Putting eggs in the bator on July 25, does anyone wanna hatch along???

[dandydoodle]

ya it was out with them today but she kept pecking it so ... i had to hatch it because she left the nest and wouldn't go back ... and it was starting to hatch but she wouldn't take care of the eggs anymore so i did it

Awwwe, poor baby.

At least you got it here safely.

 

[cluckitall]

When they hatch you'll have to tell us what the different mixes are. Well that is if you know.

Yeah, that's what I'm curious about, too! Only one dad but (in theory, at least) four different varieties of moms. I thought it'd be easy to tell who came from which until I started reading a little more about chicken genetics and how coloring/barring is passed on, but basically at this point I've only read enough to confuse me thoroughly

 

[cluckitall]

Farmerboy, you might simply have to raise him separately until he's old enough to be integrated with the flock. And Dandydoodle, from everything I've read so far, it's not your experience or inexperience -- it's really the broody's temperament and personality. Some will apparently adopt anything that moves

Some won't. Just like you can't "make" a hen go broody no matter how experienced you are, you can't make her adopt chicks that aren't hers -- and the ones on the opposite extreme, apparently you can't make them NOT adopt chicks!

I can't wait till more of my information comes from personal experience! But yeah, I like learning new stuff

 

[cluckitall]

Huh. Both Hamburgs and appenzellers are white egg layers. So maybe a mutt, maybe something else altogether! Apparently pretty much any breed has the potential to present spangled markings, if the right gene combination is there. But for that coloring with the black spangles, Hamburg and appenzeller were definitely my first guesses. You could always try the "What breed is this?" forum!! I'd be curious to know what the folks who really know chickens come up with!

 

[litljenarey]

OH NOOOOOO!!!

I think I may have been either WAY hot, or WAY cool in my bator for a few days.
I have three thermometers, I took the two with hygrometers out of the incubator to check the temps and humidity of my new hatcher while building it and left the third. No adjustments, holding steady temps.

I added my Delawares and Barred Rocks last night and put all three thermometers back into the incubator. Well, my digital one is reading 105 degrees, my hygrometer/thermometer (reptile thermometer) is reading 99.5 and my little plastic one that came with the LG is reading somewhere between 98 and 100 (that one is really difficult to read through that little window). I had been making the adjustments based on the digital one!! They had all been reading the same thing before I moved them around. And they have been there all night, so I know they have had plenty of time to adjust.

I'm buying some new aquarium thermometers today. I just hope I didn't ruin my whole hatch. I have been losing so many eggs and I had thinking it was because they were shipped.

Hatching is tough.

 

[Ranny]

I go to lock down in 3 days getting excited to see how the hatching turns out. The changes I have made seem to have improved the bator from the last hatch. I bought my eggs from Taylor Hobby Farm and they were clean and seem to be of great quailty. We added a 30' x 40' fenced in area for our chickens. Moving them went really well. I am going to plant this weekend wheat, rye and clover. I am going to plant lots of greens from plants. The new lot is under 50 year old oak trees so lots of shade and dust I put Rhonda on the tractor and she box scraped the lot. So I really need to get plants in the ground.

 

[dandydoodle]

Farmerboy, you might simply have to raise him separately until he's old enough to be integrated with the flock. And Dandydoodle, from everything I've read so far, it's not your experience or inexperience -- it's really the broody's temperament and personality. Some will apparently adopt anything that moves

Some won't. Just like you can't "make" a hen go broody no matter how experienced you are, you can't make her adopt chicks that aren't hers -- and the ones on the opposite extreme, apparently you can't make them NOT adopt chicks!

I can't wait till more of my information comes from personal experience! But yeah, I like learning new stuff

I like learning new stuff too, I drive my kids and hubby crazy with all my chicken talk.

 

[dandydoodle]

Huh. Both Hamburgs and appenzellers are white egg layers. So maybe a mutt, maybe something else altogether! Apparently pretty much any breed has the potential to present spangled markings, if the right gene combination is there. But for that coloring with the black spangles, Hamburg and appenzeller were definitely my first guesses. You could always try the "What breed is this?" forum!! I'd be curious to know what the folks who really know chickens come up with!

I was thinking maybe black sex link. What do you think about that as an option. I believe Black sex links get those barring also. I don't know what color eggs they lay though or what kind of combs they have. I could look it up though, if we find out what color eggs and comb this little girl has.

 

[dandydoodle]

OH NOOOOOO!!!

I think I may have been either WAY hot, or WAY cool in my bator for a few days.
I have three thermometers, I took the two with hygrometers out of the incubator to check the temps and humidity of my new hatcher while building it and left the third. No adjustments, holding steady temps.

I added my Delawares and Barred Rocks last night and put all three thermometers back into the incubator. Well, my digital one is reading 105 degrees, my hygrometer/thermometer (reptile thermometer) is reading 99.5 and my little plastic one that came with the LG is reading somewhere between 98 and 100 (that one is really difficult to read through that little window). I had been making the adjustments based on the digital one!! They had all been reading the same thing before I moved them around. And they have been there all night, so I know they have had plenty of time to adjust.

I'm buying some new aquarium thermometers today. I just hope I didn't ruin my whole hatch. I have been losing so many eggs and I had thinking it was because they were shipped.

Hatching is tough.

I would get another thermometer to for verification but, if two are saying the same thing maybe they are right. I had three hygrometer myself and they all said different things. People say to adjust them but, I don't know how to do that if I don't know which one is right. So I just took what all three said and I split the difference. When are you suppose to go into lockdown? Are you gonna candle them?

Goodluck,

 

[litljenarey]

I would get another thermometer to for verification but, if two are saying the same thing maybe they are right. I had three hygrometer myself and they all said different things. People say to adjust them but, I don't know how to do that if I don't know which one is right. So I just took what all three said and I split the difference. When are you suppose to go into lockdown? Are you gonna candle them?

Goodluck,

sigh.....I've candled more than I probably should have. some are doing great, some are not. It doesn't seem to make a difference where in the incubator they are though. I can't figure this out.

I'm so confused now. I've "calibrated" the thermometers with ice water. LG one reads 27 degrees, hygro/themometer reads 32, digital reads 33. Put them back into the incubator and waited 15 minute and LG reads 98, hygro/thermo reads 92, and digital is reading 109!! I've moved the thermometers around and they still read off in roughly the same way, LG low and digital way high.

I've started my homemade incubator up. I'm thinking I'm going to move the eggs over to the homemade bator and add a fan to my LG.