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

[Dubrovnik]

I'm down to 12 Easter Hatchalong eggs after disposing of my Safeway Rock Island brown eggs that got baked by a heat surge. My twelve remaining candled eggs have some spiders at day six, though!
They are Nutrifresh Trader Joe eggs, probably with White Leghorns inside.

Never put the LG thermometer probe on room temp eggs, is the lesson I have learned.

 

[GitaBooks]

I made this today for my dad's birthday. What do you guys honestly think?

I really like it, but my husband was less than impressed.

It's awesome!!!!!!

Ok, so I candled my HAL eggs last night (it was day 7 for me). Out of the 57 eggs set, I pulled 13 clears, and 3 blood rings. One of the BCM looked questionable to me, but I left it in for now. So that leaves me with 41 eggs for now.

Breed breakdown...

Bielefelders - 12 out of 12 fertile (as far as I could tell)
Jubilee Orps - 9 out of 13 fertile
Swedish Flower Hens - 4 out of 8 fertile
Wheaten Ameraucanas - 5 out of 5 fertile, but 2 blood rings
Wheaten AM x Polish - 3 out of 3 fertile, but 1 blood ring
Blue/Black FCM - 6 out of 6 fertile, with 1 questionable
Silkies - 5 of 5 fertile
Buff Orps - 0 of 5 fertile (my Buffs had a slow start this Spring, but fertility is looking better for the next batch I put in this week)

My first tray that is due to hatch next week is looking good - only pulled one clear and one blood ring on the BCM's that I wasn't sure on last time. 39 eggs moving towards Lockdown on Tuesday!!

Can't wait!!!

This batch includes 8 of my own SBELs - Wheaten AM x White Leghorn!

Best of luck!

Just got 18 out of 20 hatched, now I can unstack my HAL eggs. 15 are pictured, 3 are still wet in the bator. 13 of these already went to their new home! (Including the one in the single pic). There's one more pipped & no sign from the last egg, a BCM. These are all from my own flock various prod hens that lay brown, white, blue/green and dark brown, all by EE roosters. Possibility of the Legbar roo as well. This batch has a lot of black ones in it...

Beautiful chicks! I love their colors!

I joined a while back pending broody hen cooperation, no hen parked during the right time frame so I'm not participating for numbers...but go figure, today a hen decided to set, lol...

They'll do that won't they.

Always on their own time.

Keep following along. We'd love to hear her progress.

I have a pip in the right place! Bantam Barred Rock cochins..and I looked closer .. and in the morning instead of late night at the other..it isn't a pip at the wrong end.

Yes, I laugh at myself...more and more the older I get.

Well, I'm glad the egg is okay.

Sometimes you can check something ten times and realize on the eleventh you've had it wrong the whole time. I don't think it comes with age, I think it has something to do with being human.

If you can break an egg open in a ziploc bag, very carefully, maybe the blastodisc wouldn't have disintegrated?

Yes, I always break eggs into a plastic bag. I do it around hatching time when I think an egg is dead but am not sure, so I open them carefully to see that there is no live chick and then throw it out if not or put it back in the incubator with no harm done if it is alive.

I was planning to take Marble to the swap tomorrow, but she's got huge bald spot around her vent. She's the only one that looks like that. I've checked her over for mites and lice. There's nothing there that explains what the heck is going on! It's driving me insane!

I don't want to treat them all again. Oddball and Jewel had mites a while back, so I treated EVERYONE. I've checked everyone else- nothing. Marble is the only one missing feathers.

Any ideas on what's going on? I really want to get rid of this hen. I can't stand her. But I'm not willing to make whatever is going on someone else's problem.

You've gotten some great answers, but just thought I would add that some animals can be allergic to certain times of pine or cedar beddings. Its deadly for small rodents, pet invertebrates, and is dangerous for reptiles and small birds. It could be bad for hens too in some cases.

I'm in , 10 eggs set

Awesome!

Removed my clears last night. Left 3 question mark eggs but I am pretty sure they will be taken out in 3 days. Down to 36 developing and 3 iffy eggs.

