Valentine's Day 1st Annual Hatch Along

[wornoutmomto3]

I wouldn't expect that chick to stay completely white. I'd say it would be white with some sort of coloring. Whether it be red or black or both. Mix breeds get interesting when hatching cause it shows all those hidden genetics.

I will have to keep a close watch on that one as it grows.

my broody hen is due to hatch today and tomorrow and when I checked hers she had 3 internal pips last night. So she should have chicks today. The incubator I won't open to check again but it's been a solid 99.3 to 99.8 the whole time. They were all alive yesterday morning when I did my final once over of all lockdown survivors. I had 2 svart hona eggs I pulled on day 18 cause they quit a few days before. Probably day 15 to 16 quitters. I caught the incubator at 98.8 a couple times but it wasn't for more than a couple hours when the wood stove let the house get a little cool. Anxiously waiting to get off work in hopes of chicks!

Edited cause I definitely didn't proof read that for spelling!

Yes, please!!!

I've always loved the look of Ohiki, but yours sound like they having amazing personalities, too! I wanna give treats to the bouncy one!

Ahhhh!!! You gotta stop! lol Jim would prolly make me sleep with the chickens if I bring up another breed... He wants Ayam Cemani, but I'm trying to win him over to Svart Honas... I like them better...

Svart Hona? Ohiki? Ayam Cemani? All these breed are new to me. I had to google them just to get an idea what they look like. The Ayam Cemani looks pretty cool, like an all black statue. Do any of these breeds make good backyard flock birds?

 

[StephensonC]

I have a question for those of you that have hatched bantams before. Something I just thought about. I am hatching LF and bantams. Do I need to set up a separate brooder for the bantams, since they will be so tiny? There are only 2 of them out of 28. Could the larger chicks possibly crush or step on the littles?

 

[Ravynscroft]

I will have to keep a close watch on that one as it grows.




Svart Hona? Ohiki? Ayam Cemani? All these breed are new to me. I had to google them just to get an idea what they look like. The Ayam Cemani looks pretty cool, like an all black statue. Do any of these breeds make good backyard flock birds?

Ayam Cemani's are very expensive and do not lay very much, from what I've heard anyways. They are fibromelanistic though, like Silkies and I think Svart Honas too. It means that EVERYTHING is black, skin, meat, bones, etc. It is said that fibromelanistic meat is healthier, prolongs life, etc. Not sure how much of it is true, but my Jim wants to do a project with them.
Minihorse927 can tell you more about Ohiki, but they're classified as ornamental birds, I believe. I just love how they look, and now their personalities, don't care about high egg production.

 

[Ravynscroft]

I have a question for those of you that have hatched bantams before. Something I just thought about. I am hatching LF and bantams. Do I need to set up a separate brooder for the bantams, since they will be so tiny? There are only 2 of them out of 28. Could the larger chicks possibly crush or step on the littles?

Depends on how small they are compared to the rest after they hatch. But with only 2 and that many bigger ones, prolly. Or put those with a couple of the smallest of the others, and maybe after a few days try to reintegrate them? It is pretty much an individual basis on that call. Some are fine together and some will not work. For the first day they should be ok, just watch them once they get their feet under them.

 

[Nedw3]

I have 2 external pips! No one has been peeping or rocking since yesterday. It makes me so nervous! My first hatch they all died shrink wrapped. Last hatch they pipped but got stuck, so I helped most of them out. The humidity was higher this time, so I'm determined to wait it out and let them hatch on their own. But it's so nerve wracking!

It is very nerve wracking, I keep looking for more pips but nothing yet. I have the two running around like crazy, so it's kind of hard to tell with the other eggs getting moved around.

 

[minihorse927]

Ayam Cemani's are very expensive and do not lay very much, from what I've heard anyways. They are fibromelanistic though, like Silkies and I think Svart Honas too. It means that EVERYTHING is black, skin, meat, bones, etc. It is said that fibromelanistic meat is healthier, prolongs life, etc. Not sure how much of it is true, but my Jim wants to do a project with them.
Minihorse927 can tell you more about Ohiki, but they're classified as ornamental birds, I believe. I just love how they look, and now their personalities, don't care about high egg production.

they pop an egg out 5 days a week on the ohiki.

 

[wornoutmomto3]

I have a question for those of you that have hatched bantams before. Something I just thought about. I am hatching LF and bantams. Do I need to set up a separate brooder for the bantams, since they will be so tiny? There are only 2 of them out of 28. Could the larger chicks possibly crush or step on the littles?

Quote:

Depends on how small they are compared to the rest after they hatch. But with only 2 and that many bigger ones, prolly. Or put those with a couple of the smallest of the others, and maybe after a few days try to reintegrate them? It is pretty much an individual basis on that call. Some are fine together and some will not work. For the first day they should be ok, just watch them once they get their feet under them.

My bantam crosses are a bit smaller than my standards but everyone is doing fine together.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had reg sized chicks and Mille fleur chick and the mille fleur got trampled. but that was in the box on the way home, (4.5hr drive)

I recently hatched out a one week old bantam, and put her in with 6 new bantams, it is not as much of a problem if you have more bantams to bigger chick ratio.

 

[wornoutmomto3]

This hatching thing is so crazy I have 10 chicks peeping and running about, but I keep going back to the incubator and watching the pipped and still unpipped eggs. There are three more pipped eggs. I will laugh if by the end of the day we only have 13 chicks hatched. It is Friday the 13th after all. LOL!

 

[Alaskan]

I too have a Brinsea..my temps in the house are so cold or variable even it is struggling!

wow... so sorry! I would probably try to cover it with blankets or somethiing, while keeping air holes open... but yep... that sucks.

I have a question for those of you that have hatched bantams before. Something I just thought about. I am hatching LF and bantams. Do I need to set up a separate brooder for the bantams, since they will be so tiny? There are only 2 of them out of 28. Could the larger chicks possibly crush or step on the littles?

I have brooded them together... as long as they grow up together, they are usually fine... but I actually haven't ever had a ratio like that... only tiny ones to so many big ones.

I would watch carefully.... keep an eye out on the, and you will know soon enough.



My last egg did this:

I helped the poor thing out... and he was all curled up.... the membranes had gotten stuck on him, so he couldn't rotate any more to hatch properly... anyway, I hope he straightens out and is healthy.

The guess of how many eggs contest is over, RIGHT?

So, I can say exactly how many eggs I set etc. etc... right?

Well, 6 were clear, out of 31 set the clears were 2 of my 6 olive eggs, and 4 of the Marans.

I had some very dirty, you clearly shouldn't incubate them eggs, that I set anyway.. I wanted to SEE if it really was bad.

It is... my 4 dead in shell... at various ages, were all in dirty eggs.

My one chick that died after hatch and after being all fluffed out and cute looking, for no clear reason... was also from a pretty dirty shell.

sigh.

Well, now I know.


So I have, running about

2 white leghorns

4 olive eggers, 3 that look like Marans, one that is brown

14 Marans