Sheila, im so excited for you! i only have the bantam cochins, but the kids, naturally WANT some giants. we do have jersey giants in blue black and splash, does that count?
Hatching your own Fowl 101 - For all birds!
tf i have a question
my friends went up the coast and on sunday and got back today (thursday)
on sunday they got some green chicken eggs off a friends farm and some other eggs
she gave them to me so i could incubate them only problem is she refrigerated them(NO!!!!!!!) any way i know refrigerating them kills them but i am going to try incubating anyway
is there a one in a billion chance that ANY could still be viable i am also going to post this on a thread in the mane forum
anyones feedback is welcome
there is possability they could still hatch. i've heard of them being in the fridge for 2 weeks and some babies still hatch out. as long as they r not frozen they should still hatch just possability of lower hatch rate. give it a try worse could happen is they just don't hatch.
good luck!!
silkie
well there in the incubator so i will see wat happens
how do you raise th humidity in an incubator? mine is at 55. i think it needs o be higher
60 would be better--the only way I could keep mine up was by using wet sponges. You have to check them a couple times a day because they dry out--but they really help. Use a new one for each hatch.
in addition to the water tray?
and thank you
If you are filling the water tray fully and the RH is still not up high enough (which was the case with mine) then add a fully wet kitchen sponge (just not dripping). I leant it against the inside of the incubator out of the way of the egg turner. You can add more sponges, or cut them into smaller pieces as needed. Opening and closing the vent holes also helps--but I felt I had better control with sponges. Good luck!
i only have one trough filled. should i fill the other one
Yes. For some reason they advise you to fill one trough for incubating and the other one in addition for the hatch when you really want the RH at least 70%. But it is not the number of trays, but the RH that is important. So try two troughs and if that still doesn't work, add a sponge!
thanks catscan
Hi all,
I got a bunch of eggs last night. Long story made (sort of) short: friend moving to Denver, I'm getting his chickens, 2 were brooding when I got them, the drive/stress made them go un-broody, now have eggs inside. Eggs were in overnight in a styrofoam box with a desk lamp on it and a damp towel in the bottom. I have an incubator arriving today. It's an RCom 20 with 20 spaces. I have 29 eggs.
I have been trying to candle with a high intensity LED light and I think it's working. I have looked at the candling pictures website but am still new and thought others might be able to weigh in.
Here are my eggs. About to post candling pics.
Something shadowy, I think.
Edited - picked wrong image. This one has small crack. Is there a blood ring to the right?
This message was edited Aug 25, 2008 7:46 AM
???
A LOT of them look like this.
Some like this - more defined line.
Can't tell what's up here...
Or here...
Any help or suggestions anyone can offer would be much appreciated. I am keeping the eggs in the styro box with lamp until 'bator arrives. If I can cull any of these before 'bator arrives, it will help me figure out which to put in the 'bator.
I'm so new to this!
Claire
that is neat to look at them, I can not offer any kind of help at all.
Okay first it is helpful to know approxiamately how long the hen has been sitting on the eggs.
Pic 1 - looks clear to me. Another words unfertile or died very early on
Pic 2 - A ????? to me also
Pic 3 - Looks like a good viable egg
Pic 4 - Most of mine have looked like this, Good and Viable
Pic 5 - looks like a blood ring in the left 1/3
Pic 6 - looks like one that started developing and then quit somewhere in the first 7 days.
These are just my guesses. I know that this sounds cruel but the ones that you think are questionable after determining your hatch date, open them up and see what is inside. I have learned more from opening eggs that are questionable than I would have ever learned from candleing alone.
Another thing that has helped me is to put my hand in a cup around the flashlight and let the egg sit in the top cup. Put the air cell down to the light and then just sit a little bit and watch for movement. Sometimes takes a minute or so until the light warms the egg and the chick moves.
So glad to have someone hatching with me. I currently have 26 eggs in the bator. Blue and Black Giant Cochins. Should hatch tommorrow thru Wednesday. I have been checking the bator about every 1/2 a hour looking for early pips. I AM SOOO EGGCITED!
Sheila
Oh Shelia, I am eggcited with ya, you to Claire. So far have had my new girls since thursday and no eggs YET. I have 5 hens and hoping they will start to lay soon. If I remember right they just came out of a molt. They look to shiny and pretty to be starting to molt. Plus about 2 weeks ago we had temps in the triple digits, so they slowed down for the guy I get them from.
