Setting Eggs Sept. 24th-Oct. 4th-Last Hatch of the Year. Anyone care to join me?

[Brookhavens]

I had 7 of 8 backyard mixes to hatch out yesterday !!!! I have 16 Olive Eggers that will go to lockdown on Oct 1., and 24 RIR that are on day 7 set Sept 22. I plan on setting 24 California Whites on the 5th of October. After that I promise that I am finished for the year

Welcome to our group. You are going to be VERY busy in the upcoming month!!!

 

[Brookhavens]

FYI - you all make me laugh.

I have a question - it's 12:30am right now where I live. How often am I supposed to be turning these eggs in regard to time lapse?

Thus far I have been turning them at random (sort of) times during the day and through the night. Due to medical reasons, I'm supposed to be getting 10 hours of sleep...I'm getting about 4 because I am fussing over these eggs.

The times are random, but they vary only by about 30 minutes to an hour behind or ahead...so basically the same time.

8am - turn eggs (I do this before I even go to the bathroom, lol)
Noon - turn eggs
4pm - turn eggs
9pm - turn eggs
Midnight to 2am (it varies)- turn eggs
then I try and sleep for a while and I usually only last about 4 hours, and I wake up thinking the temp is messed up and they're frying to death, or the temp is too cold and they're freezing.

4am - I'm awake yet again and turning eggs
8am - up for the day, rinse and repeat

When do y'all have time to sleep?

and PS -something still stinks in that bator! lol

I only sleep 4-5 hours a night. It's been like that even before I started hatching chicks. Some days I take a nap, others I don't. I guess as we get older our bodies don't need as much sleep as when we were younger. Because my bators are centrally located in the dining room every time I walk by I turn them. I have a 3" high priority box that I just place under one side of the bator and then take out and place under the other side. Takes all of 30 seconds to do. 3 times a day is the minimum. From what the books say you are supposed to do an odd number of turns/day so that the eggs do not end up on the same side for the longest interval between turns.
At least you know one of the eggs is off in the bator and can keep looking (smelling) for it. Eventually it will reveal itself.

 

[Brookhavens]

YIPEEEEEE - figured it out, I thought I'd post pics of 4 day old chicks to see how good our feather sexing skills are, so pic above was my only Cuckoo Marans - big boy???? Watcha think?
SUPER BLUE = pullet?

OLIVE EGGER = pullet?

BCM = pullet?

OE = pullet?

SBEL = pullet?

SBEL = Roo?

SBEL = Roo?

What do you think?

AM thinking the BCM and OE are Roos. ( I am no good at feather sexing...lol) The feathers are very short and not long like the pullets.

 

[Brookhavens]

I'll join in too, though I'm a little late! I set some eggs under our hen on the 27th-they're just crosses, nothing too fancy!

You're not late at all!!! Welcome to our hatch-a-long.

 

[Roxanneinla]

wow this thread got busy last night...

I'm hoping to get my eggs in the mail today. If not then i will know he will send them out on Monday.

Okay i have a question. I don't have an egg turner and y'all said don't turn them for a few days...is it best to leave them on the side or have them in an egg carton with the pointing end down during that time??? and what is the lowest temp that is safe before i freak out??...my incubator dipped down to 97 but i have been reading that high temp is more dangerous to the chicks them low...


Quote:
Originally Posted by Haloclimb

I'll join in too, though I'm a little late! I set some eggs under our hen on the 27th-they're just crosses, nothing too fancy!


welcome join in on the fun as the egg turn drama!!

 

[Brookhavens]

wow this thread got busy last night...

I'm hoping to get my eggs in the mail today. If not then i will know he will send them out on Monday.

Okay i have a question. I don't have an egg turner and y'all said don't turn them for a few days...is it best to leave them on the side or have them in an egg carton with the pointing end down during that time??? and what is the lowest temp that is safe before i freak out??...my incubator dipped down to 97 but i have been reading that high temp is more dangerous to the chicks them low...

Best to keep them straight up so that the air cell hopefully ends up where it is supposed to be. Read this article: Hatching shipped eggs lots of good information. You really only want the temperature to swing about a degree either way. Any more than that and it will affect the embryo. The first 7-8 days are most important at keeping the temp at a steady 99.5. When you first put yours eggs in the bator there will be a temperature decrease because the eggs are "absorbing" the heat to get up to temp. After a few hours you can start making small adjustments if the temp is still off.

 

[Roxanneinla]

Best to keep them straight up so that the air cell hopefully ends up where it is supposed to be. Read this article: Hatching shipped eggs lots of good information. You really only want the temperature to swing about a degree either way. Any more than that and it will affect the embryo. The first 7-8 days are most important at keeping the temp at a steady 99.5. When you first put yours eggs in the bator there will be a temperature decrease because the eggs are "absorbing" the heat to get up to temp. After a few hours you can start making small adjustments if the temp is still off.

Thank you!!

 

[LakeBird]

I usually sleep after hatching season

 

[novanod1966]

hey all from North Carolina,

just found this thread and was wondering if i can join in? i have quite a lot going on right now.....LOL. actually almost too much to handle. i have in my hatcher incubator: silver sebrights and golden sebrights due anytime.
in my other incubator i have: 6 mille fleur d'uccle eggs that was set the 19th, 6 mixed goose eggs, 10 call duck eggs, 4 more mille fleur d'uccle eggs, and 12 more call duck eggs ready to go in. i also have some more mille fleur d'uccle eggs on the way, a lady was so generous as to give me about 4 more d'uccle eggs.

i've not had real good hatching success lately with only 3 speckled sussex eggs hatching out of 12. but most of my eggs that i hatch come from eggs that are shipped. my temps are 99.5 +- , humidity is around 45-50% and then hatcher is higher humidity, temps are the same. seems like i have more quitters with air sacs larger than what supposed to be. am trying to get a fall hatch in ....
this past spring i hatched out ringneck pheasants, golden pheasants, valley quail, gambel quail, mexican speckled bobwhites, and various chickens; no problem with hatching, had some 90-95% hatch rates on shipped eggs. Fall hatching is harder for me (it seems).

could someone fill me in on the "sexing chicks by feathers"? never heard of this.

thanks,

don

 

[Texasmja]

I set 12 shipped eggs (SLW) on the 27th and 2 homegrown for control. I have them in an egg carton because of the damaged air sacks, I checked them today (day 2) and the air sacks are getting much better in all except one. I am going to leave them unturned and upright for 7 days (except the control eggs, they are turned).