Rillowens first Hatch-Along! FOOD THEME

[Rillowen]

Good morning Food Eggies! Time for growing school, Waffles don't be late!

so funny! All seemed to good this morning!

 

[Sefirothe]

Grow eggies grow!!

 

[Rillowen]

Can I have an egg named Nugget?

Nugget is hilarious # 8?

 

[Rillowen]

Anyone have any input on how many candlings are OK? And do I count from the one before they went in the incubator?

 

[Sefirothe]

Anyone have any input on how many candlings are OK? And do I count from the one before they went in the incubator?

I know some people like @redinator are serial candlers, others more hands off.

For day counting, this is a quote from an article by @TwoCrows that helped me out:

“The moment you set your eggs, you are working on day 1. So if you set your eggs at noon on Monday, Tuesday at 11:59 am is the end of day 1, noon starts day 2. Then on Wednesday at noon is the beginning of day 3 and so on.”

 

[Rillowen]

I know some people like @redinator are serial candlers, others more hands off.

For day counting, this is a quote from an article by @TwoCrows that helped me out:

“The moment you set your eggs, you are working on day 1. So if you set your eggs at noon on Monday, Tuesday at 11:59 am is the end of day 1, noon starts day 2. Then on Wednesday at noon is the beginning of day 3 and so on.”

Thank you! I am trying to hatch with my kids as an educational experience, but didnt want to ruin any eggs. maybe we will candle 1 different one a day, with a hot water bottle to keep it warm. That way we could watch the development, but each egg would only get 1 extra handling from the d7. D14, d18.

 

[GreenJay]

Hello everyone!
This is my first time hatching as an adult! We have 24 eggs all candled for cracks, and set in the incubator 2-13-26 night! These are eggs collected from our hens and save a week at 60° in a carton, wide end up, with the date collected and starting weight (and the number egg) written in pencil. Our flock is 5 hens: 2 Dorking hens, 2 white rock, and one barred rock. There is a dorking roo and a white rock/barnyard mix roo. (Aka Mr. Chicken, the Hero).
We have 12 eggs laid by dorkings, 8 by the white rocks and 4 by the barred.
(Sorry, I forgot to note which numbers we t to which hen layer, but when I candle next I'll try to note it)
We tend to think food names are fun here, Choco (chocolate) and Mocha being current members, and "crop-pot" being a particularly aggressive roo that was destined for the dinner table. But if you are overcome with the need for something else, cutie type names are also ok, we have 3 girls lol, "Cutey, Whitey, Mrs. Puzzled, Cream, and Backster (named by the 3 yr boy) are all the other names.

I am new to incubation myself, as well as this incubator. I am attempting to keep the humidity around 45 and the temp at 37.5 C, but of course there are rises and dips. Still trying to figure out the best way to keep the humidity stable, it seems all or nothing. The incubator has the various sized channels, but no external resevoir. Just a couple Tbsp in 1 channel seems to keep it at 50% until it's gone. A slice of damp sponge has been the latest attempt, and seems to be doing well.


1.
2. Waffles @TwoCrows
3. Étouffée @PeaShack
4.
5. Martha Washington (candy) by @BoundlessLove
6.
7.
8. Nugget @GodLovesU
9. Toffee @Sefirothe
10.
11. Kiwi @tviss711
12.
13. Anchovies @thecatumbrella
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.

May I have #1 please and thank you! Name her Pancakes
Let's grow food chicks!

 

[tviss711]

Thank you! I am trying to hatch with my kids as an educational experience, but didnt want to ruin any eggs. maybe we will candle 1 different one a day, with a hot water bottle to keep it warm. That way we could watch the development, but each egg would only get 1 extra handling from the d7. D14, d18.

Hiii!! Just sharing my two cents for you. Your plan is great, and you should do what feels right for your hatch experience.

I LOVE to candle. I usually candle day 7, day 13 or 14, and once more before lockdown. (And if I’m being honest, I usually peek at a couple eggs in between too!)

I just did a hatch with my class for the educational purpose of it, and each egg was candled a minimum of 3 times. (I even checked some of them as many as 5/6, to show my coworkers and check on suspicious eggs). All 19 eggs hatched! As long as you don’t have each egg out of the incubator for a long time, don’t worry about keeping the egg warm for the short candling process. A broody hen is going to get off her nest occasionally to eat/drink and eliminate, the eggs can handle not being in the incubator for a minute or two.

The key things are - be reasonably quick, have clean hands, and don’t drop them! When I candle, I just popped the lid long enough to grab one egg out and then closed it back up, candled the egg, then popped the lid long enough to put it back. Every incubator is different, and I’m not sure what you’re working with, but if it allows for swift entry and exit it does make candling a little easier.

Just be careful, as the most dangerous part of candling is the “handling”, because if you don’t handle them then there is no risk of dropping one! But it is so AMAZING to see the process of them growing and growing each week.

Anyway, that’s just my two cents! I’m a candling addict. As long as you are careful, quick, and have clean hands, I don’t think it should affect your hatch rate.

 

[Rillowen]

Hiii!! Just sharing my two cents for you. Your plan is great, and you should do what feels right for your hatch experience.

I LOVE to candle. I usually candle day 7, day 13 or 14, and once more before

lockdown. (And if I’m being honest, I usually peek at a couple eggs in between too!)

I just did a hatch with my class for the educational purpose of it, and each egg was candled a minimum of 3 times. (I even checked some of them as many as 5/6, to show my coworkers and check on suspicious eggs). All 19 eggs hatched! As long as you don’t have each egg out of the incubator for a long time, don’t worry about keeping the egg warm for the short candling process. A broody hen is going to get off her nest occasionally to eat/drink and eliminate, the eggs can handle not being in the incubator for a minute or two.

The key things are - be reasonably quick, have clean hands, and don’t drop them! When I candle, I just popped the lid long enough to grab one egg out and then closed it back up, candled the egg, then popped the lid long enough to put it back. Every incubator is different, and I’m not sure what you’re working with, but if it allows for swift entry and exit it does make candling a little easier.

Just be careful, as the most dangerous part of candling is the “handling”, because if you don’t handle them then there is no risk of dropping one! But it is so AMAZING to see the process of them growing and growing each week.

Anyway, that’s just my two cents! I’m a candling addict.

Thank you! lol permission to peak!!

We just candled #4 and #6 (closest to the door) and both have good growth! Looks like we missed the spiderweb veins stage (shucks!) But we have a nice dark section at the top! Anyone who knows more what to look for feel free to chime in on the pictures. This should be day 4.

And an unincubted egg for reference (we needed it lol)

 

[tviss711]

Thank you! lol permission to peak!!

We just candled #4 and #6 (closest to the door) and both have good growth! Looks like we missed the spiderweb veins stage (shucks!) But we have a nice dark section at the top! Anyone who knows more what to look for feel free to chime in on the pictures. This should be day 4.

View attachment 4299815View attachment 4299816
And an unincubted egg for reference (we needed it lol)View attachment 4299819

I never thought to candle an unincubated egg to show the difference. What a great idea! I usually sit on my hands until day 7, only because I personally can’t identify much until then. But it will be so neat to candle each day, and see the day to day development! This is neat because in just 3 days, you’ll see a black dot (eye), obvious veins, and movement if you’re lucky!! How fun!