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

[Chrysolinsbirds]

My worst hatch ever. 0goslings and 0 chicks due to a temp spike of 120 =...{ time to replace the automatic high temp shut off gadget..

 

[Cynthia12]

Duckiiiiiies

They are darling.

 

[Cynthia12]

So what I've learned this go round.
1. Don't put paper towels under eggs over water source. Very effective vapor barrier and my humidity would not go up to save me. By the time I figured this out too late. Many lost to shrink wrap.
2. I did not hook up my contraption for adding for heated moisture. I wil next time.
3 I going to clean the incubator between day 18 and lock down keeping eggs in the styrofoam incubator while doing so. I think there is too much bacteria growing in those 18 days. Could be wrong but shouldn't hurt
4. I'm going to put important information on the pointed part of egg. All information that I was counting on was destroyed at hatch. And remember to write the information down if I have a quitter. This will be important for future hatches if the hen is not giving fertile eggs. Also take a picture of the egg so I remember which were the infertile ones.
5 Something I've learned from at least two fellow hatchers if I ever get an incubator with a removable temperature sensor to some how attach it inside the incubator as I could just as easily left it out as well.

Oh almost forgot that I told a friend that I would take some eggs from his brothers Buff Orpington's when he came back from visiting this weekend so I may be starting the incubator again. Oh darn.

You too..you saw that I got some from a friend yesterday..well, he says, I bought more! Now, my bator is full!

 

[Cynthia12]

So far I had 3 hatches today... Still 2 pips and 4 that I'm unsure about. So happy about my first hatch so far. This is so exciting!!! My Silkie Wyandotte mixes are so cute. Will try to put pics up tomorrow or Tuesday when I'm sure my hatch is done.

Congratulations! Pretty fun isn't it??

so after setting 12 eggs I ended up throwing 4 out because they weren't fertile. today I had a total of 5 chicks hatch out of 8, not a total loss but not as good as my previous 2 hatches.

You get some good, and you get some not so good. That isn't too bad. Glad you got some.

 

[Cynthia12]

Ok, I started with 60. 10 Trader Joe's eggs and 15 of my silkie eggs were infertile, and I dropped 1 Spitzhauben egg on day 18. 34 made it to lockdown. 28 hached. 12 Spitzhauben, 13 Bantam blue EE and 3 of my silkies. When you add the 7 broody silkies, 2 CCL and 5 silkie/sizzle/frilkies from earlier in the week, we have lots of babies!!! I sold 2 broody babies and my cat killed 1, leaving me with 39 cute little fuzzy babies!!!!!!

How many Trader Joe eggs made it?

 

[Cynthia12]

Whoooo bator is all set for the hatch day tomorrow

I can hardly contain my excitement

Yaay! Have to ask, is that brooder indoors? You won't be needing such high heat if so. They will cook! That's smaller than my brooder, I use a 100 W. bulb at first, then down to a 60 by the second week. Watch your babies, make sure they are not trying to stay away from the heat. Unless you are taking it out to the garage, and it's cold out there. Just thinking here.

 

[Cynthia12]

My worst hatch ever. 0goslings and 0 chicks due to a temp spike of 120 =...{ time to replace the automatic high temp shut off gadget..

 

[junebuggena]

How long does it take for the eggs to complete the hatching process from pip to out of the egg and do they usually hatch at night or something

It can take over 24 hours. Some do it in much less time. But you can usually count on it being several hours from pip to hatch. Once a chick pips, the vessels begin to recede and the yolk begins to absorb, and the chick needs to rest. After all that has happened, then the chick will begin to start zipping, which can take over an hour or just a few minutes.

 

[Saris]

Final count 12 chicks!

 

[sweetsam]

When are our final counts due? I have 48 so far. A few more pipped.