Newbie Hatching Thread!

[thebanthams]

call me crazy too !! I checked on them 24 hours a day and making mamma chicken noises !!!!

Doesn't it? I keep checking the incubator about once every hour, even though I KNOW nothing is happening now! I still have six days left! My sister caught me talking to the eggs, begging them to all hatch and be cute and fuzzy little pullets.

But she knows I'm crazy, so its okay.

 

[Chic_girl]

Whew, Can't imagine getting up at 3 in the morning to cluck at them!

But we'll see when it comes time for the hatch! I'll sit up all night staring at the 'bator, with a mug of coffee and a blanket!

 

[Fuzz Fuzz]

Good luck with the last five day's, almost time for lockdown. I hope for a lot of pullets for you. And a succesfull first hatch.

My first hatch is just set, i'm on day two. So i'll have to be very patient.
I have 13 eggs of my own bantam silkies, 15 eggs of "regular" silkies and 15 runner duck eggs.
So we'll see how it will turn out in the comming month.
I hope i'll do everything right and have a lot of fluffy butts in the end.

 

[Chic_girl]

So, if I set my eggs on Feb 17, at 10:30 in the morning, would that make the 17th day 0, or day 1? If it was day 1, that would make lock down tomorrow. But if it was day zero, then i still have one more day.
I've been counting the 17th as day 1, so lock down is tomorrow! Oh dear, I had better fill up the water tray and add a paper towel floor!

 

[Fuzz Fuzz]

If you set in the morning it couts as day one, if you set at night it counts as day zero.
So the 17th was day one for you.

 

[Chic_girl]

Thanks Fuzz Fuzz! I just wanted to make sure. My plan for tomorrow is to candle once again, turn off the auto-turn on the Brinsea Advance, fill the water well, cover the well with the drown-proof cover, and add paper towels.

Anyone who uses a Brinsea Eco or Advance-
When I fill up the water well for lock down, should I fill it to just cover the divider, or should I fill it all the way to the top? If I fill it to the top, I'm worried about having too high of a humidity. Would a too high humidity be worse than too low? I don't want the chicks to shrink-wrap, but I don't want them to have unabsorbed yolks, or be what Storey's Guide to Chickens calls "mushy-chicks".

 

[dreamer5577]

I don't use that type of incubator, but from experience I've learned that it is not about depth..it is all about surface area. So just covering it will do you as much good as filling it all the way to the top. So start with covering just the divider then if you need a higher humidity add sponges or paper towels. Good Luck!

 

[georgiagail]

I have two Brinsea Mini Advanced incubators and also a Brinsea Eco 20.

The Mini Advanced can be programmed to automatically stop turning on day 18.

Gail

 

[Chic_girl]

Lockdown! Finally!

Everything seems okay for Day 18, and when I candled the eggs this morning, I found all five chicks moving about, so I hope thats a good sign. There really isn't that much room in those eggs now, is there? One thing I did notice was that one of the Brahma eggs had blood vessels that seemed to go through the air sac. Is that a bad sign? I tried to get a picture, but again, the camera turned it blurry.

The water well is filled to the top, there is paper towel on the bottom, auto-turn is OFF, and I've checked the incubator about twelve times in the past half hour. (Exaggeration...sort of...) I know, I'm so impatient, but approximately when will I see pips? When do the eggs start rocking/peeping? WHEN DO I GET CUTE LITTLE CHICKIES???

 

[Fuzz Fuzz]

I think you will have to be patient a little longer.
What i've read they start pipping at day 20 or 21 if they are on time, so go and sit on your hands for the next five days and then you can cuttle with the little chickies.
I know it must be very hard to wait that last part, but realy do, so they all have a chance to hatch.
I'll be watching how it goes for you.
Good luck