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

[pickitfarm]

Good Morning! Please keep the number set counts coming.


Not real amused this morning:

That is not funny! I not only have a pond in my backyard this morning ~ my yard is becoming one with all of the rain....definitely duck weather.

 

[PAchickenlover]

It would be a good idea to check it if going up in humidity. The accuracy is worse the higher they go so 10% off at 25% humidity can be 30% off at 50% humidity. (I hope that makes sense--I have been working on the digest and am getting a bit fuzzy--nee more coffee...)

Ah... I use a different hygrometer in my hatcher. I know it's off... But just wondering if during the first 18 days if the lower humidity is ok for duck eggs. I guess I need more hygrometers. How do you check one anyway?

This is not just for you misschkenlittle, but its a good time to place a reminder, in attempt to save some chicks and some sanity later on with this hatching..... Humidity is only used as a tool, you need to adjust it for air cell growth/weight loss in the egg. Humidity is NOT a set number, everyones conditions will vary with what climate, incubator model, size fans, the eggs themselves and so forth. You should weigh eggs and./or watch air cell grown to determine if you are on track or not. Its always best to have REMOVABLE small containers in the bators, there are tons of small rubbermaid containers that WILL fit inside the incubators even with an egg tray. Filling the channels and not having a way to reduce humidity is bad. We have more people frantically asking for help in the ending of hatch because of the following...... #1 LOW TEMPS hatch prolonged, ill chicks, chicks too big and stuck in shell, unhached chicks etc. We even run into STILL AIR incubator users running at 99.5 instead of 102! A still air NEEDS HIGHER HEAT vs FAN MODELS, ALSO MOVE eggs around in the bator everyonce in a while, as there CAN be hot and cold spots! CALIBRATE EVERY SINGLE THERMOMETER! see HERE

Never trust the thermometer that comes with the incubator, always check it.
The thermometer that came with my incubator was off by 5 degrees.
That could mean life or death for your babies.​

#2 Humidity is The second Biggest issue we see most in asking for help, high humidity has ill effects all around, these can also provide the most terrible hatches. And some people are told to DRY HATCH! Dry hatching doesnt mean no water at all necessarily! Its all about the air cells/weight loss! And you ALWAYS need humidity for final HATCHING! CALIBRATE HYGROS! see HERE

Humidity is [COLOR=FF0000]NOT A SET NUMBER, you need it YES! [/COLOR]
However, you use it as a tool to "adjust" egg weight loss during incubation. [COLOR=FF0000]We candle on days 7,10,14,18 To WATCH WEIGHT LOSS IN EVERY EGG! An EGG MUST lose approximately 13-14% of its weight during the incubation process. THIS IS YOUR GOAL!! You can monitor this by marking Air cells and also by weighing. [/COLOR]​

WHY to MEASURE WEIGHT LOSS IN EGGS, ​

MEASURING PROCEDURES (HOW TO), HOW TO CALCULATE, and HOW to interpret RESULTS
[COLOR=005CB1]http://www.aviagen.com/assets/Tech_Center/BB_Resources_Tools/AA_How_Tos/AAHowto1WaterLossEN13.pdf[/COLOR]​

#3 Position, Turning & Ventilation- Yes, some people do set eggs air cell down Like my DH A good turning schedule is always best! Ventilation is important, see the hatching 101article sections for all of the above, in the end after lockdown some will close vents to adjust humidity, this is BAD those embryos need oxygen during this important time, never use vents as a way to adjust humidity, see article for suggestions! Yes there are tons of other things, like the hens age, health and so forth, but in general the items listed above are what we get asked for help with when its too late! [CONTENTEMBED=/t/857062/the-5th-annual-byc-easter-hatch-a-long/6430#post_13135671 layout=inline] [/CONTENTEMBED]

Thanks I am sure some will need this important info!

 

[PAchickenlover]

[COLOR=0000FF]Good Morning! Please keep the number set counts coming.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000FF]Not real amused this morning:[/COLOR]

[COLOR=800080]That is not funny! I not only have a pond in my backyard this morning ~ my yard is becoming one with all of the rain....definitely duck weather.[/COLOR]

Aw. It was just a joke... I have a small river running through my back yard. I think most of us in the NE have something today... Quite a storm..

 

[mlm Mike]

Aw. It was just a joke...

I have a small river running through my back yard. I think most of us in the NE have something today... Quite a storm..

Rained all day yesterday here, the ducks had a blast in my new stream and pond. It turned to snow during the night.

 

[austinbndr28]

That is not funny! I not only have a pond in my backyard this morning ~ my yard is becoming one with all of the rain....definitely duck weather.

I agree it is duck weather. My ducks are loving their flooded pens, but I'm not. Wish it would stop raining.

 

[crazy4eggz]

We are absolutely brand new to all of this! We just "set" 22 eggs yesterday from a variety of chickens. My friend is trying to help us get started, and we would love to join in! Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated

 

[pickitfarm]

Aw. It was just a joke...

