 

Actually now there are 5 test eggs in it.  2 were several weeks old, one had gotten realllllllly cold, actually had condensation on it after I brought it inside, darn near frozen, and 2 normal eggs.  I can't remember what day I put them in there, I wasn't planning to fully incubate them.  But I checked last night, and I have veins in 3.  The strongest veins are in the egg that was cold.

If only I could sell more chicks, I'd fill it up!  I've got eggs coming out my ears!

Do you have a hard time selling chicks?

 

[angieangie]

Yes, lower temps will definitely delay hatching. How low were you running?

It was between 99.5-100 but still air. Most looked like they were growing fine and filled up most of the egg when they went into lockdown.