May Hatch Thread--Fill up those bators n' broodies!

[hokankai]

Part 1 of my hatch finished last night. My d'Anvers hatched! 6 made it to lockdown and ALL of them hatched!!! I have silver quail and blue silver quail

My bantam BRs go into lockdown on Tuesday, and the rest go into lockdown on Thursday!

Better pics to come, but here are some for now

 

[el pollo rey]

Well this is a long story...
About a month ago I had a broody hen sitting on five eggs. I did not have high hopes, because I have a bantam brown leghorn rooster and full size hens... I assumed he could not "get the job done." I candled at day 7 and saw 6 clear, and one iffy. I tossed the six and left the "iffy" egg overnight, so I had a little time to use Google and see what the heck was going on in my egg. I came to the conclusion it HAD to be rotten... Only to crack it open and find a witto bitty bean sized embryo in there! CRAP!!!!! I explain it to my five and six year old boys, and tell them we'll try again soon... And then my broody decided she wasn't gonna be broody anymore! Well my six year old went to school and told his kindergarten teacher our horrible news, and she sent him home with an egg from her chickens! So I attacked BYC's homemade incubator page... I started with a cardboard box and a 60 watt bulb at first just so I could get it going and my son could see I was trying! Then I realized I had an old, broken "mini" fridge I could transform into an incubator!! Which I did and it took about a weekend with a little help from my hubby. (I took a ton of pics and soon I hope to figure out how to start my own thread and show you all how I built it!) So I've moved my lone egg (which is an ameraucana egg by the way, and the hen is tiny, which explains how my bantam roo "got the job done") into the fridge-a-bator. iTs day 12 and candeling shows its alive and well! So hopefully in a few days ill have a pic of a cute fluffy butt to upload! This is my first hatch by the way, yet i feel like an expert from reading on BYC! And I am ADDICTED already! Happy mothers day!!

Good deal jordi all the luck to you and the boys with your egg and I'm sure your soon to be chick ! i cant wait to check out your thread on the refrigerator bator and welcome to the wonderful and sometimes disappointing but always fulfilling world of hatching !

 

[el pollo rey]

Part 1 of my hatch finished last night. My d'Anvers hatched! 6 made it to lockdown and ALL of them hatched!!! I have silver quail and blue silver quail

My bantam BRs go into lockdown on Tuesday, and the rest go into lockdown on Thursday!

Better pics to come, but here are some for now

they are adorable

 

[18Peeps]

. It's a fine line and allot of folks don't adjust for altitude it is important there is a base line but it needs to be tuned to your situation

It's a tough thing to do and so far I've been nervous to error on the side of too little humidity! Someday I hope to get it right though...

So, final count...out of 27 eggs locked down there are 24 healthy chicks running around in the brooder boxes

. This is the best hatch rate I've ever had

...I'm a newbie and this was my 3rd hatch

. So, I guess would this be an 80% hatch rate overall since I started with 30 eggs. Or do I count the yolkers/quitters or only the locked down eggs? 89% hatch rate from the locked down eggs, but that is not how hatch rate is counted is it? I guess I could have done better...maybe next time

. There are 24 little fuzzy ball running around here and I'm loving it

! 3 are Blue Splash Barnevelders, but I have trouble telling the regular Blue Barnevelders from the Black ones.


Of the chicks that did not make it, one chick was malpositioned head down at the pointy side of the egg with his foot over his head so he could not push, poor thing. How do you know when to assist for that? He couldn't reach the air cell. I thought he had internally pipped, but he had not. One chick popped his own yolk sac while turning...has anyone ever heard of that happening

? It was really strange when I eggtopsied and found yolk all over him and a little blood too. He must have nicked a vein too and bled a little. And one had a "wonky" air cell smack on the side of the egg like it was laid that way(almost didn't set it, but figured I'd give it a try anyways). That chick decided to try to pip on the other side, away from the air cell. I tried to get air to it, but he did not make it. It was probably for the best, but I was sad I couldn't save him.

