You know I couldn't wait. I just had to get some to hatch.
6+ Black Copper Marans
6+ Olive Eggers
My original plan was just to get something to get hatching experience. But then there are lots of ones that just don't appeal to me. So I had not planned to buy quite yet but when I saw this I just HAD to get it.
I know the BCM are great quality and that they are dark eggs. Also the line is from a great laying line. No mossies.
The Olive Eggers are from fabulously colored, deep colored eggs. They are from 2nd generation olive egger layers. First generation was EE hens and BCM rooster. Pullets grown out laying olive eggs were again put with BCM rooster. And they eggs they are laying are the ones I am getting. A very deep olive color.
This was not an e-bay auction but from another site. I couldn't belive what a great buy I got, I was prepaired to pay much more than they went for.
Now I only hope all goes well as I have never hatched before and I really want these to hatch and do well. We will see. I guess there is nothing like jumping in with both feet.
Bought Hatching Eggs
Please post pictures of the eggs when they arrive, they sound beautiful!
You're going to be a good chicken Mommy! LOL
I am planning on taking lots of pictures of those eggs before they go in the incubator. I know they have to 'rest' for 24 hours before they get set so that they can recover from the shipping.
My hatching eggs are here and I just unpacked them. Perfect packing, no damage and all eggs are perfect. I have 7 eggs of each. So 14 eggs to set in the incubator. I am going to take pictures of them. I did get some pictures of how they were packed. But now I want to get pictures of them in natural light so hopefully I can get acurate color. They are just gorgous.
Stay tuned, there will be updates to this thread.
Eggs still in box. They are in bubble wrap. Then each egg was indivually wrapped in bubble wrap. There was bubble wrap on top of them (and bottom) which I took out for this picture. They couldn't move in there yet were very cushioned.
The Olive Eggs
Black Copper Marans eggs in the sunlight.
In a more shady area.
Gorgeous eggs! I hope you have good luck with them.
Ohh how pretty! It's going to be so fun counting down the days with you!
Thanks guys :-))
They are pretty aren't they? Eggs like this seem too pretty to eat. Of course the point is to hatch girls that will lay similiar colored eggs which will be for eating.
Annie- What do you think of the olive color? I am fasinated by the idea of olive eggers.
I want some olive eggers LOL The color is very pretty. What color will the chicks be?
Annie- I know you want olive eggers as I remember you posting about that on another thread.
My olive egger chicks should be black, blue or possibly (small chance) of some brown pattern that I can't remember the real name for.
What worries me is that I am afraid I will not be able to tell the olive egger chicks and juveniles (3/4 Black Copper Marens blood) from the pure bred Black copper Marens chicks. I need some way of marking them right at hatch but can't figgure out how as they will all be mixed up in the incubator.
OK, I have egg envy after looking at the pics again LOL.
Is there a way to put a divider in the incubator? I have no idea what you can do to mark them. There must be a safe dye - since they sell all those green and pink colored chicks at Easter - to use on them. Maybe a drop of dye on their back when they hatch? I don't know how safe it would be to open the incubator during that critical time though. Take lots of pictures as they're drying so you can ID them later?
They go in the incubator today, right? Will this count as Day One, or tomorrow when they have been in for 24 hours?
They go in the incubator late today. So tomorrow will be day one. If I put them in at say 6PM then tomorrow 6pm will be day one.
I could dye them but by that time it would be too late, they will already be mixed up from the hatch. You open the incubator and make sure the humidity is high at day 18. Then from day 18 to 21 no more turning. Then you simply DO NOT OPEN the incubator until the chicks have all hatched. Hatched and dry. So you take them all out after they have been in there about 24 hours.
Theres a company in calf. that you order day old chicks i bought 25 you can split that 25 in half so I picked half cuckoo and half maran for those of you who don't want to wait they send extra roosters free to keep them warm on there travel I didn't loose one. Good luck on your incubation!
