Setting up today 26 May 2012.... Anyone setting can join

[CJJenkins]

Thank you CJ!

The other two just hatched out within the hour. They are fluffing up and running around the incubator...or should I say falling about...they remind me of little drunkards...falling all over themselves for those first few hours. Cracks me up how they go go go and then just fall asleep for an instant, then start in all over again. I will post some more pictures later tonight of all 6 of them.

So did you end up with 6 out of 6? They are little drunks! Mine now all run one direction then the other, then fall over asleep wherever in whatever position, they are such funny little babies! They have been catching moths and other random bugs that are drawn to the light in the the brooder. So funny to watch.

 

[PAPACABOT]

Thank you CJ!

The other two just hatched out within the hour. They are fluffing up and running around the incubator...or should I say falling about...they remind me of little drunkards...falling all over themselves for those first few hours. Cracks me up how they go go go and then just fall asleep for an instant, then start in all over again. I will post some more pictures later tonight of all 6 of them.

Thats awsome, glad to hear all six made it out... My six are doing great, they are finally all running around eating and drinking.

 

[WyoChickenMamma]

I am going to take individual and group photos tomorrow. I am letting them rest tonight. They sure are super cute. Who can resist baby anything though right???

 

[PAPACABOT]

Here is a pic of them in their brooder, just hangin out makin fun of eachother. They came from eggs I collected from my austrolarp and polish hens. The only rooster I have is a what i think is a leghorn mix of somesort, He is in my avatar.

 

[WyoChickenMamma]

They are cute! Your rooster is quite pretty. Is he nice? I am just starting to deal with an 8 week old Blue Laced Red Wyandotte cockeral that has come at me a few times. I have named him soup and have been picking him up and carrying him around like a puppy when he does that...today when I came in the yard he ran away from me...Guess he is got the hint that he better not charge me. But I can't even begin to think of what he might be like in a few months if this is how he is at 8 weeks.

 

[PAPACABOT]

I got the rooster from a neighbor who said he came from an abused home where he was kicked, hit and shot at with a bb gun. He wasnt really fond of us , but weve only had him for about 3 months now, and he has never charged us, or anything like that. Now he will follow us around , seems to know his name, Roo, and will take a treat from our hands but we also pet him when he is on the roost and that has gotten alot better, havent tried to pick him up much, we usually just pet him at night while he is in the coop on his roost.

Thats what i was told to do to him if he was to ever charge us, is to hold him upside down and carry him around in front of all his girls. I guess it is suppose to intimidate him and show him whos in charge.

 

[CJJenkins]

That is a beautiful roo, I have two in my small tractor, an apparent tetra tint that is aggressive and will have to go and a RIR that is very sweet and pretty but I will not keep him either, I will keep one of these BO babies. I wish I could get this roo to quit charging me, I can't catch it to hang it as suggested. It used to be so sweet, I have raised it from a day old chick (got 5 unsexed chick from a neighbor that was gonna let them freeze) it is now 11 weeks old and getting down right mean. I keep threatening to turn him loose and let him see how long he makes it

. Gonna get some good pics of the babies today and will post! Hope everyone has a great day.

 

[seahoob]

So now that the hatch is over what are the lesson learned from folks out there?
I set 15 eggs and had 7 hatch

which is less than 50%

hatch. After looking over my notes, I see that I had some temperature swings into the lower 90's at night and a couple of high spikes when we had a bit of hot weather here in California. I believe that the lower temps are the reason that I did not get my first hatch until day 23 and my last on day 25 (today). I candled the remaining and you can see that they were most likely day 18 quitters. The other problem may have been that sense there was a 2 day delay in hatch and I stopped rotating the eggs on Day 18, I should have candled them first and I might have seen that I should have waited until Day 20 to stop rotation. Any thoughts on that?

Sean

 

[WyoChickenMamma]

I have read that the drops in temps can delay hatching, but at the same time my incubator is set up to have a cooling off period after day seven. It mimics the hen getting off the nest each day to eat and drink. Mine still hatched on day 21 and 22. My incubator cools off for 120 minutes every 24 hours from day 7 till lockdown. So unless it was for several house I don't know if that is the only cause. Shipped eggs or local?

I had 6/8 of mine hatch. I removed one early on...before day 10 I think, it just never developed at all. The second one I took away at lockdown. It appeared to have quit around day 10 or so. All of my eggs had displaced air sacs and I put them in egg cartons for lockdown. I think it helped.

 

[CJJenkins]

From what I understand as others have said, drops can cause delays, Here we often dip into the upper 50's and 60's at night, my incubator stayed around 95-97 at night, day time temps are were in the lower 80's while my bator was going causing a few spikes, I set the thermometer to alarm at 102 as I have heard 103 for a sustained period would cause death. You have to consider the temp inside the egg is not what your thermometer is measuring and it takes a while of outside temp change to effect the inside of the egg. I'm not sure about the turning question. This is only the second time that I have ever incubated eggs, the first time was about 10 years ago as a science project with my children who are all grown now with families,

.
Here are some pics of my babies, they were not impressed with the photo op, they wanted back in their brooder!


Trying to figure out how to get back in the brooder from here!

the little fella to the right in this photo is the one I was worried abut, he is still smaller than the rest, but is running and playing right along with them all now, I am just a bad chicky mommy for not teaching him to drink! He will probably need intensive counseling to overcome his inferiority issues as a result!

finally a shot of all eight of them together....well sort of, as together as they are going to get!