Setting eggs today...20th May...anyone else?

[loopy12]

Ok, I have just set 27 eggs in my brinsea octagon advance. 99.6F, 45% humidity.
They are:

5 Buff orpington
4 Black Orpington
3 Cochin (Cocincina nana nera)
2 Brahma (brahma perniciato maglie nere)
9 Mille Fiori di Lonigo
4 that I think are barred rocks. Some language confusion on that one so may be a wait and see!

Counting today as day zero, so hatch date expected to be June 10th.
I will candle at probably day 10, and 18, and random samples in between!
I will start one hour cooling periods from day 7.

Someone hatch with me???!!!

 

[Alaskan]

Well, I am setting eggs today, and I am in a panic!

It has been a few years since I have used my incubator. But I remember loosing some chicks to malpositioning.

So...... I decided that this time I would try to hatch them all standing up in egg cartons.

BUT, I just picked them up, and looked them over, and it is NOT completely clear to me (only on a few of the eggs) which end is the small end! Chickens!!!! Sheesh!

So, I am trying to decide if I want to do half and half, or whatever.

Also, I had read somewhere that putting a bunch of clean glass beads (those big fattened round ones) in the bottom of the incubator could help temperatures stay more steady. I think this was another mistake. The incubator was holding a good steady temp, I put in the glass beads, the temp plummeted and hasn't gone back up all the way. So, as of last night, I kept slightly increasing the temp watching if the temp was correct yet.


(My incubator has a heating element that is a wafer and is adjusted by turning a screw. No cool "two degrees higher please" button).

I am going to wait another hour or two..and if the temp is still way off, I will take out all of the beads, then wait another hour or two, and then HOPEFULLY actually put the eggs INSIDE the incubator!

And the reason that I wanted to try the beads is that my house does NOT stay at a steady temp, and I was hoping to keep things in the incubator a bit steadier.

I am putting in....(now I need to go back and count) 19 Black Copper Marans (English), 2 Olive eggers, and one gorgeous blue egg that will produce another olive egger.

 

[ashem0]

Hi Loopy12 and Alaskan!

I'm all the way across the other side of the world - but have something in common! Yesterday I set 6 French Wheaten Maran's in my incubator!

This is the first time I've hatched. I have only had 1 dayers before this. And from what I'm reading on the net, I didn't pick a very easy breed to hatch first up. But the thing is I really want those dark eggs! And the only way that will happen here in Australia is by buying fertile eggs. Here, Marans are VERY rare. There are only 2 reputable registered breeders that have fertile eggs readily available (that I have found so far - sorry to any others).

So, they were posted, which I know reduces my hatching rate right up front and I suspect the Mums were pullets so that apparently reduces my hatch rate again! Basically I'm hoping to get 2-3 healthy chicks out of this little project. I'm thinking of getting hold of some easy eggs to hatch with them so the kids aren't disappointed if all 6 don't develop. Any suggestions there?

It is a less than ideal time to be 'batoring' at this end of the world - being the start of Winter. But the chicks will be nice and warm in the house until Spring. And so far I have managed to keep the temp of the bator steady by wrapping a towel around it at night - it's on the kitchen bench. And with young kiddies in the house I don't tend to let the house get too cold anyway.

Outside here it is currently 4.5 degrees - which the equivalent of your 40.1 Farenheit! The house is 20 degrees.

Below is a pic of my kiddies checking on our brown babies for the first time - having officially reached 1 day at 8am this morning!

They are very excited - and just got so much enrichment from the 1 dayers we had which are now approaching 1yr.

 

[Alaskan]

ashem, those eggs are beautiful!


The lady I got mine from said that she thinks the dark pigment makes the eggs more difficult to hatch out of.

But we shall see.



As to your question about "easy to hatch eggs" I would say, find something local! Fresh eggs that haven't been shipped have a much better hatch rate. So run out today and find anyone with a rooster.

 

[ashem0]

ashem, those eggs are beautiful!


The lady I got mine from said that she thinks the dark pigment makes the eggs more difficult to hatch out of.

But we shall see.