Breeder's use small "cages" for the eggs when they need to know which chick came from which egg. You can make them from screening or stiff mesh. Just a box with a hinged top that is big enough for all the eggs from one source. I've used plastic berry boxes for single eggs.
You don't turn the eggs for the last three days anyway, so the eggs can just sit in the box until the chicks have all hatched (you are supposed to leave the chicks in the incubator for the first 24 hours....they need the time at higher humidity to acclimate to life outside the eggs. It also keeps you from constantly opening the incubator to remove the earlier hatching chicks and thus drying out the later ones before they can hatch. A total hatch usually takes about 24 to 48 hours...sometimes longer.
I wish I really knew what I was doing but everyone has to start somewhere and learn sometime. I have been learning as much as I can.
The hardward cloth divider is a good idea, I had not thought of that. Since its only necessary at the end when you set the eggs for no turning during the last three days I have some time to figgure it out.
For the poster saying about the day old shipped chicks, there are hatcheries all over the country. Some of them even ship much less than the normal 25 chick requirement. But I wanted to start this way with the hatching eggs.
I have hatched lots we made are own incubator with fan. It sure is alot of fun usually ours was done with in 24 hours the one that take longer are usually the one with a problem. you have to remember to take the plugs out when they start hatching or there soaking wet got to keep humidity to get them out of shell low humidity the skin in the shell sticks to there feathers and they can't get out and die. But once there out humidity has to be less so they can dry once they were dry I would have a box with paper towel ready with thermometer at right heat ready for them water all ready in there I would show them the water and have a little food for them to keep busy so they don't spoke each other so much. As long as there not over crowded your good to go
Well, I am not the handy type and wouldn't know how to make an incubator. Certainly better (for me) to buy one.
Those Black Copper Marans eggs are at the end of the hens laying cyle. They have been laying since early in the year. So they DO lighten up. The thing with Marans is the very darkest eggs are laid ealier in the laying cycle. Its like they are running out of "paint" but after the winter break they go back to super dark again.
The seller sent me a piece of egg shell from earlier in the year, plus I had seen pictures of eggs sent earlier in the year and they were just astounding. Plus the picture was from a prior egg customer after they got their eggs so you just know its really true.
I just put the eggs into the incubator. So 7PM on Saturday September 18th. Before I put them in I looked with my new nice super duper candeler. Haven't got a clue what to look for so just had to be satisfied with the fact that I could get a light to shine in there. They look cool all glowing from the inside like that.
I do know that if they develop I will be able to see blood vessels growing in there. So just have to wait.
Remember to count the days from the day after your set them...so tomorrow will be day one.
It is going to be very hard to see veins in the olive eggs...so you may have to wait until quite late in the incubation to see that the chick is developing. You will see that part of the egg is dark and the dark part moves.
I don't plan to be too much looking at them. They will either develop or not. Its already pretty hard to see into some of them. I just thought I would look as it's all new to me.
You are suppose to check them at 11 days (most of us can't wait) to see if they are developing, because a rotting egg can burst and contaminate the whole incubation.
Ok, I will check. Just don't want to try and do it too often.
This is sort of the accepted wisdom about candling:
Don't do it the first 5 to 7 days because the newly forming veins are very delicate and could be damaged by sudden movement. or jarring.
Do it at about day 11 to make sure the chicks are developing and remove any eggs that are not developing (they will candle clear), have clear "beads" of something on the outside (indicating that gases from decomposition are increasing pressure in the inside and pushing the white out), or smell bad. Do it carefully because a rotting egg can explode.
It is not harmful for the eggs to cool about 15 minutes while you candle...I take as many as I can out at one time in an egg carton...candle them in a dark place, mark them with a G if they look like they are developing (eventually you can see the chick's huge dark eye and watch it move around) and put them back. That way I am not dropping the incubator temp unnecessarily. A broody hen will naturally get off the eggs for about that length of time each day and there is research that indicates that such a short period of cooling is actually beneficial to the incubation. So don't worry too much about having them out short term.
