The 7th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-A-Long!

[Lozuufy]

Please add Patricia petsch to hatch along west palm beach florida

Welcome!

And welcome to BYC too!

 

[Sustained]

It just wouldn't be a proper Easter without a HAL. I'm in. Now I have an excuse to buy more hatching eggs

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Quote:
My son (he's a year older than you) has kids in his school...exact same thing! It's unfortunate. You're way ahead of the game because you see it and get it. Kudos for that.

There are people who are my age and older who don't "get it." So good for you!!

 

[JoyfulPromise]

So this is my brooder setup now. Firstly, its outside in my unheated greenhouse, so I am very concerned about the water freezing. I'm hoping that the heat plates and chicks are going to keep at least some of the water unfrozen.

My other concern is whether the chicks will be able to drink from the waterer at all. There's not a lot of space between the top of its lip, and the bottom of the plates lip. Anyone with experience here that can offer me some suggestions?

Hmm, I hadn't thought of the water freezing problem, since we usually don't get broilers here until April, so the temps are usually above freezing. My first thought on your setup though would be to move your water and feeder farther away from the heat plates if possible so the chicks have to come out to eat and drink. That is what they would normally do with a broody hen, which the heat plates are mimicking. The chicks can go under the heat plates to sleep and get warm, but they will naturally make small excursions out to explore, scratch, eat, and drink.

The only suggestion I would have for the waterers is to change them out during the day if they are freezing, and bring them in at night (the coldest time and when the chicks are sleeping) and then take out fresh warmed waterers in the morning. We use the small plastic water bases with glass pint & quart canning jars, since chicks don't drink very much at first, and they are easy to change or clean out frequently.

Here is a picture of our broiler set-up from last year... in our unheated pole barn...




Good luck! Your chicks are adorable! I love all the different colors!

 

[campingshaws]

Morning [@=/u/162672/Sally-Sunshine]@Sally Sunshine[/@]. My hona pullet Lagertha laid another egg this morning, putting me at 3. Do I need to wait for two weeks to incubate? That was the talk in your house regarding pullet eggs. As far as I know these are her first ever.

I have successfully hatched my Svarthönas' first eggs. At the time I was too scared something would happen to them and I wasn't taking any chances. That was about a year ago when the price for them was still very high. One of the pullets from a very first egg has a mild crossbeak but gets along fine in my layer group. The others didn't have any issues that I can remember. I would go ahead and set them if for no other reason than to check fertility and hatchability. Svarthönas can be difficult to hatch at times, so checking the latter is just as important as the former. JMHO. Good luck!

I noticed the discussion about the pullet eggs last night. I set everything I get...lol! I even set the teeny tiny micro pullet eggs from my tiny OEGB pullets. I successfully hatched chicks. Select the best chicks that have the traits that you want. Select the very best and eventually you will end up with the very best. These are from the BYC NY HAL These are the OEGB chicks from the pullets and hen (the smaller ones) taken Jan 19th. All the recent pics, the EEs are standing in the way...

Sounds like a plan! e I'm going to TRY to get the bator warmed up today and maybe set when I get the fourth egg. The first egg was from the 23rd, so I may even wait for the fifth egg. I took more pics of the chicks.

Maybe it's just been a while since I've had chicks, but they look a little scraggly to me. :/

 

[Hurley]

You can still type with your nose...

Or your tongue.

Well now you all are just being silly....it is much easier to grab a pen or pencil with your taped fingers or your mouth and peck at the correct keys with that...

Well, I'm quite quadridextrous, got my toes tappin away on the keys...

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

My pair


The chicks.

WANT!!!!!

Good Morning Everyone!
It's still January, but Easter is coming

coming for you....

I'm gonna have nightmares about this picture...

OK! That's it ! That's 3. You and i and Nate. We'll just go ahead and take them now and save everyone the anticipation stress. Right ?

Hey, as long as I get the cook book!!!!!!

- Ant Farm

 

[wornoutmomto3]

Start collecting those eggs, but make sure you get the right species. Or things could get interesting at hatch time.

(Found this pic floating around social media in one of my chicken related groups/pages.)

 

[aplynn]

I'm new at this but would like to try easter hatch along

I am new to the Easter Hatch as well so we can be first timers together

 

[NTBugtraq]

Hmm, I hadn't thought of the water freezing problem, since we usually don't get broilers here until April, so the temps are usually above freezing. My first thought on your setup though would be to move your water and feeder farther away from the heat plates if possible so the chicks have to come out to eat and drink. That is what they would normally do with a broody hen, which the heat plates are mimicking. The chicks can go under the heat plates to sleep and get warm, but they will naturally make small excursions out to explore, scratch, eat, and drink.

The only suggestion I would have for the waterers is to change them out during the day if they are freezing, and bring them in at night (the coldest time and when the chicks are sleeping) and then take out fresh warmed waterers in the morning. We use the small plastic water bases with glass pint & quart canning jars, since chicks don't drink very much at first, and they are easy to change or clean out frequently.

Here is a picture of our broiler set-up from last year... in our unheated pole barn...




Good luck! Your chicks are adorable! I love all the different colors!

Great advice @JoyfulPromise , I'm going to leave it the way it is for this first night since they aren't really needing anything atm. This will at least show me whether the water freezes. My hope is that the heat being given off by the chicks and plates will be sufficient to keep the water thawed. We get down to 0F at this time of the year, but the greenhouse is at least preventing drafts from moving the heat, so, its possible.

Then tomorrow I will do as you advise and move the plates apart leaving the water in-between but not under the plates at all, and try that through the next 24 hours.

If neither of those work, then I'm left with your other option of bringing in the water and putting it out fresh each day.

Awesome brooder btw...