May Hatch-a-Long!

[yeye5]

Oh this pic is of the 8 silkies!
Here's one of the 5 icelandics! Oh and the Silkies are smaller then the Icelandics. When they came out of the eggs their feet were HUGE lol!

Ok then at least I haven't lost All of my mind...
I started looking up icelandic chickens to see if they were a very small breed! They still do seem to be smaller in size than other breeds but now the pic makes more sense to me. (I can be ditsy).
I even counted the chicks and thought, "that doesn't make sense...didn't she say..."
I'm so glad the ppl here put up with me!

 

[yeye5]

Oh this pic is of the 8 silkies!
Here's one of the 5 icelandics! Oh and the Silkies are smaller then the Icelandics. When they came out of the eggs their feet were HUGE lol!

They are Very Cute! They seem to be a range of sizes. Is it just me, or the pic? r do they seem different size to you?
The little one on the far left has the sweetest look on its face! Like, "how did I get here?"

 

[yeye5]

He he he adopt a cat! That had me

!
I think they do look pretty healthy!
Here's one of the two mommas

That's too cute!
I take it that the Icelandics' eggs weren't laid at your place? Otherwise their natural mom would have them?
The silkies that are the adoptive moms look so happy with their little babies!
Is the black silkie a young pullet? or just petite for a hen?

My silkie moms range greatly in size. Oddly Mima, who is in my profile pic, is the smallest along with her tiny daughter Zuza. Mima's other daughters (co-moms Peaches and Chula who are next to Antonia and her chick) are way bigger than their mom...probably take after their dad who is also in my profile pic.
Zuza is the only broody pullet who is smaller than her mom! She is co-brooding with a very large Buff Orpington pullet and they have 7 eggs between them. Those egg complete 21 days this coming Tuesday at 2 p.m.
I have yet to try to move their nest into an upright more contained nest box. From what I've heard and also what I've seen the broody(s) will definitely stay put once even one chick hatches. But since I can be a bundle of nerves I try ahead of time--if the broodies let me--to move their nest into a contained space (if it's not in one already).
I must admit, I've been caught very off-guard by the 5 new broodies on 3 nests in a 1 week period!
You, on the other hand, seem incredibly prepared!
You GO Rock the hatch!

 

[jnckids]

So today is day 18ish for one of my broody hens. I know I have at least 2 eggs that are going to have to be moved to the incubator because they have no Mark on them so she clearly managed to collect at least 2 extras at some point.

 

[yeye5]

So today is day 18ish for one of my broody hens. I know I have at least 2 eggs that are going to have to be moved to the incubator because they have no Mark on them so she clearly managed to collect at least 2 extras at some point.

I feel you on this one!
Thank God you have the incubator for back-up!
This year from early February forward has been a story of "oops someone laid egg sin my broody nest...and I let them"
That happened here when my reliable broody started sitting on her clutch early in the season, while her pullet daughters began laying while she was brooding.
Now, it's happened again with the pullet-daughters brooding their clutches and their mom laying eggs randomly into their clutches!

Good news is that since you DO have the incubator it is very do-able to hatch those eggs!!!

I'm still one of those folks in the dark ages without an incubator but I see over and over the benefits...I almost just bought one and then 5 broodies happened.
I'll still probably end up with an incubator...when, I don't know. (probably when I have time sensitive eggs I can't loose to chance).

Have you ever had, yet, a staggered hatch under a broody(s) that has worked? I have and if you'd like to chat about it plz feel free t p.m. me!
You probably know so much more than me, being such a novice. But...I always think that if I don't reach out then I can't help anyone.
So, I'm here. And you've got this!!!

 

[yeye5]

I waited thru the night "just in case" something unfortunate happened. But, Today I have happy news!
Antonia who went boners and smashed 2 eggs earlier this week is finally a mom!
She has one adorable fat chick! She's still on 2 more eggs (I removed the overage of eggs which I suspect bcs of their different gestational ages contributed to her melt down, maybe?). She's tucked in and looking dedicated. The chick must be healthy and cared for bcs it looks so great for its first 24 hours out of a shell!
Excuse the poor pic quality. The sun was streaming in and I didn't want to disturb anything since she was calmly letting me hold her first chick ever!

