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

[onlygirloutof6]

Still out of town from bater,need to know how to qualify my Guinea egg for hatch along?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Dear Sally,

We just found out that the wrong item was sent to you by mistake (the Brinsea Glass Thermometer instead of the Brinsea Spotcheck). We very much apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. We will be sending the correct items out today. There is no need to return the glass thermometer.

We are committed to ensuring that our customer’s purchasing experience are positive at all times; on a very few occasions we miss that mark and we are very sorry that you were one that we obviously failed in this respect. We will do our best to get the CORRECT item to you as quickly as possible. Your understanding would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi Sally! The item already went out, I was told. It shouldn’t have taken as long for you to get the first item; there were some problems with the weather plus it appeared to have been misrouted - so we are hoping that the SpotCheck will get to you considerably faster. In the meantime, the other thermometer will do its job.

We are so sorry about the mix-up!! We have implemented procedures to prevent that from happening again … Your patience and understanding is appreciated. Thank you and we wish you a pleasant weekend!

 

[uphilljill]

...

Eggs are set! (Sorry a little early, but didn't want to wait much longer on the shipped eggs.) And while I was setting I noticed the first pip in the batch in the hatcher! Double

Congratulations on the hatch! You want to share how many and what you set for the hatch a long?




For the HAL I set 12 GS line HBRs from Fred's Hens, 11 BRs from my breeding pair, and 4 MW turkey last week. 25 total.

I have 12 Salmon Faverolles, 5 BYMs, and 4 BRs in the hatcher now.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'm in I want to join

Welcome!

While you wait anxiously for set time, help me name my favorite NYD chick. She's an EE - cream with purple, black, and grey markings. Very calm disposition. She's my favorite, and it's time she had a name.

A beautiful splash. I too love splashes. I'm not very good with names though. I usually let them name themselves.

I have had chickens(hens) for over a year, but I am new to hatching. I have read all the learning center hatching 101 and I think I'm ready to do this. Please add me to the hatch a long!

Welcome!

I am interested in the hatch along. I will set chicken and maybe bantam eggs

Welcome!

Quote: Very good point!

My eggs are showing "Out for Delivery"!!

Whew.. a lot to welcome..yaaay! The more the merrier.

Well, guess I will set my eggs today? I got some yesterday, a little early. It's been 24 hrs. setting now. Haven't ever gone an extra day. ??

Still waiting on my other eggs. Not here today..so, guess they will also be set on another only later.

Really wanted to be able to set right on the 29th. Oh well, lots of pretty eggs for sure. I have some beautiful blues..and OE's! My egg basket is going to look great this fall if I get some girls to hatch.

They still count, even if they don't get set until Monday.

Is there a grace period for setting eggs or does it have to be tomorrow at noon? Wanting to set mine today as some are getting a bit on the older side...

Yes, +/- 2 days of the set dates on the first page.

Thanks for reminding me of the Easter Hatch along, Sally. I'll set some Barnevelder eggs tomorrow!
Saskia

Welcome!

Didn't think I would be able to join as I already have my incubator full but I have worked out a way to free up space for 6 eggs. So I will be collecting from my green egg layers and will join you in setting tomorrow

Glad you freed up some space! Welcome!

Still out of town from bater,need to know how to qualify my Guinea egg for hatch along?

How many did you set?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

While you wait anxiously for set time, help me name my favorite NYD chick. She's an EE - cream with purple, black, and grey markings. Very calm disposition. She's my favorite, and it's time she had a name.

Old Blue or 87

All my birds are named 1-200.

Thank you, I am nervous about administering the vaccine. I tried once and the chick started bleeding from the mouth and died very quickly after.

The more you vaccinate, the better you'll get. Practice makes perfect.
Good luck.

... There are water troughs in the bottom I can fill with water to adjust humidity levels. However, I have read that sometimes a wet paper towel is the way to go. Any opinions?

...

A wet paper towel will increase the humidity but will dry out quickly.
Keep in mind that surface area rather than volume will have a bigger impact on humidity.
Sponges sticking out of the water reservoir is one option.

I must now experiment! to find a source that will equal internal temps that is like consistency to the inner egg and that will not go bad, perhaps motor oil! ha ha ha jk!





I TOTALLY agree with this, there are so many variables for each person, incubator types, size of fans, age of eggs and on and onnnnnn.
Where I live I have to vary my humidity levels even just a few weeks apart!

HOWEVER, it all comes back to achieving the ultimate weight loss in the egg. HUMIDITY is NOT a SET NUMBER! its a tool and thats all!

