March Hatch-Along Thread- Come Hatch With Us!!!!!

[ceocka]

[COLOR=008080]Good Morning....=)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=008080]It is still dark here.6:45............Went to check the humidity in the incubators and heard the most[/COLOR]
[COLOR=008080]wonderful sound before I got the lights on...........CHEEP CHEEP..........I am certain they were telling me.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=008080]"Here we come"...=)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=008080]Have three nice sized pips so far...............An amazing sound after the rough start they had in shipping.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=008080]TheH klan of 10 :  Wish I could help about your question..will leave it for someone who may have done this.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=008080]I have two incubators and use one for a hatcher.I put new eggs in the incubator every 7 days so I always have the hatcher[/COLOR]
[COLOR=008080]available for lockdown.............I am using my own eggs so never sure how many I will have to set in a week.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=008080]My hens are not laying well yet........except the little Seramas...They are laying machines.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=008080]Well for sure be checking in later........=)[/COLOR]

Y'all have gone egg hatch crazy...lol

 

[threadgeek]

Woo woot!

I picked up my eggs today!

Here's a picture of the Ameraucanas (and 2 orpingtons). The white in the upper part of the cardboard was to get my camera's white balance to get the color closer to what we see.


I read about people hatching grocery store eggs so I picked up the only "fertile" egg carton I could find at Nob Hill. I didn't realize that they are "jumbo" size... they hardly fit in the egg turner!


Here's a shot of the fertile egg carton side so you can see the date. I believe the date is 050 so by the Julian calendar that would mean they are 11 days old... I'm concerned that may be too old so we'll see if any turn out of that bunch.

Here's a shot of all the eggs together. You can see how much larger the jumbo grocery store ones are compared to the ameraucanas! The bottle of water was my test "heat load" while I was stabilizing the incubator. I'll take it out tomorrow. The official time they were put into the incubator was 9pm on 3/2.


Now I have to wait 21 days?!?!?!

How am I going to manage to pass the time?!?!?!

I'm just too excited to wait!

 

[hokankai]

So, I couldn't wait til tomorrow to weigh and candle my sizzle eggs (due the 10th, they are 2 days younger than the others) and their weight is RIGHT on track! They actually have lost 12-15% so they will be ready to undergo lockdown with the other eggs. Yay! I'll be bumping up the humidity to 40% since everyone else is right on track as well

Also got some more awesome videos.

This chick practicing his dance moves




and this one's little feeties!!!

 

[threadgeek]

So, I couldn't wait til tomorrow to weigh and candle my sizzle eggs (due the 10th, they are 2 days younger than the others) and their weight is RIGHT on track! They actually have lost 12-15% so they will be ready to undergo lockdown with the other eggs. Yay! I'll be bumping up the humidity to 40% since everyone else is right on track as well

Also got some more awesome videos.

This chick practicing his dance moves




and this one's little feeties!!!

Awesome videos!

I love love the dancing and the happy feet!

 

[Brookhavens]

Alright. I have a question for you experienced hatchers out there. I have read several different theories about how much weight eggs are supposed to lose before they hatch. It seems to go from 11%-16%. Right now, at seven days, my chicken eggs have already lost 4.4%. If I go with the 11% loss theory, they are losing too much. If I go with the 16%, then they are probably right on track. The humidity runs from about 65% when I first add water. Then it slowly drops. When it jumps down to 20% I add more water. Right now it is at 47% and I think it was three days ago that I added water. There are 48 eggs, so the sample size is pretty good.

When I used the weight lose method I went for 12-13%. After a few hatches I was able just to eyeball the aircell at candling and know if it was on track or not. I try to keep my humidity in the low to mid 30's during days 1-18 but that is here in Florida. If it drops into the 20's I will add just enough warm water to bring it back up in the 30's.

 

[Brookhavens]

I had no idea it would be that much of a diff, but it is! The odor is gone, no dust- great!

I just wish I could use them for my horse stalls LOL, but that would cost me a fortune!

Each one of those bags of pellets is supposed to be the same as a bag of shavings. The pellets are definitely cheaper than a bag of shavings (at least here where I live. Maybe try it out in one stall and see how much of a difference it makes.

 

[Brookhavens]

Brook did your eggs hatch yet?

Out of 12 Lav. Am eggs only 3 little chickies hatched out. None of my GSBR eggs hatched that I bought directly from Frank Reese. I was really bummed about that because I really needed a little roo to replace the one that I lost back in December.

I put batch #4 of my own eggs in lockdown Friday night. Monday is hatch day so we will see what comes out there. I think the weather we've been having this past month has a lot to do with the non hatches. One day it is in the 80's/60's at night and then we get highs in the50's and lows in the 30's. The humidity has been crazy to. Last night I checked my Sportsman and it read 20%. I almost flipped because it has never gotten that low. It's always in the 30's.

 

[Brookhavens]

Just a quick note.

Getting action..one out.An English Orp. Lots of pipping and zipping happening.
To tired to stay awake.

Talk tomorrow

Pics please!!!

 

[Roxannemc]

WOw wonder what that little black and yellow one will look like?..... like her!!darling babies!

 

[Roxannemc]

Out of 12 Lav. Am eggs only 3 little chickies hatched out. None of my GSBR eggs hatched that I bought directly from Frank Reese. I was really bummed about that because I really needed a little roo to replace the one that I lost back in December.

I put batch #4 of my own eggs in lockdown Friday night. Monday is hatch day so we will see what comes out there. I think the weather we've been having this past month has a lot to do with the non hatches. One day it is in the 80's/60's at night and then we get highs in the50's and lows in the 30's. The humidity has been crazy to. Last night I checked my Sportsman and it read 20%. I almost flipped because it has never gotten that low. It's always in the 30's.

Think its the cold air Brook...its dry air.Always like that in winter here Mine has gone to the teens way more than once. Awe bad but iam jealous you got 3 lav ams!!! .Sorry about your GSBR .Know you wanted them bad.