Valentine's day hatch-a-long 2017

[gimmie birdies]

Nice I tossed in some of my own eggs to go with the other people's farm eggs, maybe 50 total in 3 incubators, I will candle in a few days.

 

[k5crew]

I set 40 mixed eggs on the 25th. Expecting a Valetine's hatch. Mine is in a kindergarten class and it will s so fun to watch the kids react to everything.

Also one of my pullets went broody this week. Looks like they will get a momma!

I'll post pics tomorrow.

 

[Lamancha]

I need to go move a bunch of eggs over to my hatcher and put them on lockdown so I think I will candle my V-day eggs to see how they are doing. Should be able to see something by now.

 

[BlueBaby]

I grabbed 12 more fridge eggs from vet, pretty dark ones, a couple of white ones, and another green, and 2 spotted ones.Then from the store I bought a dz.fertile, Dark brown, tan, and one lone white one.. I went to a second hand store, they had a plug in skillet with dial, I thought I would try to do babies in it, since my crock pot idea has been working so well. and it was cheap. I got it home and tested it and it started to smoke right away, it was burning it's own cords. I unplugged it quick, and put it in the snow, it went in the garbage after it cooled. So scary!

I was just reading the postings here, and I seen your post here. How do you hatch chicks in a crockpot? I have never heard of doing that method before. I'm not hatching chicks due on Valentines Day. I do have some hatching eggs on order, though.

 

[BlueBaby]

Good luck to all of you who have hatch dates for Valentines Day!

 

[drumstick diva]

Sending good hatching vibes to all entrants here -

 

[gimmie birdies]

Bluebaby-I have a home made incubator at home, I have hatched in this a number of times...

it is 18''x18''x18'' lined with foam, on the bottom a glass baking dish (you can use foil)and a clamp lamp. 15 w.
currently I have a wire basket (supports and holds up the upper wire) on the floor of the incubator, place wire on top of that and then add dish towel, and eggs away from the heat side, and don't put eggs against the walls. (ignore the sticks) and foil walls.



but, my incubator crock pot version is using the box from above, I take out the lamp and the supporting basket. save the wire that goes on top, I set the crock pot in the box on a glass tray, remove the lid, the crock pot has to have a dial on it, not just low and hi temp. turn on the dial just enough to turn on light back off a tick.put wire back over unlidded pot with a cloth and thermometer. heat over night making the temp about 101.5 or so. eggs would go over the pot opening. you can use a strainer basket to keep them in place. I currently have 12 on mine I have a shot glass of water near by, will add a sponge at hatching time.





This was the very last batch I hatched from just the box one.

 

[BlueBaby]

Bluebaby-I have a home made incubator at home, I have hatched in this a number of times...

it is 18''x18''x18'' lined with foam, on the bottom a glass baking dish (you can use foil)and a clamp lamp. 15 w.
currently I have a wire basket (supports and holds up the upper wire) on the floor of the incubator, place wire on top of that and then add dish towel, and eggs away from the heat side, and don't put eggs against the walls. (ignore the sticks) and foil walls.



but, my incubator crock pot version is using the box from above, I take out the lamp and the supporting basket. save the wire that goes on top, I set the crock pot in the box on a glass tray, remove the lid, the crock pot has to have a dial on it, not just low and hi temp. turn on the dial just enough to turn on light back off a tick.put wire back over unlidded pot with a cloth and thermometer. heat over night making the temp about 101.5 or so. eggs would go over the pot opening. you can use a strainer basket to keep them in place. I currently have 12 on mine I have a shot glass of water near by, will add a sponge at hatching time.





This was the very last batch I hatched from just the box one.

Ok, thanks for sharing the pictures to help to show how you do it. I'm still waiting on my Black Australorp hatching eggs from Kurt, so I'm not in this hatch-along except for getting this question answered, and to give good hatch wishes to those who are.

 

[k5crew]

So excited!!! We candles today and at saw movement in 10, veining in 10 and only 3 not fertile - out of 40. I have a bunch of dark shelled eggs that were hard for me to tell what was happening.

 

[BlueBaby]

So excited!!! We candles today and at saw movement in 10, veining in 10 and only 3 not fertile - out of 40. I have a bunch of dark shelled eggs that were hard for me to tell what was happening.

I'm glad for you! Yes, I have heard that the darker colored that the egg is, the harder for you to see through it at candling.