The 4th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long

[Sally Sunshine]

It is chicken dance time! Everyone move back to their neutral corners for a time out and watch the cute fluffy butts! These are Ricky Bates HRIRs form Ron Fogel:

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Candled again on Sunday night - down to 45 in the bator, 3 under broodies. Set my African Goose eggs, but now my old incubator won't keep temp

- must take a lot more energy to keep those suckers warm! Lockdown is on Thursday. Gonna build a bigger brooder out of old windows today so I can shift batches of peeps around.

I just have to share this little story too - I have a 22 yr old son who has Down Syndrome. We got in the car last Friday to head to the 'big city' and he asked where we were going. I told him we were going to the big city to pick up chicks and he nearly peed himself laughing like a little school girl at the prospect of him and his mom going to pick up chicks!

Here are a few pics of the chicks we picked up - GL/SL/BL Standard Polish. We also picked up a few old biddies and a Salmon Faverolle rooster! LOL











And here is a photo of my son visiting a local touring farm where he got to see 'real live dinosaurs' aka Emus and hold an Emu egg

LOVELY!!! and holy EGG!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

TOMMORROW Day 18! YAY!!


https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101


CANDLE EGGS
DAY 18 & LOCKDOWN!​

Candle day 18 is to determine growth, weigh, pencil mark air cell size and dispose bad eggs.
It will look pretty dark and FULL in there! You may or may not see movement on this candle.
Its ok if not, don’t panic! The chick may easily be resting!

See how that air cell is beginning to dip more to one side? This is a natural occurrence to help aid in the hatching process. If you lay the egg down on a flat surface it will roll itself into the correct position for hatching with the greatest part of the air cell up. I now mark the upward side of the egg so I know how it should remain for hatching. This is the best position for hatching so that the chick is able to turn into hatching position. See images below….

Day 18 laying horizontal for actual hatching helps a chick hatch 1-2 hours earlier.
The hatching position, with each egg lying on its side, is commonly accepted as the most conductive to efficient hatching, and the freedom of the egg to shift or roll at least to some slight degree appears to contribute to the ease and facility with which the chicks may fracture the shell by pecking to emerge from.

​

LOCKDOWN!
Stop turning, Remove Turner and Raise Humidity

NOTE: It is now known that the different embryos communicate with each other by a series of clicking sounds,
the rate of clicking being the important feature. Ensuring the eggs on the hatching trays are in contact with each other facilitates
the synchronization of hatching where the eggs are incubated in a modern machine. This assists in reducing the time between when the first and last chicks hatch.


After Day 18 candle you will “LOCK DOWN” your eggs. Lower the temperature about ½ degree and increase the humidity the last three days. STOP turning and the incubator stays closed, unconditionally for the next three days while the chicks hatch! If you continue to turn the egg at this stage, the yolk sac can become twisted potentially preventing absorption of the yolk and starvation or at least weakening of the chick. If you’re having a hard time with humidity it is OK to open quickly to boost, add warm water or increase the size of the pan or add a wet sponge.
NEVER ADJUST HUMIDITY BY cutting back airflow.
VENTILATION is EXTREMELY important at this stage!

Note: It’s not necessary but I like to place a piece of foam grip drawer mat on the wire bottom of incubator on day on day 18 lockdown. A cloth, crinoline, or paper towels could work as well. This protects the navel, the place where the abdomen closes after surrounding the remains of the yolk, from injury. It also makes cleaning the incubator easier. NO the wire on the incubator bottom should not injure or effect your chicks after they hatch. Dollar store baskets are great to keep hatching chicks separated by breed.

​

PREPARE BROODER:
Prepare everything you need for them once they have hatched.
Now is the time to do final checks on brooder, heat lamp and feed.
See bottom of article for links on chick care.

Click on the link below for more Brooder Ideas!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/homemade-chicken-brooder-designs-pictures



Rocking Egg Video!
Eggs can rock for several days before hatcing, but how exciting it is!
​

Understanding The Hatching Process

Between the 15th and 16th days, the chick orients itself so that its head is near the air cell at the large end of the egg. Not long before the chick is ready to attempt to make its way out of the shell its neck acquires a double bend so that its beak is under its right wing and pointed toward the air cell.
​

21 DAYS is just a baseline for hatching eggs.
Many chicks can take 23 - 25 days!
Some pip internally and fully hatch in hours while others will be 24 hours or more.

Egg movement! Eggs can “Rock n Roll” days before they are due to hatch!

