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

[WalnutHill]

OK guys i tried to get eggs to hatch but i don't have an incubator and i don't know anything about hatching, so could i have some advice and knowledge about incubating?? whats lock down? and is the Easter hatch along every year? if so i will be hatching my own eggs next year    and i'm getting a 10 egg incubator soon

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad to hear that you are getting an incubator soon. While you'll miss this Easter hatch-a-long, you'll find hatch-a-longs every month to keep your new incubator busy!

There is a tutorial called Hatching 101 on this site which you should read thoroughly. It will help you avoid many of the fatal pitfalls. There are many great articles in the Learning Center, but start here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-incubate-hatch-eggs-just-21-days-from-egg-to-chicken

 

[gevshiba]

Storming. No worries about outages because my landlord put in a gen set. It kicks on within 30 seconds of power outages. But I need to go feed and there's too much lightning.

waiting.

 

[kandkjbm]

why are everyones so early--isn't lockdown tomorrow??? my new sportsman arrived yesterday morning and i transferred the surviving eggs from my LG tabletop to it. i lost a lot to heat spikes and cold spots, hopefully all i put in will do fine, i cant wait to see my results! i started lav and silver silkies in it today.  two of the lav eggs were cracked but i put liquid skin on them, lets see if it works, they were pretty intense cracks from a beak it looks like.

We went into lockdown because we 'accidentally' set Easter eggs. These are going to be meat birds. But, that doesn't mean I'm not super excited! They are all rocking back and forth, and chirping away!

Next year we will set again, with some we will keep as pets.

 

[chicken pickin]

We went into lockdown because we 'accidentally' set Easter eggs. These are going to be meat birds. But, that doesn't mean I'm not super excited! They are all rocking back and forth, and chirping away!

Next year we will set again, with some we will keep as pets.

What cross did you use to make your meat birds?

Tractor Supply has a batch of meat birds in and I have been tempted to pick them up but we so aren't ready for them yet the weather is still too cold and snow is covering the ground. I prefer to raise the CX in the late Summer starting in late July early August.

 

[draye]

Already having some that are trying to hatch, it's just day 19.

 

[Math]

why are everyones so early--isn't lockdown tomorrow??? my new sportsman arrived yesterday morning and i transferred the surviving eggs from my LG tabletop to it. i lost a lot to heat spikes and cold spots, hopefully all i put in will do fine, i cant wait to see my results! i started lav and silver silkies in it today.  two of the lav eggs were cracked but i put liquid skin on them, lets see if it works, they were pretty intense cracks from a beak it looks like.

My hatch day is Friday. I just put the eggs on lockdown last night. But I have three pips this morning. My temperature ran a little high so they may hatch early if I didn't fry them. :/

 

[JoyfulPromise]

AHHH!!! All these early pips and hatchers are making me antsy!

I officially "Locked down" last night, and I moved my broody Buff Orpington hen to a broody coop/pen that I had set up and gave her 4 eggs from the incubator to finish up. She was THRILLED to get some "real" eggs (she had a couple of wooden eggs before) and has been sitting tight on them!

I didn't have time last night, but I put a sponge in this morning and got the humidity up around 60% for now. Haven't heard any peeps yet, but I may have seen one or two wiggling eggs... or it may have been just wishful thinking...

Good luck to everyone else!!! Come on chickies!!! You can do it!!!

 

[Mama Bay]

I think my air cells look too small for day 18

. What do you think? Should I keep the humidity low for another day??

 

[vandamma72]

I was told to post this again to get a few more opinions. How many days along would everyone guess this egg is?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

why are everyones so early--isn't lockdown tomorrow??? my new sportsman arrived yesterday morning and i transferred the surviving eggs from my LG tabletop to it. i lost a lot to heat spikes and cold spots, hopefully all i put in will do fine, i cant wait to see my results! i started lav and silver silkies in it today. two of the lav eggs were cracked but i put liquid skin on them, lets see if it works, they were pretty intense cracks from a beak it looks like.

The Easter hal's Official date was teh 14th, but you could set the 12/13 14 15/16 and still be in the Hal. Those of us that sat on teh 12/13 are alread in lockdown and some are having early pippers/hatchers.