Setting today who's with me?!?

[18Peeps]

I am giving 16 of these to a friend. I'll keep some, sell some...roosters will get put in the freezer

I am specifically working with the Delaware breed, so I will hatch a lot more this year and try to keep the best hens for breeding next year. I try to keep about 25-30 hens year round.

Those look nice. It must be quite a task to keep a laying flock of that size. Oh! I'm totally not to the processing stage yet. My hat is off to you!

 

[18Peeps]

1 unzipped, 5 have pipped! I have a video of the last little bit of this guy's hatch if I could only figure out how to download it!!

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/29239702_K6Pw8n#!i=2505519641&k=z7s9DCL

 

[18Peeps]

2 unzipped, 10 pipped...yay!

 

[VannahRAe]

This is so exciting!!

 

[ajneal30]

My eggs should be on day 16 but the development seems to be more in line with day 11 or 12. Do I go by day or development as to lockdown day?

 

[tumiyum]

Probably wait...what day are you one right now?

Today would be day 18, but the black mass hasn't taken up the whole pointed end yet. Is it dead?

 

[tumiyum]

My eggs should be on day 16 but the development seems to be more in line with day 11 or 12. Do I go by day or development as to lockdown day?

Go by day, starting with first day of incubation as day 1

 

[18Peeps]

Today would be day 18, but the black mass hasn't taken up the whole pointed end yet. Is it dead?

I does look a little empty in there for Day 18, but maybe there is something I'm missing...It could be okay in there. Maybe the temperature is low and it is growing more slowly than anticipated? Does it move? I mean, you do not want to candle it too much, but when you candled did it move? That was definitely a winner at one point! Maybe it still is...

 

[18Peeps]

Okay 27 went into lockdown. Of those, 15 have hatched and appear healthy, 6 more have pipped externally, 5 have pipped internally but have not broken through yet (I can hear them peeping, but there is no crack in the shell that I can see...or maybe they are sneaky and breaking through underneath...) and 1 had a wonky air cell literally smack on the side of the egg. I figured it wouldn't hatch or that it would be an assisted hatch...so far, that has been how it has gone..."Wonky" as I call him or her decided to try to break through on the opposite side from the air cell. I only happened to see the crack by chance and was able to make a tiny breathing crack for him/her otherwise he/she would not have broken through and had any air. Now it's up to him/her whether he/she can break out of there on his/her own, but I can see him/her breathing still. If it cannot break out by itself, I have my doubts that it will live long, so I do not know if I will assist much...

I have taken lots of pictures that I need to upload lots of pictures of soggy, wet, slimey hatching chickies...adorable little things! I'll post later tonight.

 

[tumiyum]

I does look a little empty in there for Day 18, but maybe there is something I'm missing...It could be okay in there.  Maybe the temperature is low and it is growing more slowly than anticipated?  Does it move?  I mean, you do not want to candle it too much, but when you candled did it move?  That was definitely a winner at one point!  Maybe it still is...

No, not moving at all.