Setting Eggs...5/14/11 T-minus 21 days & counting!

[gogoalie]

24 mixed lot, don't know how many roos or hens...hehehe, gotts love it!

Guessing game commences in 11 days!

@ Mom...I know what you mean...

patiently waitin'...all the other guys in town are teasin' me sayin' I should sit on the eggs & take up crochetin' ala Bugs Bunny..>

 

[ConnorMayasMom]

Ah...don't listen to those teasers...they're just jealous!!! We have 12 mystery chicks...roo is a big silkie and potential mothers are barred rocks and auracanas....a friend of mine had her broody sit on the eggs from the same source and she had a GREAT hatch rate...can't wait to see what these will look like!! We currently have no rooster but with 12 eggs I'm sure we'll get one or dare I say more? eek!!

 

[gogoalie]

Hatcher log, stardate 5/26/11:

Found cracked egg...darn! Candled & it's still a viable embryo...will keep, keep yer fingers x'd please, for this lil' guy(or girl)

Will test a hypothesis I found from another thread, & won't turn that egg, to see if it "sticks" or not. Postulate states that birds only turn their eggs to get comfy, rather than an "innate" parental precaution. Must admit, postulate does sound plausible, & postulate did test hypothesis, & hatched successfully. Will follow postulate on that egg, & that egg only, as I care not to damage egg any further. Wish me luck.

Marv...

PS, I'm such a clutz!

 

[ConnorMayasMom]

I've heard that they are able to make it even with crack...also read on here that people put super glue on or finger nail polish or something, can't quite recall?...do more searches and see what you read about that!!!And of course Good Luck!!!

 

[gogoalie]

Tape, glue, polish, & as well, wax, I'm wonderin if I leave alone, what are the chances of it stayin' viable...I will recandle the egg 2mrrw, & fill you in. The crack occured yesterday afternoon, or early evening, & it's still a viable egg, so with that, I'm just going to leave it as is...& only candle to see if it survives 24 hrs...

 

[gogoalie]

Hatchers Log, Stardate 5/28/11:

7 Days & a wake up! Wow where'd the time go? Wow, I see the air sac getting larger & the embroys are harder to make out when candling, even on the cracked one! Have cleaned out a brooder & will need to buy a heat lamp bulb for the brooder, some crumbles, & grower pellets. Funny, wifey found my rubber maid brooder, & used it for storage...darn that woman...Lock down commences in 4 days...One wonders how the rest of us are doing?

Marv.

 

[homemakerjulie]

Coming right along here. I candled yesterday just to get them all done as I hadn't done them all yet. I kind of freaked a bit because at first it was just black, then I realized it was the chick! I have 26 growing right now, I hope all continues to go well. My lockdown is on June 2 (start a day later than you all and LATE at night!). I'm pretty excited! We will also be getting an order of chicks on Friday, so we could possibly be overrun with chicks in a week!

 

[ConnorMayasMom]

Great to hear that everyone's eggs are doing great!! Ours too...haven't candled all of them...but one is definitely a dud...clear throughout...the 3 or 4 other ones that I looked at look great!!! I was much more patient this time, not candling them every few days. I have the 3 chicks we hatched and the 2 store bought chicks in the brooder still...so we're going to have to do some moving around to get the brooder ready for new babies. I have a small coop that I made that will be great for the bigger chicks and will have to set up some run space for them with smaller wire so the older girls can't bother them until they get a little bigger....Chicks, chicks and chickens everywhere!! Love it!! Spent most of Saturday cleaning and bleaching the 2 big coops...having a mite problem. Not sure how this happened as in the three years I've kept chickens never had an issue. I did get 2 hens from a friend, so I'm not sure if the mites were on those chickens (they did have bare reddish butts with missing feathers, so I'm thinking I should have dusted them before adding them with ours). Cleaned both coops with bleach, sprayed with Seven and added new shavings...and poultry dusted all 15 hens and myself...what a mess I was by the end LOL!!! I had more dust on me than the girls did!!! Can't wait for the weekend and to meet our new hatchlings!!!

 

[wowmanacat]

I was gone for the night and I had a temp spike of 108 but not for sure how long it was, the humidity was at 19% so my friend added water and everything was good. I will candle here in the next day or so and lockdown is in three days. I then have 12 more Americana to go in after these have hatched. I will not wait for long for the eggs are going to just be sitting out till next week.

 

[gogoalie]

Hatcher's log, Stardate 5/30/11,

Candled all eggs today, I've seen a majority of movement, so with that, I think we're still a GO for 100% hatch rate! & Yes, this weekend we welcome new "family" members into our lives. I plan on giving away most of the Roos & keeping at least 3-5 hens, should I get a good ratio of hen to roo...

If unable to give away the roos, I'll grow them for meat birds, & keep at least one...Have finished peeling logs for a lil' 6x6 spruce coop that I'll need for all our birds. I will begin to build the coop, once all logs are dry enough, & a sled (to move the coop once we get a permenant house) for the coop. Lockdown commences in 2 days...wow...this is very incredible, we're on the home stretch. If someone, twenty years ago, would've told me that I'd be doin' this, I'da laughed in their face.

Marv

PS...I see my use of spring water has proven to be questionable, as there is algea now growing in the water pan...shouldn't be detremental, as algea gives off oxygen, besideds, how sterile is a nesting box, or a nest? Temp has also spiked to 103 degrees for egg temp, but overall 'bator temp maintains a 99 degree heat...