Michigan Hatchers! What'cha got cookin?

[naglady]

here is mr fatbutt, or sometimes i call him fata~~, he is a sweetheart they all are, the white ones are the cornish cross from amish farm the lady said, and dominique is the barred one, and i am guessing black sexlink for the black.. there is also a rir in the mix, i dont think i got her in the pics..Good luck to those that are in lockdown, and getting ready to hatch.. i am so hoping that these girls have fertile eggs, i am doubting it, because they all still have feathers on their backs.. and i have seen him mating either..

 

[DelaneyFarm]

Hi All
This is our first time hatching and it's all by accident! We couldn't find the laying place for our BCM because we hadn't gotten our tractor yet and the grass was too tall! By the time I found her, the eggs were well on their way, so I've just let her have at it. But, being human, I'm also anxious and I've candled twice. Once because I was just checking before we used the eggs... OOps!! They're fertile and already growing! So we put them back. We knew virtually nothing about letting a hen hatch, as all our layers previously had no Roo and no way to hatch, so we just ignored the broodys and collected eggs. We got a better flashlight and candled today, and they're solid black and the only thing we can see is the air sac. We did see movement in eggs #4, 5 6 and possibly 9, hard to tell, but the rest, it was just solid black. We can hardly see through the dark shells, a huge drawback to BCM's. Unfortunately the BCM hen's Roo is a silver marans, so they won't be usable chicks for breeding or anything else, other than egg laying for home use. Which is perfectly fine with us, we needed more layers anyway. My problem today is that I'm so impatient and I really am very new at this. I have no idea if I should be doing something more, less, just wait!?!?!? I'm antsy, because I thought, based on the candling I did a week ago and today, that they should hatch today. But so far, nothing. No peeping, no cracks. We did see movement in 4 of the 13 eggs, but there could have been more, we just can't see through the shells. Is there any advice out there for me? So glad to have found the Michigan thread!

 

[RTFchickens]

Mine are often solid black right before they hatch, or if they die. Right now I'm on day 18 and they are mostly black but I can see a foot moving around in the light colored eggs. We have a very high powered LED flashlight that is a "security light" and it works great since its SO bright!
I'm not sure what advice to give you other then wait and see?
I wish you luck!

 

[naglady]

I agree with rtf, wait and see game.. Good LUck..

 

[Candy442]

Hi All

... My problem today is that I'm so impatient and I really am very new at this. I have no idea if I should be doing something more, less, just wait!?!?!? I'm antsy, because I thought, based on the candling I did a week ago and today, that they should hatch today. But so far, nothing. No peeping, no cracks. We did see movement in 4 of the 13 eggs, but there could have been more, we just can't see through the shells. Is there any advice out there for me? So glad to have found the Michigan thread!

you are at the most difficult time of chick hatching....yup, just sit and wait!

Not much else you can do other than try not to bug the broody too much because you can cause them to quit sitting and then have to raise the chicks yourself

oh, and making sure the broody has privacy and is 100 percent protected from predators including other flock mates....

 

[RTFchickens]

I have peeps and pips in the incubator!!!
One peeping for sure, and on pipped. I am home alone until tonight when the family returns from up north. I didn't have time to sit and watch the incubator or I would be late for work.
Humidity is 50% and I have a cup with wet paper towel to help with humidity since I won't be home for hatching (again). I tried to time hatching for a day I would not be working (Wednesday is day 21) but nooo, they want to hatch at day 19! Huh, these guys are already making waves and they haven't even hatched yet.

 

[gladahmae]

I have 24 eggs in the incubator. This hatch is kind of a fertility test of sorts, though I've seen him mounting hens since setting this group of eggs, I'm not sure about what is in the incubator. Hoping for a few chicks since I'm kind of getting overrun with birds at this point. Once we get our meaties butchered I'll have a place to keep more birds until fall when we cull our older hens and the extra cockerels (later in the fall most likely so they have some size to them) but I've got a LOT more chicks/chickens than I realistically need right now.

Should probably get into
the basement and do a quick peek at the eggs while the toddler is occupied with Mickey Mouse and get the turner out. Never got around to candling last night. Oops!

YAY for hatching chicks!

Telling how far into development eggs are can be tricky, especially with eggs that have a thicker coating (marans, ameraucanas, etc). There is a thread/article about "candling progression" that shows candled eggs on each day of development. When the egg is "full" looking, as in you can't see veins and it's pretty much just a black mass with an air cell on top, you should only have around 4-5 days left at the MOST. I'm kicking myself about not candling earlier with my marans eggs because that's basically the point I'm at now. I'll only be able to tell what's a clear or a bloodring and most likely not be able to tell what was a quitter.

 

[BTinks]

Just thought I would join this thread! I've had one successful broody hatch this spring already (EE x silky) and I have two broody hens sitting right now. One is on day 11 with a batch of sizzle eggs I ordered and I need to candle tonight and see how things are looking! She is sitting so well on the eggs that I'm not worried about her hatching skills. The verdict is still out on my other broody. She is on day 4 with a clutch of silky eggs from my silky pair and sat ok for the first two days but then apparently decided that her nest was too small. She kicked out six eggs and stood next to the rest.

I set her up with a bigger nest and she's sitting again but she doesn't look as thrilled about it as the other. Lol. Crossing my fingers she didn't goof those eggs up.

 

[gladahmae]

Just thought I would join this thread! I've had one successful broody hatch this spring already (EE x silky) and I have two broody hens sitting right now. One is on day 11 with a batch of sizzle eggs I ordered and I need to candle tonight and see how things are looking! She is sitting so well on the eggs that I'm not worried about her hatching skills. The verdict is still out on my other broody. She is on day 4 with a clutch of silky eggs from my silky pair and sat ok for the first two days but then apparently decided that her nest was too small. She kicked out six eggs and stood next to the rest.

I set her up with a bigger nest and she's sitting again but she doesn't look as thrilled about it as the other. Lol. Crossing my fingers she didn't goof those eggs up.

i lock my broodies into their nest box for that reason. let them out once a day and have little dishes of food and water in there for them. PLUS, it helped keep the other hens from trying to lay in there and breaking eggs.

 

[BTinks]

i lock my broodies into their nest box for that reason.  let them out once a day and have little dishes of food and water in there for them.  PLUS, it helped keep the other hens from trying to lay in there and breaking eggs.

Yeah I do this too!

I have small to medium dog kennels that I use to put broody, nest, food, and water into. They stay in our big barn where the temperature stays more moderate and the other girls can't bother them.