September Hatch-A-Long!

[DeannaA]

I know Max is only 2 days old but I am a bit worried. She will only eat what I eat. I tried to pretend to eat chick start but she's too smart for that. She hates chick start and scrambled eggs but loves chicken, pizza fries and ice cream. She like Nutri Drench, so I put lots in her water. I love this crazy little turkey.

 

[Tara Black]

Well I'm finally home and my bator temp was 103.3f and I candled 4 eggs and only saw movement in one. On day 23 and no pips on chirps or anything. I checked the 5 under my broody and 3 eggs were crushed and almost fully developed chicks were dead :'(
So far hatching is not working out for me. Ugh!

 

[familypendragon]

I don't know what I was expecting, but my chicks that hatched Thursday night and yesterday have feathers on their wings.  They are so precious.  I can officially confirm that my babies have made it through their first day.  I'm so amazed at how wonderfully adorable they are.  

Just out of curiosity, do roos start picking on other roos off the bat?  I have two that were having a stand off earlier today and pecking at each other non stop.  I marked them down on my list, just to see.  Also, any suggestions on how to mark them to distinguish for later on? I know they are going to grow fast so I don't want to do anything too permanent at the moment.  Right now I have a small piece of medical tape on the shaft of their legs with a birth order number so I could distinguish them.  I know that's not going to last long though.  I'm trying to note individual markings too.

I previously used the tiny multicolor package of poly (like elastic) hair bands I got in the walmart hair section. They have a lot of sizes and colors so you can change them out, keep track some by color etc. Or some breeders use toe punching. Others use the leg bands. And others use wing tags/bands.

Some examples http://www.nationalband.com/poultrybands.htm

 

[familypendragon]

 I know Max is only 2 days old but I am a bit worried.  She will only eat what I eat.  I tried to pretend to eat chick start but she's too smart for that.  She hates chick start and scrambled eggs but loves chicken, pizza fries and ice cream.  She like Nutri Drench, so I put lots in her water.  I love this crazy little turkey.

LOL! Max is my nickname (from the Army) and I also am fond off Pizza, fries and ice cream Good girl Max, good girl.

 

[familypendragon]

Well I'm finally home and my bator temp was 103.3f and I candled 4 eggs and only saw movement in one. On day 23 and no pips on chirps or anything. I checked the 5 under my broody and 3 eggs were crushed and almost fully developed chicks were dead :'(
So far hatching is not working out for me. Ugh!

Sorry your bator is giving you fits - BTDT. I bought an incukit http://incubatorwarehouse.com/48-watt-incukit-dc.html and installed it in my LG still air and it is now running like a dream. I also bought this http://incubatorwarehouse.com/incubator-remote-thermometer-hygrometer.html and have been very impressed with it. Since switching to these I have had MUCH better success hatching.

On the good side - the fact that you see movement in one still means there is actually hope for the others. I havea chick in my brooder now that I wrote off as dead on day 16 because I had never ever seen movement since then. But I left her in and low and behold out cam a chick - the very last to hatch. As for the broody - I have never had a broody but these horror stories make me wonder if I really want to trust any precious eggs to one :/ I bought 5 cochins just for that purpose when they grow up.... but I just don't know.

 

[Tara Black]

Sorry your bator is giving you fits - BTDT. I bought an incukit http://incubatorwarehouse.com/48-watt-incukit-dc.html and installed it in my LG still air and it is now running like a dream. I also bought this http://incubatorwarehouse.com/incubator-remote-thermometer-hygrometer.html and have been very impressed with it. Since switching to these I have had MUCH better success hatching.

On the good side - the fact that you see movement in one still means there is actually hope for the others. I havea chick in my brooder now that I wrote off as dead on day 16 because I had never ever seen movement since then. But I left her in and low and behold out cam a chick - the very last to hatch. As for the broody - I have never had a broody but these horror stories make me wonder if I really want to trust any precious eggs to one :/ I bought 5 cochins just for that purpose when they grow up.... but I just don't know.