I have a small river running through my back yard. I think most of us in the NE have something today... Quite a storm..

I wasn't yelling at you...I was agreeing that it was not funny. LOL I am so disgusted with the weather this winter and now early spring I want to pack up a move.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Set a duck egg last week(yes just one) (Cayuga hens with welsh harlequin roo)

Had a two broody silkies so... Between them I have 6 project Amerucana eggs and a frizzle Cochin covered by a silkie roo) so that's 8 eggs for me


(Got one silkie with babies who may or maynot decided to go broody so I gave her 4 frizzle eggs... Who knows if she'll actually set ... I'm not counting them in the hatch a long cause I don't know she's actually going to set on them.)

Do I need pictures cause the girls will not be happy?

No, don't bother them to get pictures.

Ah... I use a different hygrometer in my hatcher. I know it's off... But just wondering if during the first 18 days if the lower humidity is ok for duck eggs. I guess I need more hygrometers.
How do you check one anyway?

Here you go:
http://exoticpets.about.com/od/herpresources/ss/hygrometer.htm

I have been bottle feeding kittens for the past few weeks.. (well.. going on 2 weeks now)
mom cat gave birth in the evening.. then disappeared the next morning (she was a feral stray that "adopted" us).. haven't seen her since.. but she left these guys behind (5 total)
I started feeding them when they were barely 24 hours old...

Oh my, how adorable! Looks like a lot of work too! My kids are bugging me for a cat, but DH and I don't want a litter box. And outdoor kitties wouldn't last long here.

Family is glad the hatch-a-long has started. They've been missing their eggs for breakfast. I've taken them all for the incubators.

SO ,I got my second turkey egg today!! going to let the hen sit on them, but she isn't broody yet. too early for that. Here is the soon-to-be turkey papa proudly gobbling lol.

Very cool picture!

I am joining the 2014 Hatch-along. I am a newbie, and I have no incubator. I am using a Prince Lionheart wipes warmer I saw in a box of old baby stuff. So far, the temp is 97°F and Humidity is 61% (using a moistened paper towel folded in the corner). I am testing tonight to see if I can put the eggs in there. I am putting a barrier between the bottom of the warmer and the eggs.
2 Cochins
2 Copper Marans
1 White Leghorn
1 Brahma

Welcome! I'll be interested to see how your hatch goes!

here are two pictures I took of my chooks today!

GOOD LUCK FOR EVERYONES HATCHING!

Beautiful birds!

I have a question for all you experienced chicken peeps.

I have a lav am & a blue am roos. I put them over barred rock hens. Will the chicks be sexlinked ? If so who has the spot on their head roo or pullet ? And will the barring be present on both sexes when they feather out ?

Yes, they would be sexlinked. For the lavender male, female offspring would be black and male offspring barred. From the blue male, female offspring would be black or blue, males barred. The white spot on the head at hatch are the males, no head spot are females.

Here is the chicken calculator:
http://home.kpn.nl/h.meijers69/kruising.html

I think we are having bunnies tonight!

My two girls are nesting so hopefully by tomorrow I will have some not so cute little bunnies. They aren't like kittens, they take a week or two to get cute as they are born hairless.

Good luck with the bunnies!

Add me my eggs are set and ready to rock!

How many did you set?

Good Morning! Please keep the number set counts coming.


Not real amused this morning:

Oh no! I'm sorry Mike.

My chicks are getting big! They are just over a week old now. Wing and some tail feathers are coming in. I will post some pics of them soon. The other day I found myself in the dreaded TSC....... My duck eggs that I had set with my pre-hatch along hatch, didn't make it. So I was in at TSC and saw they had Pekin ducklings, I got three...

Well you know you can't get just three birds from TSC so I looked at the chicks and they had some Banties. I picked out three of them and brought them all home. My hubby, lol, doesn't know frick from frack and thinks the ducklings were from the eggs I had in the bator, and the chicks, well he had no clue they were new either.

I know I shouldn't deceive him but what he doesn't know won't hurt him right? Lol two of the chicks are lavender (I think) the other one is white with black splotches on it. (Will post pics soon) Anyhow I just had to spill the beans to someone... Thought you guys were the perfect group to spill to...

Doesn't really matter where they come from.

Getting caught up... Congrats to all the setters!

Aww.. Kittens and kits.

Post pics of the babies bunnies (when they're presentable) please.

We're overrun with babies this weekend, so here's some more baby goat pics:




And chicks in the brooder:

The chicks are cute, congrats! But oh my word on those kids, they are too precious!

 

[pickitfarm]

I agree it is duck weather. My ducks are loving their flooded pens, but I'm not. Wish it would stop raining.

Just went to my car and apparently is has sprung a leek and is seeping into my passenger side roof. This happened once before because of excessive rain.

 

[Happy Chooks]

We are absolutely brand new to all of this! We just "set" 22 eggs yesterday from a variety of chickens. My friend is trying to help us get started, and we would love to join in! Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated

Welcome!