September 2015 Hatch-A-long!!

[chickendreams24]

@GitaBooks
Well if I get them I'm sure I'll be posting lots of pictures for help with breeds. The nice thing is they're all supposed to be sexed pullets assuming there aren't any mistakes. Think we may be getting all 8 if DH2B agrees to it. The person who has them says out of the silver ones it appears there are two breeds so hopefully there are some Andalusians, I'd like some white eggs too, if the others are silver laced wyandottes that's okay. I love our wyandottes and we have a silver Laced roo(I still don't think they look like ours did though but maybe it's the hatchery?) Looks like maybe one or two EE in the mix I hope. It's hard to say. One of the little brown ones almost looks like it could be a Buttercup but I'm afraid to hope. And idk what the dark chipmunk one could be there are so many of could be.

 

[CGilbert]

It's day 20 for me and I think my hatch is a bust. It's my first hatch and I'm sure I made lots of mistakes. If my eggs were going to hatch would they be moving now?

my first batch didn't "rock and roll", but they were moving inside when candled at day 18. If you saw movement inside at day 18, there's a good chance you're still fine. Always give it to the end of day 23 before calling it a bust.

 

[browntownfarm]

my first batch didn't "rock and roll", but they were moving inside when candled at day 18. If you saw movement inside at day 18, there's a good chance you're still fine. Always give it to the end of day 23 before calling it a bust.

Thank you! I did candle on day 18. I had a hard time seeing in the egg so I really could tell if there was movement or not. Pretty much all I saw was the air sac. I'm leaving them in of course, maybe I'll be happily surprised!

 

[CGilbert]

Thank you! I did candle on day 18. I had a hard time seeing in the egg so I really could tell if there was movement or not. Pretty much all I saw was the air sac. I'm leaving them in of course, maybe I'll be happily surprised!

I couldn't tell with my brown (delaware) eggs either, but still managed to hatch quite a few of them. Good luck! Keep us updated. I'd love to see how it goes

 

[Purpletie3]

It's day 20 for me and I think my hatch is a bust. It's my first hatch and I'm sure I made lots of mistakes. If my eggs were going to hatch would they be moving now?

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. At lockdown how did they look? Did you see movement in them? Once they go into lockdown you really don't know how much movement they have unless you happen to see one rock around a little. I have only seen a few rock around. I usually hear a chirping which lets me know they are still moving along.

How is your humidity and temps?

I had many hatches that i thought were a bust and a few were and most were okay. Hang in there...I am sure you are anxious.

 

[Maikan]

I've had eggs hatch as early as 18 days and as late as 24 days, so I always leave mine in until about 25 days. You may well yet still get a nice surprise.

 

[lpatelski]

I have very few hens to hatch eggs from. I have one "Cornish Roaster" hen from Murray McMurray, and two Dark Cornish hens. Normally the Dark Cornish do a fine job of setting. I have one who eats the eggs before they hatch as well as going lame. She sat with her right leg out to the side and it became an issue before she finished. She was lame for another three weeks. So now I just gather eggs and incubate. I developed a system to roll through my small number of eggs in a continuous hatch:

I put three dates written in pencil on each egg: Date laid, "Date In" (put into the incubator), Date to move them into the Hatcher circled. I open the incubator every six days.
I candle the eggs starting at day 6; you can easily see the chick and movement. I candle again at day 12 just to see if it's a quitter. I candle and move the 18 day eggs out to the hatcher and at the same time I add the new eggs I have gathered and held up to 6 days into the incubator.
My system is not fancy. I have two Styrofoam units.
incubator

I made a hand roller designed to be pulled from one side of the incubator and then the other. It rolls the eggs a half turn. I do this at least three to four times a day.

So my September eggs were put in on 9/4/15 and on 9/10/15 when I went to put in my next batch I discovered the Incukit DC unit quit working over night none of the 30 eggs I had in the unit survived. I quickly fixed up a new system using a lower unit water heater thermometer, two 40 watt appliance bulbs and a computer fan. This is the same system I have for my still egg (18 day egg) hatcher. Hopefully every thing works out.
After my chicks hatch the get moved to the 55 gallon tank seen below the the incubator in the pic above.

They stay in the aquarium for three weeks and get moved to the coop.


I hatched my first bird - the one with the yellow band - on 8/1/2015.

 

[wornoutmomto3]

Three for three!!! 100% hatch for the first set! Yay! And the third chick is a dark one!!

 

[GitaBooks]

Three for three!!! 100% hatch for the first set! Yay! And the third chick is a dark one!!

Yay!!!

My chicks were nearly the same color! Two light ones and one Chipmunk.

 

[generaldsherman]

It's day 20 for me and I think my hatch is a bust. It's my first hatch and I'm sure I made lots of mistakes. If my eggs were going to hatch would they be moving now?

Don't feel too bad. My first hatch was a bust also. We live and learn, right?