In the last "trimester" of the incubation the chick will start to really fill up the egg and you will see a large dark shadow taking up most of the room in the egg...the chick is so cramped that it may not move very much. Do not candle it during the last three days.
I wondered about the eggs cooling or the incubator not being as hot when the lid was opened. But I never really thought about the fact that real mother hens leave the nest. So the eggs are not always at the highest temps in the natural way.
I don't have a turner as I am almost always home and never gone for most of a day. Plus I no longer sleep thru the night in my older age without waking up. So I have no problem turning the eggs even at night since it doesn't have to be exactly at some exact time.
I do know to be on the lookout for rotting eggs and to get them out of there as soon as they are spotted. The candeling I will just have to learn as I go.
I really should have started with some not so desirable eggs to get experience but I absolutly could not resist getting what I got because its just what I wanted.
Been amusing myself tonight watching Y Tube videos of peoples backyard chickens. Scrataching around the yard and doing chicken things.
Uh-oh, you're hooked, no turning back now!
YouTube has some great chicken, as well as other animal, videos.
Since I have never done the hatching before there is no way to predict how it might go. I am just hoping it goes well.
The videos are great. Funny seeing them do their chicken things. There was one were the guy went and let his flock out in the morning. They looked to be out in the country and there were a whole bunch of chickens. Anyway, they jumped out of the coop and all went off thru a gate to a field. But one must have been last and started late and it was running for all it was worth to catch up to the others. I just thought it was funny.
I still think any running chicken is comical.
Plus the fact that it was filmed from the back so you were seeing the chicken running away from you. It just looked so funny running, And I couldn't believe it could run so fast. I didn't really think chickens moved that quickly LOL!
Then there was a really favorite video of mine of a ladies six 10 week old Red Star Pullets. She had them in a makeshift run in the garage until they got big enough to put in with her bigger chickens. They were so active and pretty. Lots of straching thru the litter and soft clucking. I REALLY want Red Stars.
So on the other thread I was telling about the fact that I candeled my eggs on day nine (yesterday) and not very confident that they are developing. My problems are seeing what is going on thru those really dark eggs. I am not going to give up and am leaving them in the incubator but I also don't want to waste time while I could be incubating something else.
I decided I did actually have to go back to my original plan before I bought these eggs which was to buy something light colored eggs that I could learn on. Didn't want to get expensive and didn't want to get anything I would be super upset over if it didn't develop and work out. But then on the other hand, just could not go for some of those auctions I did see as I figgured no use getting something that I absolutely did not want just to try my hatching experience. Didn't want any barnyard mixes or those with afew of this variety and afew of that variety for the reason that I would never be able to figgure out what I did have. Also I take in consideration location. Not looking for anything coming from California (too far) or Florida (in case it's too hot). Looking to try and get some sucess here.
Of course maybe I SHOULD have gotton something I absolutely did not want under the theory of Murphy's Law would give me a great hatch in that case, ha-ha.
So, drumroll, taking in consideration price and all those other factors I just bought more hatching eggs this morning. These are coming from Ohio. Haven't herd back yet from the seller on ship day yet. This is 6 plus lavender Orpington hatching eggs. I know lavender is not an excepted color and is whats known as a project (were people work on new non accepted colors). There was a picture of the hens and they are really beautiful. I could care less if they are a non excepted color and not good for shows. Like I am ever going to be showing in a poulty show, ha-ha.
So these are not from ebay either but from another site. I plan to just put them in the incubator with my others.
The only trouble with combining the eggs in the same incubator is that as hatching time approaches you must increase the humidity: absolutely necessary for the hatchers, not good for the rest.
I do not expect these ones I have to be really good and I just couldn't wait another week to find out. If these I have not turn out that they ARE good, I will go with increasing the humidity and not opening the incubator. That means not turning the others. So be it. Those Lavenders eggs are easy to replace and buy more of.
