New to BYC and incubating and need help ...

[willows68]

Dear Members, could anyone please tell me what breed chick the following photo is? George, my rooster's background is uncertain. The breeder told me he was Rhode Island Red, Light Sussex, Leghorn and Maran? My hens are all Rhode Island Reds. Any ideas? It's the little brown speckled chick at the back of this picture. These are chicks from my hatch a couple of weeks ago.

 

[willows68]

Here is a picture of George, my rooster, and his hand maidens!

 

[TwoCrows]

Update - as of 8am this morning (Thursday) I now have 10 fluffy babies - 50% hatch at this stage. I have 10 eggs to go! I don't see any movement or pipping, does this mean it's all over and they won't hatch?

If you have no pipping in any of these eggs, get the hatched babies out of there and into the brooder. Dip everybody's beaks in the water so they not only know where it is, but they get water in them before eating. Helps to prevent pasty butt.

As for the rest of these eggs, candle them to see if they are even viable. Take them into a dark room with a bright flashlight and shine the light into the top of the egg at the air cell. If you don't see a completely dark egg and it looks clear, they are duds. If you see a black blob in there, you can leave them in the bator for a couple more days to see if they will yet hatch.

But definitely get the hatched babies out and into the world.

Congrats on the great hatch!! If these are shipped eggs, a 50% hatch is GREAT!

 

[willows68]

Thanks TwoCrows, I consider you my mentor and coach! These were eggs laid by my laying hens who have a mixed breed rooster with them. The chicks are all beautiful, but as I have been informed by other members on this forum, they are "mutts". I am new to breeding, and I take all the advice given here on this forum with thanks as I have a lot to learn. So it is off to a poultry fair on Sunday to see if I can find a gentle pure bred RIR rooster!

Back to my present hatch - I will wait until dark and candle them to see what's going on. The eggs were collected over three days - would this make a difference? Should I try the float test which I read about on this forum?

 

[K9Dave]

Beautiful Rooster

 

[willows68]

Thank you.

 

[TwoCrows]

Thanks TwoCrows, I consider you my mentor and coach! These were eggs laid by my laying hens who have a mixed breed rooster with them. The chicks are all beautiful, but as I have been informed by other members on this forum, they are "mutts". I am new to breeding, and I take all the advice given here on this forum with thanks as I have a lot to learn. So it is off to a poultry fair on Sunday to see if I can find a gentle pure bred RIR rooster!

Back to my present hatch - I will wait until dark and candle them to see what's going on. The eggs were collected over three days - would this make a difference? Should I try the float test which I read about on this forum?

If they were all set on the same day, then they should all hatch at the same time. If you haven't done any candling along the way, it is possible these eggs are either not fertile or they went the route of blood rings. Not all eggs are fertile and some embryo's can die along the way. So I would go ahead and candle them first before you float test. You can float the ones you think may be viable.

Keep us posted!

 

[KristineY]

I'm also a first time incubator with an R-Com 20 (today is day 13). I'm using the standard hen egg tray and I'm a bit concerned about keeping that in there for the hatch. Has anyone removed the tray and put some kind of soft liner in the incubator before locking down? I'm considering doing that once we've done a day 17 candling and determined which eggs are staying in for the duration. Any thoughts?

 

[willows68]

I am by no means an expert, but I have just completed a hatch with my new R-Com 20 Pro incubator and I left the tray in place. It did seem to help to keep the eggs in place while they were hatching and helped to prevent the hatched chicks moving them about.

 

[KristineY]

My concern is that the newly hatched chicks (for their first day in the incubator) would have trouble with footing on the tray. Maybe a cheesecloth or a couple paper towels under the eggs and over the indents in the tray?