November Hatch-A-Long (2014)

[Dcat]

I am being very bad and candling once a day. I wash my hands really good first and make sure they are warm and when I go to turn them in the afternoon I get everything ready and candle and turn them. Everybody is still kicking, moving around and visibly growing every day. I was lucky and didn't have any "goo bombs" this time, LOL. I believe that the bowl with the wet cotton rag in it is great for now but I'm pretty sure that I will have to find another container for when I go into lock down. I added more water to it today to see how high the humidity would go and it wouldn't go over 51%. That's no good so Ill find one that's not as deep but longer. I have the room since I don't have many eggs in there so I'm good.

Ochochicas, how are the rest of your eggs doing so far? You and I have the same hatch date.

 

[Steampunked]

Well, for me, it's lockdown tonight!

I've been running low humidity the last few days - the air sacs really weren't very large at last candelling, a result of having too-high humidity. Tonight as I transfer everyone into a secure room, I'll try a sniff test to make sure I'm not locking in pongy eggs, but I can't really see anything anymore. The eggs are too full up of chick.

I am pretty sure I saw a silkie egg rocking last night though!

I have to move everything out of the stable room it's in, into the bathroom - that suffers more temp fluctuations, but it's the only room with a door in the whole house (well, okay, we also have a front door), and I'm certain that once peeping starts that my huge cat will be interfering like a shot.

I'll be raising the humidity back up and praying. At least the bathroom often gets humid.

Time to make their brooder box! I have all of the wiring, etc, and an infra red reptile heat bulb to use, plus feeders and a nipple waterer. Also going to get some little plastic cat mirrors and bells so the chicks can have something to peck at and play with.

 

[thailand]

Haven't had much time to keep up with this thread. Hopefully will do some catching up today.

Tomorrow is lockdown!

We are down to 6 eggs (out of 10) under the broody (including a Buff Brahma/RIR cross....will be interesting. Last time I candled 3-4 days ago this baby was alive and kicking). And in the incubator we have 5 (out of 12) eggs all alive and moving.

So exciting.

 

[rachelpotter]

Oo

Well, for me, it's lockdown tonight!

I've been running low humidity the last few days - the air sacs really weren't very large at last candelling, a result of having too-high humidity.  Tonight as I transfer everyone into a secure room, I'll try a sniff test to make sure I'm not locking in pongy eggs, but I can't really see anything anymore.  The eggs are too full up of chick.

I am pretty sure I saw a silkie egg rocking last night though!

I have to move everything out of the stable room it's in, into the bathroom - that suffers more temp fluctuations, but it's the only room with a door in the whole house (well, okay, we also have a front door), and I'm certain that once peeping starts that my huge cat will be interfering like a shot.

I'll be raising the humidity back up and praying.  At least the bathroom often gets humid.

Time to make their brooder box!  I have all of the wiring, etc, and an infra red reptile heat bulb to use, plus feeders and a nipple waterer.  Also going to get some little plastic cat mirrors and bells so the chicks can have something to peck at and play with.

I am So Excited to start seeing some hatching from our little party!

Tomorrow is day 5 of my shipped eggs...one more week to go on my test mutt eggs from my flock. Those two are going strong!

 

[thailand]

Best of luck Steampunked....only just seen your post.

 

[Antiquity]

I am also quite excited. If others are going into lockdown, that means my turn is coming soon. It reminds me of the due date club I had with my daughter. It made the last month so much more bearable, ticking people off the list who were due ahead of me. Good luck you guys!

Dcat and Sustained: It's ok. I candle my eggs every day, too.


ETA: Oh and I forgot to add that I went out and bought a submersible heater today in the hopes that it might stabilise my temps and raise humidity for lockdown. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[ochochicas]

Tonight I cracked open egg #8 from the legbars. It had a nice little embryo inside. The embryo looked fine, but there seemed to be lack of development of blood vessels around the yolk. It seemed like the embryo died around day 7 or 8 (today is day 11). The other Legbar eggs seem to be more developed inside, so I'm just going to leave them. In my mind I know they have died, but just in case I am wrong I don't want to break them open and kill the poor things.

My other eggs look awesome. Honestly, if I didn't have them to compare to, I might think the Legbars were OK.

Just in case there is an explosion, I have put the 4 questionable legbar eggs in a container that should contain any escaping ooze. LOL The incubator is starting to look a little empty.

 

[evemfoster]

Is it too late to enter.

I am starting only 3 eggs. They are EE's I just placed them in the bator tonight. But, in this tiny bator they are supposed to take 24 hours before they are warm enough to start the count. They should hatch Nov. 20-21st.



This is all a experiment for me but i do hope they will hatch. The tiny bator is new just out of the box. I had recently watched a farm bulletin video on YouTube that said hens will still lay fertile eggs up to 13 days after the removal of the Roo. Coons got most of my flock 11 days ago including the Roo. One of my remaining pullits started laying the next day so i decided to try hatching them. These eggs were laid 6-9 days after the roo died. So they are 2-5 days old. They should just squeak in as hatch-able, fingers crossed.

I found this little GQF Chick Bator Mini Egg Incubator on ebay. I figure such a tiny incubator will keep a handle on the chicken math. And do it without breaking the bank. Its thin plastic, has a 7 watt light to heat the bator. The directions do say it should be used in a 70-75F room. My house is only 60-65 this time of year so as you can see i had to insulate to bator to heat it up enough to hatch eggs, and i expect to have to add more towels as it get colder.

 

[Sustained]

Is it too late to enter. I am starting only 3 eggs. They are EE's I just placed them in the bator tonight. But, in this tiny bator they are supposed to take 24 hours before they are warm enough to start the count. They should hatch Nov. 20-21st. This is all a experiment for me but i do hope they will hatch. The tiny bator is new just out of the box. I had recently watched a farm bulletin video on YouTube that said hens will still lay fertile eggs up to 13 days after the removal of the Roo. Coons got most of my flock 11 days ago including the Roo. One of my remaining pullits started laying the next day so i decided to try hatching them. These eggs were laid 6-9 days after the roo died. So they are 2-5 days old. They should just squeak in as hatch-able, fingers crossed. I found this little GQF Chick Bator Mini Egg Incubator on ebay. I figure such a tiny incubator will keep a handle on the chicken math. And do it without breaking the bank. Its thin plastic, has a 7 watt light to heat the bator. The directions do say it should be used in a 70-75F room. My house is only 60-65 this time of year so as you can see i had to insulate to bator to heat it up enough to hatch eggs, and i expect to have to add more towels as it get colder.

I'm very sorry to hear about your flock. I would be devastated. I really hope those eggs hatch for you. I'm also curious to see how that little bator works out. I saw them on eBay too.

 

[Junibutt]

Hi @annas orps how did your hatch go? Yours was due on the 23rd. We would love to see some pics if possible.
Hi @pickledpenny @thailand , ready to lockdown on Friday?