The 5th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[uphilljill]

Found some frozen eggs this morning but at least they've started laying again!

 

[abmaddox1981]

Spring seems to be making a cameo appearance today and tomorrow. 63 today, 72 tomorrow, but back into the 50's Monday. With rain. Yuck!

 

[PAchickenlover]

OK, set 30 eggs in my home made bator yesterday. Also bought a fan for it and turned it in to a forced air bator. Hoping to get a better hatch rate then In previous hatches.

Cold again here this morning! Feet are freezing still. Fire had gone out in the wood stove.. Ugh

Oh very important! GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!

Hope everyone has a fantastic day,

 

[sasimpson77]

We're both running still air, so closer to 102°F on TOP of the eggs works best. That puts bottom of eggs around 97°F & center 99-100°F.

Silkie like we discussed yesterday I upped my temp it is currently at 103 do I leave it or try to bring it down I am using a thermometer with a probe sitting near the top of the eggs. Also have two mercury thermometers sitting on them they are reading about the same temp. I am not concerning myself with humidity too much. Just trying to maintain it around 20%

 

[PAchickenlover]

Spring seems to be making a cameo appearance today and tomorrow. 63 today, 72 tomorrow, but back into the 50's Monday. With rain. Yuck!

I would so rather have your weather!!!!! So not liking the cold and what is coming our way, AGAIN....

 

[chicken pickin]

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

Tyring to stay in for a few extra mins, its chilly outside.

I need to get outside and collect eggs too before they freeze buuuuuuurrrrrr. Im helping my 7yr old DD back a lunch and snow gear, DH is taking her ice fishing for the day.

I set 7 new eggs in my bator this morn. So now I have 38 eggs cooking away. And I still have ALL 10 NYDH chicks in my downstairs brooder, they are going on 9 weeks old YIKES

Ive never had chicks in the house this long before. I need to set up my other brooders soon for all the new babies that will be hatching in the next 2 months.

 

[buddy phoenix]

soon spring will come on. cant wait!!

 

[abmaddox1981]

I would so rather have your weather!!!!! So not liking the cold and what is coming our way, AGAIN....

We'll be getting it in a few days. I'm a Georgia girl born and bred and my blood is too thin for this! Anything below 45 and I'm pretty sure I'm dying. Lol.

 

[PAchickenlover]

Well I finally got my hatcher completed minus the wire hatching trays For the Easter hatch and the Third Annual Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatch-Athon. I gave it an operational test today and finally have it tweeked in and adjusted. I had to change out the fan to a larger one to get adequate air flow to even out the temps. Temp hold within a degree between the top and the bottom. Here is the pics of the progress between start and finish. Built this to go along with my 1266 GQF That I recently bought at a thrift shop and repaired. I am all set now for this seasons hatch.

Love this! Did you follow a plan that someone else had done or is this your own plan? Can you share what you did to make this bator? Please! I would love to have a nice bator like this...

 

[MontanaDolphin]

It's not gonna happen overnight. I really liked Silkies idea, even though your birds might not like it so much. It took me months to get my 4 EE's to switch coops. They were soo stubborn. In that sense the freezing spell we had helped because then they wanted to be in there.

I want a few silkies for two reasons...first, they are broody. I want a few broody girls, and there's pretty much no chance any of my hens will go broody because they are hatchery stock, AND because they are Barred Rocks, and BR's seldom go broody. My second reason is because I think they are just ADORABLE!!!! I want the "small size" flock to consist of my two Choc. Orp. Bantams, a few silkies, my mom's two Tolbunt Polish, a few frizzles, and a few more bantam breeds. Ooo, ooo, AND...the woman my mom got her Polish from has a breed I saw at her place that I just HAVE to have...the rooster was so friggin small, I fell in love immediately. Let me think, what kind was it...(going to step away from typing to look it up)...Serama i think! Or maybe Old English Game Bantam, I'll have to ask her! His crow was so funny! High pitched like he took a gulp of helium!!! I have to get one! I'm going to see if she will have some eggs for me by the time I set for this hatch

I'm going to try the method of keeping them locked up for a week or two, rotating daily who gets to free range...the bantams one day, the others the next etc. I hate that one flock won't be able to free range while the other does, but if that's what I have to do in order to get them to switch, then so be it. I hope mine aren't as stubborn as yours were!!!