Trader Joes & Other Grocery Store Egg Hatching Club - Are you a Member

[Kaylish]

Candled yesterday (day 7); out of 10 TJ eggs set I have 6 clears, 1 blood ring and 3 developing. Hope my luck gets better and all 3 make it to lockdown.

 

[boomchicken]

good news on your eggs, guys!

My four TJs are six weeks old now and it's really clear which ones are boys! I'd say their comb and wattles are proportional to how I remember my barred rocks and australorp pullets were when they were around 15 weeks old. The wattles really sprouted this last week and the red tone deepened.

I was planning on processing them but my gardener has volunteered to do the deed. He seems to be very chicken knowledgable, having built my coop with many improvements over my original design. He was offering to show me how to process, mentioned how delicious it was and I jumped on this... Oh you want them?? Oh please be my guest

 

[Kaylish]

good news on your eggs, guys!

My four TJs are six weeks old now and it's really clear which ones are boys! I'd say their comb and wattles are proportional to how I remember my barred rocks and australorp pullets were when they were around 15 weeks old. The wattles really sprouted this last week and the red tone deepened.

I was planning on processing them but my gardener has volunteered to do the deed. He seems to be very chicken knowledgable, having built my coop with many improvements over my original design. He was offering to show me how to process, mentioned how delicious it was and I jumped on this... Oh you want them?? Oh please be my guest

That's great! you'll have to let us know how it goes. Any roos I get are headed for the BBQ also.

 

[Amykins]

I've been a member here for over one year and I'm still flabbergasted that this actually works.

I highly recommend taking up your gardner's offer! It's good knowledge to have, after all. And potentially delicious knowledge, to boot!

 

[SpringPeeper]

I have three pips!

 

[XxPandaxX]

Posted here a long time ago about using Whole Foods eggs for hatching because in Michigan (at least the Metro Detroit area) there are no Trader Joe's that sell fertile eggs. Last time I tried, I was in 6th grade and had my home made incubator and only had one that started to develop which died early. This time I'm trying 24 eggs (2 cartons) except I threw about 3-4 out due to overly porous eggs or cracked eggs. I'm really winging the entire thing last minute and I could really use some help. I haven't done this in a long time (about three years ago when my hen, Turtle hatched and her brothers and sisters. She's the only one that made it past chick stage, but she's going strong and she's pretty awesome if I do say so myself.) I'm re-making my incubator. Here's my plan; I have an aquarium with a screen top. I'm going to lay some towel on the bottom, cut some ventilation holes in the egg cartons and put the eggs in. I already have the x and o marks on all of them - although I can't determine for some where the egg sac is, which is very annoying considering you can easily deform chicks like this and I don't want to be responsible for not another chicken's life. Ever. Although it's inevitable when you're hatching. Then on the other side of the aquarium, I'm going to put my water for humidity and I'm going to scatter thermometers around as well as a couple hygrometers. Keep the temperature at around 100 F and humidity between 40-50. I don't think I'm going to pay too much attention to humidity because a friend of mine tried "dry" incubating (pay no attention to humidity and then boost it in lockdown) and she got much better hatch rates. So turn the eggs three times a day, different ways so that the embryo doesn't stick to the egg shell. Keep that up, candle if you want to, remove rotten eggs or as you go along. During lockdown (day 18), leave the chicks alone and boost humidity to 60 and let them hatch. But I'm not understanding A. I'm going to need to cover some of the screen to retain heat (I'll be using a reptile bulb). Do you think they'll have enough oxygen? And B. During lockdown, do I take the eggs out of the carton or should the chicks be able to handle themselves?

 

[XxPandaxX]

My first attempt at Trader Joe's eggs, I bought 1 dozen. 4 developed and none of them hatched. All quit late. All the other eggs in the incubator that made it to lockdown, with the exception of 1 Marans egg, hatched. 
I decided to try again with the Trader Joe's eggs. One week ago I went and bought 2 dozen, and set  21 of them. Today is day 7, and of those 21 eggs, FIFTEEN are developing! 2 have blood rings. I have a good feeling about this time...   Out of 15 developing I have to have some hatch.

definitely. Looking forward to results!!

 

[SpringPeeper]

I have 2 little TJs chicks, not even five minutes old! Two pips, and the fifth kinda looks like an internal pip, but I am candling through the side of the bator so I'm not seeing well enough to be certain. So exciting!

 

[Peep_Show]

Congrats!

Don't forget to post pics after the hatch!

 

[SpringPeeper]

Congrats!

Don't forget to post pics after the hatch!

Definitely will. So far one is all yellow, one is yellow with one tiny little black spot.

Love your sig, by the way.