The 4th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long

[Cynthia12]

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

What a great story..too cute! I have a mentally handicapped sister, not Down..and she is so loving. I had her for a couple of years after my mom passed, then my health took a turn, and I had to place her in a home. She loves it! She gets to do more there than she did here. They do a lot with them, even have them go to work and earn some money. She is in a place that has a lot of the kids that were in her school back in the 70's. She's 47 years old.

 

[chiques chicks]

I have a Question ya all remember when i bought my Dirty turkey eggs ? well many where broken and some Cracked the box was in amazing shape . But the eggs where Dirty the seller came from BYC and ABC she claims she hatched Dirty filthy eggs all the time this is HER Photo of Proof . she wants me to Pay shipping again and to be honest im scared of what i might get . HER PHOTO OF PROOF THEY HATCH

I would not be happy if I got eggs in that condition, However, I currently have eggs under a broody. Started with 9. She pushed two off that were not developing. Three got broken, possibly by another hen. The four left all look like that. I checked today and all are developing.

 

[Cynthia12]

I have to say I have had great success with filthy eggs myself. It's less worrisome to see them covered in crud than to see that they were washed, in my opinion. The bloom is still generally intact under the grime, and its antimicrobial protection is doing what it's supposed to. I try not to send eggs like this to my customers, but I usually have a disclaimer stating that I do not wash eggs, and that the conditions may be too sloppy for me to prevent a mess. I ask that if that bothers someone, they should shop around. Hens hatch cruddy eggs, too.

That being said, I want the eggs pristine and do whatever I can to mitigate the slop. It's best to have a deep covered area so they take several steps in an area protected from poop and mud before reaching the nest...sort of space to wipe their feet. My girls have 20 gallon former saki barrels on their sides filled with hay. It works fairly well, but the Chocolate Ameraucana have a penchant for messy feet.

I think there needs to be good communication and that can help prevent disagreements...

I have to agree here with Chooks..or at least say, I have had the same success. In fact, I just also got some pretty dirty eggs..the dirtiest that I've gotten in a while. My DH saw them and said, wow, those are dirty ones. My reply was, I don't mind a bit because it seems that every time I have a dirty egg in the bator, it's the one that hatches on time. My chickens don't make a mess when laying, I don't have a large flock. So, they have a clean nest box to lay in on a regular basis. Just 5 nest boxes to keep picked up in the mornings.

 

[ronott1]

Quote: The biggest problem was that they came cracked and broken not just dirty. I would worry about the sellers packing method. We have been studying shipping methods on the Great egg shipping experiment thread.

Maybe send her packing materials, instructions and a pre paid shipping box?

 

[Cynthia12]

The biggest problem was that they came cracked and broken not just dirty. I would worry about the sellers packing method. We have been studying shipping methods on the Great egg shipping experiment thread.

Maybe send her packing materials, instructions and a pre paid shipping box?

That's a good idea on sending a pre-paid box. ron..on your thread, have you seen anything like this yet? I got some eggs packed real well..as you can see at the first part of the year. None broken, of course!

 

[ronott1]

Quote: Thank you!

I reposted something similar that Debs_Flock sent to Not a Farm. The box was smashed and yet the eggs were all ok.

I did not get an answer about air cell condition so I will send a PM.

 

[Gardengirl73]

That's a good idea on sending a pre-paid box. ron..on your thread, have you seen anything like this yet? I got some eggs packed real well..as you can see at the first part of the year. None broken, of course!



Wow, that is a great idea! Somebody would have to really work at it to break those. Is that pipe insulation? Love it! Thanks for sharing!

 

[noahsmom]

Still just one lonely chick, but 3 pipped, one more hrir and 2 silkies we are about to go to bed, hoping to wake up to another surprise or two!

 

[angelobutter]

 

[misskeeter]

does she have an internal pip? what day is it again 22? and what is humidity?

No internal pip that I can see. Day 24. Humidity was 67 when I checked an he ago. She's not moving in the egg that I can see... I'm just seeing breathing movement in the same place it was last night.