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

[firedragon1982]

Day 20 here, nothing going on. I am biting my nails, what if nothing hatches???? The suspense is killing me!!!!!

Mine too, I noticed putting them in lock down they were a little behind with absorbing stuff. Trying to be patient.


@lindalouly
My update: currently on Lock down is 9 d'uccle eggs, 2 D'Anvers. Have 13 silkie eggs and some mille fleur d'uccles due next week, and 12 mixed D'Anvers due in 2 weeks!

@Sally SunshineI got some good news! I requested a shift change at work 6+ months ago, to go from 2-11 pm to a day shift, was basically told no way by my department manager. Looked at my schedule to see what may held for me (start of the farmers market) and noticed that my schedule now says 830-5pm! I can finally see my family again! It sucked that I was only seeing them in the mornings while running then out the door

 

[generaldsherman]

Update on my eggs: my turkey egg didn't make it (I'll pick up some turkey chicks in the future when I have a pen to put them in), and I am 1 day away from lock-down on 3 NN eggs-really impressed with them given the fact that they were refrigerating for a week before I decided at the spur of the moment to put them in. Finally got a reliable thermostat for my cooler-bator so will use that for lock-down (got a heat thermostat and a hydrostat for humidity which is hooked up to a fogger to up humidity when needed). All of my duck eggs are progressing nicely, but a couple have terrible saddle-shaped air cells.

My invention which I call "the Basha's bator" as I used a styrofoam Basha's cooler.
(in case you're wondering about peeling tape, it's just to close up the holes a bit better around the windows which are glued in; must replace the athletic tape with water-proof tape)

 

[SH HoneyBadger]

Welcome! Please post pix of your brooder. I just installed two new home-built brooders last week. Mine are plywood and hardware cloth construction. Each has two compartments, one with an "always on" light fixture and the other with a thermostat-controlled light fixture. I'll take pix later unless the HAL moderator objects. Currently running a Farm Innovations 4250 'bator.

Here is my brooder. It is 4' x 32" and we made it out of scrap wood and hardware cloth and threw on a pneumatic screen door hinge for the heavy lid. The bottom is lined with vinyl and covered in pine shavings. We just used an old lamp arm to suspend the heat lamp over one side of the lid and they chicks seem okay with that so far. There are only four chicks in there now, and I will add a divider for whatever hatchlings we end up with (fingers crossed). The Farm Innovations incubator is the one I have on order, I hope it gets here soon!

 

[h2oratt]

My iPhone says 77% outside not sure about inside I'm sure it's a bit high

That must be why you are having a hard time getting it down in your incubator.

 

[darkbluespace]

Day 20 here, nothing going on. I am biting my nails, what if nothing hatches???? The suspense is killing me!!!!!

I am crossing my fingers for you. I think day 19 and 20th are the worst!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Finally I have a couple of pips!! Was starting to worry as I've heard peeping for 24 hours but not seen a pip :/ There maybe more on the underside where I can't see but right now I'm happy with the two I can see

 

[mlm Mike]

I had a chickie hatch today

its a tophat silver laced wyandotte mix

i stuff it under babylon a little bit ago lol

Congratulations!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote:

THERMOMETERS, HYGROMETERS & CALIBRATION

Thermo/hygro suggestions post #13998

@stiles1113

 

[mlm Mike]

Quote:

Well day 14 i candled and marked air cells. Do these look about right? I saw all 10 moving one even kicked so hard i felt it. Lol

I think they look ok.

OK so I eggtopsied the shipped eggs that made it to lockdown and they all had their beaks pointing to air cell and unabsorbed yolk sacs. Thoughts?
*Edited to remove autocorrect error.

I'm still baffled. I remember reading about late quitters, I hope I can find it.

I get my bator back on Saturday!

Hi everyone! I hope I am posting in the right place to join the Hatch-a-Long, this is my first time. I live in Alaska and I am completely new to chickens. I just built a brooder and bought my first four chicks this weekend (three cream legbars and a jubilee orpington mix), and then I have eight eggs that I just set on April 3. Four eggs are Svarthona and four are lavender Orpington. I have a used incubator that is tiny and I think it is of dubious reliability, so I have another one on order from Amazon that will hopefully put me more at ease. I am undertaking this with only the guidance of the internet, and I'm happy to have found BackYard Chickens! Good luck, April hatchers!!

Welcome!

 

[Chaos18]

Finally I have a couple of pips!! Was starting to worry as I've heard peeping for 24 hours but not seen a pip

There maybe more on the underside where I can't see but right now I'm happy with the two I can see