Mahonri's 3rd Annual, BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[superchemicalgirl]

As I was sitting here typing that I heard a PING in the incubator that can only be a pip. I'm up to 2 pips. Might not be going back to bed after all. It's hard with 2 cats that are wide awake and chicks crowing in the basement, anyway.

 

[Mom 2em All]

Congrats to everyone with pips and chicks. To everyone who doesnt... patience. They're not due until TOMORROW.

Many will start having pips and chicks today. I usually hatch a day early. I woke up to one pip - it's a green egg, I think it's a Mr Heinz but honestly can't recall.

Thank you for this reminder!

I read about Mahonri's hatch, and peered into my Brinsea and said, "Come on what are the rest of you waiting on?" without really putting any thought into the fact that there was still two days before they were due.
My brinsea usually gives me chicks a day or two early...but my last hatch, I had one chick hatch out four days after the first chick- so I ranged from two days early to two days late.

That said, I have another pip...

 

[featherz]

Marans of some sort. Either cuckoo or splash over black EE.

Awesome! I'm waiting to see how many hatch out - trying to ponder on whether I should stick a few under a broody if a lot hatch. She's only been broody for 2ish weeks, but I've done that before with another one. Could get her off the nest a week early OR I could get my chicks in big trouble.

 

[twentynine]

0500 --- 10 out, bunch more pips, one dead half out the egg.

 

[SherrieT]

0311 here. Got woken up by MN, ran to incubator and still nothing. Keep trying to tell myself "they aren't due till Sat" then saw humidity had dropped to 10%. Dang!!

 

[Arielle]

Here is the definition of irony and chance. Of the two batches of eggs I received from the swaps one being ducks the other being LF mix were numbered. 1 through 12, the duck eggs being labeled duck on each egg, and of course my own which I had placed no markings at all. So out of 42 eggs I initially set in the bator the first chick to hatch was from the egg numbered #1!!!!!!!! No kidding, the other part of the irony is the first egg to pip was a duck egg and then followed shortly by 6 other eggs pipping none of those has really started zipping yet. The one that hatched I had not noticed even pipping let alone zipping. Now I have a healthy little light yellow chick making all kids of noise singing the others out of their shells. Pretty cool if you ask me. Just thought I would share that with you guys/gals.

What good fortune!

I feel so badly about all of the unpipped eggs. I hate this feeling. I suppose I should just be happy for the ones that have pipped and hatch.

21 out. 3 pipped... but I don't give much hope for one of them.

I finally got ONE Peachick Ameraucana to hatch. ONE.

It's not over yet . . . .

Update on the SFH who pipped at the wrong end. After much deliberation, I decided to leave it alone. Then unbeknownst to me, my wife took a wooden skewer and pushed it over on her own accord... which is pretty amazing because she is not into the "chicken thing" that I do. Ha! ...that is until hatch time comes along. Well after a full 24 hours and still very little progress, I couldn't help myself (13 other chicks had already hatched), I decided to intervene against my better judgement. With the same skewer, I helped break the shell away. Took me almost 40 minutes due to a very difficult angle and I was terrified of poking that poor little chick. finally I helped the zipping and the chick popped out... didnt look so great for about 20 minutes but now has fluffed and looks fantastic. So thankful. The other one that pipped at the wrong end even lower made it out without any trouble sometime this morn. YAY!

So far: (I think, they are moving around so crazy, I'm not quite sure....) this is what has hatched.
2 Cream legbars
3 Swedish Flower Hens
3 Silver Hamburgs
4 Ameraucanas
3 Blue Laced Red Wyandottes

There are 4 more pipped: 2 BLRW, 2 SFH

Oh man, I am sheepishly so ready to say, "you all told me so!" about the hatch. I was so discouraged for naught. Resilient little guys just like you all said. Thanks!
And hang in there for the rest of you still waiting. This is hatch day for me as I set early.

Congrats!! Amazing how resilient these are!

 

[Cedarknob]

Before going to bed, a S. Ameraucana, not one already pipped, had hatched. Usually a late riser, something woke me up at 4 a.m., and I found the hatcher temperature at 102 and climbing, but hopefully caught it in time. I have several more pips and an EE zipping as I type.