The initiation of hatch occurs partially from the increased carbon dioxide level in the egg. This process causes the embryo to begin twitching it's muscles allowing the inner shell membrane to be punctured by the egg tooth. The chick then begins breathing the air in the air cell. Using its egg tooth, it pecks at the shell thousands of times and after a few hours the chick pips a small hole through the shell and begins to breathe air directly from the outside. After the chick has made a hole in the shell, it stops pipping for 8+ hours sometimes up to 24 hours and rests.
During this time, it is acclimating its lungs.

After the resting stage is completed the second stage of pipping begins. The chick begins to turn slowly inside the egg. As the chick turns counter-clockwise it uses the cutting edge of the chick tooth to chip away. As the chick progresses in its movement around the shell, it begins pushing on the large air cell end of the egg. Squirming and struggling! YES STRUGGLING! The chick works feverishly pushing at the cap. Finally with a shove the chick breaks free from the shell wet and exhausted. When the chick is freed completely from the shell it lies still. Its energy has been virtually exhausted, and it is extremely tired. After resting the chick begins to gain more and more energy and coordination of its muscles.

​

 

[rarebear]

beautiful

 

[rarebear]

Candled again on Sunday night - down to 45 in the bator, 3 under broodies. Set my African Goose eggs, but now my old incubator won't keep temp

- must take a lot more energy to keep those suckers warm! Lockdown is on Thursday. Gonna build a bigger brooder out of old windows today so I can shift batches of peeps around.

I just have to share this little story too - I have a 22 yr old son who has Down Syndrome. We got in the car last Friday to head to the 'big city' and he asked where we were going. I told him we were going to the big city to pick up chicks and he nearly peed himself laughing like a little school girl at the prospect of him and his mom going to pick up chicks!

Here are a few pics of the chicks we picked up - GL/SL/BL Standard Polish. We also picked up a few old biddies and a Salmon Faverolle rooster! LOL











And here is a photo of my son visiting a local touring farm where he got to see 'real live dinosaurs' aka Emus and hold an Emu egg

oh so cute

 

[Gardeningmama]

Okay, I have screwed up a bit, I think. Really didn't realize that tomorrow was day 18 already. I have several bad air cells. Fluid still rolls through them. Sally's note said to stop turning those on day 16

. So, I'm going to take them out of the turner now, I guess, and put them in an egg carton. Only the ones with bad air cells. the rest I will lay down. In the turner the temp is 102 at the top and about 99 on the bottom. When I take out the turner it's gonna change the dynamics. Any advice?

 

[ronott1]

Okay, I have screwed up a bit, I think. Really didn't realize that tomorrow was day 18 already. I have several bad air cells. Fluid still rolls through them. Sally's note said to stop turning those on day 16

. So, I'm going to take them out of the turner now, I guess, and put them in an egg carton. Only the ones with bad air cells. the rest I will lay down. In the turner the temp is 102 at the top and about 99 on the bottom. When I take out the turner it's gonna change the dynamics. Any advice?

Eggs hatch at a lower temperature so when you take out the turner, the temp should be correct at egg level. Some say as much as 2 degrees lower than incubation at hatch which would be 97.5. I have been hatching at 98.5 with great results.

Happy hatching!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Okay, I have screwed up a bit, I think. Really didn't realize that tomorrow was day 18 already. I have several bad air cells. Fluid still rolls through them. Sally's note said to stop turning those on day 16

. So, I'm going to take them out of the turner now, I guess, and put them in an egg carton. Only the ones with bad air cells. the rest I will lay down. In the turner the temp is 102 at the top and about 99 on the bottom. When I take out the turner it's gonna change the dynamics. Any advice?

It is still air? I don't have a turner, not sure I understand the dynamics of how they work with a fan? you may have to adjust temps, but normally at this stage the embryo is actually producing a lot of heat. And this is why commercial hatcheries have to actually cool down with cooling systems by the sheer bulk of egg producing heaters LOL

 

[Razadia]

Quote:

Quote: To me it doesn't make sense to get something you'll regret down the line. I love my lip rings. I love the 7 piercings in my ears. (3 on one side 4 on the other.) And I normally love my belly ring, but since I'm pregnant I had to take it out and I miss it. My tattoo is a bunch of music notes arranged to look like tribal. I haven't gotten another because I have yet to find or draw something that has a lot of meaning to me and right now I have far more important things to worry about.

I do try to ignore things like this, but sometimes people don't realize what could hurt someone. It's all I was trying to point out. I would rather the whole thing be dropped, though. My intention was never to make anyone mad or make them feel bad. Everyone makes mistakes.

 

[ronott1]

Originally Posted by noahsmom

We are a very large and diverse community here!

Big Hugs to all of you!

It is great to see our love of Chickens and other poultry brings us together.