Even though its no fun to have clears, its always nice to know you've got all those removed that could rot. I enjoy knowing all the eggs in my incubator are healthy.

I bought two chicks this yr. One did fine, the other had a small problem for about a week. Doing great now.

Yeah, some breeds and some individuals are more prone to dirty back-ends. It can depend on feathering, shape, diet, health, parasites, egg laying, ect. Some hens that lay a lot of eggs can get messy as they age and may begin to lay shelless eggs at times, and since Leghorns lay so much and are prone to developing egg laying issues they may get dirtier with age.

Went to TSC today finally and saw the chicks and there were a LOT of reds (well only one bin actually labeled "rhode island red", one labeled bantams but empty and one jersey giant bin, the rest were labeled "pullets" supposedly assorted breeds but looked entirely reds to me) and anyway, all in large metal feed troughs, ALL heat lamp clamped to side. Babies crammed like sardines in there. Felt sorry for them. But of course MHP is too expensive and takes up too much room to be efficient for those babies, got 6 feed troughs in a gated area. Felt so bad though.

I know, I always love to take little chicks home and give them a wonderful new brooder and a warm heat-light and clean bedding. I wish I could take them all.

Is it necessary to candle all the eggs?

Not really, but there is the risk of eggs exploding if they are left in and rot. I generally candle eggs around day 7 and again just before lock-down.

I only got 5 babies from my bantam eggs. I helped them all once one had made a zip only a fourth of a way after 10 hrs. of working on it. Had stopped chirping as much. Boy, it popped out like . . whew! Finally. Up and at em right away.
So, thought I best check the others. 4 not moving..sure enough dead..bad bad air cells, but everything absorbed... :/ .. the others were alive, and all but one popped up right away, they had absorbed everything! If I hadn't helped..pretty sure I would have lost more. No pips in any other than the first one. Helped going into day 22.

I'm so sorry about the ones you lost. I had the same thing happen.

But I'm also so glad the others are doing well after being helped. I had to help a few who were upside-down in their shell recently and two of my survivors are out tucked under broody hens and doing wonderfully (after they had strengthened up).

I'm down to 12 Easter Hatchalong eggs after disposing of my Safeway Rock Island brown eggs that got baked by a heat surge. My twelve remaining candled eggs have some spiders at day six, though!
They are Nutrifresh Trader Joe eggs, probably with White Leghorns inside.

Never put the LG thermometer probe on room temp eggs, is the lesson I have learned.

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope all the rest of your eggs hatch well.

 

[JoyfulPromise]

Just candled, and out of 60 eggs I only tossed 6 certain clears. No blood rings that I could see. Very happy with that.

I have a very strange egg though. I have an egg with a air cell on its side- not a shipped egg, it is one of mine. I even incubate my eggs upright. It is the strangest thing. Has anyone else seen anything like this?

I had a couple of eggs like this last year! The weird thing was that I knew whose eggs they were - one of our best Barred Plymouth Rock hens. I set several of her eggs under a broody last year along with some others, but I had hers marked, and when I candled them part way through, most of hers had a normal air cell at the top, but one had a normal SIZED air cell directly in the middle of the side of the egg. I was worried, but it looked like it was developing ok, and the chick ended up hatching fine on its own!

I noticed it on another egg later that year from a different hen, who also had a 2nd egg in the incubator with a normal air cell. I think I had to help this out out a bit, but the chick was fine.

If your egg looks like it is developing, then I would leave it in and just keep an eye on it at hatch time.

 

[LocalYokel]

Local..

Cynth!

e

 

[ShrekDawg]

I get the store stuff if it has the mother in it. It's a little expensive for vinegar, but worth it. I did manage to get the Nutri-Drench while I was at the swap.

That's ok, Chooks. I got a lot of great advice. I'm planning to treat them again, just in case they're there and I'm not seeing them for some reason.

Didn't realize they sold ones with the mothet at stores!! Not a regular grocery stores right?

