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

[CluckNDoodle]

@Mosey2003 I believe it was you that asked about producing an image with the air cell marked while weighing for a better air cell example. What days would you like me to mark? I numbered and weighed all of the Silkie eggs and marked the air cell for day 0. Does 0/7/14/18 sound right? I'll do the same with the Ameraucana eggs I'm getting in a few days, that way we'll have both a bantam and a standard example in light colored eggs so you can actually see my marks. lol

 

[hysop]

Line breeding is breeding within a family line. Cousins aunts uncles etc etc. Inbreeding is breeding mother to son. Brother and sister and so on.

You can inbreed once and then go for an outcross or somewhere else in the line (but far enough away ie to an aunt or cousin.)

You can linebreed for longer as the idea is that you bring in new blood along the way through outcrossing.

The more you inbreed or linebreed the more you fix in both positive and negative traits.

It's a good idea to draw up a plan and map your breeding. hth

Thank you! Yes, I see that drawing something up will be best to keep track.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Clucknd- it is good to see another person going bonkers with eggs, now I don't feel as bad.

Oh it's so much worse than I'm admitting to. I mean, if anyone was trying to track the eggs I said I was getting they'd be confused because I have literally been communicating with 6 different people about eggs this month and I just adjusted time frame based on who could get me eggs in different time frames. I'm technically still getting Ayam Cemanis and Bantam Buff Cochins, there is just going to be a delay, lol...don't even get me started on the auctions that THANK GOODNESS I didn't win because I actually would have to turn on my 5th incubator if I did!

I just love hatching chicks. I can't get a cabinet incubator because I would just overflow that too. lol

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have 2 incubators going and waiting on a 3rd, I could have been really quiet and sneaky about it all if it was not for the one incubator taking too long to arrive. My freak out level was bad and spilled out, now DH knows more than he should, but he just said he was surprised I was hiding and secret incubating because what ever makes me happy. I think sneak incubating around is fun though.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I would not be so manic about the whole thing if the darn yellow top incubator had not quit on me last month killing off chicks in the air cells, that sent me in to high incubation/egg buying mode.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I would not be so manic about the whole thing if the darn yellow top incubator had not quit on me last month killing off chicks in the air cells, that sent me in to high incubation/egg buying mode.

I'm sorry! That is definitely frustrating. I'm glad everything is starting to come together for you though!

This is the time of year where I can hatch lots of extra peeps because the demand is higher locally. I have to taper down as the season ends or I'll end up with more peeps than I can keep, lol. So my husband is usually ok with the massive influx of peeps as long as I keep moving them out (or if I sneak some under a broody hen he won't notice, lol).

 

[hysop]

So as you know I bought chicks on Saturday so I’m used to the chirping since they are indoors until tomorrow. (Meant to take em out today but too much to do today). I kept hearing chirps and thought it was them but now I think it’s one of my eggs!!! They’ve internally pipped!! I hope so anyway, it sounds different than the ones in my bathroom. I can’t wait!! Is it 24 hrs from internally pipped or from actually breaking the shell that they’ll break out completely?

 

[gimmie birdies]

Demand is high now, I do have 3 friends with their hands out waiting for my hatch. They are okay with mutts and EE my more expensive eggs LO, legbars, and olive eggers will be sold, after I have my pick. I do have a friend who is a breeder, and he said he will take my pure rooster chicks for fresh blood, so that is good.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

So as you know I bought chicks on Saturday so I’m used to the chirping since they are indoors until tomorrow. (Meant to take em out today but too much to do today). I kept hearing chirps and thought it was them but now I think it’s one of my eggs!!! They’ve internally pipped!! I hope so anyway, it sounds different than the ones in my bathroom. I can’t wait!! Is it 24 hrs from internally pipped or from actually breaking the shell that they’ll break out completely?

There's a lot of waiting in hatching, lol. It can be as much as 24 hours from pip to zip but they don't have a stopwatch in there so they're just going to take whatever time they need regardless of how much we sit and stare at them.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I am doing that, and they are not even hatching.