X2 on both counts

I weigh, as opposed to candling. I can barely see into the eggs anyway so candling isn't conclusive.
The weighing thing works very well for me.
I think setting white eggs, extremely dark eggs and blue eggs together can be a problem for humidity.

So they say "not to count your chickens before they hatch" but I didn't count my incubator space before I set.
SO I have 24 spots left in my incubator and 32 eggs arriving today, so I will not be setting any of my own barnyard mix eggs.
If anyone local to cornish NH 03745 wants some barnyard mix eggs for this hatch a long you can come get some for free. well free as long as you are setting for this event.
I have NOT tested fertility but I have 6 roosters to 28 ish hens and I have seen them "getting busy"
I am not NPIP but my birds appear healthy- take it or leave it.
hens are a barred rock, california whites, gold laced and silver laced wyandotte, production reds, black marans, a bielefelder, a black frizzle cochin, a buff something, a black something, and an EE.
my roosters are black frizzle cochin, bielefelder, showgirl, frizzles, and a silkie serama mix.
technically there is a chance of getting a pure bielefelder but no guarantees lol.
if you want some or all you can PM me.

I did that last time.
So excited to fill the incubator, I forgot that I made the setup for staggered settings and had more eggs than the hatcher would hold.

ron...how do you set your eggs in the bator for a couple of days..or longer? Same temp as incubating..not lower?

I have mine in egg cartons..that ok?

Lower. I can't find the link since they went stealth mode (apparently I got too much info from their site) but a commercial incubator manufacturer said to prewarm eggs in the 80sF for about 6 hours.

Not always true about the frozen eggs. My last hatch had 3 frozen eggs ( I marked them frozen ) when I collected them. I figured what the heck !. All 3 hatched

I have 3 blue ee's

I read on Brinsea's site that eggs can go to 29 F for a brief period and still be viable. Once ice crystals form in the yolk, they're done.

This is so correct but hard to do!

I have to

every once in a while to keep from candling too much....Remember to use your nose though and for the first couple of weeks watch for seeping eggs.

X2
I usually only candle once during incubation and again when moving to the hatcher.

They will be fine. Wait until the humidity goes down below 30 and add less next time.

Foam holds the moisture in, so a bit spilled will make it go up for a day or two.

IMO, it's not the instantaneous humidity at any point during incubation but the average humidity throughout that's important. A broody hen can't control a rainy day when ambient humidity will be close to 100% or a drought when it's around 10. It's almost always very humid here and the setters have a better track record than I.

For those of you who have repaired cracked eggs and successfully hatched, have you compared different methods? If so, which is the best to use? I've seen nail polish, candle wax and liquid skin. Has anyone tried all 3 and have a preference?

It may be the rare event when someone has enough cracked eggs to test methods and not have all 3 components.
It would be nice to know though.
I think with cracked eggs, it's a crapshoot.

Ron, just because I don't touch them doesn't mean I'm not hovering

...

That's why mine is in the cellar.


Bluehousefarm, how dark are your Barney eggs and where did you get your flock?

 

[ImpulsiveFarmer]

I only got the one pheasant egg, but it's set. Here's to hoping it hatches.

I candled all the eggs last night and so far it looks like all my turkey eggs are developing and all but one of the ducks!

13 golden cuckoo maran eggs go in tomorrow and I will have a full incubator!

 

[jbher]

Question - how can I clean my incubator before setting? I have never used it except to "test" it out with no eggs the past week. But should I disinfect it still? Anything in the house I can use? Vinegar and water?

 

[mlm Mike]

Congratulations on the hatch! You want to share how many and what you set for the hatch a long?




For the HAL I set 12 GS line HBRs from Fred's Hens, 11 BRs from my breeding pair, and 4 MW turkey last week. 25 total.

I have 12 Salmon Faverolles, 5 BYMs, and 4 BRs in the hatcher now.

Great, I kind of wish I would have kept a breeding pair of MW! Do you mean 27 ?

 

[mairead]

Looks like my eggs will be set a little earlier then noon tomorrow since i wont be home at that time. But got the incubator set up and running! i am so excited for more fluffy butts running around

 

[Happy Chooks]

Question - how can I clean my incubator before setting? I have never used it except to "test" it out with no eggs the past week. But should I disinfect it still? Anything in the house I can use? Vinegar and water?

If it's brand new, I wouldn't worry about it. What kind of incubator is it?

Looks like my eggs will be set a little earlier then noon tomorrow since i wont be home at that time. But got the incubator set up and running! i am so excited for more fluffy butts running around

No problem! Just let us know how many when you have them all set.