Setting Eggs 12/28 - Hatching Buddies? Hatch-Along

[hokankai]

I think it was a raccoon because only the head was gone and there weren't many feathers or any marks on her body. I'm just happy it only got one because the coop door was open and everyone else was inside. This hen was at the very bottom of the totem pole and got picked on a lot, but she was so sweet. Unfortunately she was almost pure white and didn't try to run I guess.

 

[eggorthechicken]

sounds like my silkie. she didnt really get picked on but I noticed she was alone a lot...so of course I paid more attention to her. I have a black silkie that I thought was a roo and now he lays eggs almost every day. its always something interesting.

 

[hokankai]

Haha yeah, I have silkies in a separate coop but my bantams don't get let out unless I'm right there to watch them. The bantams are ornamental and either have crests, feathered feet, or something else that would prevent them from protecting themselves. Too easy of a meal, which is why I house them separately with their own run.

Well I think I am going to do the dry incubation, with 30% humidity the first 18 days and around 65% to 75% for lockdown. The trick now is to go pick up some distilled water and thermometers!

 

[eggorthechicken]

good luck and keep us updated. I have more on the way but I set 22 tonight. I hppe I get them tomorrow so maybe I can add them late tomorrow night. I kinda wasnt thinking about the humidity change at lockdown. I guess 1-2 days diff would be ok. if not I know someone wanting to test theirs out lol

 

[hokankai]

I just read a really good informational sheet about weighing eggs to judge when to lockdown, you might find it helpful too.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/577310/a-guide-to-humidity-weighing-and-lockdown#post_7493364

I'm going to be monitoring mine on a regular basis for weights and candling. I'll be turning 3 or 5 times a day.

 

[eggorthechicken]

oh thanks ill take a look. im letting the shipped eggs sit for 7 days then will plug in the turner. im hoping that will help the hatch. im trying not to stress out too much and just enjoy it and learn as I go.

 

[DraigAthar]

Did you follow the dry incubation method that's somewhere posted on here? The humidity in our house is about 20% right now because we have a pellet stove, so I might not be able to do it. I might just try following the directions that came with it first...I'm not sure. The dry hatch method says to have the room around 50-75% humidity and I can't do that so I might have to skip it.

I went out to put the chickens in for the night and found one of my best layers missing her head

. I'm going to hatch some of her eggs because she was such a sweet girl.

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. Hope you can get some lovely chicks from her eggs, to remind you of her.

And yes, I followed the dry incubation from the article here on BYC. It was summer time, and I set up the incubator in the basement where the ambient humidity was 70% day and night. The ambient temp was also pretty rock steady at 65F. I tested the incubator for a few days to make sure it would hold an appropriate temp and humidity inside itself, which it did. It hovered right around 35-40% RH inside the incubator, which is what I do for my regular hatches. I had to add water at the end, of course, for lockdown. But still the chicks were all shrink-wrapped. It was miserable.

 

[DraigAthar]

Haha yeah, I have silkies in a separate coop but my bantams don't get let out unless I'm right there to watch them. The bantams are ornamental and either have crests, feathered feet, or something else that would prevent them from protecting themselves. Too easy of a meal, which is why I house them separately with their own run.

Truthfully, ALL chickens are an easy meal, heh. Predators are just so much better equipped than our chookas. I raise Dominiques and they're pretty good at hiding and pay attention to their surroundings well. But they are still no match for a hawk/dog/fox/coyote/fisher cat or any of the other many many predators out in my back woods. Sad but true!

 

[DraigAthar]

I just read a really good informational sheet about weighing eggs to judge when to lockdown, you might find it helpful too.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/577310/a-guide-to-humidity-weighing-and-lockdown#post_7493364

I'm going to be monitoring mine on a regular basis for weights and candling. I'll be turning 3 or 5 times a day.

Oh yeah, pete55's articles are ALL so awesome. I've read every single one he's written on here and I can highly recommend them. He sure knows his stuff! He's got a page with links to all of his articles here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pete55s-page

 

[hokankai]

Did you keep track of your eggs' weights throughout the process? Did you have hygrometer's inside of the incubator you could read? My hygrometer is reading about 10-15% lower than the display is showing.

I'm not sure how dry incubation would kill your chicks if your humidity was pretty much the same as when you incubate normally. I'll be candling and weighing mine before lockdown and adjust as needed. We'll see what happens

The banties don't get let out because we have hawks in the area. The normal birds know to stay around cover, but the banties can't see that well and are just sitting ducks if I'm not there to ward off anything.