As to your question about "easy to hatch eggs" I would say, find something local! Fresh eggs that haven't been shipped have a much better hatch rate. So run out today and find anyone with a rooster.

I have done exactly that Alaskan!

Tomorrow a local fellow is bringing around 1/2 doz Isa's for me to add to our little brood in the incubator. I'm not sure about Isa's in your end of the world, but here almost every backyard chook-pen has an Isa Brown in it. They are trusty, robust and regular layers. I just didn't want to see the kids disappointment if none of them hatched. And if I do end up with too many I have family on farms and friends who will be happy to take some. But something tells me I will at least 'break-even' now.

Watch this space!

BTW this is an interesting read on incubating Marans and why they can be more challenging than other breeds:
http://www.darkbrowneggs.info/#/incubating-maran-eggs/4541610539

 

[loopy12]

Yes, the marans can be tough to hatch. They are really hard to get here in Italy too, but I hatched some when we lived in the states, and had to help a few out because their shells were so thick. Also makes it hard to candle them. I am debating whether to get some here next time. There is someone in Rome who will post out Maran eggs, but they are 2 euros per egg and the Italian postal system is a little unreliable so it makes me a bit nervous. Also hard to get blue egg layers here.

Alaskan, you can tell which end is which even in very oval eggs by candling them. Even a cheap torch will tell you where the air cell is and so which end you can put upwards. As for the glass beads, I haven't tried them, but pebbles make good heat sinks too. I wouldn't change the temperature though - will take a few hours for the beads to heat through and the temperature to restabilize. If it was stable before you put them in I would have just left it for a few hours to return to temperature, then put eggs in. Probably a bit late to say so now though, hope you got it stable and the eggs are in now.
I hatched last month, but that was my first hatch after a three year break, and it was a bit traumatic. Things didn't go too well, lots of losses at the final stages and after hatching, but I did end up with 4 chicks, 2 ducklings and a gosling, so not a complete disaster.

Ashen, yes, something local will improve your hatch rate, but a 'barnyard mix' would give you the best chance at chicks if you just want some fluffies for the kids. The pure breeds are always less successful because of inbreeding where mixed breeds benefit from hybrid vigour.

I shall be candling them probably on day 7 - will you both be doing so too?

 

[ashem0]

I was planning to candle day 5 and then 10 etc. But what day are you up to now? My babies are only just in to day 2.

So, Loopy12, your in Italy? How Romantic! And Alsakan.... I guess your in Alaska??

How cold! LOL! Our NUM at work is about to retire to Alaska! Such a small world isn't it.

You sound like you have experience hatching Marans Loopy12 - no doubt I will need your experience at some point!

 

[ashem0]

BTW NUM = Nurse Unit Manager here in Australia.

 

[loopy12]

My eggs are day 3 today. I set them on Monday lunchtime so counted it as day zero. I will candle day 7 as development is very clear by then and I am in Slovenia for the weekend anyway so won't be tempted to candle until Monday anyway

We are in Italy, but I am English. I am married to an American and we lived in upstate New York for a few years before moving here. We've been in Italy for a little over two years, but have now bought a house here and expect to stay for another 5 years which is the longest we'll have ever stayed in one house!
Where are you in Australia? I've only ever passed through - went to New Zealand twice, but have never stayed in Australia longer than it takes to change planes - hope to one day though...

Some experience with the Marans...particularly the very dark ones, black copper marans. Never hatched a wheaten maran. The dark ones are hard to candle so if you can't see much just sniff them regularly and hope for the best.

 

[Alaskan]

Ok, I did have to adjust the temps after putting in the glass beads..... Most have been 'child error'. Because everything is now good.

The temps did drop with putting in the eggs, but came back up nicely.

I checked four times last night, and the temp was perfect each time I looked.

Now, I am not positive the egg turner is turning.....but no big deal, I am happy to hand turn, and I am thinking that I simply need something to worry about.

Ashem, I loved the article you linked! Very nice!

But, most of these eggs are so dark, I really do not think I will be able to candle.... Someone said I could weigh them....I might try that.