Setting eggs 1st day of spring..who's with me?

[midget_farms]

day 10 now - I decided to candle again & see who made progress.

1 blood ring - gonner
5 more that look clear (or at least not developed like the others)

So that leaves 7 that are possible.

I plan to leave the 5 in there just in case & am planning on a 25 day cycle - just in case these were late starters. In any case if I get 50% of the 7 good ones thats only 3 chicks. Awful expensive for that - here's hoping I can pull off at least those 3.

 

[just2rosey]

I candled this morning, day 12, and am down to 9 on my batch to hatch April 10th, these weren't shipped and I've already lost 30% for things beyond my control. I had 2 more with blood rings/spots, and they were far less developed than the others, so I tossed them. I had 5 shipped eggs from another set which were due to hatch yesterday, but only 2 have hatched, one pipped internally and died, and I have two more still in the incubator, but I think they quit also. I saw no movement at 5 am, and just checked again and I saw something in one of them, but it wasn't a healthy vigorous movement

, so I put them back in. Can't hurt at this point. The two chicks that hatched yesterday turned out to be lavenders

I wasn't expecting that, but my daughter was delighted

.

Ok, edited because my smileys weren't working, don't know that I fixed it.

 

[midget_farms]

I recandled last night again & have good development in 8 - I tossed all the rest. They were clear or blood rings. So - hopefully these 8 will make it to lock down.

 

[just2rosey]

What about that cracked egg you sealed with wax, is it still in there or has it been tossed?

 

[midget_farms]

the cracked egg was tossed.

 

[KZ]

I am down to about 42 eggs and will do the day 18 candle Wednesday before moving the eggs to the hatching tray. I am really excited to see what kind of hatch I get from this Sportsman. The only bad part is you really can't watch them hatch as easily as in the LG, but then again, hopefully many more will hatch than I could coax from the LG.

Those shipped Cochin eggs really have not done so well, I have had to toss about 11 of those so far and am down to maybe 15 eggs now. On the other hand, the shipped Blue and Blue Splash Marans eggs are just gorgeous and only one of those candled clear with no quitters that I can see so far. I hope all 19 of those hatch well. My 7 backyard EE eggs are very fertile and growing well. Next year I plan to be hatching my own eggs for the most part.

Less than a week left!

 

[midget_farms]

Next year I plan to be hatching my own eggs for the most part.

Less than a week left!

Me too! The catch is I will need to build seperate enclosures for all the different breeds I'm now getting!

I have a pile of black australops from my first ever hatch - they are production layers for the eggs I sell. So I want to be able to get more when needed.

I tried welsummers but only have 1 alive & I think its a rooster. So I will need more of those.

Wife wants lots more buff orpingtons because they are so darn friendly.

FBC Maran's cooking now.

Just bought a dozen frizzles egg for my daughter.

Chicken math strikes again.

But by my count - I need 4 seperate areas if I want them to breed true. At the moment I have the large coop that can house most. I also have a small grow out area where they are protected from the elements but still outside after they are out of the brooder, but before they can join the main flock. All w/i sight of each other so hopefully they will all get along.

I have no idea how I'm going to build 2 more! luckily I have a few months before I need to worry!​

 

[just2rosey]

Hi KZ,

Glad to see you popping in today! Did you wait this long to candle for the first time? I don't have that kind of discipline.

I am a package shaking, read the end of a book first kind of person. I candle obsessively.

Glad to hear your hatch is going well for the most part, sorry the cochins aren't doing well.

Shipped eggs can be such a bummer! I have certainly gone about the is the hard way learning to hatch on shipped eggs. I will be really happy to be hatching my own eggs next year, too!

Chicken math! It has hit me, too! I currently have 2 coops w/ runs, I am going to need 5 breeding pens, plus quarantine and grow out pens if I come up with breeding sets of every thing I currently have. My husband may kill me before we get them all built.

 

[KZ]

Did I wait until the 10th day to candle? HAHAHAHAHA, of course not. I SHOULD do that, but I love looking at the eggs. I only pick out one or two and candle them a few times until the 10th when I candle everything. It's hard to wait to see if the eggs are developing!

We are in the process of building another fairly large coop and I plan to seperate that into 2 for breeding pens. I also have coops for the basic egg laying chickens and for peafowl. I figure I will concentrate on 2 breeds at this point. That way I can keep a fairly large number of each kind of chicken. Trouble is, I do end up wanting all the different kinds of chickens that I see on here!

 

[midget_farms]

I just went into lock down! I know its early. Day 17 just started last night - that is when I locked them down. Of the 8 eggs I have locked down 6 had movement when I candled them & 2 were completely black. Something is in there!

I am worried about my humidity again- my incubator has way too much air circulation & I'm afraid I may have dried them out too much getting to this point. I kept the H around 40% but if I turn the air over too fast that will still dry them out too quick.

Also - this being my third hatch with the home made - my previous two hatches pipped early. My last batch had 3 pips on day 19 just after I went into lock down. So - That is quietly telling me my thermometer is just a touch off (maybe 1 degree) saying its cooler than it really is.

Next run I will bring it down by 1* .

In any case - I wanted to get some more water in the air for them early & I don't want them to pip too soon & still be in the dry air so they are locked down.

I'm expecting activity in the Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday area.