It's awesome!!!!!!


Best of luck!


Beautiful chicks! I love their colors!


They'll do that won't they. Always on their own time.

 
Keep following along. We'd love to hear her progress.


Well, I'm glad the egg is okay.

Sometimes you can check something ten times and realize on the eleventh you've had it wrong the whole time. I don't think it comes with age, I think it has something to do with being human.


Yes, I always break eggs into a plastic bag. I do it around hatching time when I think an egg is dead but am not sure, so I open them carefully to see that there is no live chick and then throw it out if not or put it back in the incubator with no harm done if it is alive.


You've gotten some great answers, but just thought I would add that some animals can be allergic to certain times of pine or cedar beddings. Its deadly for small rodents, pet invertebrates, and is dangerous for reptiles and small birds. It could be bad for hens too in some cases.


Awesome!


Even though its no fun to have clears, its always nice to know you've got all those removed that could rot. I enjoy knowing all the eggs in my incubator are healthy.


Yeah, some breeds and some individuals are more prone to dirty back-ends. It can depend on feathering, shape, diet, health, parasites, egg laying, ect. Some hens that lay a lot of eggs can get messy as they age and may begin to lay shelless eggs at times, and since Leghorns lay so much and are prone to developing egg laying issues they may get dirtier with age.


I know, I always love to take little chicks home and give them a wonderful new brooder and a warm heat-light and clean bedding. I wish I could take them all.

Not really, but there is the risk of eggs exploding if they are left in and rot. I generally candle eggs around day 7 and again just before lock-down.


I'm so sorry about the ones you lost. I had the same thing happen.

But I'm also so glad the others are doing well after being helped. I had to help a few who were upside-down in their shell recently and two of my survivors are out tucked under broody hens and doing wonderfully (after they had strengthened up).


I'm sorry to hear that. I hope all the rest of your eggs hatch well.

Me too!! Even a bigger brooder with less chicks is much better! And i actually even used the MHP so even one step further and getting them away from heat lamp at all and they can have a dark place. Though with a big enough brooder and clean shavings the heat lamp is still good. I just feel so bad theyre crammed in there and in that hot metal thing. Also is it just me or sre the chicks TINY? Maybe I just don't remember since mine are so big now but they just seem much smaller than mine looked even as day olds. But then again mine came from Meyer Hatchery and arrived day after they hatched but still, even the jersey giants seem like tiny little nuggets hahah

 

[butterfliesdoku]

Question: When should one start to see development in shipped eggs with ruptured air cells? It's only day three but I candled two and saw nothing, nada, zip.

 

[Chickenluver106]

Question: When should one start to see development in shipped eggs with ruptured air cells? It's only day three but I candled two and saw nothing, nada, zip.

Candle again at day five and you should see veins here is a candling chart that I use

 

[gotro17]

I lurk daily and want to jump on often but can't stick around for meaningful conversation...

I had 44 in the bator for the HAL and just candled. None of my Foley line, Silver laced Wyandottes seem to have been fertile. Minus 8 there. 1 CCL of 2 is going strong, the other is scrambled. 1/1 olive Egger looks good. 13/18 Foley Blue Laced red Wyandottes and 12/12 lavender Orpingtons are good... 35 still, altogether- @Sally Sunshine
It's a beautiful day here in Southern Cal so I thought I'd share a pic of the pets enjoying my popcorn I just spilled...

Heidi- our volunteer chicken poop janitor

 

[Razadia]

Quote:
I did not know that, but I doubt that's the problem. I use hay in the boxes and have open air, dirt floor coops. I don't like using shavings.

Quote: Yep! Braggs is one brand that has it.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I did not know that, but I doubt that's the problem. I use hay in the boxes and have open air, dirt floor coops. I don't like using shavings.

Yep! Braggs is one brand that has it.

I think ive heard of that brand but i dont know if it would be in a normal store though? Like besides a trader joes or whole foods or something, just like a regular stop&shop, hanmafords, walmart? If not maybe i,can get it online