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

[mlm Mike]

I'm in. I will be setting standard and bantam chickens.

This will be my first year with the hatch-a-long, and only my second time hatching - the first batch is in now!

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

i would like to join...i will be setting a bit early though as i have eggs something in at the end of the week. is this allowed?

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

I want in. How do I sign up

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

I'm in!

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

I am in !!

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

Please sign me up!

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

I want to join. I will be hatching copper marans. Ayam cemani. Showgirls. Silkies. Barninvelder and D'uncle

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

i want to join. what info do you need from us? breed , how many eggs?

We don't want to know the number until you actually set the eggs.

I would love to join with my backyard chickens. I'm anxious to see the colors I get with my white americana rooster.

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

I am ready to hatch

I hope to hatch cream brabanter, guineas and maybe peachicks. I'll know for sure by March 1

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

I'm in!!!!!

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

my silkies from Sats hatch!
just a few, there are tons of yellow ones!

all hatched but one! look how cute!!! love saras chicks














Polish

My how cute they are Sally! Another Polish for Harmony, too!

I am new to this, and want to try

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

Add me please! sbarab

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

I want to join! My roosters have been practicing for this!

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

I would like to join

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

Quote: Congratulations on the 5 year badge!

I'm in! I'm waiting on surprise eggs! Won't know until week of set what breed, woo hoo!

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

I am in.....1st time ever.
Will also donate a leather knife sheath as a prize if thats ok

Mike

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

Please PM Happy Chooks about the prize donation.

We want to join! My roosters are already practicing!

Welcome to the 2016 Easter Hatch Along!

Hatching Participant List is Current to Post 4431

 

[Cynthia12]

I want to join! My roosters have been practicing for this!

LOL...

 

[Cynthia12]

I would like to join

 

[acemario]

I'm in!

 

[Cynthia12]

I'm in! I'm waiting on surprise eggs! Won't know until week of set what breed, woo hoo!

 

[Cynthia12]

I am in.....1st time ever.
Will also donate a leather knife sheath as a prize if thats ok

Mike

Thank you so much for donating!

 

[NaJoBeLe]

Wow! Explosion of people joining in.  Welcome everyone!!!!!!!

I'll be doing a staggered hatch.  I have 6 mystery GFF line eggs coming in this week, 6 NN eggs coming late next week, and I'll be probably setting 12 legbar or maybe B/B/S Ameraucana eggs on the proper date with my new incubator

BTW: What's the best way to disinfect a styro bator?  Just got a used hovabator and want it to be germ-free.

I have a very precise method for cleaning my Styro LG. 1/2 gallon of bleach mixed with a tub of water. Repeat that twice. Rinse afterwards with a full tub of water 3 times. Allow to sun dry for a couple of days and should be good to go. Maybe not the best but it seems to work for me. I also used some acrylic paint and put a few coats on the bottom half. Makes clean up a lot easier. Hope it works out for you.

 

[Cynthia12]

I'm in!

Hi Ace!

 

[Chickenluver106]

I need to resign from this competition

 

[generaldsherman]

My local TSC got chicks/ducklings in this morning. Did anyone else's?

I went a bit peep crazy (on a budget) and now there are 6 RIR pullets 1 BR (straight run) and 2 ducklings in a warm brooder. Just waiting for bantams to show up. There weren't any at the locations closest to me. A bit disappointing, but I am hoping to get some d'uccle and sebright eggs for the HAL.

Mine is supposed to get their chicks today as well. Didn't have them at 10:00 when I dropped in for some kitty food.

My broody hen makes a lot of different sounds. There is the "warning, I'm protecting my eggs", "leave me alone roosters, I'm not laying" and "its time to hatch babies, keep it up". She doesn't make the last one until when they start hatching. You can tell when they are going to hatch because if you cheep to her she will respond gently and softly as if to her own chicks, something she generally doesn't do before they start pipping.

And just because chickens can't understand people doesn't stop us from talking to them either.

Or "mother's nature"

Its so hard to be patient with momma hens! She sounds like she is doing a great job, but one of mine is messing up a bit. She keeps letting her eggs go cold and she lost one somehow or the other. I know she is a good mother, just not the best broody. However, she does try, so I have to give her credit for that.


Welcome! Orpingtons are awesome, great layers and really friendly. What color?

I know, like a million things to try to sort out while reading!

Both would be great. I can't wait until I can get a Legbar or two.


My broody hen is missing feathers on her back because she was being over-bred before she laid. My broodies often loose their tail feathers some too because of rubbing against the nest box. However, even though they may look a little raggedy, they are still such awesome mothers!


I'm sorry to hear that.


I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad you got some chicks out of it though, its always better then none.


All of these were hilarious! They made me laugh, especially the Batman one!

Welcome, so glad you could join!

How many are you planning on setting?

Howdy! Welcome to the Hatch-a-long!

Awesome!

Do you know what breed you are working with? I still haven't decided, but I think I'm going with mostly my own farm mixes.

Sounds cool! Did you buy the eggs or are they from your own hens?

Welcome!


So cool! This is my second real incubator hatch too! And my first time in the Easter hatch-a-long. I have both bantam and standard eggs in the incubator right now. If they are raised together, the chicks get along quite well, though they tend to separate into groups as they mature.

It will be like a preview for all the hatching to come.

Welcome! So awesome that you can join us! What breeds do you want to set?


Iowa Blues are so cool! I can't wait to see yours hatch! I wish I tripped more often... maybe I'd get some seramas too.

Hello! Welcome to the Hatch-a-long!

Seramas are awesome! And so very tiny! How many do you want to hatch?

I love to get surprise chicks from my own barn yard mixes. I have like 30 different breeds and mixes living in my barn so I could have so many cool colors.

D'uccles are one of my favorites! And Ayam Cemanis! And Marans! And Barnevelders! Oh, yeah, I forgot, I can't choose favorites.

Best of luck!

Cool! Is he an Ameraucana or Easter Egger? I love both, but actually, I think I like the look of Easter Eggers better (though I haven't had any pure Ameraucanas yet so maybe I would change my mind if I did). I love their muffs and/or beards.


Peachicks! Yay! Are you going with beautiful natural or beautiful morphs?

Welcome!


So adorable! I love all the pictures! ( just had to save some room here). Silkie chicks are so precious.

We would love to know the breed! Mine are mostly mixes, so I guess we'll see what comes out of it. I am planning on getting rid of some of my roosters, but right now I have ten of them in the flock! A lot of different fathers that could be passing on their awesome color genetics. They are a Barred Rock, a Buff Brahma (standard), Silver Sebright, two "Twilights" (Sebright x OEGB), two Easter Egger x Barred Rocks (they are still young but already crowing and trying to breed with the hens), a Hampshire mix, a Silver Duckwing OEGB, and one of my "Dalmatian" bantam roosters, Dastan. I hope to keep only four or five though, two standards and two or three bantams (one for every 8-10 hens).


Most people use some sort of bleach mix I think, but since bleach and my lungs don't mix well I just wash with hot water and let it sun dry. I know that might not be the best method, but otherwise I'm afraid the chemical smell will stay in the incubator.

Welcome! So glad you could join! I'm new to incubating also, though I've had a lot of hens brood chicks (and sometimes helped their eggs by placing them in the incubator) so this helps me have a bit of an idea. Maybe. Hopefully.

Thanks for the advice!