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

[Wickedchicken6]

The girls and roosters are gearing up. I switched on the lights a week ago, 2 days ago I got 1 egg, yesterday I got 2, today I got 4. Welcome "spring"! Looking forward to a test hatch setting here in a couple days. Once they are good and fertile, can start the kids's project going with the school.



My jumbo coturnix arrived, box bashed in on the side, but all safe in their foam. Nice BIG eggs, just gorgeous. They are bigger than my silver/tuxedo cortunix eggs from earlier this week. I can see some outcrossing for size in my future.


For those that remember my box saga from last week, an update:
Had to wait until today to go in and discuss with Palmyra PO the problem. Sorry, I can't do anything, I'm just a clerk, go to Whitewater. It shows it delivered.
Called Whitewater (got tired of driving over there) and finally, thank Bob, I got someone who wanted to help me. VERY nice lady, asked if I got my eggs fine today, discussed the saga of the eggs and described last Saturday and Monday's chain of events. She tracked down GPS of the carrier, looks like at the time my box got marked delivered, he was delivering another box a couple miles away with a similar street number (though totally different street name). She suspects he dropped both boxes there, and tentatively confirmed that GPS didn't show him at my place that day. She is going to check into it. If they find the box, we're to mark it damaged/refused so the seller can claim insurance. If it's not found, seller would claim non-delivered/missplaced, so hopefully can recoop some funds. Hopefully will get this straightened out soon.

And that's how it should be done. She definitely sounds like the one to ask for all the time...lol. That's so unfortunate about your eggs...but I'm glad she's helping to solve and resolve the issue.

Hopefully funds can be recouped.

ARRGH!

All my hens are getting in with my broody girl and soiling her eggs. I tried putting wire over the most of the box (she is a bantam and they aren't) and that doesn't work. I tried marking her eggs and the pencil got rubbed off. I can't move her or she'll break up. Last time this happened my hen lost all of her chicks and I don't want it to happen again. I'm so glad that Princess lets me move her.

Interesting observation on my Dalmatians. They seem to "wean" their chicks as soon as they fully feathered. Princess stays with hers until they leave her (2 or so months old), but Ruby and Susie both left their chicks at only 4-5 weeks of age.

Susie, sitting on the wrong nest because another hen kicked her off her own.

I've never done this, but could a piece of cardboard be cut and stapled on with a hole just the size for only her to get through??? I'm reaching here...lol.

3 more eggs from the girls this afternoon, for a total of 7 today (2 yesterday, 1 before, zero for weeks with no lights).

Like a light switch flip, we're back in business. Apparently a red bulb is enough to stimulate them (didn't have a white one to put in there at the time and haven't switched out.)

Really? I was hoping red light wouldn't make a difference.

Had some chickies hatch today. Salmon Faverolles and Welsummers. Should be getting my new bloodline faverolles eggs next week

Cuties!!!

My hygrometer came!


The probe is too big for the ventilation holes :wah


Does anyone know if Incubator Warehouse is good about returns? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for a hygrometer with a probe that will fit through a pencil-sized hole?

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Quote:
You're very welcome!!

I'd like to say I could give a good information from the large hatch I have in, it's a staggered hatch...but I've been away 3 days this week and they've only been turned 1-2 times on those days. I've also had chicks flapping and throwing stuff ON the incubator.

I'm sure that's not going to be good. But we're gonna see on the 15th!

 

[jaide]

CONGRATS what kind????? 
[/quote]

 

[Humbug3445]

The trader joes i have is a grocery store it sll grocerys.

 

[generaldsherman]

Probably it was a once or twice thing. Sometimes at the beginning or end of the five day cycle they seem to have an oops (at least, this what I'm guessing). It can also happen (I think) with a change in light, temperature, stress or molting.

Ok thanks. She must've gotten scared by something in the yard.

My hygrometer came!


The probe is too big for the ventilation holes :wah


Does anyone know if Incubator Warehouse is good about returns? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for a hygrometer with a probe that will fit through a pencil-sized hole?

I'd bet the actual hygrometer probe is teeny-I've seen digital temperature probes and they're FAR smaller than that large white thing. The white thing will just be a cover-possibly a removable one

(have a computer geek Dad who wires up the thermal sensors for me to track things like temperatures in my iguana's sanctuary)

 

[cree57i]

I am on day 18, 14, 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2 of my test hatches.

I bow down to your organizational skill

 

[Sally Sunshine]

CONGRATS what kind?????

[/QUOTE]

congrats!

there may be some tips in the incu section here for that!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubating-w-friends-helpful-notes-links-informational-post-links

 

[draye]

Heres a list of numbers that gave been guessed already in the Guess the number set contest.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...site&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

Wished I knew about it before I went thru and write call those numbers down.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Speaking of which, I should update on the 5 egg hatch I just did...

Out of the five eggs to hatch from last weekend; two hatched (they are my avatar pic), one chick had internally pipped then died and two had died prior to hatching day because they were wet and didn't appear ready at all.

One of the eggs that didn't make it WAS one of the eggs with a rolling air cell that ended turned into a saddle air cell. But I should have marked everything on the eggs as I was candling at the time so I knew them apart. I've decided to make a list of different things I want to note on the eggs instead of the X on the egg so I can keep track.


Here's the two chicks from last weekend with 2 - 3 week old OEGBs chicks that I put in with them.
(The OEGBs are SO tiny and SO cute...lol)




It was mentioned earlier about thermometer? I'm loving the glass tube floating thermometers for aquariums. I just bought a third one. They're a bit harder to read, but they're small enough to put just about anywhere and they won't hurt a chick if the chick gets on it or if the thermometer falls on them, it handles the environment beautifully AND they're super cheap. The two previous ones are accurate with the outdoor thermometers I calibrated. The ones I bought also have a suction cup so I've got one mounted on the underside of the glass window of my incubator lid.

They've helped me to determine that there are no hot or cold spots in the incubator. I'm considering dropping one into a pudding cup of water to give an idea of the internal egg temperature.

 

[Penny Hen]

Well today has been frustrating. One of my hens didn't return from free ranging today. She is in the middle of a hard molt and I worry that she will be cold tonight even if nothing got her.
I was wiring my incubator with the new thermostat and hooked it all up ...... and nothing happened

But I was getting tired so I called it quits for the night. I will try and figure out what is wrong tomorrow.