May Hatch-a-Long!

[Farmer Viola]

I see.
I have one cornishx that I grabbed as a fluke when I bought bantams. We call her Meatball. She is about 8 weeks old, fat, and it sounds like she barks.
It is pretty funny to watch her wobble when she tries to run. I have grown attached but I can imagine it would be different if I had a whole flock of Cornishx.
She is pretty gross

haha!

But I have Silkies and EEs due to hatch in a week! So anxious!

hah! that sounds pretty cute actually I had 60 of them! it was... soo smelly. so much poop, and their poop just looked like watered down feed, not even digested properly...better eat more!

I would love to get pure cornish hens, and mate them maybe to a wyandotte or faverolles rooster. That might make a good meat cross. I think I would want to slow feed the cornish so they don't over grow, to make it to laying age. I guess I have some research to do on that..

 

[czoellner]

Tomorrow is lockdown for me!!!! This is hatch #4 this year from my own birds. Just love it. I have so many people buying eggs and chicks that we ended up doing a trade for a second incubator to keep up!

I have 40 eggs in incubator #1 (pulled 2 clears at day 14), 2 are questionable, but want to give them a chance. A couple of the eggs are so dark green/blue that I can't really see inside, so those stayed as well, just in case.

In incubator #2, I have 41 eggs that will hatch 6 days after #1 bator. Candled them all Tuesday and NO CLEARS!!! Can't believe it, never had that before! Maybe it helped that I locked my rooster up with 9 hens and only pulled eggs from them to incubate.... hmmmm

I've been watching this go around like a "hawk" after my last horrible hatch. I probably check the bators 6 times a day when I'm home and 3 times when I am at work! Like mother hen, that's for sure... Get up in the morning, check the bators, get ready for work and the kid dressed and ready and check one more time then out the door. Worry all day while at work, then as soon as I walk in the door from work, run and check the bators. Then after dinner, check the bators, get ready for bed, check the bators.... Oh yeah, if I get up in the night for ANY reason, check the bators......

I'm pretty sure I got the bug,,,, the itch.... the disease.... the HUNGER!!!!! Glad I'm not the only one around here.

Don't even get me started on PIP day or HATCH day.... My DH caught me clucking at the pipped eggs encouraging them to hatch and join the world last time.... how embarrassing!

 

[ShadyHillFarm]

Wow, Fernie.

I have a lot of angst yet so want that single Orp egg to hatch. It would be my first chick from recognized blood lines; all my chickens were hatchery chicks or barnyard crosses.

And ShadyHill...wooo hoo and congrats. Someone needs to step in about your question. Since they don't need to eat yet, I think you'll have to decide. For me, I would wait until they had dried and fluffed up, and even wait until all the eggs hatched unless I had a pressing reason not to.

Thank you. I think I'll just wait a few more days and see.

 

[Kelsykin]

Quote:

DH misses them so much. If they got out of their yard all we had to do is get near them say squat and they would. Then you picked them up and put them back in the yard.

 

[Mahen100]

Hi Mahen..love your Avatar..looks like you know how to get some lovin from those chickens. Pretty cute.
Good luck with your lock down, I'm on day 19 with a few. We'll be showing some baby pictures soon..we hope, right?

Hi back, Cynthia. Any chick pictures I snap will have to wait until I figure a way to get them uploaded. My "good camera" won't load to my desktop computer at the moment, and I don't have much experience loading camera phone pictures from phone to desktop. Anyone know if there is a way to send camera phone pictures to my default picture folder?

 

[JenBoughtHens]

hah! that sounds pretty cute actually I had 60 of them! it was... soo smelly. so much poop, and their poop just looked like watered down feed, not even digested properly...better eat more!

I would love to get pure cornish hens, and mate them maybe to a wyandotte or faverolles rooster. That might make a good meat cross. I think I would want to slow feed the cornish so they don't over grow, to make it to laying age. I guess I have some research to do on that..

you win! 60? I bet they were fat and smelly.
I am very interested in your crosses - I hope you end up with a healthy meat bird that is also pretty and sweet natured!
This is my meatball. She is alittle bigger now.

 

[Kelsykin]

I pulled the 7 that had hatched and their shells, since they were pecking at the other eggs, I misted like mad inside the bator. I am hoping i have what I think are 4 more turkey eggs piped and then there are the duck eggs. One of the piped turkey eggs looks like the guy died. beak has been out of the shell for hours and no progress since.

 

[love2grinchicke]

My broody will probably start hatching tomorrow. I'll check tonight, and hopefully she won't be killing the chicks.

 

[Mahen100]

One of the piped turkey eggs looks like the guy died. beak has been out of the shell for hours and no progress since.

I hope, I hope, I hope he is just resting for the task ahead.

Betty

 

[czoellner]

We've got a CHICK!!! WOO-HOO!! Pipped and was out in a couple hours. Got another one that is working it's way out as well.

I don't know who's more excited, me or my 6yo, lol.

I do have a question: How long do I leave those babies to let the others hatch? I've heard 3 days. Is that the normal go to? I have small bowls with rocks/water in them for humidity that they could drink out of.

Most people say to leave the chick in the bator to dry off and fluff up... For me personally, I don't. I waited with my first hatch and waited, like 7-9 hours and still wet and slimy. Each time a chick was hatched, the humidity raised through the roof... But, I didn't want to put rice or popcorn in there for fear of pulling it down too much. So, for ME.... I wait until a couple/few hours, when they can walk by themselves without falling over every 2 seconds. If They can hold their heads up and look around and walk good and strong. If they are too wobbly and unsteady and can't hold their heads up, then I wait a bit longer. I have the brooder box warmed and ready to go at the first sign of a pip. So, after that chick is out of the shell. Looking good and strong and walking all over the place and rolling the eggs around, I pull him/her out and directly into the brooder box. They usually fluff out in less than 30 minutes and look that much nicer. They seem to do better for me as well.

AGAIN, THIS IS ME!!! Not the law, or the rule, or even the most popular thought. I just found that this works for me. I have food and water there for them from the moment they are in the box, but typically, they don't touch the stuff until the following day. Although I did have 1 chick that hatched and was in the box about 2 hours and I found him slurping up water and testing out the food. After that, each new baby that was brought to the brooder box, he/she tended to run to and inspect and then encourage to follow to the water... It was so cute to watch this 6 hour old baby teaching the little ones what to do.

Good Luck!