November/December "Hatch-a-Long"

[roxysmydog]

I'm on day 20 of my first ever hatch, I started with 20 shipped eggs and have 8 that I believe will hatch. Looking for some action here soon!!

Good luck! I just had my first hatch as they all came today, well first came after midnight. Today is day 22 for them so mine are late bloomers. Unfortunately I had to work at 3p-3a and am worried sick about them. Three still are in the eggs, two had pips. I had two that were shrink wrapped so I am worried the others are. Hopefully they make it till I get home tonight.

 

[gimmie birdies]

one of mine just pipped!

 

[chickydee64]

I've decided that the huge amount of information on hatching out on the Interwebs, much of which is conflicting, is the chicken fancy's answer to What to Expect When You're Expecting. That is, in the right hands, it's a very useful tool. In crazy, already worried human egg hatcher's mind, it's the epitome of evil. Geez, nothing like second guessing every decision I've made in the last 19 days. LOL. SELF: Step Away from the Google. Step Away Slowly With Your Hands Up!

Welcome Ellieemae..................

 

[gimmie birdies]

well reading about chickens can help the temptations of opening that egg. the more you hatch the less likely you will be tempted to go egg exploring.

 

[DeannaA]

Want to share my rooster experience for this year.
Our old rooster ,Boots, would choose a cockerel that he would allow to mate.
And I don't know if he taught them manners or?????????? We never had a problem with the new roo's
Boots passed.
We bought a 6 month old English Orp rooster..............
I started to hate him..he made the girls scream and tore up their backs.
I received information and encouragement on a different thread........
Was told not to judge him to quickly and put him in with some older hens to teach him the ropes
and manners...............to shorten this.................he has gone though his first molt now......
Has quieted down and is acting as a good Roo should.........
No more terrorizing the girls.no more pulling out their feathers...............
Guess he just needed some time to mature....also , he eats from my hand now.............
Couldn't get close to him at first......
Appreciate the help I received because he was very close to being rooster stew...............

Today a lady at the feed store said the same thing about behaving better after they mature. They aren't mean to me or the chickens but sometimes wait around a corner to pounce before they can fight back. Or as soon as the step out from laying an egg. I hope they grow into some maners.

 

[mollychick2013]

So the eggs in my incubator are almost done with day 4. Most of them are too dark or green to see inside, but the two white eggs I can. I see a little bit of veining on both white eggs and the dark spot is very obviously bigger than yesterday...(dark spot bigger on the brown and green eggs too) but I am worried they might not be growing. The veining on the white eggs doesnt seem to make that "spider" spot that most do, same with the other white one.

We made a new tank, and had lots of temp fluctuations the first couple days (then bought a thermostat) but I am worried the fluctations and less than a half hour at 108 once might have screwed up the batch. most of the fluctuation was between 97-104.

If the dark spot is getting noticeably bigger would that imply that the eggs still have a high chance or is the fact the veining on the white eggs not having that dark spot (yet has veins) indication of possibly bad eggs now?

I'd just hate the idea of waiting till day 10 or more then finding out they're out then just replacing now while we stil aren't far in. At the same time, if they are likely still fine... id rather stay with them.

Any thoughts? Is it normal for veining to be a bit hit and miss at this point?

 

[chickydee64]

So the eggs in my incubator are almost done with day 4. Most of them are too dark or green to see inside, but the two white eggs I can. I see a little bit of veining on both white eggs and the dark spot is very obviously bigger than yesterday...(dark spot bigger on the brown and green eggs too) but I am worried they might not be growing. The veining on the white eggs doesnt seem to make that "spider" spot that most do, same with the other white one.

We made a new tank, and had lots of temp fluctuations the first couple days (then bought a thermostat) but I am worried the fluctations and less than a half hour at 108 once might have screwed up the batch. most of the fluctuation was between 97-104.

If the dark spot is getting noticeably bigger would that imply that the eggs still have a high chance or is the fact the veining on the white eggs not having that dark spot (yet has veins) indication of possibly bad eggs now?

I'd just hate the idea of waiting till day 10 or more then finding out they're out then just replacing now while we stil aren't far in. At the same time, if they are likely still fine... id rather stay with them.

Any thoughts? Is it normal for veining to be a bit hit and miss at this point?

I just think day 4 is way to early to toss......I would not worry about a brief temp opps................I had one at 110 last hatch and did fine..........

 

[mollychick2013]

Good to know. Not so trusting of our new incubator is the biggest issue, should have ran more testing on it first.

We had one egg with massive cracks in the top, I think the temp gauge fell on it when it disconnected from the rod. Put it in a ziploc and cracked open the rest of the way. Definitely developed some, not sure 4 days worth, but i think so.


Also, here is a pic of the chicks we hatched a 1 1/2 weeks ago:

 

[DeannaA]

So the eggs in my incubator are almost done with day 4. Most of them are too dark or green to see inside, but the two white eggs I can. I see a little bit of veining on both white eggs and the dark spot is very obviously bigger than yesterday...(dark spot bigger on the brown and green eggs too) but I am worried they might not be growing. The veining on the white eggs doesnt seem to make that "spider" spot that most do, same with the other white one.

We made a new tank, and had lots of temp fluctuations the first couple days (then bought a thermostat) but I am worried the fluctations and less than a half hour at 108 once might have screwed up the batch. most of the fluctuation was between 97-104.

If the dark spot is getting noticeably bigger would that imply that the eggs still have a high chance or is the fact the veining on the white eggs not having that dark spot (yet has veins) indication of possibly bad eggs now?

I'd just hate the idea of waiting till day 10 or more then finding out they're out then just replacing now while we stil aren't far in. At the same time, if they are likely still fine... id rather stay with them.

Any thoughts? Is it normal for veining to be a bit hit and miss at this point?

If you replace eggs, you will have a staggered hatch and will need a seperate incubator for hatching. Many times there is no veining at 4 days, that is why you are not supposed to candle until day 7 or 10. It very hard to resisit but looking early won't make them grow faster.

Just makes you worry more. I did it myself my first time (and second and third). Almost everyone does. If you are going to have a staggered hatch with only one incubator, it's better to have more time between the 2 batches. If you have eggs going into lockdown and there are only 4 days between the batches, the second batch will be in very high humidity for over a week, possibly not allowing for the air sac to get as large as it needs to be. LAst days, seems to grow the most. If you have 10 to 14 days between, they will still be young and you will have time to adjust the humidity lower if needed. I built a second incubator because it was just too much trouble.

It takes awhile for the interneral temp of the egg to even out to the temp of the incubator. If it spikes or dips, it is not as harmful as it seems. It's more of an average temp. I use a jar of water for humidity. (I cover the top with tulle before the chicks hatch.) If I have a spike, I use an oral themometer in the glass. Don't let it rest on the glass. Then you'll know if it was long enough to affect the internal temp of the egg. When you first add your eggs it dips. What ever you use to add humidity can cool if cooler or heat it up if warmer than the incubators temp. Also increased humidity lowers temp, as well as decreased humidity increases it. If your water or sponge dries out, you will get a huge spike in temp. Whenever adding or removing anything, (water, eggs, sponges, rags) always give it several hours to adjust. If the temp is still too high or low, then adjust very tiny bit at a time and wait a few more hours.

You may not have needed all of this but these are things I didn't find out until weeks after driving myself crazy. Good luck. Don't give up and I will warn you now, hatching is very addicting.

 

[Heidisgran]

by midnight I had 3 of my 19 home growns hatch, at 4am 9 had hatched
all others pipped and chirping
today is due date!