March hatch along

[CashandTracy]

Thank you, jade! Now I'm really nervous. Getting development is one thing, you KNOW you are making positive progress. I think I am* just going to have to stop candling to look for growth,and just mark the air cells.

How do you do it by yourself? I have to use my cell phone as a flash light,and don't know how I'll be able to maneuver a pencil around* the egg while holding the egg and the light.

I am guessing that most of you have* a candler that holds the egg for you?

*gr...autocorrect!

I put the egg horizontal in an egg carton then I lay the flash light on the carton at the large end of the egg, then I can mark the egg as needed with my hands free. On my smaller eggs I held the flash light in my mouth and shined it at the egg, it lit it up enough for me to see what I needed while still having a free hand.

 

[subhanalah]

I put the egg horizontal in an egg carton then I lay the flash light on the carton at the large end of the egg, then I can mark the egg as needed with my hands free. On my smaller eggs I held the flash light in my mouth and shined it at the egg, it lit it up enough for me to see what I needed while still having a free hand.

I have visions of my destiny with an egg carton and a pair of scissors.
Thank you! I can just cut a hole in the bottom of the single egg carton "cell". Then sit the egg carton on the phone. Probably going to have to cushion the egg a bit, they are pretty small and would likely just fall through the bottom of the carton, not being supported on the sides.

 

[CashandTracy]

I have visions of my destiny with an egg carton and a pair of scissors.
Thank you! I can just cut a hole in the bottom of the single egg carton "cell". Then sit the egg carton on the phone. Probably going to have to cushion the egg a bit, they are pretty small and would likely just fall through the bottom of the carton, not being supported on the sides.

good idea!

 

[AandAranch]

So its day 7/8 for me. I started out with 35 eggs. 9 were from flock and all were infertile (not surprising as I haven't seen my roo step on any of 5hus hens in months!) Disappointing since I was hoping for some blue copper marans and some olive eggers. So my new starting number is 26. So out of those there are two definite clears, one definite blood ring, and one quitter with the air cell on the wrong end and kind of on the side. In the bator I kept four possible quitters or blood rings. One of those has a lopsided air cell on the wrong end of the egg and it also quite possibly may be housing twins! 18 are going strong with lots of healthy veining and even a couple of wriggling tadpoles! A few of those have air cells that are a little bigger than I'd like right now but I won't risk upping humidity because all the others seem just about right at this point. So 18 out of 26 isn't that bad. Not as good as I wanted but better than nothing. Two more weeks to go!

 

[JadedPhoenix]

I'm now up to two pips on day 25. Both are my Ameraucana eggs. None of the marans show any progress with trying to hatch but my son is happy. That's all that matters. Those are HIS eggs. Here's hoping that the two babies get out of their shells alright.

 

[CashandTracy]

I'm now up to two pips on day 25.  Both are my Ameraucana eggs.  None of the marans show any progress with trying to hatch but my son is happy.  That's all that matters.  Those are HIS eggs.  Here's hoping that the two babies get out of their shells alright.

Good luck fingers crossed for you!

 

[Kassaundra]

I'm now up to two pips on day 25. Both are my Ameraucana eggs. None of the marans show any progress with trying to hatch but my son is happy. That's all that matters. Those are HIS eggs. Here's hoping that the two babies get out of their shells alright.

Hope they make it, they haven't had an easy start. Will it matter to your son if they are boys? (just when I have had a rough incubations my surviving chicks have almost exclusively been boys)

 

[rescueacres]

I've never studied into it. I just know I sure don't ever want one! Any time I have an egg that is just so obviously behind the others I know in my heart it can't work, I just go ahead and take it out and chuck it in the woods. I've never opened an egg that didn't hatch or didn't make it all the way. I candle enough to know the condition of each egg. If I can tell one is a quitter I don't feel the need to open it up and confirm it. I guess I'm at peace with knowing they can't all make it and I don't need that closure. LOL But when it comes to a stinker... that's a different story for me. That is just such a distinct smell that I immediately pick it right out soon as I open the bator to turn the eggs. When I get "the bad smell", I just start picking up each egg and sniffing it till I find the culprit. Usually that ain't too hard! LOL...YUCK! If I ever had an egg explode in an incubator, I'd probably unplug it and throw the whole thing in the trash and start over. I'm that paranoid of having that happen! On a happy note though- Today I got the first egg ever from my pair of turkeys! e I collected the egg and left a dummy egg in the place to encourage her to lay again there. I'm so excited! Tomorrow is the second birthday of the tom turkey. I hatched him and he was the only one that made it. His feet were curled and we had to do the band aid thing to correct them. He grew into a huge pet. I'd say he's upper 20 to lower 30 pound range. His hen I have him paired with was last springs hatch, and this is the first egg she's laid. And here is Tommy now... I hatched him from a Naragansett Tom over a midget white hen. LOL. One of Luckypickens' eggs. and of course here's the baby pic.

Beautiful turkey! Very interesting mix too.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

Hope they make it, they haven't had an easy start. Will it matter to your son if they are boys? (just when I have had a rough incubations my surviving chicks have almost exclusively been boys)

I'm sure that he won't mind if they both end up boys. My girls out in the pen might though.

If we end up with two more boys, the roo we have out with them right now just might have to head to the stew pot to make room. That or I'll have to just set a portion of the pen asside just for roos.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

Update!! The second chick to pip, only one to zip, is now out of the shell. A little miracle. It's still moving around and trying to stand it looks like and is loud. Hopefully it will encourage the other chick that has pipped.

I heard the chick in the kitchen so I went in there and saw it was VERY close so I was able to call my son in so he could watch it hatch.