Redinator's First Hatch-Along

[redinator]

I just set a total 34 eggs in my incubator:

This is only my second hatch and I using a new incubator, so wish me luck.

The eggs I set include:

13 Ayam Cemani I got from a local seller

9 eggs from Sweety the brown barnyard mix pullet and 12 eggs from Pot the black barnyard mix pullet:
The possible cockerels are Taz the light colored barnyard mix or Kettle the black barnyard mix.

It's very likely the majority of the chicks will be sired by Kettle since he's the top cockerel. I have seen Taz mount Sweety on a few occasions when Kettle was busy chasing Pot around. I'm expecting most of the chicks to be black barnyard mixes, if they're chipmunk striped they're Taz's chicks. I do have other pullets, but they're only 4 months and haven't started laying yet.

Any guesses on the number of chipmunk striped chicks that might hatch? Was Taz busier than I've noticed?

Sweet as a chick:

Taz as a chick:

Pot as a chick:

Kettle as a chick:

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You have some interesting looking mixes. Good luck with the hatch.

 

[TwoCrows]

Good luck with your hatch, I just love Ayam Cemanis!

 

[redinator]

Good luck with your hatch, I just love Ayam Cemanis!

They'll be my first Ayam Cemanis, can't wait

 

[redinator]

I plan to candle at day 5 and remove any non-starters. Then I'll number them and get name suggestions.

 

[TwoCrows]

I plan to candle at day 5 and remove any non-starters. Then I'll number them and get name suggestions.

I'd wait till at least day 7 before removing any eggs, sometimes they can be slow to start. And sometimes the veins are too small to be sure.

 

[redinator]

I have to say I'm really liking this new incubator: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...r-incubator-with-automatic-egg-turner-1029002 the temp and humidy have been very consistant since I set it up. It also looks like it'll be easy to candle the eggs without having to take them out of the incubator.

The previous one I used https://a.co/d/emmRgGs had attached water bottles. If the incubator got bumped more water would spill into the channels and I had to constantly fiddle with small vent to let some of the water evaporate. Also when I wanted to candle I had to remove them from the incubator since the eggs were laying flat.

We're only at day 3 and I'm getting antsy and want to candle them, but I'll wait until day 7 like @TwoCrows suggested.

 

[TwoCrows]

I have to say I'm really liking this new incubator: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...r-incubator-with-automatic-egg-turner-1029002 the temp and humidy have been very consistant since I set it up. It also looks like it'll be easy to candle the eggs without having to take them out of the incubator.

The previous one I used https://a.co/d/emmRgGs had attached water bottles. If the incubator got bumped more water would spill into the channels and I had to constantly fiddle with small vent to let some of the water evaporate. Also when I wanted to candle I had to remove them from the incubator since the eggs were laying flat.

We're only at day 3 and I'm getting antsy and want to candle them, but I'll wait until day 7 like @TwoCrows suggested.

Waiting to candle is definitely nerve wracking! You can candle at day 4, 5 or 6 but I wouldn't make a total judgement until day 7. Veins can start out so tiny you can miss them early on. By day 7 for sure veins should be getting nice and thick.

 

[redinator]

Waiting to candle is definitely nerve wracking! You can candle at day 4, 5 or 6 but I wouldn't make a total judgement until day 7. Veins can start out so tiny you can miss them early on. By day 7 for sure veins should be getting nice and thick.

My first batch of 12 hatching eggs I defiantly handled too much. Only 7 hatched and two of those had difficult hatches and didn't make it past the first week.

I ordered the eggs in early January and we had a freak snowstorm that caused them to get delayed in shipping by a week. Between that, the inconsistent humidity in the incubator and the constant handling I'm lucky any made it.

Edited typo

 

[TwoCrows]

My first batch of 12 hatching eggs I defiantly handled too much. Only 7 hatched and two of those had difficult hatches and didn't make it past the first week.

I ordered the eggs in early January and we had a freak snowstorm that caused them to get delayed in shipping by a week. Between that, the inconsistent humidity in the incubator and the constant handling I'm lucky any made it.

Edited typo

It's really best not to candle too often. But I know some people just can't resist! I usually candle on day 7, then around day 14 and then at lock down. It's definitely fun to watch them grow through candling though!

Shipped eggs are a gamble, they really get jostled. If you get a 50% hatch rate on shipped eggs, you've done well.