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

[1hotmoma]

Arielle, I so agree with you! I think a second incubator is in order. The chicken and turkey math is getting the best of me.

..

 

[what did I do]

here is my broody picture

 

[Hazelrah]

here is my broody picture

too cute!

 

[rarely bored]

Candled and it's a sad night in the potential Orp house. It's night 14 and I'm truly believing that we'll not have any hatch. I wanted them to be OK... I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything wrong, and I'm not done trying but yikes those were THE birdies I wanted.... (shrugging shoulders). I do not take defeat well.... Locking down on Sunday if there's anything to lock down....

Awwww,

uhm... is this better?



found him a few minutes ago.. as of 4:30 this morning (when my husband got up for work) he had only knocked off one of the loose pieces of shell... he's still pretty wobbly .. so he's probably been out for about 45 minutes now

Awwww

Candled last night in the hopes of removing eggs -- this stacking in the 'bator is not for me, and drat it, all of my eggs look good, except for 2 serama eggs which look like they quit. (and what is the point of removing serama eggs, it isn't like they take up space!)
Glad my roo is doing his job!

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I have an LG and it works fine for me. I bought it last summer and after a number of hatches, I'm doing pretty good. First time hatching = about 50% hatched. Last batch = 100% = 7/7 hatched. LG takes a little practice and lots of notes!

Quote: I just candled the 4 turkey eggs--the cells are not big enough. I will keep them in the HennyPenny on the top just in case and candle when I turn the other eggs. THe LG is the hatcher with 1 internal pip egg in it now.

here is my broody picture

Cute Kids! My boys love to peer into the incubators too . . . .

 

[Cynthia12]

OK then, here's my story.

Kestrel’s Birth​

The night was dark and silent except for the steady trill of peeper frogs singing love songs in the pond near by. Soft light from the moon showed a cat silhouetted in the doorway from my vantage point in the alleyway. I sat wrapped in layers of sleeping bag and blankets listening to the sound of peaceful chewing and soft snorts and sighs as the horses in the stalls surrounding me dozed or munched hay left over from supper. My mind wandered lazily as I watched the mare in the stall before me, still except for the occasional swish of her tail. A resting point then, as just a few minutes ago she was circling restlessly, snatching an occasional bit of hay as she passed it.

The warm red light in the corner washed her in a rosy glow and I could not help thinking how very beautiful she was, a true golden palomino, her white mane kept long. At 21 years old this would be her last baby; a last ditch effort to replace her 10 year old daughter we had lost the Christmas before last.

The barn itself seemed to hold it’s breath as the mare’s ears flew back and she resumed her circling. A ridge appeared along her belly and I shared a look with my mother sitting in her lawn chair nearby. It was close, we knew. A tricky one, this girl, I had missed her before but this was the third night we had kept vigil. Surely she couldn’t hold it much longer!

With a splash her water broke and she promptly lay down on the deep straw. Tension burned through us as we resisted the urge to leap up, but it wasn’t yet time to get involved. She rose again and resumed circling, the sweat on her neck and flanks blooming dark against her golden hide. I could see at last the tiny feet showing under her tail. When she lay down again I slipped in to make sure all was as it should be. I felt the baby’s slippery nose through the protective membrane resting on its outstretched legs and whispered affirmative to my own anxious mother. I stood back as she began to strain in earnest and we all tensed until at last the shoulders cleared the barrier and I knelt to clear the membrane from the baby’s lolling head.

With a groan the mare expelled the hips and the baby spilled into my lap, the membrane pulling away to reveal a lovely golden foal struggling with its first breath of cool midnight air. I gazed with wonder at this miracle dream come true and locked eyes with my mother as she stroked the sweaty neck of the gasping mare. I’ll never forget the joy we shared, my mother and I, in helping to bring this new filly into the world and we watched with tears of unbearable happiness as the mare rose unsteadily to her feet and began nickering softly to her daughter, welcoming her to the world.

Oh nice!

 

[Cynthia12]

I'm out. Candled my eggs at day 7 and saw nothing. Well, just the yolk floating around. Just candled again. Nothing.......Looks like the only one getting bred was the hen that is brooding 7 chicks. I need to check into this fertility issue. All ready trimmed the fluffy feathers on the butts. I will try and collect again.

Good luck everyone else!!!!!

Aww, sorry. Maybe some pics of those little baby chicks with mama? That would be so fun to see!

 

[Cynthia12]

uhm... is this better?



found him a few minutes ago.. as of 4:30 this morning (when my husband got up for work) he had only knocked off one of the loose pieces of shell... he's still pretty wobbly .. so he's probably been out for about 45 minutes now

Oh man, cute as a button..wish I could have them. Looks pretty healthy. All that hard work helped with that.

 

[yinepu]

I have an LG and it works fine for me. I bought it last summer and after a number of hatches, I'm doing pretty good. First time hatching = about 50% hatched. Last batch = 100% = 7/7 hatched. LG takes a little practice and lots of notes!

yeah.. the LG works great in a stable environment.. but it gets up well over 110 here in the summer and it it just too hot for the LG (we don't use AC)

So it gets disinfected and put away during the summer.. just not worth cooking eggs!

 

[yinepu]

Oh man, cute as a button..wish I could have them. Looks pretty healthy. All that hard work helped with that.

he is adorable.. I have had really good luck with shipped emu eggs. The only ones that didn't hatch were either scrambled in transit or infertile.. every fertile egg resulted in a baby emu..

I did keep the other eggs (blew out the insides) so I can carve the shells