Now, I need to post pictures...

 

[el pollo rey]

I have a new baby today! Yay little quail, and two chicks pepping as we speak they due tomorrow so they are early! Thats ok mothers day present to me!

And here are my 6 hatchling from my Broody Hen that adobted these eggs lol

happy mothers day and congrats what breed are the blacks ?

 

[Friar_Tuck]

NAAAASTY!
4 days into my 100 egg quail batch, I had a leaker.
Nasty smelling mess

It just sort of boiled over, so I took it out, the 3 eggs around it out, moved the eggs on that turner tray to another, and removed the tray.
By time I got done I had Hilex on the rack, hilex all over the hands, and I think I am ahead of it.
First time I have ever had an egg do that.
Is there any way that could have actually been a fresh laid egg, and go that rotten in 4 days?
Jim

 

[el pollo rey]

It's a tough thing to do and so far I've been nervous to error on the side of too little humidity! Someday I hope to get it right though...

So, final count...out of 27 eggs locked down there are 24 healthy chicks running around in the brooder boxes

. This is the best hatch rate I've ever had

...I'm a newbie and this was my 3rd hatch

. So, I guess would this be an 80% hatch rate overall since I started with 30 eggs. Or do I count the yolkers/quitters or only the locked down eggs? 89% hatch rate from the locked down eggs, but that is not how hatch rate is counted is it? I guess I could have done better...maybe next time

. There are 24 little fuzzy ball running around here and I'm loving it

! 3 are Blue Splash Barnevelders, but I have trouble telling the regular Blue Barnevelders from the Black ones.


Of the chicks that did not make it, one chick was malpositioned head down at the pointy side of the egg with his foot over his head so he could not push, poor thing. How do you know when to assist for that? He couldn't reach the air cell. I thought he had internally pipped, but he had not. One chick popped his own yolk sac while turning...has anyone ever heard of that happening

? It was really strange when I eggtopsied and found yolk all over him and a little blood too. He must have nicked a vein too and bled a little. And one had a "wonky" air cell smack on the side of the egg like it was laid that way(almost didn't set it, but figured I'd give it a try anyways). That chick decided to try to pip on the other side, away from the air cell. I tried to get air to it, but he did not make it. It was probably for the best, but I was sad I couldn't save him.

Now, I need to post pictures...

Get them pics up peeps and your hatch rate is figured on the eggs set, and you did great as good as any one could do thats hard to beat 24 for 30 now thats hatching congrats !

 

[el pollo rey]

NAAAASTY!
4 days into my 100 egg quail batch, I had a leaker.
Nasty smelling mess

It just sort of boiled over, so I took it out, the 3 eggs around it out, moved the eggs on that turner tray to another, and removed the tray.
By time I got done I had Hilex on the rack, hilex all over the hands, and I think I am ahead of it.
First time I have ever had an egg do that.
Is there any way that could have actually been a fresh laid egg, and go that rotten in 4 days?
Jim

hmmm ill have to think about that,,,,, i have had leakers but not rotton i cull and remove anything that might be a threat but i can say ive had good luck with quail never have even candled them

 

[Missyktsm]

NAAAASTY!
4 days into my 100 egg quail batch, I had a leaker.
Nasty smelling mess
It just sort of boiled over, so I took it out, the 3 eggs around it out, moved the eggs on that turner tray to another, and removed the tray.
By time I got done I had Hilex on the rack, hilex all over the hands, and I think I am ahead of it.
First time I have ever had an egg do that.
Is there any way that could have actually been a fresh laid egg, and go that rotten in 4 days?
Jim

 

That sounds really awful and I hope I never have to deal with it. Any chance it was older?

I have 17 eggs going in to lockdown tomorrow. I candled tonight and finally removed 3 that I've been really iffy about. Cracked them open and sure enough, nothing developing. All of the remaking 17 look great though and I'm hoping they all make it.

 

[18Peeps]

Cute babies!!