Yeah I have the same hydrometer/thermometer and the fan kit, but the fan kit got lost in the mail and took 2 extra weeks to get to us and by then I had to put my eggs in. I haven't written them off yet and I'm still just waiting. As for my broody she is a very sweet silkie that had infertile eggs, so I just traded at lockdown so her efforts weren't in vain, and I didn't think that would happen, but maybe the shells were weak or something. The other 2 eggs are still in perfect shape so I don't know. You learn as you go I guess.

 

[familypendragon]

Yeah I have the same hydrometer/thermometer and the fan kit, but the fan kit got lost in the mail and took 2 extra weeks to get to us and by then I had to put my eggs in. I haven't written them off yet and I'm still just waiting. As for my broody she is a very sweet silkie that had infertile eggs, so I just traded at lockdown so her efforts weren't in vain, and I didn't think that would happen, but maybe the shells were weak or something. The other 2 eggs are still in perfect shape so I don't know. You learn as you go I guess.

Yeah its just the 3rd story this week I think of a broody stomping her eggs to death - scares me... On the incukit, the digital proportional temperature controller works really well and has a lot of adjustments you can make to get it working spot on. I highly recommend it if you decide the one you have is just not reliable enough. I now have my upgraded LG sitting next to a Hovabator Genesis 1588 and they are equals in my eyes. I have had no issue at all with either one since turning them on.

 

[Tara Black]

Yeah its just the 3rd story this week I think of a broody stomping her eggs to death - scares me... On the incukit, the digital proportional temperature controller works really well and has a lot of adjustments you can make to get it working spot on. I highly recommend it if you decide the one you have is just not reliable enough. I now have my upgraded LG sitting next to a Hovabator Genesis 1588 and they are equals in my eyes. I have had no issue at all with either one since turning them on.

Yeah I don't know what happened, but she has refused to get off that nest to the point that I have to hand feed her and clean up large poo balls, so I just didn't even think that would happen. All 5 eggs were yesterday morning too. As for the Incukit, that is so on my Christmas list!

 

[Angie Poo]

Although I don't have any eggs in my incubator I have failed miserably at going to the feed store for only the things on my list.

They got a new set of chicks in recently and had different breeds then I got last time so again I grabbed a box lol

I ended up with 6 more pullets. Now my list consist of:
3 buff Orpington pullets
3 barred Plymouth Rock pullets
3 Rhode Island Red pullets
3 black australorp pullets
6 Cornish crosses (straight run)
3 barnyard mixes (that I hatched)
8 mixed ducks (that I hatched)

And now I'm firing up my bator again. I purchased quail rails for my auto egg turner and should be getting 30 texas a&m quail eggs next week.

I am officially an addict and don't know what I'm going to do. I'm already making plans for next spring lol

 

[Tara Black]

Although I don't have any eggs in my incubator I have failed miserably at going to the feed store for only the things on my list.

They got a new set of chicks in recently and had different breeds then I got last time so again I grabbed a box lol

I ended up with 6 more pullets. Now my list consist of:
3 buff Orpington pullets
3 barred Plymouth Rock pullets
3 Rhode Island Red pullets
3 black australorp pullets
6 Cornish crosses (straight run)
3 barnyard mixes (that I hatched)
8 mixed ducks (that I hatched)

And now I'm firing up my bator again. I purchased quail rails for my auto egg turner and should be getting 30 texas a&m quail eggs next week.

I am officially an addict and don't know what I'm going to do. I'm already making plans for next spring lol

Yeah my birthday is in January and I already have a list of chicks and eggs from various breeders that I want as gifts! Chickens are really an addiction and we just can't get enough of them. I love and adore everyone of my feathered babies and I love watching them grow up and run around the yard and coming running up for treats and everything. I didn't even have chickens until this April, and now I have plenty of all different kinds of breeds and personalities. They are the coolest pets!