The 6th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[AmyLynn2374]

I got inspired by everyone else's pickled egg talk so I tried to make some myself. These were fresh eggs and i would say only two or three of them turned out "ugly" from peeling. here's what I did: boiled them in water with a dash of salt, when the water was boiling i turned the heat off but left it on the burner and cover it for 10 minutes, then immediately dumped out the hot water and ran cold, and dumped the ice maker from my freezer into the pot as well. let them cool for 30 minutes and put them in the fridge overnight, peeled them the next day and they peeled fine, the worst one is the one you can see in the picture.

That's how I do it. I use more than a dash of salt though...lol Once it boils turn off and let sit 10 minutes then give them an ice bath...I use cold tap water though, and I peel after they've been in the cold water for 1/2 hour or so.

 

[mlm Mike]

I am usually more of a forum dweller, but i am set to hatch some cream legbar chicks on april 4th, so i will be hatching along with everyone... So exciting! My hatch rates had been lower than i wanted, and I tried many things before, i have a sportsman incubator with a separate hatcher with a plexiglass door... So i started supplementing my breeders with sea kelp. the first week there wasn't a huge difference in viability, as that batch (due next week) only had 4 viable fetuses out of 20 eggs, but the second week saw 16 out of 21 viable cream legbar chicks! WOO! so far my april 4th hatch is looking a heck of a lot better, and the biggest variable seems to be the sea kelp supplements! Here's keeping my fingers crossed.

Welcome, how many did you set to hatch 4/4?

 

[bamadude]

I dont boil eggs. I put them in a large pot. Cover with water. As soon as the water boils, cut off the heat. Cover with a lid. Let sit 15-20 mins.
Perfect boiled eggs every time. Shells pop right off

 

[madicakes]

I dont boil eggs. I put them in a large pot. Cover with water. As soon as the water boils, cut off the heat. Cover with a lid. Let sit 15-20 mins.
Perfect boiled eggs every time. Shells pop right off

This is actually how I do mine too....except I add the baking soda and remove from heat as well as shutting it off, mainly because I have an electric stove. I love doing them this way, because you don't get that green on the yolk.

 

[swampducks]

Here is the process..fast and easy..I think someone posted it on here earlier..that's why I tried it today.

http://lifehacker.com/quickly-peel-a-hard-boiled-egg-by-shaking-it-in-a-glass-1683335985

That was me. Not sure if it was a good video I posted, didn't have the bandwidth left to test it. There are others with 2 eggs in a glass jar of water, but I found that the egg shell of the not quite peeled one caused too much damage to the one that peeled first. So one egg in a jar with water worked great every time. I used a Prego alfredo sauce jar, half filled. I dropped the egg in first to crack it, added water, shook hard for 30 seconds and voila.

eta: I put my raw eggs in cold water in a covered pan, bring to a boil, boil 1 minute, leave sitting on stove 15 minutes then run under cold water. If I try peeling them warm sometimes it works, more often than not it doesn't even if the eggs are a week old or store bought. The jar method of peeling has worked for me every time since I started using it a few weeks ago. I don't peel eggs at once unless I'm making something with them, they stay unpeeled in the fridge till I need them.

 

[chickadoodles]

I set 12 chicken eggs on 3-15 to hatch 4-4

 

[mlm Mike]

VOTING ENDS TODAY ON THE FIRST CAPTION CONTEST

VOTE HERE: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ual-byc-easter-hatchalong/0_100#post_14960349

 

[mlm Mike]

ENTRIES FOR THE SHORT STORY CONTEST MUST BE ENTERED BY 3/25 (midnight PST)

Contest #4: Easter or Hatching Fictional Short Story Contest

To enter, go here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...y-fiction-contest-2015-easter-hatchalong/0_50





Are you ready for a Short Story Fiction Contest!



Give us your best Easter or Hatching fiction story!

1st Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card donated by JDchicks
2nd Prize: Rooster Light switch cover donated by Cynthia12

 

[RedIII]

Sorry about your hatch. What was the source of your eggs? If they were your own, is it possible they have a lethal gene? Are the parents related? Did you have any issues with incubator settings?

The eggs came from my flock, and some of the parents may have shared a father, but I'm not certain. I did a lot of switching with my roos to make sure that the two different bloodlines were paired together. I had Bloodline A roosters with Bloodline B hens, and vice versa.

I'm trying to figure out what the problem is, but it's frustrating because it seems like I'm sacrificing a lot of eggs for trial and error. I wondered about temps, then oxygen, then a possible lethal gene, and I'm still stumped.

Red - I'm so sorry.  Are you sure your temperatures are correct? 

Yeah, I kept toggling the temp setting to keep it between 99.5 and 101, though it usually stayed 101 right at the top of the incubator and 98.7-ish around the bottom. So I figured that the eggs were in the middle and would be okay. DH insists I try putting the incubator in a different room next time to see if that helps.

ETA: the digital thermometer/hygrometer would be at the lowest point in the incubator when tipped forward, and would read the 98.whatever. When the incubator was tipped level, it usually read 100.0 or so. When the incubator was tipped back, putting the therm/hyg at the very top, it read 101.

 

[Cynthia12]

Good morning all. Wish I could wake up this happy every morning. Little guy seems to love that soft bed though.