Tis Time for a March 2020 Hatch-a-long!

[Alaskaliz]

That poor chick is so lonely. I hope it's siblings hatch soon.

Try a small stuffed animal

 

[julskinka]

That poor chick is so lonely. I hope it's siblings hatch soon.

Did you leave it in the incubator to encourage the others to hatch?

 

[FortCluck]

Did you leave it in the incubator to encourage the others to hatch?

The others have already made huge holes in the shells so I took it out so it could stretch its legs. It's in the brooder sleeping.

 

[julskinka]

Ziggy has such pretty coloring. All of them are nice looking birds, even Big. I'm surprised she isn't laying though. How old is she?

Thanks! I think they are all pretty, except the "olive eggers."* I think they look like Ms. Trunchbull from Matilda, but that's mostly due to their personalities.

Big is 42.86 weeks today. So, she's officially post-dates.

*In quotes because one lays brown eggs, and the other, as aforementioned, doesn't lay at all.

 

[Mylied]

Thanks! I think they are all pretty, except the "olive eggers."* I think they look like Ms. Trunchbull from Matilda, but that's mostly due to their personalities.

Big is 42.86 weeks today. So, she's officially post-dates.

*In quotes because one lays brown eggs, and the other, as aforementioned, doesn't lay at all.

Wow, that's so late. I don't think I've ever had a regular sized chicken take so long. I've had silkies take 8 or 9 months. Tell her she has to pay her way one way or another. The egg or the pot. That'll get her going. I had easter eggers that mostly laid brown eggs. I loved having cream legbars and their pretty blue eggs.

 

[gmjarvi]

@CluckNDoodle i have a magicfly that holds 24 and HB life that holds 12. They are both forced air with the auto turners

Can anyone recommend a good calibrated thermometer we got 2 probe style thermometers/ hygrometers and they are so far off it’s ridiculous I go by the metal oven thermometers we have that I tested in ice/ boiling water.. and these small hygrometers we have seem to work well

I have a magicfly/Janoel 12, too, and it is a bit tricky to get the humidity level to stay steady. I took a cap from an empty spice container (the red ones, McCormick?) and put it underneath the top tray, and poured tiny amounts of water directly into it. I got a four pack of digital thermometer/hygrometers...they are cheap and so I don't think they can be calibrated, and certainly not in ice/boiling water. But I watched them for a couple days on my counter and my thermostat and they all read the same temperature that my thermostat read so I figured...good enough! I've kept the humidity around 30% throughout incubation and got 13% average weightloss by Day 16, so at least the ones I received seem to be fairly accurate.

For lockdown (tomorrow) I plan to put a damp paper towel in to help keep the humidity higher during the hatch.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I have a magicfly/Janoel 12, too, and it is a bit tricky to get the humidity level to stay steady. I took a cap from an empty spice container (the red ones, McCormick?) and put it underneath the top tray, and poured tiny amounts of water directly into it. I got a four pack of digital thermometer/hygrometers...they are cheap and so I don't think they can be calibrated, and certainly not in ice/boiling water. But I watched them for a couple days on my counter and my thermostat and they all read the same temperature that my thermostat read so I figured...good enough! I've kept the humidity around 30% throughout incubation and got 13% average weightloss by Day 16, so at least the ones I received seem to be fairly accurate.

For lockdown (tomorrow) I plan to put a damp paper towel in to help keep the humidity higher during the hatch.

I got a big pack of the cheapo thermometer/hygrometers too. I calibrated a meat thermometer and checked them all against that, I was surprised how accurate most of them were. A year later I've thrown a few away but the way I look at it, if I have multiple of the cheapos I'll know when one goes bad.

 

[julskinka]

Woooo at least 4 rockers, and I may be going mental because I thought I heard faint chirping. But then I realized it was the songbirds outside. But then the song birds went away, and I heard it again. Or I imagined it. Auditory hallucinations, maybe. Even now . . . there is maybe a like squeaking coming from over there? They don't do it when my ear is pressed to the incubator tho, of course.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Woooo at least 4 rockers, and I may be going mental because I thought I heard faint chirping. But then I realized it was the songbirds outside. But then the song birds went away, and I heard it again. Or I imagined it. Auditory hallucinations, maybe. Even now . . . there is maybe a like squeaking coming from over there? They don't do it when my ear is pressed to the incubator tho, of course.

I bet you have some internal pips and you're really hearing them!

 

[smfarman]

My humidity went above 55%, quit warm outside today and my AC didn't come on. So, I decide to lift up the lid to bring it down. I figured that while I had the lid up I would candle a few eggs D4, I saw the spider in both of cream legbars that I candled, but they moved before I could take pic is this normal