March Hatch-A-Long.( How is it gettting here so quick ? LOL )

[Heidisgran]

Had one of my Feb. hatch eggs made it out after we brought them in Sunday and hung them over the wood stove. Today I thought I heard peeping, then later John heard it also and stronger. Sure enough he looked and it was pipping out, first time we got to watch.

. After the poor little thing got dried out and warmed up we put it with the one that hatched on Saturday and the bigger chicks. They all took it right in the nest and settled right in. Now I have five left in the basket.

The one under the chick perched on side of pan is newest and one facing this way is the one hatched Saturday. We are addicted when I guess when we sit in the floor and watch the babies along with the little dog watching also.

nana there is nothing better than "chick TV"

 

[Heidisgran]

been busy here having power worked on in the house, had to pull the generator out for the bators yesterday...would you know a bunch of babies decided to hatch early during all this, then in the night I heard some loud yelling went in the room to see and 2 little bantams hatch early in the egg turner and were pinned on their backs between the egg tray and the inside of the bator...they were pretty fuzzed up so they'd been there a while

by the way the humidity was about 30% in that bator but they hatched just fine!! just good to know y'all

candled my frizzled am eggs....quite a few started and my frizzled polish almost all started a few quit but not bad for shipped eggs
those are gonna be a hoot

 

[Cynthia12]

I'm on day 19 with three silkie eggs. Hoping to see some pips tomorrow!

 

[jbenson]

Resetting tonight. Found out my thermometer was broken which caused my last hatch to fail. Put the new thermo in there and it was 104 after about an hour of heating up! That old one was just the "mercury" tube glued by the bulb to some laminated cardboard. The bulb had come unglued and the tube slid on the temp scale. I'm through with that crap, no more disposable thermos for me. It's holding well now at 99/100. Just gotta put a small chunk of sponge in there to increase surface area to get a little bit more humidity. The ladies have been generous this week, so I have LOADS of eggs to set. If all goes well, I'll have more chicks than I planned on right at the end of March. Hopefully it gets warm here so people want to buy some.

 

[McCaskill]

day 14 tomorrow for mine going to candle and mark air sacks out of the 20 i set we still have 17 and after this bunch a friend want to try some bardrocks and we will try with them should be fun

 

[nana74331]

Worse yet we got home from town this evening and couldn't find her anyplace in the cage.

Talk about an all out search, finally found her between the cage and stove (small heater blowing heat in cage) where she got out. Later she was out of sight again and was sleeping outside basket where we couldn't see her.
Have to be in Tulsa most of the day on Friday for special test on husbands' lower back and know that I will be worried about both him, the chickes and little Harry at home. He goes with us most of the time and cries when I get out of car, even cries with I go outside and leave him in the house.

Kathryn

 

[sonderah]

Funny story. I'm such a dork. We r sitting here watching tv last night and I here a "cheap cheap" coming from the bator, or so I thought. I jumped up and ran over there so excited. It was on the tv, which is hanging on te wall right above where the bator sits!!!! Idk y I would think it come from the bator, they aren't even due to hatch til a week from tonight, and don't go on lockdown til Monday! Lol I was sooo excited too!

 

[jbenson]

Reset last night. A small mason jar of filtered water instead of using the wells (we'll switch back to wells at lockdown, but I hate disturbing the eggs to add water when needed) and a brand new digital thermo/hygro inside as well. When I put them in last night, it as holding stead at 100 and 40% without anything else in there. Added the eggs and it had stabilized at 100 and 50% this morning. I will wait until day 7 candle to see how the air sacs are doing to see if I need to put in a smaller container of water for less surface area.

Here's what's in there: 17 bantam Ameraucana/Araucana crosses (blue laying ladies with the same breed roo and also a white frizzle cochin bantam roo cause I think it would be awesome to have blue laying frizzle birds with patterned feathers), 16 Belgian D'uccle Mille Fleur pure bloods (from the 3 hens and a roo in my breeding enclosure - man I love those kooky little speckled birds), 2 eggs that i know were laid by one of my bantam backyard mix crossed with the Belgian roo (she's in the pen to keep the eggs from freezing before I collect them cause she's seriously broody and almost never lays any eggs - this is 2 eggs in 10 days, good thing they are darker than the Belgian eggs so they are easy to tell apart), 2 eggs from a bantam black frizzle cochin hen (who is in with the A/A roo and the white frizzle roo but who thinks her nest is in one little corner by the door and lays eggs on the floor, so unless I catch it warm underneath her, they're almost always frozen), and 33 bantam backyard mix (these have the potential to be olive or light blue layers cause of the A/A roo, or they will be fathered by the frizzle), most of these ladies are of bantam cochin/polish blood, but they are second generation, so at this point they are all mixed up. Total of 70 eggs. I'd be tickled pink if half of them hatched.

Fertility has been down for us (cold weather), though I was able to get out to collect a couple times a day over the past 5 days, so viability of eggs should be up a little from the last bunch which were about half clears. Hubby looked at me and said "do you think you can sell that many chicks this early?" last night. I guess we'll find out. Stuck turning by hand at least for a week and a half until I can pull clears confidently since this 'bator is maxed out. I could not have fit one more egg in there I don't think. And if fertility has gone up from the last bunch, I'll be turning this entire hatch by hand. Should make me appreciate the auto-turner when I can use it.

 

[sonderah]

My Genisis is out for delivery!!!! Whooohooo!!! Time to add some eggs!! My 1st ever turkey eggs! Cracked a few open last night and they r looking fertile! I'm so we cited that I'll now have a bator AND a hatcher!!

 

[Heidisgran]

My Genisis is out for delivery!!!! Whooohooo!!! Time to add some eggs!!

My 1st ever turkey eggs! Cracked a few open last night and they r looking fertile! I'm so we cited that I'll now have a bator AND a hatcher!!

I got a message that my preorder heritage red turkey eggs will be shipping with in a month!!