MAY 2016 "Land of the Free Because of the brave!" Hatch-a-Long Hosted by, Mike & Sally

[Blooie]

Nope won't work with wireless digital. Would a plastic baggie around it really work? How do you know if you have the correct amount of ice. LOL

There's a YouTube video for that.....just like there's a YouTube video for how to tie your shoes, how to install toilet paper on the roller, how to turn on the hot water in the sink - it's amazing!

Until YouTube came along to tell me how dumb I am, I didn't know how dumb I was. Okay, okay...so I did forget the baggie, but I'm old, and easily confused. <sigh>

Okay, now that the tongue-in-cheek portion of our program is over.....You want to totally fill the container with ice, then add just enough water to fill the spaces in the ice and come up to 1/2 inch of the top of the container. Stir it for a minute...that's a full minute by the way....then put your thermometer in and continue to stir. It should read 32 degrees and stop dropping. And baggies are not always optional.

Edited to add: Just found these better instructions on the Incubating with Friends thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ends-w-host-sally-sunshine/9060#post_16203259

 

[PaisyQ]

We did this in April lets do it again!

Okay, here's the last photo I took of one of my chickens:



And some of the others taken that same day. These are some of my probable keepers from the EHAL, photos taken a week ago:











In May HAL news, my broody broke one of the six eggs she was setting on. In fairness to her, the egg in question was thin shelled, so really I don't believe it was her fault. I have one hen who has been laying thin shelled eggs, but her eggs are always so pretty. When I candled it before setting I had thought the egg looked okay, but I was obviously wrong. I don't know which of the girls is laying the bad eggs; will get to work figuring that out once the broody is done with the broody cage, and I can use it to start seperating the girls out.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I like that thought Sally....she! This is the only egg that I had stay viable out of my last rooster here. Pretty young, too young I guess to get it right..the others started and quit quite early. Going to check and see if there is a pip yet.

The "surprise" Brown Leghorns. I thought there were 10, but there are 11. One EE is out and 3 others are still rolling around the bator.

Well 10 of 10 yellow goldens made it to lockdown and all 10 hatched. 2 With my assistance but they are all doing very well the first 9 have already moved to the brooder last one is drying and will move him as soon as he looks ready.

Just unplugged the bator, tomorrow I will eggtopsy all the eggs

oh nooooo!!!!!

Alright, I set 27 chicken eggs to hatch with the turkey egg I set a week ago today, and I candled that one and it shows some veining. The one I set on Wednesday isn't showing much yet, and I finally found the real nest. And so has the dog, who smells like so many bad eggs, having a fight in her bowel as to who stinks worse, the smell from her gas is so bad that it lingers for an hour after she leaves. My nose hairs tingle. I sent her to sleep in the baby's room. I found today's turkey egg, and thought, hey, why not? So now it's a staggered turkey hatch. But the first poult and all the chicks should hatch together. The 27 chicken eggs are a random mix of mostly cream Legbar eggs, and my breeder pens are actually also grow out pens too... So everyone is all together now. So, olive eggers will be forthcoming, along with possible purebreds. I only have two breeds

Still, I am sure a few more birds never hurt.

Gah! That dog is sitting behind me now, offgassing! Anyone have a cork? Could that stuff be harnessed as fuel for a propane tank? It's enough to make you wish you didn't have a sense of smell! Sometimes I wish dogs didn't find raw eggs so tasty...XP

Quote: yay

I am impatiently waiting on a few eggs that are going into day 18! I have a few more a few days behind them. My first lone egg was due yesterday or so but it didn't make it. It looked like a lavender, so I am a little sad, but thinking about how many more eggs I get to hatch.

As usual, high humidity is killing me. I may start putting my Silkie eggs in my cabinet incubator where the dual fans help eggs loose moisture. It is full of duck eggs though!

come on babies!!!!!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Ugh, my last baby (that I accidentally started to eggtopsy 2 days ago,) was doing so well and looking so good. It was nice and moist, and not over moist. I could watch it breath, the veining was going away, and it was starting to peep. A half hour later, I looked and everything stopped. It was dead. I took it out of the shell and the egg sac was completely absorbed, and it was ready to hatch, but it died for some reason. I just don't get that. It was so close.

I'm not super proud of this hatch, but at least I got my special little silkie chick that was so important to me. The end total was: Hatched 3 rocks, 2 blue silkies, and 1 very special Princess Silkie!
1 silkie and 2 rocks died in shell. And, 1 more silkie died w days after I accidentally eggtopsied it.

