Setting eggs August 2 -- anyone else?

[Poetical Peeps]

I can imagine myself getting into weighing the eggs just for the sake of having an active way to pass the time -- more producting than the toe-tapping I do now. I am very certain my egg-turner is working. Funny thing is, I thought my over-candling caused my fairly low hatch rate last time -- in spite of the difference between my eggs and the ones I ordered. This time, I'm seeing that I'm just going to have to accept a lower hatch with shipped eggs.

My first try was with a $20 eBay plastic thingy, equipped with a nightlight bulb for heat. About halfway through, my husband's boss loaned us an ancient galvanized metal beast with exposed wiring. Out of five eggs, we had one sad little red frizzle hatch. Now I know it died from pasty butt. It was probably pretty lonely, too.

My regular address is a PO Box, as it is. One of the mail clerks has kind of started to smirk when he sees me looking for a yellow slip in my box. Last egg package, it was a newer worker handling it and it wasn't marked all that well -- I almost had an anxiety fit! Most people see "fragile" and think glass, I suspect. She wasn't being rough, really, but in my own mind I was picturing the frail insides of the eggs... there's no audible sign of those breaking. When I think about it, it amazes me that any of them make it. =)

 

[BrahmaBanter]

Hope it's not too late to join.
Put a mixture of 6 Copper Blue / Wheaton Maran, 6 Appenzeller Spitzhauben, and 11 from our mixed laying flock

. Candled the Appenzellers and none of them were fertile

. Have yet to candle the others...
Set them on the 30th & 31st

 

[Poetical Peeps]

Hope it's not too late to join.
Put a mixture of 6 Copper Blue / Wheaton Maran, 6 Appenzeller Spitzhauben, and 11 from our mixed laying flock

. Candled the Appenzellers and none of them were fertile

. Have yet to candle the others...
Set them on the 30th & 31st

Welcome! You'll be just ahead of my hatch. Hope you're able to post a few pictures, so we can get a little bit of a hatch fix in here while we're compulsively pressing our ears up to our bators, waiting for the pips and peeps.

I have some marans going also. Wheaten and Black Copper (no blues). I saw "Appenzeller" and got jealous... bummer. Things are looking pretty iffy for the Legbars I'm so sorely wanting, too. What kind of surprises might you get from your mixed flock? My gals are all tended to by a hobbled-up SLW -- we hatched four of them a few weeks ago. The SLW/BO cross is looking like a beauty -- cream colored, and feathering out with Columbian-looking plumage.

By your nick, I am assuming you have Brahmas. We have two young Buff Brahmas (from the same hatch as the mutts) and I keep looking for some telltale clue of their genders. Have you noticed any early clues with them?

 

[SeattleLeah]

Im going the jump in here as well. This is my first time incubating and I am soooooo excited!! I set my eggs yesterday August 9.

I have 45 eggs from 3 different sellers here on BYC and ebay. All were shipped from back east and arrived without any broken eggs. I had a hard time candling to check if the air sacks were detached so I just put them all in the bator and am hoping for the best. The eggs are from Silver Laced Wyandotte, Colombian Wyandotte, Gold Laced Wyandotte, BLR Wyandotte, light Sussex and Blue Orpington.

Here is my set up:

Hova Bator thermal air flow with computer fan installed and automatic egg turner.
I am using 3 different thermometers with the probes inside a water wiggler and the average temp is about 99.5.
Humidity is 25-30% (I am using dry method)

 

[SeattleLeah]

My first of what I am sure will be many questions:

Is the day I set the eggs counted as day 0 or day 1? ( set them around noon)

thanks!

 

[Poetical Peeps]

My first of what I am sure will be many questions:

Is the day I set the eggs counted as day 0 or day 1? ( set them around noon)

thanks!

It's counted as the first day.

Day one will be complete 24 hours after you put your eggs in, so you're only at "zero" while your loading up your bator. I hope that makes sense.

Do you have any Wyandottes? My GLW and SLWs turned out to be pretty bland personalities -- and pecky towards the rest of the flock. I keep wondering if I just had bad luck with those. The BLRs are just so gorgeous looking, I keep feeling tempted to give 'em a try. Fingers crossed for ya!

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

Today is day 9. I candled the two white ones again and they are both doing good. I think I'm going to candle the rest Saturday or Sunday.

 

[BrahmaBanter]

Welcome! You'll be just ahead of my hatch. Hope you're able to post a few pictures, so we can get a little bit of a hatch fix in here while we're compulsively pressing our ears up to our bators, waiting for the pips and peeps.

I have some marans going also. Wheaten and Black Copper (no blues). I saw "Appenzeller" and got jealous... bummer. Things are looking pretty iffy for the Legbars I'm so sorely wanting, too. What kind of surprises might you get from your mixed flock? My gals are all tended to by a hobbled-up SLW -- we hatched four of them a few weeks ago. The SLW/BO cross is looking like a beauty -- cream colored, and feathering out with Columbian-looking plumage.

By your nick, I am assuming you have Brahmas. We have two young Buff Brahmas (from the same hatch as the mutts) and I keep looking for some telltale clue of their genders. Have you noticed any early clues with them?

Will start posting pictures ASAP
The laying flock is run by 'Tom' the Cuckoo Maran rooster and most of the eggs are from the hybrids, some from our grumpy RIR, but the ones I'm really looking forward to seeing are our Red Araucana eggs. The hens are meant to lay green eggs :S Planning to put some of our buff sussex and gold orpington pullets in with our Dark Brahma rooster
I wing feather sexed our Dark & Gold brahma chicks and it turned out to be quite accurate. With Dark Brahmas you can tell if they're cockerels as soon as you see any solid black feathers. Not sure about Buff Brahmas though :S

 

[SeattleLeah]

Thanks for the advice about counting day 1! So I am only at day 2.5 but I had to take a quick peek since I am leaving town tomorrow morning for a week (My BF has agreed to check on them a few times a day while Im gone). I candled and I definitely saw some promising signs of life

. Even a few of the eggs with detached air cells have what looks like the beginning of an embryo in them.

I noticed the motor for the automatic egg turner is really hot to the touch. Im concerned about the eggs closest to it overheating. has anyone had problems with this? I do however have a thermometer near that edge of the bator and the readings have been stable in the 99 degree range.

 

[DeannaOR]

I candled all the eggs tonight... little disappointed. Out of 36 eggs I think that only 15 are good. A couple more are questionable...but over all =(

4 - Ameraucana ( This is the second time I have put a few Ameraucana eggs in and they are all good..maybe they are easier to hatch out?)
7 - Speckled Sussex
2 - Salmon Faverolle
1 - Blue Orpington
1 - Mix ( Lemon Cuckoo Orpington over a Sicilian Buttercup) My roo Lenny has chosen one of my Buttercups as his favorite girl. Now I know he is fertile =)

Now more waiting..........

Wishing everyone luck!