Come On Hens Luvs Needs some Eggs
We are currently getting about 32 to 35 eggs a day. So the hens are keeping us busy.
Sheila
gosh i am very jealous now. Do you sell your eggs and if so do you have to buy cartons for them.
My plan will be to have at least 100 hens laying by next summer.
Yes I sell eggs just started this process last year (prior to that just had 10 hens for us). I currently do not have to buy cartons. What I ask is that when buying a dozen, that you bring an empty carton. If not I tack on $0.25 per dozen. Had no problem with people bringing cartons.
I am trying to branch out into selling hatching eggs. We are currently building separate breeding pens for each breed and have 5 types of eggs ready to sell once we get them separated.
Sheila
Claire, make sure the air cell (big end) is up at least slightly.
Shelia I want to do that also, once I get some GOOD pure breeds, as I found out the other day the place I got these chicks from are not always pure breeds. I have a Naked Neck frizzle, now that is one UGLY bird and it is a bantam on top of it. I will have to get a pic of it. I can probably sit and count the feathers this bird has and have fingers left over.
Thanks all! I noted this morning that Mommy Hen #1 was sitting in one of the egg boxes. I took 4 eggs out of the temporary 'bator and stuck them under her. She moved off, but I will left them out there in case she goes back and sits on 'em again. Maybe it'll also help them learn where they are supposed to lay.
The information about my eggs is very useful. I will definitely be opening some of these eggs to see what is up after the hatch attempt proceeds a little more. I will probably mark the ones I suspect to be "duds" and see if any changes over the next week. If no, then I'll inspect inside.
I'm hoping to leave work early and go get that 'bator going. Please UPS do your job today for me!!
Catscan - I turned all the eggs 1/2 turn this morning. They are on their sides. Can't do anything 'til I'm home tonight. Are you saying I should put it more on its end than on its side?
Claire
A naked Neck frizzle, that would be ugly. Maybe you could enter her in one of those ugly chicken contests.
Sheila
i think she is saying, the ones like in that photo, with the clear line, are near hatching date, and it will help if it is more propped up... also, when you put them in the bator, the big end goes up. this is becasue the air cell for the chick is at the top.
what Sheila said. one of those NECESSARY links above is all about breaking out, or opening unhatched eggs...
and the first one should be culled becasue of the crack...
UGGH! i know qsomeone who wants to make her own "showgilr" out of a naked neck and polish. i don't think the genes will work, but it's HER project LOL
Got it. Will cull the cracked one tonight. And will set up the bator appropriately.
You guys rock for helping me out with this. What would I do without you all!!
Claire
Okay I have checked my bator about 20 times this morning. No Pips. How come everyone else has early hatches and I have to wait til the day they are supposed to hatch. Boo Hooo. Come on Guys lets cheer these little cochins out of thier shells.
Sheila
P.S. When you pronounce "cochin" is it COchin Like in cold or is it Cauchin like in Cause???
Bless you!
Sorry, truth tell -I don't know.
I want to say it is like cause.
Go little cochins, go!! (Can you see me waving my yellow and white pom-poms?)
I say "cochin" like in cold, and chin like "shin" not "chin", so coh-shin.
To me, "caushin" sounds too much like something I sit on!! ( i.e. cushion) LOL!!!
Of course, I could be all wrong.
The French would be like "cau-shang" (ish)
I say it CO-chin, but never out loud. Can't pronounce French in English ever anyway. It NEver sounds right.
grownut - it's sort of like the French for pig, also!! (Cochon).
I figured if I said it with a French pronunciation, nobody would know what I was talking about. But it's probably why I say "shin" and not "chin".
I lokked about an hour ago and nothing. Then had to go to the bathroom (bator in bathroom) and heard a peep. Looked and 5 have pipped.
Your cheering is working!
Sheila
P.S. Will post pics when they are out.
P.S.S. Pray for blue, Pray for Blue
Woo Hoo!! Go Cochins, Go Cochins, Go Cochins!!!! (much clapping inserted here)
Everybody follow me in the Blue Cochin Cheer:
We want cochins (left pom pom up)
Yes we do (right pom pom up)
Go cochin babies (both pom poms down and waving, starting to move up)
Let's be blue!! (both pom poms up and waving)
GOOOOO COCHINS!!! (much general pom pom waving and jumping jacks)
(BTW, I've switched to blue pom poms).
Claire