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

[vandamma72]

If you candle and mark your air cells with a pencil and take a pic of the marked eggs, it would be easier for everyone to see the size and give their opinions. 

Good idea!

 

[ladyrsanti]

Lockdown for me tonight. Day 18 started at 3pm. Normally I'd wait until the next day but I have bantam eggs mixed in with my standards so I'm calling it early and doing it tonight, soon as it gets dark for best candling. The brooder is ready and waiting. Let the watch/pacing/hovering/impatience begin.

 

[gevshiba]

It's 83 degrees in my bedroom right now and the temperature in the incubator has gone up a little too high. I had to turn on the ceiling fan. Last summer it ran 24/7 while I had eggs in the bator, even with the AC on. The temps back down, almost where it was. My dog, Quick, will be thrilled to have the fan on again. He's been complaining about it being hot.

 

[campingshaws]

Ok, so I've asked this in several other of my subscribed threads, but I'm trying to get as many experienced opinions as possible. I've got a first-time broody, and I'm a first-time broody mom.

Option A: I have some eggs for Thursday's lockdown that I'm not super attached to, so I'm thinking about giving her 4-5 eggs (some are actually hers) if she sticks with it. She seems pretty determined.

Option B: give her golf balls to sit on and slip Easter chicks under her in the night.

Option C: let her set on the eggs she gets tomorrow and have the full experience.

I don't really want to break her. She was on our "flock thinning" list, so this might be my only chance with her.

Picture, for science.

 

[chicken pickin]

Im a nervous wreck watching all my grandchicks.
Its gonna be rough when I have grandchildren

It sounds like you have an awful lot of "grandchicks" out and about. I hope all the hatches go well.

What breeds did you send out to everyone?

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I got way behind overt the weekend and there's no way I'm reading 12 pages lol. I candled today since I didn't get a chance over the weekend. I ended up tossing 4. I had 2 clears, 1 blood ring, and one quitter. My daughter was really upset since the quitter was one of her bantam eggs. She did think the egg - topsie that we did was really neat. She was fascinated by the tiny body, big eyes, and mini feet.

I also had to toss 4 of my lavender/split eggs (not due to hatch till next weekend). I had 4 blood rings. 1 is iffy so that leaves me with 11 still good. We'll see how well they hatch. The air cells are awful on them since they were shipped :/

in other chicken news, I moved some 9 week old babies into my main coop tonight. The flock has been able to see them through the fence for a bit now and a couple of the adults spent a little time with them. I'm hoping for a smooth addition. Everyone was sound and comfy on the roosts when I left. Does anyone know if it's easier to add younger birds into the LF flock when you have bantams mixed in? My 2 little bantams are established members of my flock and these new ones that I'm introducing are easily bigger than them. My flock has also raised about 3 clutches of chicks so far in with them (from about 2 weeks old on).

 

[wornoutmomto3]

Incubator Wars!

Day 1,000,000 (at least it feels like that many)
​

The agony! The heartache! The horror of it all! Folks, only moments ago we realized that there is... "nothing to report!"

Our contestants have been circling the incubators incessantly. The temperature: steady! The humidity: steady! The egg turning: a.o.k! The absurdity of it all... having to be patient. Wait a minute! I think something is happening! Yes! Something is finally happening! Woohoo! .............................

Yep... something happened alright! A turtle has dropped by for a visit. Oh, excuse me. Contestant #1 has just corrected me. It is actually a tortoise. Well, I guess you learn something new everyday. And, if the rings on the shell are accurate Ms. Tortoise is approximately 20 years old. Upon sight of an overly curious k9 she has decided to beat a hasty retreat. She must be heading for a nice shady spot for a nap. Good day, Ms. Tortoise.


Well, it may not be chickens, but don't they lay eggs too. We said it before, and we will say it again... anything can happen when you are hatching eggs. Good Day and Happy Hatching!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote: Still air or circulated incubator? If it's still air, it can be a bit low in the morning (but 90 is pretty low for still air), but should warm up within a couple of hours. Still air should be 101.5 and circulated 99.5.