I was going to clean the incubator and set my other eggs into lockdown last night, but when I candled them, the chicks look small. My records show that I set a couple a day or two later than the rest. Luckily I have them marked. I also checked my thermometers. Sure enough, I have 4 of them, and they all say different temps, with a 10 degree range. The worst part is that they also jump up and down. One jumps up, then another jumps down. Three are brand new, and there are 3 different kinds. That just doesn't make sense, but it does explain things a bit.

I also need to find the thread about raising the incubator temp again. My thermometers seem to be running low overall, so I am going to up it a bit until I can get some new thermometers. Any recommendations on type? I have the Acurite ones from Walmart, and then a cheap hygrometer/thermometer from Amazon, that always seems to be way off, and another oldie with a wire cable for inside and outside temps, that seems to be the most accurate when using the inside monitor part.

This next batch is supposed to hatch on Tuesday, and I have more eggs sitting on my cupboard (I am turning them) that are on Day 9 after collection, waiting to be set. I wish I had time to run for thermometers today, but I have to finish my Teacher Effectiveness assignment.

THERMOMETERS, HYGROMETERS & CALIBRATION

Celsius to Fahrenheit (ºC to ºF) conversion calculator click HERE
Thermo/hygro suggestions post #13998
Brinsea Incubator Thermometers click HERE
Strombergs Thermometers click HERE Hygrometers click HERE Digital Thermo/Hygros click Here
Hova-Bator GQF Incubator Thermometer / Hygrometer (Wet Bulb) 3018 post #32892
HEAT SINKS/ Stones/Pebbles ADD THEM TO STYRO! post #43903
Calibration is a MUST: HOW TO CALIBRATE post #9068

Well still no external pips or signs of hatch from the turkey/duck eggs.... Only a day late but the hatchabatch app has already marked the hatch complete... I have more eggs to lockdown on Tue (though some are silkies and I heard they tend to hatch early should I lock them down early??)

I would candle them and see how air cells are running and then just candle a few each day and you can see if you need to lock them down
mine always hatched day 19-20 but I didnt lock down early

My hatch is almost done and I didn't fry the eggs!

Coturnix
75 Incubated
51 Set
26 Hatched

White Laced Cornish Bantams
12 Incubated
8 Set
6 Hatched
1 Dead after Hatching

Silkie Bantams
12 Incubated
10 Set
8 Hatched
1 Splay leg


One lone silkie is still hatching, but she's waaaay behind the others. She's hardly absorbed the yolk at all, still lots of veins in the membrane, I doubt she will make it out, certainly not without help, but I will be watching her closely.

I now have 3 speckled Welsummer eggs in lockdown and three meat mutt eggs and 14 button quail eggs will go in on Tuesday. No pips yet, but my silkies and cornish bantams took three-four days after lockdown to have movement, so I'm giving them time. Most of these eggs were in my styrobator (a farm innovator), and it runs a little cool, but the temps swing up and down from 97F to 102F with an average of about 99F, so I'm afraid to turn it up a bit...for a forced air it sure is wonky xD I'm thinking of adding the black aquarium rocks I added to the others as heat sinks when the rest of the eggs in there currently go into lockdown on the 30th. Maybe see if I can stabilize that sucker

Quote:

Quote: cute!!!!!!

 

[Blooie]

THERMOMETERS, HYGROMETERS & CALIBRATION

Celsius to Fahrenheit (ºC to ºF) conversion calculator click HERE
Thermo/hygro suggestions post #13998
Brinsea Incubator Thermometers click HERE
Strombergs Thermometers click HERE Hygrometers click HERE Digital Thermo/Hygros click Here
Hova-Bator GQF Incubator Thermometer / Hygrometer (Wet Bulb) 3018 post #32892
HEAT SINKS/ Stones/Pebbles ADD THEM TO STYRO! post #43903
Calibration is a MUST: HOW TO CALIBRATE post #9068

I would candle them and see how air cells are running and then just candle a few each day and you can see if you need to lock them down
mine always hatched day 19-20 but I didnt lock down early

cute!!!!!!

How funny - I just edited my post above to show this very link to the calibration! I'm so impressed with me - I must be larnin' sumpin' as I go along!

 

[BantyChooks]

Morning Sally!!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I have brahma in the bator waiting for me yet lol

these I took out late last night

love us Legbars

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Morning Sally!!

morning sweets

 

[Spinning Carrie]

I candeled my eggs yesterday, I've given up trying to candle the Marans, and just do a sniff test at this point. It would be particularly horrible to have one explode in the bator with 31 twelve year olds in the room. Then again, maybe I wouldn't notice the smell after all!

Lockdown starts tomorrow!

I'm hoping for some OE and BCM to grow out. In the meantime I'm trying to decide what to hatch next...

Carrie

 

[mymilliefleur]

One of the Naked Neck eggs under my turkey hen is pipping!