MGG's Hatching Thread!

[CluckNDoodle]

Aww. Were these shipped eggs?

No. *sigh*
Tbh, I'm a little nervous to. It's 17 degrees outside and snowing, and these chicks are still really sleepy. I feel like maybe I should keep them in here one more day until they're more active, Idk. It's just so cold out and I don't want anything to happen to them. They're in a brooder right now.

Wow! It's still that cold there????

 

[CluckNDoodle]

MGG My dad is angry at me he thinks I touch them too many times but I don't I candled them on 7 days there were all good didn't touch them and I candled them on the 14th day is that right or am I not supposed to do it at all.

I haven't been paying attention to what was going on in your hatch Kellyjenny but I candle WAY more often than is suggested and I still have great hatch rates. As a matter of fact, I usually touch my first hatch of the year more than any other (like several times a week, lol) because I'm going through withdrawals from not hatching through the winter and my first hatch this year was 100% hatch rate. I'm just careful to wash and dry my hands before handling the eggs and I do sterilize the flashlight with rubbing alcohol between batches of eggs. lol

 

[Kellyjenny]

I haven't been paying attention to what was going on in your hatch Kellyjenny but I candle WAY more often than is suggested and I still have great hatch rates. As a matter of fact, I usually touch my first hatch of year more than any other because I'm going through withdrawals from not hatching through the winter and my first hatch this year was 100% hatch rate. I'm just careful to wash and dry my hands before handling the eggs and I do sterilize the flashlight with rubbing alcohol between batches of eggs. lol

So as long as I'm careful it won't affect the babies. So I think it might have been the humidity. It dropped down a couple of times low and I think maybe that's what happened it looks like they stopped developing early on. Do you think that has a lot to do with it? And thank you for reassuring.

 

[MGG]

I'm having a hard time uploading it. Let me know if you get it.

They are adorable!!!!

Oh great! Just thought it was weird for her to do it in the dirt and stuff but that makes me feel better. Thats hilarious. One of my chicks went in between a small piece of chicken wire in my coop and my hen started freaking out because there was something between them. She started attacking the wire until the chick just walked back around.

Hahaha!

Hopefully having multiple chicks will avoid the problems you faced with it.

Yep! It definitely will. As long as there's more than 1, you're all good.

Instead of a tub style brooder I made a rectangular prism type thing from 2x2s with a door that opens from the side instead of a hand reaching down from above them. I heard this can make chicks and ducklings more sociable.

That's awesome! Yes, it helps SO much. I use a wire cage as a brooder and the chicks in it are always way tamer. It's great.

Great! , are you going to give her your next batch of eggs coming?

Probably, if she stays broody!!!

 

[MGG]

Oh I so appreciate a seller that goes above and beyond! That's great!

Me too, she's been awesome to work with!!!

Wow! It's still that cold there????

Haha! Yes. I swear that I moved to the Arctic sometimes!!! It was 78 a few weeks ago, but winter came back I guess.

I haven't been paying attention to what was going on in your hatch Kellyjenny but I candle WAY more often than is suggested and I still have great hatch rates. As a matter of fact, I usually touch my first hatch of the year more than any other (like several times a week, lol) because I'm going through withdrawals from not hatching through the winter and my first hatch this year was 100% hatch rate. I'm just careful to wash and dry my hands before handling the eggs and I do sterilize the flashlight with rubbing alcohol between batches of eggs. lol

Same!!! I love candling.
I can't believe your 100% hatch rate, that's awesome.

 

[Kellyjenny]

Me too, she's been awesome to work with!!!

Haha! Yes. I swear that I moved to the Arctic sometimes!!! It was 78 a few weeks ago, but winter came back I guess.

Same!!! I love candling.
I can't believe your 100% hatch rate, that's awesom

What kind of incubators do you use?

 

[CluckNDoodle]

So as long as I'm careful it won't affect the babies. So I think it might have been the humidity. It dropped down a couple of times low and I think maybe that's what happened it looks like they stopped developing early on. Do you think that has a lot to do with it? And thank you for reassuring.

Actually no, in early Incubation it shouldn't hurt the hatch at all to have short drops or spikes in humidity. For the first 18 days of Incubation, humidity is a tool for the eggs to lose the appropriate amount of weight. So unless it's high or low for extended periods of time, you wouldn't see an effect on the hatch. Early quitters sometimes just happen, sometimes we can see why, and other times it remains a mystery. Usually late quitters are easier to diagnose but even still sometimes it's something internal that we can't see.

I will say it's rare to have a 100% hatch rate though so don't hold yourself to that as a goal but more of an exciting surprise when it happens. I'm always thrilled to have 90-100% hatch rates.

 

[MGG]

What kind of incubators do you use?

My main one is an NR 360, but I have a 12 egg Magicfly incubator that I use for back-up if necessary. I don't like the Magicfly at all but it's better than nothing sometimes. My NR is always perfect. It holds so precisely steady all the time.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Haha! Yes. I swear that I moved to the Arctic sometimes!!! It was 78 a few weeks ago, but winter came back I guess.

Lol, I love cold weather, it gets waaaay too hot here in the summer but it's like watermelon planting season here right now so I was really surprised to hear it's snowing there!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

What kind of incubators do you use?

I'm on year 3 using my NR360s and I've been really happy with mine. I did manage to break one (the newest one of course) by throwing it at the floor but as long as you don't do that they're proving to be extremely reliable. Lol
I'm mostly surprised by how they're still perfectly calibrated 30+ hatches later and storing through the winter. I check them against calibrated thermometers at the beginning of every season and they're still going strong!