THE MOTHER'S DAY HATCH-A-LONG!!!! The last day to join in and set eggs with us is April 28th.

[AmyLou1782]

I like snakes.. so I'm of no help on how to kill one....

though if I lived closer I would be happy to come get them if they were alive!

If he wasn't eating my eggs I would let him be since we do have lots of Copperheads around here. I've heard though that once a snake finds eggs, they won't go away. You either have to relocate it or kill it. I'd love it if you could come get it! My husband and I work with lots of men, surely one of them would like to come get it, I know where it is and I don't see it going far. I'm moving my broody and her eggs tomorrow to be on the safe side until we can put up some hard cloth wire. We've been trying to get together a game plan. I've always been terrified of snakes but I went all warrior princess over my chickens today...I was kind of surprised at myself!

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

Ok here are mine. I thought there were 20---but there are 22 BLRW eggs set 4/28 at 11 pm. Is that close or what? I picked them up in SLC and had to drive them back home to set them that night, I have witnesses haha! I was with another BYC member when I picked them up and got them from another BYC member.

 

[ChestnutRidge]

Oh man, you got a German NH! I want one, or two, really bad. I have a little muttsky out there, well, it's a NH, but not the German..love the lacing around the neck on the Germans!

I love them too! So beautiful, and I love the shape!

I have 4 now and 3 more pips!

Silkiemelon, I bet I will have an extra roo! (Don't we always?) Where are you?

 

[isis]

So far this year I've failed at hatching anything... but I'll join! Maybe the worst rate award is for me XD Though the BEST prize would be some of these chicks hatching!



So I have 20 eggs total that count for the contest days. 15 chicken and 5 duck. The chickens are 8 black silkies and 7 showgirls(?!) first gen silkie roo/turken hen cross. The ducks are crested pekin/pekin. The picture has the non-contest eggs crossed out.

All of my chicken eggs look like they are developing (hard to tell on brown eggs!). Two ducks are good, two were infertile and I'm not sure what I did with the 5th one XD Going to re-check the bator (and discards!) tomorrow when I'm more awake lol.

 

[yinepu]

If he wasn't eating my eggs I would let him be since we do have lots of Copperheads around here. I've heard though that once a snake finds eggs, they won't go away. You either have to relocate it or kill it. I'd love it if you could come get it! My husband and I work with lots of men, surely one of them would like to come get it, I know where it is and I don't see it going far. I'm moving my broody and her eggs tomorrow to be on the safe side until we can put up some hard cloth wire. We've been trying to get together a game plan. I've always been terrified of snakes but I went all warrior princess over my chickens today...I was kind of surprised at myself!

nah.. we had a female Texas rat snake here for years (a fox got her last summer).. we would feed her an occasional egg.. but mostly she wanted the rodents. I've seen her slither past nests of eggs ignoring them while on the scent of a mouse.
lol.. When people would drive up and see her lounging the the yard my husband would tell them she was our "attack trained guard snake"

 

[HEChicken]

lol.. When people would drive up and see her lounging the the yard my husband would tell them she was our "attack trained guard snake"

I love it!

 

[MMB53]

I set up my second genesis bater today. Glad to not have to worry about the temp so much as with the little giant. Now I have a bater to use for lockdown.

I have a quick question, if I set my MD hatch a long eggs on Fri night on the 20th. Would I put them on lockdown tues night the 8th? That would give me 3 full days.

 

[Arielle]

I set up my second genesis bater today. Glad to not have to worry about the temp so much as with the little giant. Now I have a bater to use for lockdown.
I have a quick question, if I set my MD hatch a long eggs on Fri the 20th. Would I put them on lockdown tues night the 8th? That would give me 3 full days.

My understanding is that this is flexible. If the air cells are not big enough, I continue incubating another day and then lockdown, but I don't increase the humidity until I hear a peep. THen I put in the warm wet sponges. THis is what works for me. If the air cells look good and the temps have been spot on, I stop turning the eggs with 3 full days to go. I also set as close to midnight as I can because this day count system messes me up l LOL

 

[MMB53]

Thanks Arielle! So when I remove egg turner, candle eggs and have the nifty air cell diagram that was posted here handy to measure my cells! I got it. Thanks again. I 'm getting so excited to candle this batch of eggs this week. I have some that will be hatching this weekend. Almost all the eggs were developing. Sure hope I got it right for the hatch!

 

[Bigfamily4me]

Weird candling question...
I candled my duck eggs tonight. All 16 have moving ducklings in there. But in 5 or 6 I saw dark spots. I'm not sure how to describe them. I've never seen them in chicken eggs before. They are not part of the duck. They are not part of the vascularization. I'm wondering if I can see bacteria growing in the egg??? These spots remind me of mold on cheese. Anybody have any idea what I'm talking about?!