Mid-May Hatch-A-Long 2018

[Cerise1924]

I would love to join in I have 31 Black Copper Maran eggs in my incubator right now. They are due to hatch May 19th. We are due to be out of town for the weekend so that should be a fun surprise to come home to. I am going to get a neighbor to check on them while I am gone. This will be my third hatch but the first with shipped eggs.

Hello! I love Black Copper Marans. <3 Such beautiful and sweet birds, and gorgeous eggs. Have you candled at all to see how your 31 shipped eggs are doing?

Good luck! Hope you have a very fun surprise when you get back.

-Cerise

 

[Cerise1924]

View attachment 1381677 View attachment 1381677
Woke up this morning to 3 pretty fluffy babies!! I did have one baby that didn't make it. The egg was squashed, I guess momma accidentally stepped on it.

There they are! Beautiful babies. <3 Sorry about the little one that didn't make it, but these three are so lovely. Congrats!

-Cerise

 

[RowanTheRed]

Aww, what a cutie! So, you didn't end up having that chick in "lockdown," that is higher humidity? Did you stop turning it? Or did it just hatch without any special conditions?

Looking forward to more chick pics!

-Cerise

What I ended up doing (with lots of advice from senior members here) was to pull out the auto turner and to continue turning by hand at my current humidity until I saw an internal pip. At that point lock down. So that's what I did. And it worked!

After this one was I the incubator for about 15 hours Ann's i was certain there was no others that had pipped, I pulled him out. I knew i was gong to have a staggered hatch and he couldn't wait for the rest to come along.

Oh, and #2 arrived yesterday morning about 9 am (36 hours after the first one). It's now I the brooder too and I think at least one will hatch today.

 

[beckycrouch5115]

Welcome!! We are both working with our first broodies, then. Are you peeking under her to see what's going on, or are you waiting? So exciting!

-Cerise

I peeked as much as she would let me. She's being a very protective momma right now. When I check on them this morning I heard chirping but they were all underneath her so I didn't disturb them.

 

[beckycrouch5115]

There they are! Beautiful babies. <3 Sorry about the little one that didn't make it, but these three are so lovely. Congrats!

-Cerise

Thank you. I was pretty upset over the one that we lost but I know thats part of it. My little boy say it 2, which broke my heart but I guess it's good for him to have life lessons.

 

[8 Chicks 1967]

Not having good luck out of the lot only 5 candled good. fingers crossed.

 

[Cerise1924]

What I ended up doing (with lots of advice from senior members here) was to pull out the auto turner and to continue turning by hand at my current humidity until I saw an internal pip. At that point lock down. So that's what I did. And it worked!

After this one was I the incubator for about 15 hours Ann's i was certain there was no others that had pipped, I pulled him out. I knew i was gong to have a staggered hatch and he couldn't wait for the rest to come along.

Oh, and #2 arrived yesterday morning about 9 am (36 hours after the first one). It's now I the brooder too and I think at least one will hatch today.

View attachment 1383244

Great photo! Yes, the advice and help from veteran members here is so helpful. Congrats on your chicks!

 

[Cerise1924]

Not having good luck out of the lot only 5 candled good. fingers crossed.

 

[Cerise1924]

@8 Chicks 1967 -
Fingers crossed for your five eggs! I hope they all give you strong and healthy chicks.

I am down to two of my six, and they are now under a broody. It's been so long (a year or more) since I hatched chicks, I had completely forgotten all the lessons I'd learned about what works. The incubator was in a terrible location, an uninsulated room at the back of the house that has really wide temperature fluctuations. Totally my fault.

I am wondering if I should candle the eggs under my little hen (it's Day 14), or just let them be.

-Cerise

 

[Cerise1924]

Well, after sitting diligently on the eggs for two full weeks, my little broody moved over to another nest box and was sitting on infertile eggs, leaving the shipped eggs cold!

I confiscated the eggs she was on, and put her back in her proper box. One of the shipped Orp eggs looked a mess - the one that I thought had veining at 7 days, but wasn't quite sure. The one that really looked good at Day 7 still looks great! Hopefully, it wasn't compromised by her absence, and hopefully she'll follow through.

As a consolation prize for this poor hatch, I now have 29 more shipped eggs in my incubators! I've had great hatches before, and so I won't give up.

Good luck to all!