Mid march hatch a long

[WinklerFarms]

I'm sorry to hear about all the losses. It makes me feel so blessed and lucky about my little ones. I had 12 eggs and so far 10 hatched out. I am in love and driving everyone at the coffee shop and school nuts showing them pictures of them. I need to realize that "normal" people don't really care about my chicks as much as me but then "normal" is over rated.
By the way how do you clean an incubator? I want to do it properly.

you are supposed to wash everything down with soapy water and then disinfect it. You can buy incubator disinfectant, like the stuff from Brinsea but a weak bleach water mix does the job just fine.

 

[Egg_newton]

OK, I'm back and settled in here are pics of my babies! Looks like I have 5 favs, 1 white silkie, and 6 b/b/s. I can't tell which is which yet tho.

 

[Egg_newton]

I love it when they fall asleep. We call them pancake chicks because they sleep so hard they flatten out where they lay. Sooooo cute!

Pancake chicks! I love it. It's funny cause it's true!

 

[vanalpaca]

I'd like to see those Welsummer Chicks that lynn started with.....

My Wellies are in LOCKDOWN and only 6 made it to this point out of 39. First hatch of the season. Hopefully there will be more to follow.

They are due on Saturday and I will be away at a fiber fair trying to sell off some alpaca wool from my herd!!

Cheers all and if any HATCH, I will post chick flicks/oops I mean pictures.....

 

[HortonFarms]

1 hatched and weak but 2 more making progress.

 

[Alyce birdbrain]

My last chick that hatched has dry goop on it. How do I get that off? Should I keep it seperate for the others? The egg that didn't hatch was a black naked neck fully formed we are going to bury it in the woods when the kids come home from school. In all I got 11 out of 12.

 

[vanalpaca]

Lockdown was 6 rockers, moved into the hatching drawer and nothing hatched on Saturday. I won't open the unit for another day at 4 pm Monday will be day 23. But I have no hope and think they all died inside. I am so depressed.

I'm throwing out the eggs I have been saving to put into the incubator until after the next groups hatch out.

Then I will try hatching after a light clorox and I'll be finding out how to verify if the thermometers are right or not AND the hygrometer.

But I truly feed the cabinet is not getting the heat down to the lower shelves even with 2 fans and that the upper shelves are too hot.

According to the thermometers everything was 99-101 and even the 6 rockers died, so what's up with that!

Last year set 120 eggs, 36 rockers, 10 live chicks in this bator.

Can't imagine what I am doing so wrong.
.

 

[WinklerFarms]

just went into lockdown this morning. Hoping they all make it. Out of 36 shipped eggs I only have 10 left- 4 delawares and 6 barred rock. I had a severe temp spike on day two that killed some that were actually starting to develop. This is my first experience with shipped eggs and I don't like it, most of them didn't start to develop. Oh well if most of these 10 hatch it will be ok.

 

[lynn1961]

Out of the ones that I had hatch out I only kept 4, ( 22 hatched and survived ) the rest went to the neighbor, they are getting a flock started, I have been enabling them with my last 2 hatches. I don't think he will want any more chicks, have given them 30 so far over the past couple of months, one good thing about wellies is that its easier to sex them after they hatch out. I just love the way their kids light up when they see the chicks. Helping him get his flock started has helped me also, I have been able to pick the ones I want to keep and not feed, raise the extras, then end up taking them to the sale in the fall. Have recently gotten my flock sixe down to about 20 layers and the roos, 16 meaties, 25 chicks that are growing out, 2 turkey hens and a tom, turkey eggs in the incubator due to hatch out in 12 days and 26 days, with a few chicken eggs in with the turkey eggs as incubator fillers.

 

[lynn1961]

My first couple of times incubating was not so great, it has gotten a lot easier with experience, I learned to not count my chickens until they hatch !