MARCH HATCH-A-LONG come join in

[This'l'do]

I hear chirping and a couple of eggs are wobbling

 

[arbucklemurphy]

Thank you for your help on lock down dates. Today is day 18 for us we set on 2/28 so we will turn them one last time tonight and start uping the humidity in the morning. BTW we are hatching some BBRed Modern Game Bantam's my son has been raising along with some bantam wyndotte eggs for his friend. We will wait and see we have been candeling but we are not too good at it yet. I think at least 3 of the MG egg's are viable for sure but since I wasn't sure on the others I just left them in to see. Thanks again for everyone's help. I will let you know when we start hatching.

 

[Ariel301]

I should be hearing that sweet peeping soon now too. Turkeys round 1 in my now (unplanned for) staggered hatch are due the 22nd. I candled last night and it still looks like 5 of 6 of the originals are doing well, and I'm starting to see embryos in the second set, which will be due in April sometime...I forgot what day they went in...my husband brought more eggs home halfway through the first incubation, and they were already getting sort of old, so I went ahead and stuck them in too.

 

[Settler'sDreamFarm]

I've got a broody silkie sitting on five eggs!
2 eggs are from my buff silkies and the other three eggs are a cross from my buff silkie
rooster and my bantam buff cochins. They are due to hatch March 30th.
I am sooooooooooo excited!!!

 

[chickenmeadow]

Oh boy! Lockdowns, pips, chirping & wobbling, more fun to come! Thanks to everyone who reported their hatches & posted pics! They were all great!

The question of "lockdown" has been coming up lately. Well I used to stop turning eggs on the 19th thru to the hatch day. Now I just set my whole lockdown up on Day 18 where the last handling of the eggs are to set them upright (wide end up) in the egg cartons, turn up the humidity, & stop opening the bator. The cartons work best when they are in the hatching bator (or just the bator) for a day so they are not totally dry & mess with the current humidity. Then I watch the bator for the rest of the day to keep the temp. at the same reading & to watch the humidity rise (which can take several hours to even out as the egg absorbs some moisture.

I guess the carton could be put in a plastic bag or container with a bowl of water overnight or just lightly misted in a bag overnight to absorb moisture but not be wet looking; will try this method next time. As a side note: I recently started obsessing about the sanitation of the egg cartons; since I sanitized my incubator for bacteria, I thought about where the egg cartons "had been." I have always used brand new cartons from the feed store, but have considered a minute in the microwave (under carefull watch) to sanitize for bacteria. Let me know if any of you have any comments on my latest obsession; be kind, I already know I'm weird.

Here is some reference to info that I've collected on "lockdown" & I use it as a basis for what I do. Everyone must follow their own instincts & work with their own equipment to do what is best & what works for them. It's good to research guidelines & decide for yourself to get the best results. We're all just here to share our ideas & support each other in our "chicken adventures." I hope this helps, let me know if you have any ideas too & what works for you. I am always looking to learn something. Happy hatching!

Page 1 of this thread includes the sites below of info that I have found interesting:
*Hatchability Problem Analysis, During Incubation, read Days 14 to Day 18 (it talks about when turning is not so needed & about when the chick is positioning)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/aa204
*The "dry incubation" method (it talks about Day 18 & also not to open the bator for so many days which includes Day 18)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-DryIncubation.html
(see #3) https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=113681&p=3

 

[erthymom2]

I have Black austrolorps hatching today/tomorrow.
Buff orpingtons 3/25&26
Hopefully, my first ever goose eggs will be hatching 3/28&29.

 

[chickenmeadow]

17roses: Congrats on your bountiful hatch! What a nice pic too, he's a cool guy & looks almost like a proud father in that pose. He's in scrubs too, just like at the maternity ward (must work in the medical field). What a sport! Beautiful chicks!

When ever I have a batch of chicks & my hubby looks a little scared that I may keep all of them (to end up with around 90 chickens like I had back in the 1980's), then I blurt out, "this one is yours, I'm giving you this one." Although he does not look super amused, he eventually gives it a goofy name & we go merrily on; not with 90 chickens though. It will be a cold day in "heck" before I get him to pose with such a big smile, holding my chickies. If it happens, I'll be sure to post it.

 

[17roses]

Quote:
Thanks! My husband is a cool guy. He is in scrubs because he is a CNA. He pretends not to be that into chicks but he spends more time at the incubator than I do.

I just might have 90 chickens & ducks before this summer is up. Everytime I buy poultry though, he knows that means I need a new coop or fence or something. And do you know what that means to him? - he "needs" more tools.

I like this arrangement. What do you do with the extra chicks? So far, we have just been replacing predator losses.

 

[Barred Rocker]

Well they say you shouldn't count your chicks before they hatch. But I've already sold 15 of my Buff Orpington chicks before they've even hatched. As of yesterday 15 are still on their way. Lock down is this friday and hatch is due Sunday and Monday. Crossing my fingers that they all make it. Also have 15 Barred Rocks hatching along with them and 3 of them are already sold.

 

[chickenmeadow]

Quote:
Thanks! My husband is a cool guy. He is in scrubs because he is a CNA. He pretends not to be that into chicks but he spends more time at the incubator than I do.

I just might have 90 chickens & ducks before this summer is up. Everytime I buy poultry though, he knows that means I need a new coop or fence or something. And do you know what that means to him? - he "needs" more tools.

I like this arrangement. What do you do with the extra chicks? So far, we have just been replacing predator losses.

Yes, more tools! I'll have to use that one, it just might work; he does like his toys.

I hatch & raise the xtra chicks for selling & do well with craigslist.org for ads. This helps pay for the feed costs. Good luck at stopping your predator problem. I've got my chickens locked in at night, feed locked in at night, the coop inside of the chicken yard, the yard enclosed in chain link & topped with 1" chicken wire, wire going in a foot on the perimiter, the chicken yard enclosed on 3 sides with the front & back yard & the far end of the house, etc. No problems here with the numerous predators being neighbor dogs, fox, coyotes, bear, cogar, eagles, hawks, paraguin falcons, etc. etc.; I cross my fingers as I type this. Maybe see you on the next months hatch-a-long.