March 2022 Hatch-A-Long

[BirdsBeesTrees]

The 0% rooster. What was his issue? Was he old? I ask because I just threw out 16 eggs at 10 days in. Same deal, 0%. My rooster is just under 2 years old.

Molting?

 

[WallyG74]

Molting?

No

 

[WallyG74]

No

I actually sold him yesterday to a family that didn’t care if he was fertile. They wanted a rooster and some hens so I hooked them up.

 

[Fatimetta]

Some good sized vessels in the Polish babies! And the d’Uccles seem to be good too. I’m gonna stop candling for a couple days…it’s hard not to constantly worry about them! The Polish are on Day 14 and the d’Uccles Day 12…it’s crazy to me that they have so much more growth yet to do and the eggs already seem so full! Nature is fascinating. Even when I understand that nature will do what nature will do, I always worry about the babies not making it! Hatching is addictive but sad at the same time. Love seeing the fluff when they’re out though! And can’t wait for chicks to hang with during the day while I work

I totally get what you mean! I've only hatched one other time, but I actually buried all the quitters because it felt like the right thing to do. Also I didn't want the eggs cracking open in the garbage and my seeing inside lol.

Today is Day 7 for me and I can't wait to candle tonight and see what I have! I kept the extra 8th egg that I couldn't fit in and thought about puting it in if I see any clears? What happens if I add it and it goes through the lockdown process with the other 7 eggs early?

 

[Jaime918]

The itch is real! My first hatch turns a month Friday and I may have ordered another dozen eggs yesterday. Now just anxiously waiting for them to ship and arrive.

 

[Skyle]

Today is Day 7 for me and I can't wait to candle tonight and see what I have! I kept the extra 8th egg that I couldn't fit in and thought about puting it in if I see any clears? What happens if I add it and it goes through the lockdown process with the other 7 eggs early?

I wouldn't do it since it will likely hatch 7 days after the others, adding eggs once the incubation started in my opinion it's fine if you do it the day after, maximum 2 days after. Unless you have a second incubator, managing the hatch (high humidity and not rotating eggs) and the incubation (lower humidity and rotating) at the sime time in the same incubator it's not easy unless you have one especially built for this purpose.
If you want to try anyways maybe you can put the single egg in a carton or make a divider so the hatched chicks don't kick it too much, then keep for few days after the hatch lower humidity to compensate the high humidity during the hatch of the other eggs, be sure to keep track of the air cell. Be very careful when introducing a single day old chick to a group of week old chicks.

 

[kurby22]

The itch is real! My first hatch turns a month Friday and I may have ordered another dozen eggs yesterday. Now just anxiously waiting for them to ship and arrive.

It really is!!

 

[kurby22]

I totally get what you mean! I've only hatched one other time, but I actually buried all the quitters because it felt like the right thing to do. Also I didn't want the eggs cracking open in the garbage and my seeing inside lol.

Today is Day 7 for me and I can't wait to candle tonight and see what I have! I kept the extra 8th egg that I couldn't fit in and thought about puting it in if I see any clears? What happens if I add it and it goes through the lockdown process with the other 7 eggs early?

Yeah, 7 days is a pretty big difference in the incubation process unless you have a special cabinet incubator that makes things easier to isolate different hatches! A lonely chick by itself is kind of sad too. But not undoable!!

 

[Skyle]

In the past few hours I heard chirping many times as I was near the incubator, now we have the first pip
In this incubation I was able to tell which hen laid which egg (I used the eggs from only two hens for this incubation). I will use coloured cable ties as leg rings to tell which chick is the offspring of which hen.

 

[Fatimetta]

Yeah, 7 days is a pretty big difference in the incubation process unless you have a special cabinet incubator that makes things easier to isolate different hatches! A lonely chick by itself is kind of sad too. But not undoable!!

Yes, definitely don't have a cabinet incubator! I'll just toss it.. I forget how little they are when newly hatched to how big they seem at a week old already. Better to not risk it!