LFG

Wow! I'm very impressed. Does that incubator still have the original element. Thats a testimony to how much better things were built back then.I'm up to 12 now, but my eggs haven't been juggled by USPS

I have 4 out, 2 zippers, and many pips. This is Petee's show, though She is already having a great hatch. Shipping is hard on eggs. Black coppers are notoriously hard to hatch. She is using a Styrofoam incubator. Anything near a 50% hatch rate would be phenomenal

This is how they look right after hatch

Ok, just one picture to show all three stages of hatching. I found this one in my old pictures, and they are blue Ameraucana eggs, so you guys have to wait for Petee for the black coppers. This is what she is watching and waiting on right now. Today is day 21, so I expect she will have quite a few more chicks when she posts again. See the egg to the left, with the small outward crack? That is what we mean when we say pip. The first thing to happen is a chick punches a hole in the egg and draws it's first breaths of air from the outside world. They expend a lot of energy hatching, so they will work a little, then rest for long periods of time. The first time you hatch, it drives you crazy, because you would think they would just pop out. For me, it's usually at least 12 hours from pip to hatch. The egg to the right of that one has begun "zipping". After the chick rests, it starts turning in the shell, pecking a line all the way around. Most of the time you can see this line forming, and it looks much like a zipper. This is the process that takes so long, and this is probably when Petee heard the loud cheeping. They will work a little, rest for a while, then go back to work. They start cheeping a lot after they rest. When the egg is about 3/4 zipped, the chick will start kicking the egg with it's feet. This is usually 10-30 minutes before the hatch. You can see the egg pushing apart then squeezing back together as the chick tries to stretch its legs out. When the shell finally gives, a soaking wet, exhausted chick pops out. It takes them a bit to get on their feet, but once they do, the soccer game begins

That's so great. I was so worried about them hatching. You waited so long for the eggs, and I know you passed on the Rural King chicks, so I was going to feel really bad if there weren't any hatchers

I'm going to lay off my pictures now, I have tons. I can't wait to see yours Make sure you call all of them "she" and "her". I always do that until they prove me wrong I had a few pips this morning, no zippers yet

that soccer game will continue for about the next 16 hours. it's always a hard call between letting the chicks kick them around, or risking opening incubator to take them out.don't give them any sweet tea or grits, once you start down that road it's hard to turn around

if it's that loud are you sure it's not out?

That's the cheerleader. One always pops out about 6 hours before the rest and cheers them on

And???

It is tough to see through those little windows. Once they start zipping, I'd pass on catching which egg if it means opening the incubator. Don't want to risk the membrane drying and sticking the chick in the shell.I'm about 12 hours behind you. I may have some pips by tonight. The Brinsea is a little easier to see in, so if I have some I'll post pics so people will know what we are talking about

do you have any pips yet? I wouldn't be surprised if you have one or two chicks by tonight

Here are some pictures of the last hatch: It's kind of hard to see, but see the one near the top, kind of off to the right that looks a little lighter than the others? That's a blue. It's a little hard to tell the difference in the picture, but a little easier to see in person. If you have any blues, they will come from the big eggs, which I know you've lost a few of

I stopped turning mine this morning, I will bump the humidity up tonight. The Brinsea has smaller water channels, and if I fill up on day 18, I end up having to add water again on day 21. Usually there are pippers and zippers that day, so I hate to open the incubator. I'm so much more worried about your hatch than I am mine What is your target number of girls? I really hope that you at least get what you wanted. I can't wait to see pictures after the hatch

Sally doesn't hatch much any more, but she used to hatch and sell a lot. She was the first person I knew with Brahmas, those giant chickens that everyone started talking about a month ago. She had them years ago. No one is better with a Styrofoam incubator than her, and as you saw, she compiles massive amounts of data. There's not much about hatching that she can't give you advice on. She had some pretty major health issues a few years back and disappeared from BYC for a while, but she still comes around. She doesn't have nearly the chickens she used to, but she's a fountain of information, and will gladly talk to anyone that asks

That's funny, because Sally is a worrier who is into all the details as well. I'm the opposite, I'm hands off, set and forget, and she and I had very similar hatch rates. She is the one that taught me about incubating dry, though

What do you think you did wrong? I've had many conversations with the woman who wrote that article, and it's a good article, but the things she says are not the gospel. Some things that work for her don't work for me, and vice versa. I've never been a believer in letting shipped eggs sit for a day. I think the results are more coincidence than fact. Your eggs are developing. You're already ahead of the curve

They are getting heavier on the bottom You locking down Monday?

One week to go

I don't think he's real big on seduction. If he were human, he would be prosecuted

Dang, I can't believe so much trouble with the big eggs. I'm glad I sent the small ones as backup. Just over a week left

I have a portable run that I made from 2x4s and bird netting. I can move it from pen to pen, let them out for a bit in the afternoon, then they go back up when it's time to roost. Half of my garden is planted just for the chickens

I use a "killing cone". Less messy, and keeps the meat from getting bruised. I don't do it often, and like someone else said, it's too easy to get them at the store, but after punting a rooster for the 7th or 8th time...

I love just hanging out with the chickens at the end of the day. They are just happy creatures, without a care in the world. They don't require a ton of room, either. Free ranging is nice, but with just a few birds and no rooster you are just feeding the local wildlife. A 10x10 dog kennel would be more than enough room for 8-10 birds. I usually shoot for 10 square feet/bird in a permanent pen, but most of my pens are closer to 20. I will let them out sometimes in the afternoon if I am home, but they are perfectly content in their pens

On those mottled eggs, I get that a lot from new layers. As the girls get older, the mottling will go away, and the eggs will usually be the color of the darker spots all over. The eggs are darkest when they are young, then slowly lighten throughout the season. That's why the small eggs are darker than the big ones. After the first molt, the eggs will darken and start the cycle all over again