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

[KYTinpusher]

I know I am counting my chicks too early but wondering what you guys do to tag the newly hatched chicks. I have done a good job of marking the eggs and at lock down will put them in tomato baskets or gauze bags to keep breeds and even sometimes eggs from specific hens separate. However, I don't intend to have 10 separate brooders running. I will probably have a single or at the most 2 brooders depending on the number of chicks hatching.

Last time I had 21 chicks and it was nightmare. I used small colored rubber bands of 4 different colors and then each chick will get 1. 2 or 3 different color bands to differentiate but as the bands got dirty, it was harder to differentiate between red and purple. Same thing between blue and green. Anyways, what is best practice?

I start with these: http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/p...elastic-rings-starter-kit-size-2mm-20-of-each. They are very sturdy and can be reused, plus the starter kit comes with a tool to put them on. After about two weeks, give or take, they are too small and need to be changed.

Next I move to the Narrow E-Z Clip bands and then on to the E-Z Clip bands in the different colors with numbers. (Same site) I keep them in several colors and sizes.

ETA - I need to remind anyone thinking of banding your chicks, especially those who are doing it for the first time, to be very vigilant to make sure the bands do not get too tight as they will cut off the circulation in the leg!

 

[Peep-Chicken]

I candle quite often - probably 5 or 6 times a week. There is research that a daily cooling period imitating the break the hen takes to eat, drink and poo, is actually beneficial. It helps the egg lose more weight. I have a Brinsea that will do a cooling period, but I prefer to do it manually and use the opportunity to candle. I had a bad hatch rate once and thinking back, realized that I hadn't had time to candle nearly as much as I usually do.

'
I love candling, I just try not to go overboard lol.

Speaking of which, a banty egg I set Thursday has veins and everything! I put it in there as a 'test egg', and even with my 97-103F temp variations (my temperature is now stable at 99F) it's growing! I think it's a silkie egg. This is my first time with shipped eggs and eggs from healthy chickens. When my rooster starts doing his job, I really want to hatch my owns flocks eggs and see hatch rates!

 

[swampducks]

I've tried candling. I don't seem to have a good enough flashlight so I don't bother. You guys candling every day.... ... I'd be too scard of screwing something up,

like scrambled eggs everywhere!

 

[tatinatimom]

Sorry, I was not able to post yesterday. I had no internet signal on a beautiful sunny day. Gotta love lovin in the sticks. You never know if you'll have a good signal or not. Anyway, I set 33 eggs yesterday.

 

[ChickenFox]

Bev Davis/Wade Jeane originally I believe.

 

[RedIII]

At 1:53 pm on March 14th (my birthday), I set 29 eggs.(Nope, not my age! My husband would not have been pleased if I set THAT many!)
12 Black Penedesecas ( Thank you Chicken Canoe)
3 Olive egger with EE roo
5 blue egg EE hen with EE roo
9 tan (most from RIR roo with either RIR hen or black sex link hen) a few are probably EE roo over RIR hen (but I didn't note which were from which coop).

Happy Birthday! It was my and DH's anniversary. What a good day

 

[calientepocket]

I already had a dreAm about hatching chicks. Three weeks is such a long wait

When do people start candling? I'm still unsure on when to do it and what I'm looking for, but I don't want to keep eggs in the bator if they aren't viable.

 

[saywhat]

I added 2 more eggs yesterday, to the 27 I already set. So total of 29 Dominique eggs.

 

[Dustystrail]

No peas yet, thought I might find a pea egg tonight but, no.     We set BCM, BOM (Buff Orp Marans), and Easter Eggers.

We also hatched some out this weekend.  :yiipchick   Around four dozen.

I was hoping maybe I would get my first pea egg but no luck here either.

I candle quite often - probably 5 or 6 times a week. There is research that a daily cooling period imitating the break the hen takes to eat, drink and poo, is actually beneficial. It helps the egg lose more weight. I have a Brinsea that will do a cooling period, but I prefer to do it manually and use the opportunity to candle. I had a bad hatch rate once and thinking back, realized that I hadn't had time to candle nearly as much as I usually do.

I never really thought about it that way exactly but sometimes in the evenings when we get the wood stove cranked up the bator temps will start to creep up too. I use that as an opportunity to candle, fill water, and sometimes just leave the lid off for a short while if the house is really really warm. I figure it works for the hens and sure beats tinkering with the knob on an LG.

'
I love candling, I just try not to go overboard lol.

Speaking of which, a banty egg I set Thursday has veins and everything! I put it in there as a 'test egg', and even with my 97-103F temp variations (my temperature is now stable at 99F) it's growing! I think it's a silkie egg. This is my first time with shipped eggs and eggs from healthy chickens. When my rooster starts doing his job, I really want to hatch my owns flocks eggs and see hatch rates!

I love to candle the silkies. So easy to see what's going on in there.

 

[KYTinpusher]

If you

I already had a dreAm about hatching chicks. Three weeks is such a long wait

When do people start candling? I'm still unsure on when to do it and what I'm looking for, but I don't want to keep eggs in the bator if they aren't viable.

If you have a good candler, you can usually start seeing development by day 3. If you are new to candling, wait until at least day 10 to remove any, unless they stink.