May Hatch-a-Long!

[hollyannlamb]

I am still having chicks hatch, started this morning at 1:00 am, and number 18 just hatched

Congrats!

 

[hollyannlamb]

We incubated 15 and had 6 hatch. It was our first hatching in the incubator. I'm not sure why 9 didn't hatch, but I'm happy with the 6 we have. Those were all either Australorps or EE x Australorps. We also had 4 bantam frizzles x australorp hatch under the bantam frizzle hen. We bought 10 Silver Laced Wyandottes and 6 Lavender Orpingtons. I'm happy to say all chicks are doing well. The Wyandottes are 10 weeks old and the Lavendar Orpingtons are 6 weeks old. The chicks we hatched are 2 weeks now. We will have a couple of Wyandotte roos and one Orpington roo to sell and we may sell some as pairs or trios, but I would like to keep 1 roo and most of the hens of each breed.

 

[missnu01]

What sort of incubator were you using? Did you candle the eggs? Sometimes something goes wrong before time to hatch. Usually the eggs that make it to Lock down make it for me. But I usually lose a few along the way. Blood rings and such

 

[Farmer Viola]

the green egg baby is out! and her lungs are WORKIN'! should be a good night of NO sleep hehehe

11 more have pips! (32 total)

 

[hollyannlamb]

What sort of incubator were you using? Did you candle the eggs? Sometimes something goes wrong before time to hatch. Usually the eggs that make it to Lock down make it for me. But I usually lose a few along the way. Blood rings and such

We purchased a Farm Innovator incubator with passive humidifier and the racks do a slow rocking motion. The fault was ours I'm sure. Neither of us know much about this. I don't think he candled them. I know he has read about it, but not sure he did it. Also, he saved up eggs for 3 days. He just stored them in the house and that may not have been the right temp. It was the last ones laid that hatched.

Once we put them in the incubator, we didn't look at them again until a couple days before hatch time. I'll take all the information I can get.

Thanks.

 

[hollyannlamb]

the green egg baby is out! and her lungs are WORKIN'! should be a good night of NO sleep hehehe

11 more have pips! (32 total)

Exciting time!! Best of luck!

 

[missnu01]

What sort of incubator were you using? Did you candle the eggs? Sometimes something goes wrong before time to hatch. Usually the eggs that make it to Lock down make it for me. But I usually lose a few along the way. Blood rings and such

We purchased a Farm Innovator incubator with passive humidifier and the racks do a slow rocking motion.  The fault was ours I'm sure.  Neither of us know much about this.  I don't think he candled them.  I know he has read about it, but not sure he did it.  Also, he saved up eggs for 3 days.  He just stored them in the house and that may not have been the right temp.  It was the last ones laid that hatched.  

Once we put them in the incubator, we didn't look at them again until a couple days before hatch time.  I'll take all the information I can get.    Thanks.

Saving the eggs up for 3 days shouldn't be an issue. You can collect them for up to 10 days. Just keep them cool, not cold. I put mine in an egg carton big end up on the Counter. You do want to turn them a couple times a day even when you are just gathering them up. I put a book under one side of the carton then just move the book from one side to the other basically. Candling is really easy, and super useful when incubating eggs. You just take a super bright light and sit in the dark and shine the light through the eggs. Try not to let too much light escape around the egg, and you'll be able to see what's going on inside the egg. With in a few days of setting the eggs you'll see veins, then a heartbeat, then you will see their eyes, then you can see the whole chick. At the end you can even see their feet. Lol. But usually early on you have to toss some eggs because they won't be fertile, some will get a blood ring, which basically means the embryo was killed by bacteria that made it into the membrane. So it's possible that you had a few eggs that weren't going to hatch. So don't give up. Read up on here and give it another shot.

 

[sandiTX]

we saved our eggs longer then 3 days, put them in the house on counter in egg carton small end down, and don't wash eggs, but ours are almost always clean.

 

[Jekajo80]

Congrats on all the chicks everyone. I'd like to have some Marans sometime, but I probably have enough chickens now. I love my barred rocks!

 

[hollyannlamb]

Saving the eggs up for 3 days shouldn't be an issue. You can collect them for up to 10 days. Just keep them cool, not cold. I put mine in an egg carton big end up on the Counter. You do want to turn them a couple times a day even when you are just gathering them up. I put a book under one side of the carton then just move the book from one side to the other basically. Candling is really easy, and super useful when incubating eggs. You just take a super bright light and sit in the dark and shine the light through the eggs. Try not to let too much light escape around the egg, and you'll be able to see what's going on inside the egg. With in a few days of setting the eggs you'll see veins, then a heartbeat, then you will see their eyes, then you can see the whole chick. At the end you can even see their feet. Lol. But usually early on you have to toss some eggs because they won't be fertile, some will get a blood ring, which basically means the embryo was killed by bacteria that made it into the membrane. So it's possible that you had a few eggs that weren't going to hatch. So don't give up. Read up on here and give it another shot.

Thank you for the information. I had no idea you could see that much! I should have joined this forum last year.

We have 6 in the incubator now that have been in there for almost 2 weeks. I'll candle them and see what I can see. Thanks again!