 

[Arielle]

My children arose early, must be because it is NOT a school day

, and reported in " no pips". Of course, I will go check for myself! LOL

DH talked me into going to MIL for Easter . . . . love my MIL, just don't need the stress right now and the long drive. Of course, no pips yet, so I may be home to press my nose against the bator!

 

[pasunset]

YEAH!!!!! Woke up at 6 to 3 wet chicks flopping around in hatcher.

Since this is our first hatching attempt, I was so excited, I ran in and woke up my 8 yr. old daughter so she could see them. she said "Their kinda cute but ugly, I'm going back to bed, wakr me when their cute!" Apparently I'm much more excited than she is.

32 more in the hatcher to go yet, hopefully!

 

[thechickonthehill]

CONGRATS TO ALL WHO HAVE CHICKS/PIPS!

I have two moving around!!!!!

I hope they hatch. I can't believe Iv actually got this far. That they have got this far. Ah!!! I'm sooooo excited. I caught myself talking to the eggs. Encouraging them to do as their siblings are. I'm crazy, I know.

I had taken my 2 office chickens out to the front yard for a day in the "sun". I noticed it had started to rain so I went out to grab them (silkies don't do great in the rain). When I got them settled back in the office, I decided to take a peek at my Easter eggs in the hatcher. Oh my gosh! I have 2 chicks already! 1 of my own LF Cochins and a silkie or sizzle. Several other pips too. I have gone from chicks starting at least 24 hours late, to having perfect on time chicks... now they want to hatch way early. Back to the drawing board.

Someone need to let my Silkies in on this - they both totally ignore rain and continue right on foraging while the rest of the chickens run for cover.

And, of course, they look like wet mops wandering around the yard.

I found a page with a bunch of smilies HERE.
I found a Mahonri there, too..........

Awesome page Kathy - how does one go about making them work? Tech challenged individual here!

My Silly Barred Rock Hen...she loves our bikes!

Hey, this could be a space saving idea! Set up your bike racks in the coop and have roosts and storage space in one. Of course, you would probably have to wash your bike before using it, lol.

LOL..I got that call, did you? This will be my last call until fall. No more after these last three different ones I have in.

My total is horrible. I feel horrible. I haven't had this bad a hatch for a very long time. Oh, there was one, where I didn't get any, but there were only 6 eggs, not 20!

5 Araucanas

1 Wheaten Ameraucana...............REALLY?

I'm not feeling too great right now. At least I am getting some Exchequers to hatch, may get the whole 5 that went into lock down...with...all the others!

So many dead babies in eggs, haven't seen that before. I finally got my first stinky bomb egg. Now that was an experience. I can now say I can relate when someone shares that sweet moment.

Good luck everyone..will get pictures up when they are fluffed. For some reason, they are sticky, and there was this gooy stuff in the eggs. I'm surprised any hatched. The one Ameraucana that was zipping, stopped, died. Gooy stuff in there..it drowned. My humidity was only up to 66 at the highest.

This is just too sad. All those babies making it that far, just to die. One of the Araucanas had a missing eye. One had a crossed beak, but not that bad. I knew they were hard to hatch, but goodness.

Awww, so sorry . . . been there myself and no fun!

Oh, I did have one question I forgot to ask. I know I have seen some posts on here about it... but how do you decided when to take the fluffy chicks out and put them in the brooder? My first to hatch who hatched last night is such a little pest. Always pecking at the poor little chicks trying to zip and trying to eat everything in sight. my humidity is up to 72 with all the recent hatches. Is it ok to pull the dry ones out quickly or should I wait until morning?

I do take them out if they've started the obnoxious routine. I just throw a warm,wet paper towel in and grab the chick out at the same time. Try to be as quick about it as possible and be sure to pull out a buddy so the chick won't be alone.

They do this to us on purpose.....happens to me every time I hatch. They don't pop out till your not there to see it. You get used to it after a while

Darn things.....but there so irresistable!!!

So the solution is to just go shopping! When you get home you will have chicks. I have to go to the grocery this morning so I hope it works!



I got up (the first time at 4:30 am) to 3 pips and then got up again at 5:30 to 2 more pips!

So far the pipped eggs are: 1 - Wyandotte, 1 - Light Brahma, 3 - project Faverolles. Go chickies, go!