Quote: Humidity isn't a huge deal until the last few days. 33% is fine for humidity.

Locked down last night.

.
Woke up to three babies! Best surprise ever!!!

But, I have one little guy that started zipping and then pooped out. I'm not too nervous yet because I know things can take time, and he's still talking up a storm and squirming around.
I'm just wondering how long should I wait to help? He's been in this same position for over six hours.

At least 12 hours, sometimes longer. What breed is it? Some breeds are lazy hatchers. The membrane looks fine, so I'd leave it.

I was aways told not to open the lid during lock down because it could cause problems with the chicks trying to hatch. I will try the rice. Should I put it in a small shallow bowl?

If your humidity is too high, it will not hurt to open the incubator and let some out. It's when you mess with it when humidity is normal that it can cause issues for those hatching. I use high humidity (from too many hatching at once) as an opportunity to grab chicks. I don't do it while anyone is zipping though.

Ok, so I've asked this in several other of my subscribed threads, but I'm trying to get as many experienced opinions as possible. I've got a first-time broody, and I'm a first-time broody mom.

Option A: I have some eggs for Thursday's lockdown that I'm not super attached to, so I'm thinking about giving her 4-5 eggs (some are actually hers) if she sticks with it. She seems pretty determined.

Option B: give her golf balls to sit on and slip Easter chicks under her in the night.

Option C: let her set on the eggs she gets tomorrow and have the full experience.

I don't really want to break her. She was on our "flock thinning" list, so this might be my only chance with her.

Picture, for science.

I'd go with A. Just keep an eye on her if she's not separated from the flock. Some broodies don't (or can't if they are low on the pecking order) protect their babies.

 

[WalnutHill]

I had a homemade incubator last batch and someone told me the condensation was good? Is it different with homemade versus store bought?

With any kind of incubator, condensation is bad.

One, condensation means the air is saturated with as much water as it can hold. When that happens, the eggs cannot let moisture out, as the air is too wet to absorb any more.

Two, if condensation sits on eggs, it will block the pores in the eggshell from exchanging gases. While it may not be a total blockage, it will impair the egg's "breathing".

Three, if the chick pips into an environment that is too wet, whether it be the air cell or the incubator, it can suffer from respiratory distress (clicking when breathing all the way to drowning). Too low a moisture is bad, too. I am personally targeting 38% for incubation and 45% for hatch IN MY INCUBATOR. Everyone will have different numbers based on relative environmental temperature and humidity, type of incubator, size of incubator, how many eggs are in it, the stage of development, the amount of ventilation, etc.

I have tried hatches at 80% and 70% and they are too wet for my conditions. 60% is not optimal but can work. 50% is close. 45% gives me popcorn like hatches, as long as I leave the incubator shut during hatch. And that is the hard part. If I am willing to leave chicks in the incubator until 8 hours after the preceeding hatch, then everything should work out fine.

 

[campingshaws]

Still air or circulated incubator?  If it's still air, it can be a bit low in the morning (but 90 is pretty low for still air), but should warm up within a couple of hours.  Still air should be 101.5 and circulated 99.5.

Humidity isn't a huge deal until the last few days. 33% is fine for humidity.

At least 12 hours, sometimes longer.  What breed is it?  Some breeds are lazy hatchers.  The membrane looks fine, so I'd leave it.

If your humidity is too high, it will not hurt to open the incubator and let some out.  It's when you mess with it when humidity is normal that it can cause issues for those hatching.  I use high humidity (from too many hatching at once) as an opportunity to grab chicks.  I don't do it while anyone is zipping though.

I'd go with A.  Just keep an eye on her if she's not separated from the flock.  Some broodies don't (or can't if they are low on the pecking order) protect their babies.

That's what I'm leaning toward. My coop is pretty open, so I'm thinking of moving her nest into a small dog kennel, so she can get food and water. I'll have to wrap the bottom in burlap or something, because I'm out of hardware cloth.