Ready Set Hatch! Set 3/17 Hatch 4/7 - ready now! Hatch-Along

[Wrightsx4]

Your chicks are very "advanced" Ben - my first chicks couldn't skateboard for at least another week. Lol. While waiting for them to hatch my kids made a series of playhouses for them out of tissue boxes complete with their own dinnerware...

 

[Bens-Hens]

Hahahahaha, that's next on the list. Will get the boys to make something to show off down the track

 

[Dylon]

Well, I got 8 out of 18. I'm going to leave the one that haven't hatched for another day. I think more would have hatched if the handy been charged into by the others. I think they got disoriented. AND MY NICE, NEW,, CLEAN INCUBATOR IS FILTHY!!

 

[ladyrsanti]

Alright, now that everyone is dried and fluffed, I can show you the markings. These are the five wheaten marans and you'd almost think there were three breeds here. The first to hatch was the chipmunk-patterned one, then the one with the dark spot. The rest have little to no markings at all. The traits they all share are the feathered legs, of course, and their little manes on the back of their heads, long fluff - so cute. I wish I could see their mommies. The smaller one in the upper right of the last pic is the one I had to assist out of the shell (shrink wrapped). It was pretty crusty for a while but is almost completely fluffed now and active. Sorry about the blur but it's been raining heavily and so dark.

 

[Wrightsx4]

Some of them look like mine - I bet they're sisters/brothers!

 

[Dylon]

ONE OF MY EGGS THAT DIDN'T HATCH WAS GROWING MOLD IN IT... EW

 

[hokankai]

Ewwwwww

 

[Wrightsx4]

Okay. I admit it - I lost my mind. I had 20 chicks in the brooder and then I saw this

a silkie at the feed store. They haven't had them all season and of course the age/timing was perfect, so I had to get it. My daughter is all smiles. That's it. NO MORE.

 

[maryhysong]

Well, final count. 46 eggs set, 37 eggs hatched, with one mortality. Have one with a leg problem; I don't know if it grew wrong in the shell or hurt itself somehow after hatch; looks like one leg goes straight out the front and the other is bent up underneath and to the back. for now it's scooting around on it's belly, waiting to see if it can straighten itself out. So anyhoo about 80% hatch, which was pretty good. I checked all the ones that didn't hatch and sadly they all had chicks in them but one, which looked to be a clear that I missed removing at lock down. Just wondering what I can do to get the hatch rate even better.... I put a few more pics up on my garden blog (link in my siggy) and will try to add some different ones every few days.

 

[Dylon]

question to all of you: how many is too many chickens? I'm at over 50, plus my 13 chicks I'm brooding. So, how many is too many