"Springing in the Chicks" 2016 April Hatch-a-Long Hosted by Mike & Sally

[campingshaws]

We were supposed to have company tomorrow night, a friend who likes to makes comments about my (lack of) housekeeping. But he's not coming! So I can keep my nose on the bator glass! e

Maybe that friend should come over and do the housekeeping for you. That way it would be done "right". 

My house looks like a poultry palace. Chick boxes, shipping supplies, chicken vitamins, meds, egg cartons...you get the picture. Just got 2 brooders off the kitchen table onto the front porch.

My husband loves me! 

Same! Plus I come from a long line of hoarders, so there's big piles of "that's still useful!" or "I can fix that!" or "don't worry, mama will glue it."

AND THE LAUNDRY.

I'm downsizing. Listing stuff for sale on fb and planning big garage sales. Need to pay for that next cruise.

 

[mamahmendez]

Awesome! Such cute chicks!

I'm glad the sun came out! I'm glad you are getting the Spitzhauben eggs you don't remember ordering!

WORSE! The are Spitzhauben chicks!!!! I don't even have the fun of hatching them.

I use lime when it gets to that point. It can be very wet and humid in middle Tennessee. Put on a mask, get the chickens out, put the lime down, cover it up with something dry, like sand or rocks. It will take that terrible smell out and kill all your mold. Be very careful putting it down though. The ground will be more alkaline. Gardeners have used lime for centuries to "sweeten" the soil.

Prayers for the great state of Texas. It makes me remember our own terrible flood and the loss of lives.

Thank you SO MUCH for the tip. I bought Garden Lime yesterday. My husband put it in our run tonight for me.

awesome!!! cant wait to see the spitz? silvers??

interesting!!! thanks for this post!!

@Sally Sunshine Here is my updated update for the April Hatchalong

My April Hatch Statistics
Hatch #1 37 eggs at lockdown/33 hatched/27 survived first week






.
Hatch#2 had 21 friends eggs and 14 of my eggs.. temp issues throughout incubation of hers 2 hatched a day late. 1 made it to external pip and did not make it. 2 died after absorbing egg yolk and internal pipping before external pipping. The eggtopsies showed most quitters are at the end of the early beginning of middle stage. There were a that made it to lockdown and didn't make it until hatch time (had absorbed no yolk). I had trouble with the incubator with maintaining proper heat/ I suspect my humidity may have been too high as well. I started hatching in 2013 and have hatched every spring since and this is my worst hatch ever. I have 2 surviviors out of 35 eggs.




Hatch#3 lockdown 4/26 due 4/29 I am NOT using the incubator that I just used on my last hatch so maybe will have better luck like I did with hatch #1. This is my last chicken egg hatch unless I can get some somewhere, I do want to hatch some Olive Eggers this year at least but maybe I should take a break.

Congrats on Hatch 1, sweeties. Sorry about hatch number 2. The 2 babies you have are very beautiful. Good luck on Hatch 3. i am due ton 4/29 too so we can be

together.


My "Ackward Dino Teenager Phase" Chicks from my first hatch 3 weeks ago. Yep... we will see what this turns out to be! They were NOT feeling like a photo shoot today. They are eating me out of house and home, they never clean up their room, and they act like I don't exist most of the time. Teenagers HUH!

 

[jnr005]

That's a good point. I put them in there to try to help with cleanup as they hatch. Last time it stunk so bad and it's in our room!. Anyone with suggestions on how to cut down the stench? Last time it was the biowaste from the eggs mixing with the humidity and water and yuck! I expect this hatch to last a few days since some eggs are a bit behind the first so trying to survive the stench.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Just finished my day 14 candling, and I found another blood ring. Hmm.. perhaps I missed it on day 7? I really hope the remaining eggs make it to lockdown. I started with 30, and I'm down to 19 eggs now. Not really liking USPS too much right now. I have a couple of eggs that have large saddles, but the embryos seem to be doing fine. Will have to hatch these 2 eggs upright...




The rest seem to be a lot closer to what air cells should look like...



And there was nice movement inside the eggs...




It's amazing when you think of how that jiggly little glob will almost completely fill the egg in the next 4 days...

 

[Chaos18]

Just finished my day 14 candling, and I found another blood ring. Hmm.. perhaps I missed it on day 7? I really hope the remaining eggs make it to lockdown. I started with 30, and I'm down to 19 eggs now. Not really liking USPS too much right now. I have a couple of eggs that have large saddles, but the embryos seem to be doing fine. Will have to hatch these 2 eggs upright... The rest seem to be a lot closer to what air cells should look like... And there was nice movement inside the eggs... It's amazing when you think of how that jiggly little glob will almost completely fill the egg in the next 4 days...

Good looking pics. Hope the rest hatch out for you. I just pitched all my clears/quitters Started with 18 eggs and I've got 8 going good.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

That's a good point. I put them in there to try to help with cleanup as they hatch. Last time it stunk so bad and it's in our room!. Anyone with suggestions on how to cut down the stench? Last time it was the biowaste from the eggs mixing with the humidity and water and yuck! I expect this hatch to last a few days since some eggs are a bit behind the first so trying to survive the stench.

Fabreeze... or a car freshener above the bator...

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Good looking pics.

Hope the rest hatch out for you. I just pitched all my clears/quitters

Started with 18 eggs and I've got 8 going good.

Howdy, Sir Chaos... and thanks you. The 19 eggs I have left now average $4.20 each, so I truly hope I'm through culling!!! I only had 2 clear (infertile) out of 30, and the other 9 were early quitters... and I'm certain that most of it was due to rough handling.

8 out of 18? OUCH!!! Did your eggs come via Pony Express???

 

[Chaos18]

Howdy, Sir Chaos... and thanks you. The 19 eggs I have left now average $4.20 each, so I truly hope I'm through culling!!! I only had 2 clear (infertile) out of 30, and the other 9 were early quitters... and I'm certain that most of it was due to rough handling.

8 out of 18? OUCH!!! Did your eggs come via Pony Express???  

Nope local pick up. The price was super cheap for Ancona ducks. Eggs started out at .83 cents each, now they are up to $1.87 which is still cheap but I would have expected better fertility.

 

[jnr005]

Good looking pics. Hope the rest hatch out for you. I just pitched all my clears/quitters Started with 18 eggs and I've got 8 going good.

Sounds like my silkie eggs. Out of 18 I have 5 headed to lockdown. Had 1 early quitter, 1 missing egg (don't ask because I don't understand it). All the rest were clear as a bell. Most expensive silkies ever at $52 for 5 that may or may not hatch.

 

[mamahmendez]

Nope local pick up. The price was super cheap for Ancona ducks. Eggs started out at .83 cents each, now they are up to $1.87 which is still cheap but I would have expected better fertility.

I ordered Ancona duck eggs. Set 20 and now have 11 on day 17. I think mine were rough handling too as only 3 appeared infertile. I am almost at $5.50/egg. But I am still cheaper than the minimums I need to reach to for shipped ducklings. And my hatched chicks seemed SO MUCH healthier I really wanted to hatch them here. Good luck on your cost per egg averages and your hatchings.