Setting eggs today, 6-30-12...anyone else want to join in the fun???

[gvolkert]

Finally!

The chick is out of its shell.

I did end up helping after it was out except for one spot on its back that was stuck tight.

Thanks for the support Cats Cradle and Stephanie739 - i am so relieved. I don't know how i'm going to survive waiting for the remaining four. None of those have even pipped yet. But today is just day 20 so it OK right?

 

[gvolkert]

Here is the chicks first official picture....

 

[Stephanie739]

Finally!

The chick is out of its shell.

I did end up helping after it was out except for one spot on its back that was stuck tight.

Thanks for the support Cats Cradle and Stephanie739 - i am so relieved. I don't know how i'm going to survive waiting for the remaining four. None of those have even pipped yet. But today is just day 20 so it OK right?

Yay!

It looks like my other pipped egg might hatch. It finally started doing something again...today is day 20 for me too. My first hatch was finished on day 19! I think my temps are a tad bit high. I have 2 more eggs that haven't pipped. I'll give them at least another day without messing with them. I have 11 lovely babies right now of 15 eggs. One baby is already buried in the ground (the one with the cracked egg shell) I think next time I have a crack, I won't do anything to it. It was fully formed and no decay.

I think I will always remember these first two hatches because of my decisions to help or not...did the leghorns die because of my error and lack of assistance? (hatch 1) I think I opened the incubator too many times and they got chilled. Too many babies in the box, no choice!! The sisters and brothers (now 3 weeks old) are thriving.....Would my sweet new blue australorp have died if I didn't help him or her out of the shell? (hatch 2-today) Who knows right?? He or she is doing great now.

 

[Stephanie739]

So since this is my first time ever using an incubator, I know I'm probably doing this wrong by adding an egg every day from the chickens. I can't see any thing no matter what light I use even a hole cut in cardboard over my turtle basking light. Too blotchy. The same with any store bought eggs. They look nice and white but candled there's a serious calcium problem. My brown eggs have speckles that are slowly fading since I started adding more calcium but they are getting darker brown too.
I write the laying date on the egg with a black wax pencil. We are now up to 7 chicken eggs between the two reds.
I have 2 sun conure eggs in there so far, fingers crossed one is really doing well and I can just make out the tiny red circle in the other, and today along with chicken egg#7 I added a pineapple green cheek conure egg, but had to put one of my water bottle caps in the turner because even sideways it slipped through. I set the parrot eggs on their sides.
I also added more water to the sections in the bottom. Do sponges or a sheet of foam work better? I don't want to move the tray and if I miss there are hole in the bottom were the water leaks all over my carpet. As I said, I keep the incubator under my bed.

I'm sorry, but I think you are going to have problems with multiple hatch dates. The eggs should begin incubation at the same time because around day 18 you need to bump the humidity way up and lockdown the incubator - don't open it (try not to
I start increasing my humidity around day 15.

You can save eggs for about close to a week prior to incubation so you can put several in the incubator at one time. Store them where it is cool and move them around gently while in storage. When you have the number of eggs you want to incubate, put them in together.

Good luck!

I guess some people know how to make things work with scattered hatch dates, but it seems you would need another incubator to move some eggs to a later date. Have you hatched other bird eggs before?


I like to use pads or sponges in mine

 

[WyoChickenMamma]

So excited to see all the progress. I honestly have not even looked at my incubator today. The last ones I set I drove myself crazy on days 19 and 20 looking for pips. So I promised myself that I would not even start looking until late tomorrow. So I am living vicariously through everyone's stories and pictures...so keep em coming!

 

[Stephanie739]

So excited to see all the progress. I honestly have not even looked at my incubator today. The last ones I set I drove myself crazy on days 19 and 20 looking for pips. So I promised myself that I would not even start looking until late tomorrow. So I am living vicariously through everyone's stories and pictures...so keep em coming!

I love looking for pips lol Good luck.

 

[Stephanie739]

My egg that pipped early this morning just hatched (no help from me!)

I still have 2 that haven't pipped. One is a leghorn and it was alive before lockdown. The leghorns were the last to hatch on my first hatch, but they pipped around the same time.... well tomorrow is day 21 - 12 babies of 15 eggs so far.

 

[Stephanie739]

My leghorn egg has pipped!

 

[InTheJungle]

I guess some people know how to make things work with scattered hatch dates, but it seems you would need another incubator to move some eggs to a later date. Have you hatched other bird eggs before?


I like to use pads or sponges in mine

I raise small exotic parrots. Sun conures, Green cheek conures, love birds, cockatiels and parakeets. they all hatch anywhere from one to 3 days apart. I've used surrogate moms before when the original moms would abandon the fertile eggs or roll them around so much they would break, and then I would take over hand feeding. chickens aren't that much different. I'll just have to set up my brooder again and they feed themselves. I already have the feeders and waterers from their mommies. this is really turning out to be wonderful therapy for me.

 

[Stephanie739]

I raise small exotic parrots. Sun conures, Green cheek conures, love birds, cockatiels and parakeets. they all hatch anywhere from one to 3 days apart. I've used surrogate moms before when the original moms would abandon the fertile eggs or roll them around so much they would break, and then I would take over hand feeding. chickens aren't that much different. I'll just have to set up my brooder again and they feed themselves. I already have the feeders and waterers from their mommies. this is really turning out to be wonderful therapy for me.

It is wonderful stress relieving therapy for me too!!! I love raising chickens. I'm going to try hatching some turkeys next. I'm really into this raising my own/growing my own food kind of thing

Well good luck! I'd really like to see pictures of your conures!!

What are you going to do about lockdown? I often wonder how important it is, but I did have those leghorns die and I'm convinced it was because I kept opening the incubator during hatch time.