The 4th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long

[chicken pickin]

Im excited too my first time broody is on day 17 her hatch day is on sun. She only has 3 eggs under her but all are developing well. I need to clean her broody box out before the chicks arrive but Im nervous to stress her out. I should do it today before it gets to close.

 

[williab]

so jealous I want cream legbars. keep loosing the Ebay bid. Last time waited to 4 second some one still beat me

Hey there Sueg! Been there! Keep trying I saw on the Legbar thread where one lady got 3 cl eggs on ebay for 99cents each and hatched out 2 (a pair) lucky!! She said her seller was foghornleghorn? Mine was Ray with several numbers after...the packaging was superb...no complaints Good Luck!!

 

[Brookhavens]

How do you tell if a black copper maran egg is forming? I look into mine and don't see much at all because they are very brown. I can see into the blue eggs fine though and they are developing nicely. I'm incubating for the first time and saw you had black copper marans eggs and was just looking for words of wisdom on candling.

You can use 2 flashlights (one at the top and one at the bottom.) If the egg is dark inside then it is still good. If the egg "glows" then nothing is developing.

 

[mstricer]

How do you tell if a black copper maran egg is forming?  I look into mine and don't see much at all because they are very brown.  I can see into the blue eggs fine though and they are developing nicely.  I'm incubating for the first time and saw you had black copper marans eggs and was just looking for words of wisdom on candling.

usually you can tell if it is clear, even when they are dark, it will be different from the devolping eggs. Looks clear. If unsure leave in incubator.

 

[Shellz]

I can't bear to crack them open.... Makes me too sad. I did one from the last hatch that didn't hatch, and cried for hours over the perfectly formed chick that drowned inside the egg...

I guess it's not for everyone. I had 2 chicks like that. It was a great learning experience for me. Now I know that the humidity was too high at the end of hatch. For this hatch I can adjust the humidity at lockdown for a better hatch rate. To see the ones that fail, can help us determine ways to keep future chicks from the same fate sometimes. Just my 2 cents.

 

[noahsmom]

I candled a few last night, today is my day 14 and I was just curious, I won't candle again until lock down. But, I MIGHT have a few quitters

Either that or they just weren't moving a lot and I really try not to keep them out to long when I candle. The RIR eggs look like just a BIG black/dark blob in there a few a couple I could see obvious veining, I can see the air cell developing very good though in each that I candled, so that is a plus. I think I will have to use two flashlights next time. One RIR egg happened to be a little lighter and I was amazed by her size I could see a limb or something moving across the egg, it was neat.

4 MORE DAYS UNTIL LOCK DOWN!!

and my work is aware if there is anything going on tuesday night or wednesday morning then I will be calling off lol, I just want to be there to be sure everything goes smoothly. We are completely covered so it's not really a big deal.

 

[noahsmom]

To Chickeneer and Razadia..

I agree with this. Although, I do raise American Game and I have 2 cages with one hen and roo in each, but the roos are still very young. One is a breeding project and the other is basically quarantine. The big game pen has 8 hens to one roo. RIR pen is 4 hens to one roo. I haven't had a problem with over breeding and I have some pretty darn good roos. They treat their girls right.
Yep, I don't throw anything out if I can't tell whats going on and they don't stink.
Yesterday HAD to have been the first day of spring here. The termites came out of the porch.

So, would it be safe to assume I could keep all roo's for around 16 or so weeks with out having to give them up just yet? If we do end up keeping one, I want to pick the best roo of the bunch. What would happen if I kept a silkie roo and a rir roo? Would the RIR possibly kill the silkie roo?
I really don't think we will keep any roos, but I'm honest with myself and animals can REALLY pull at my heart strings not only that but david wants to keep a RIR roo, and I told him I just don't know yet. I assume we will end up with roos of both breeds if enough hatch.

Is anyone else a little weirded out about eating fertile eggs? lol

 

[lizanne]

What day is that egg? It does NOT look like a blood ring. It just looks like the edge of the vasculature to me. Blood ring eggs are washed out looking and do not have any visible veins.

I'm on day 11. The ring does look really dark.

 

[Maah]

so jealous I want cream legbars. keep loosing the Ebay bid. Last time waited to 4 second some one still beat me

Use Auction Sniper. http://www.auctionsniper.com It will bid for you right at the end... and then tell you if you won or not. If you don't win, you don't pay for their service, which is only a few cents anyways. I use the auction sniper and only need to put $5 on the account every couple of years. Well worth my time not sitting in front of the computer getting frustrated and antsy. Just set up the sniper service with my maximum bid and the item number of the ebay auction, and then go about my daily business.

If you're getting outbid right in the last seconds of the auctions, it's likely because someone else is sniping it from you. Fight back.

Now... just don't use it against me! LOL

 

[delisha]

To Chickeneer and Razadia..
Quote: No..I am not weirded out by eating fertile eggs. It is not different than one that is not. It taste exactly the same, it look exactly the same. I understand how your mind can make you feel uncomfortable about it, however, for thousands of years most eggs have all been fertile. It has only been recently that man has started caging and producing eggs by the millions with out roosters.

Quote: It does not look like a blood ring to me either. It has other active veins.