Setting Today (03-02-2012)

[1sttimechick]

We are 2/3 of the way through!

I cannot wait to candle them tonight! Then on Tuesday night i will candle and put them into lock down! I am off on Wednesday and that will give me the chance to make sure my humidity and temp are regulated properly! I am so afraid that i am gonna miss them hatch cause i am working all day on Thursday and Friday and half day on Saturday, So i am hoping i have some early babies so i get to see at least one hatch out! Hope everyone has a great hatch! We have only 1 week left!

Just one question, I think i know the answer but i want to be sure.

Once the babies hatch and dry off, does the heat lamp stay on all night in the brooder? I think i would keep it on because they need the heat but will they not know when day/night is if it stays on? This is my first time for any of this chicken stuff.

I have never even had grown chickens, i wanted a few for their eggs and it turned into this. 48 eggs and hatching them, shipped via usps from ebay, 4 different kinds then i picked up some fresh ones locally. I knew that the shipped ones are the hardest ones to hatch out so that is why i picked up the local ones. I wanted to make sure i had at least one hatch!

I don't even have a coop built, i have an 8x10 shed we are going to convert but the conversion hasn't even started yet! I am starting to panic at this point! And my brooder is the biggest rubbermaid bin they make! If all my remaining 34 eggs hatch I am going to have to get 3 more bins to keep them in the brooder!

Or maybe i have 2 questions.

Once the babies are in the brooder, do they need the humidity to be high still or do they just need the heat?

 

[chkinut]

Quote:
if its mostly dark that most likely means that there's growth. sometimes they don't move a lot (sleeping maybe?) but i wouldn't throw it away. you could keep checking it every day and if you don't see movement then maybe it died. anyone else have any thoughts here? well, if this egg doesnt make it, will you set more? i'm going to be setting a bunch of eggs after these ones hatch. we could start another hatch-along together if you're gonna hatch more? i'll be hatching silkies, EE, OE, and FBCM.
and thanks stonefamily3 for that link! can't wait to check that out later today!!

 

[1sttimechick]

I would say that as there is less and less room you are gonna see less and less movement! And definately do no throw it away, unless it stinks of course! you never know, it may just hatch!

I would love to do another hatch but my boyfriend would kill me!

I too just checked out that site and it is amazing! Thanks stonefamily3!

 

[mohillbilly]

We are 2/3 of the way through!

I cannot wait to candle them tonight! Then on Tuesday night i will candle and put them into lock down! I am off on Wednesday and that will give me the chance to make sure my humidity and temp are regulated properly! I am so afraid that i am gonna miss them hatch cause i am working all day on Thursday and Friday and half day on Saturday, So i am hoping i have some early babies so i get to see at least one hatch out! Hope everyone has a great hatch! We have only 1 week left!

Just one question, I think i know the answer but i want to be sure.

Once the babies hatch and dry off, does the heat lamp stay on all night in the brooder? I think i would keep it on because they need the heat but will they not know when day/night is if it stays on? This is my first time for any of this chicken stuff.

I have never even had grown chickens, i wanted a few for their eggs and it turned into this. 48 eggs and hatching them, shipped via usps from ebay, 4 different kinds then i picked up some fresh ones locally. I knew that the shipped ones are the hardest ones to hatch out so that is why i picked up the local ones. I wanted to make sure i had at least one hatch!

I don't even have a coop built, i have an 8x10 shed we are going to convert but the conversion hasn't even started yet! I am starting to panic at this point! And my brooder is the biggest rubbermaid bin they make! If all my remaining 34 eggs hatch I am going to have to get 3 more bins to keep them in the brooder!

Or maybe i have 2 questions.

Once the babies are in the brooder, do they need the humidity to be high still or do they just need the heat?

you keep the light on 24/7just raising it to regulate brooder temp .....humidity doesn't matter as they will get their moisture from drinking water.

 

[chkinut]

1sttimechick.....the humidity is used in incubation so they don't dry out and are able to hatch. if it's too dry, they can get shrink wrapped and not be able to move around to zip out of their shells. they don't need the humidity after they hatch....and mohillbilly is right, they will drink their water. also, if you're worried about the size of your brooder you can always make one out of cardboard boxes. i made a huge one last year by taping moving boxes together that i bought at walmart (i used heavy duty packing tape) and it worked out great! and yes, leave the light on all night cuz they need the heat. what kinds of chickens you got in that bator?

 

[RachaelS]

Okay so I broke down and candled last night. Out of the 9 eggs shipped, 1 was tossed early due to NO development, however the other 8 are looking great! Out of the 4 of my own that I set, they all look great also. So that is 12 out of my original 13, that are doing good at this point

However, since I thought I lost my shipped eggs, I kept putting in additional eggs of my own

, first a set of 3 then a set of 4, ALL of those seem to be doing good also! So I might just get 19 chicks LOL

!

I want an Emu also! They are so gosh darn cute when they hatch and pretty when the grow up!

 

[Christi2107]

Best wishes on your hatch!!!!

 

[1sttimechick]

RachelS.....I have EE I also have some silkies and some frizzle bantam cochins.We had some polish but none of them developed. I think i may have some other breeds but i am unsure of what kinds other than 2 green eggs, I think one is a leghorn but other than that? I picked up that mixed dozen locally because the rest of my eggs were shipped and i wanted some local ones in case the shipped oned didnt make it.

 

[RachaelS]

It is so funny, how only we want a "few" chicks, but buy/set "extra" "just in case", but it they all make it, what do we plan to do with all of them,

But I just can't help myself!!!!

 

[MyNameIs86]

I know, the ratio sometimes is bad. Sometimes you lose more then you want and wished you put more in... But if you put more in and they all hatch...then you have a slight problem...But you can either sell them or give them away...

I set mine 03.02.2012 @ 8:30pm and so excited for Tuesday. I don't know if I should get my hopes up or not because 10 out of 12 seem to have viable chickens (i saw a foot or a beak). But the two that aren't viable (as in my own opinion), seem to have a blood vein around the middle of the egg, the egg doesn't weigh as much as the good eggs and the embryo's don't move. In fact one looked like it got scrabbled a little. I don't know what to do with the 2 that aren't viable. Will they explode and cause the rest to go bad? or are they okay to be left in?

Also, i have a small egg that the chicken is growing in, does the size of the egg itself matter to hatch time?