The most logical thing would have been to wait a week and then see but I have no more patience and just have to have something in the works. I do know that a split hatch is the most difficult.
Been waiting to hear and just got one of those shipping notices. My lavender Orpington hatching eggs are in the mail. The seller must have gone and packaged them up when they got notice of my auction win and payment. I did ask when they would be shipped in the message as I wanted them ASAP. So off they went today. That is fast service :-)) Now to hope they get here in two days.
I think it would be very hard to make a call on such dark eggs. You have time to build an incubator, there is a sticky on this forun with some great ideas and you're creative.
Meanwhile, the wait for the hatch date is making me crazy LOL
Oh, NYR, I see that you are involved now in the Lavender Orpington Project.....very cool. When I got my eggs for my Lavender Ameraucanas I got them in the same way -- from someone involved in developing Lavender Ameraucanas as an "accepted" color in the breed. I've never had Orps, but if/as/when my flock ever gets back down to a reasonable size, I think I might try some Buff Orps.
My Lavender Ameraucana eggs, by the way, hatched me out several visual lavenders, and I have now bred them so that I have at least two generations of nice looking Lavender Ameraucanas.
Good for you and good luck on this hatch.
I didn't read through the whole thread -- will you have a turner? That will help.
Also, if I didn't mention it earlier, go to a pet store and get a length of aquarium tubing and thread it from outside the Hova through the vent hole and into the water trough at the bottom. Then every day or every other day flush about 2 oz of warm water through it. That will keep the humidity steady rather than having to have the water troughs get empty, which drops the humidity and then opening the bater which drops the temp. You are looking for keeping a constant heat and humidity....
Keep us posted.
Susan
Annie- I am not handy or a do it yourselfer about projects so I can't see myself bulding an incubator. Besides the idea doesn't even appeal to me. If the waiting for hatch date is making you crazy, imagine how crazy it's making ME LOL :-(( Proof that I am crazy is that fact that I ordered more eggs instead of the reasonable thing of waiting until next week to see what happens.
Last night I was thinking to myself wondering how I was going to figgure all this out with the two sets of eggs now. I decided to take the one Black Copper Marans egg that had no development out of the incubator. It is not stinky or anything but I candeled it AGAIN and I am positive, positive that there is nothing there. Such a gorgeous dark egg sitting in my kitchen now.
Landperson- I didn't (don't) have a timer but ordered one right after I candeled the eggs in the incubator on Monday evening. I know lots of people turn eggs by hand the old fashioned way and I had originally been thinking I could do the same. But since I candeled and decided things were not going well, I then immediately thought of how I could do better. With the turner I don't have to open the incubator as much so I think that will be better. The place I got it from ships fast (same place I bought the incubator) and it gets here by the third day. So it will be here by Thursday or Friday. So I will use it this time around. Will put the new eggs and transfer the old ones and use the auto turner method. I should be feeling like a real pro at that point, ha-ha.
As far as putting water in the incubator, I started off following the incubator directors from my Genesis 1588. They tell you to put water in the first tray. Not a good idea here as were I live (Long Island, NY) is very humid. Humidety was over 85% with water in the trays. I guess thats part of the learning curve and I have to run it dry or with only afew drops of water in there to keep in the 30-40% range. I would not be surprised if I drowned the eggs during begining of incubation.
Oh and I forgot to add I really just liked the looks of the Lavender Orps. I knew they were a project bird but who cares. I just want pretty and lots of eggs. The common buff color Orps don't appeal to be but these did. I will not be working on any projects as I will not be keeping any roosters. Just hens for myself to enjoy. I wish I lived way out in the country as I would breed chickens for sure.
I like the lavender Ameraucanas also. After I get this hatching thing down at some point I will get Ameraucanas. And also get Easter Eggers. My Olive Eggers that are in the incubator now would hatch out Black, blue and possibly some brown pattern. Oh well.