Now...I am NOT saying what I did is to be done.
I'm just saying what I did and how it turned out.

As I watched the eggs that had date and laid-where markings on them, then I compared the eggs under Antonia with the eggs under the co-broodies, Peaches and Chula, I couldn't avoid drawing some conclusions.
Suffice it to say, with a very questionable candling situation but mostly due to the scent of the egg among many other factors, I chose to open one of those eggs.
Than GOD!!! I followed a right intuition! I'd have been devastated if I'd been wrong (which, let's face it, we all have been wrong more times than can be counted...and lived thru it).
The eggs I carefully, Reverently opened, turned out to be a mid-gestation "quitter".

My story-telling (sorry) ends or begins with the precious and amazing "peep-peep-peep" that we all may be blessed to hear, to witness that amazing new life jumping into the unknown...I wish I could "read a chick's mind" at that moment.

I am so grateful to everyone for sharing the knowledge we've gathered. This forum is such a great resource.

 

[yeye5]

So, Miss Antonia is doing great with her little fat chick, I'm still as excited as I have been...to honor, to respect, seeing this is Everything that we all strive toward. Whether it is success with one precious chick or many, this is some of the sweetest stuff on earth!

I tried candling the remaining eggs in both nests (Peaches/Chula nest and Antonia nest). The more I try candling the more I don't knw how other ppl do it so well, lol.
One of Antonia's 2 remaining eggs didn't look like it had developed fully. Since it was 2 1/2 days over, I removed and opened it. I was right about it. The other egg she has doesn't have my date-marking on it which means it's an egg that Mima, mom of the 3 broodies, laid. I don't know when so I can't tell if it's overdue or under. I'm leaving it there just in case.
Tomorrow is the expected hatch day in the coop beside this one! This has been an interesting week!

 

[generaldsherman]

Yeah! Peafowl eggs for me!!!!! First time hatching them. I've read that done on here keep at 100 degrees and 55% humidity. Any suggestions?

 

[two j farm]

It's day 7 for me. Started with 36 mixed eggs, and looks like 26 are dead. This really sucks. I have never had this happen before. I have hatched 100's of chicks. Just don't know what went wrong. Had a small temp spike on day 3 but really didn't think it would kill them. They all have blood rings in them from day 3 til now. I know 5 of the 10 are alive but the other 5 are to dark to see in. I give my neighbor some eggs about 2 months ago and the same thing happened to them they only hatched 2 chicks. This is my first time hatching from this group of chickens. Now I'm wondering if it's my eggs. I really don't know what could be wrong with them. They are very healthy chickens I feed them fermented feed and they free range every day. I guess this things just happen.

 

[jnckids]

I feel you on this one!
Thank God you have the incubator for back-up!
This year from early February forward has been a story of "oops someone laid egg sin my broody nest...and I let them"
That happened here when my reliable broody started sitting on her clutch early in the season, while her pullet daughters began laying while she was brooding.
Now, it's happened again with the pullet-daughters brooding their clutches and their mom laying eggs randomly into their clutches!

Good news is that since you DO have the incubator it is very do-able to hatch those eggs!!!

I'm still one of those folks in the dark ages without an incubator but I see over and over the benefits...I almost just bought one and then 5 broodies happened.
I'll still probably end up with an incubator...when, I don't know. (probably when I have time sensitive eggs I can't loose to chance).

Have you ever had, yet, a staggered hatch under a broody(s) that has worked? I have and if you'd like to chat about it plz feel free t p.m. me!
You probably know so much more than me, being such a novice. But...I always think that if I don't reach out then I can't help anyone.
So, I'm here. And you've got this!!!

I am still new. My first broody was in Feb. Now I have 2 more and I just bought the incubator because I got shipped eggs and received more than my little broody could handle and I didn't want to waste the eggs.