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

[La Casa de Pollo]

The egg farmer that has them will be having me hatch a lot of chicks this year that will be laying green, chocolate and blue eggs. He sells them to little shops in the San Francisco Bay area.

It was hard for me not to grab those eggs too...to set all the eggs....

To quote yourself....LOL

 

[birdman55]

getting ready to set...and that is not all the eggs....lol....was wondering on a egg question...some are porous like when you candle them you can really see it...i have not had luck with any of these types of eggs....and only one out of like 40 eggs gets this way....question was i ordered some fly tieing chicken eggs...well lets just say....95 percent of them were porous...what would cause something like this ....and does it effect the egg during incubation...im egggsited to set my eggs, and the quail eggs i got...however im not looking forward to setting these eggs i got...im going to think positive on this but not really sure how the outcome will be


those are my chicken eggs...and the quail eggs i ordered ...and the fly tie eggs are not pictured...but getting ready to set...EGGGGGSITED.

 

[SimplyLogan]

calibrating thermometers are a problem too! i have 4 in one incubator and if they agree it is a rare event (even when placed sided by side)! is your thermostat the wafer type or the manually adjustable digital control?

I have a couple in each. They don't seem to be as difficult as the hygrometer. One is a digital meat thermometer which i was able to calibrate and compare the others. I put them next to each other so I could determine how far off the others were off. Had to make note of that. My hovabator 1588 is right on, it is digital with push button adjustments. One of the extras was on and the other was only a degree higher. So I don't have much problem there. I move the meat thermometer between the two units just to keep an eye on the others for comparison (making sure they read the same as before). One combo is Radio Shack (its going back, it sucks), the other is AcuRite. The AcuRite is off but I was able to figure how far and it is steady so I can use it.

Only one hygrometer seems to be stable (acuRite), as well as, the hovatator one. I had to adjust it after calibration but it is holding steady. The old bator came with nothing. The guy was even using a bulb thermometer (which is hard to determine the exact temp) and nothing for humidity.

Maybe he just has the magic touch, crappy hatch rates or I'm to new at this. Then I was surprised when I had fired up that old LG. I know some have major problems but the temp read 110. I wonder if anything hatched in the last batch for him. I have no idea what kind of thermostat is in the LG, but you turn the know to adjust it, So it may be a wafer. It does not have a read out, nothing, so you have to put one in there. I have to babysit it. I want to save for a cabinet bator so I don't want to buy another small one. I'm not sure I will be borrowing this thing again. I will just stick to mine.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I also say fiction.  Barnevelder eggs are very round, to the point that you have to candle sometimes to even know which end has the air sac.  Males and females hatch from those eggs.

I agree, my vote is fiction. Some of my marans eggs are beach ball round, and really can't tell which end is which. Plentiful roosters from those! Also I have a hen that always lays super pointy eggs and she has made plenty of female chicks.

I have another theory though---I have to wonder if the males are hardier and hatch better and the ones we lose during incubation are often female. There seems to be such a higher roo/hen ratio. I wish there were a definitive way to tell if the the quitters were the girls, it would explain the high number of roosters I seem to get lol!

Yes, that is true. When I've had power outages while incubating, I have had heavy cockerel hatch. I think the females are more prone to quit.

Oh my gosh... I totally wrote down the twelfth, and just realized the 14th is the actual date!



Now, the question is, do I scratch the lucky future chicks I accidentally set today and have two days to collect Orpington eggs, or do I stick with these guys?

Keep them in there, you are fine.

  I candled my eggs and broke one.  8 day old embryo.  

We've all done it. sorry though, I know it feels terrible.

And I know some might say it isn't really HAL news...but it did happen while picking up eggs for the HAL so I am posting about it here...

The eggs were already in the car but I wanted to see their parents so I went for a quick tour of the barn...I somehow came out with this...I think the magic spell of 'IT IS FREE' was cast over me...

My four year old is THRILLED...my husband...NOT so much...

But at least she is already earning her keep...

Nice! Makes me want quail for that purty egg!

Wow! That is a lot of eggs!!! I'm so impressed!

I'm kinda scared. Hope not all are fertile since I had to pile them up like that. That's a lot of babies in one small incubator!

I did the same last year and almost all of them hatched. I was overrun with chicks.

 

[blackgoat]

I believe that this is what is known as a " Fluster Cluck" !

All my hens, except 2, want to lay in the same nest. But, at the moment, there are 2 attempting to sit on eggs. I'm going to count and mark the eggs tomorrow for the HAL, I won't be putting any in the incubator.
These two ladies will have to work it out.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Don't forget to post your egg numbers when you are done setting!

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Don't forget to post your egg numbers when you are done setting!

I know we are reporting anything within a +/- 2 day window of the species set date - but I had a goose nest flood and am attempting to salvage the eggs - when I candled them, they looked to be approximately 4 - 5 days along, which would have put them within the set window for goose. Should I include them if they are viable? (planning on checking them tonight)

 

[bekkanblue]

Don't forget to post your egg numbers when you are done setting!

I still don't KNOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! And I can't set them all or I would!!!!!!!

 

[SimplyLogan]

If I could have a few more alarms set, I would be completely crazy! Between hand turning eggs, my daughters medicine and feedings, My phone wont stop going off.

 

[SpringPeeper]

I believe that this is what is known as a " Fluster Cluck" !





All my hens, except 2, want to lay in the same nest. But, at the moment, there are 2 attempting to sit on eggs. I'm going to count and mark the eggs tomorrow for the HAL, I won't be putting any in the incubator.
These two ladies will have to work it out.

Haha, the broody glare!