Day 21 and nothing is happening.....

[Scottishnewbie]

Nothing to report folks.....I suppose it's all part of the learning curve!! At least I know what to do now and will make sure the next ones come directly from the hens bum to my incubator!!!

Won't give up hope till the weekend just in case but I think I've come to the conclusion that nothing is going to happen....sob, sob

Off to make piccallili from HFW book to cheer myself up!

[di]

Sorry it's not worked out...I know that feeling of three weeks of anticipation,you must be truly gutted!...just keep the inncie switched on & you never know,you could still end up with some little bundles of fluff!...fingers still crossed for you!x
I'm with RH,I know lots of peeps have had successful hatches from Ebay eggs,but I felt better getting our eggs from local breeders,not just the transporting them home but also you can chat with the breeder & get a proper idea about their breeding flock.
Good Luck!!!xx

[Scottishnewbie]

thanks andi&di....you never know I might be putting a yippee post in the next day or so.................. but definately getting them from a breeder or do farmers markets sell fertile eggs does anyone know? (we have one here once a month so I could maybe get the next lot from there....)

[HayleyB]

I hope you have some luck must be very frustrating

[RichmondHens]

Sorry no little chicks for you. Better luck next time. I've not seen hatching eggs sold at farmers' markets but again, the eggs would have undergone transportation to the market, and then home again to yours, so maybe best to avoid.

I once bought some hatching eggs from a local farmer, who when I got to the farm to collect, led me to the barn where the hens had been laying. The eggs had not been handled at all, and were lying undisturbed in the nest. I could pick them out myself and transfer to my (padded) egg box to take away. And I got a good hatch (5 out of 6).

Perhaps it might be worth you asking around to see if you can get some locally.

[Bephlam]

I'm in West Lothian Scottishnewbie. I could get you some eggs....almost any breed! I'm a total chicken addict, so have tons of chicken addict friends who are always more than happy to pass eggs on!

[Bramble-Poultry]

just a note for next time - please do not be too hasty in taking the lid of the incubator to check for activity. Every time you do this, not only does the incubator drop in temperature, but more concerning is that the humidity will plummet.

you need to maintain a humidity of around 70 - 75% in the last day of hatching to aide their escape. Everytime you lift the lid the humidity will drop to around 50% at least and believe me, temperature isnt as important as humidity when it comes to hatching.

You may also find that the jiggling around in the post can cause the blastoderm to detach and you will get no hatch from that egg. I have taken Barbu D'Uccle eggs from the garden and had a 100% hatch rate, yet when posted to my mother in Norfolk she only hatched 60%! Same batch so i know it wasnt fertility!

Good luck for the next batch.

[MaureenHall]

thanks andi&di....you never know I might be putting a yippee post in the next day or so.................. but definately getting them from a breeder or do farmers markets sell fertile eggs does anyone know? (we have one here once a month so I could maybe get the next lot from there....)

don't know about farmers markets selling fertile eggs, but there's a poultry and egg auction near me every week, that's where I got the Welsummers from, but it's a bit too far away for you isn't it

[di]

It might be worth asking around at The Farmers Market...they mightn't actually have any for sale there & then,but are bound to know of where to send you to get some.

[Bramble-Poultry]

we have had a mixed response with ebay eggs, but hatch rate is always reduced on posted eggs, even eggs I have had 100% sucess with here when posted to purchasers have failed, even when I am sure they are packaged well.

Collection of eggs is best if at all possible and when I look for eggs on ebay I look for the nearest ones first so I can collect in person.

Sometimes ebay is the only way to get eggs from the specific breed you are after. If you like the look of a bird on ebay and they are near enough to you email the seller and ask if they have any actual birds for sale, I've got a few this way - unless you want the joy of hatching.

[Scottishnewbie]

well I do have news but not very good I'm afraid. We had a friend round tonight who has loads of chickens/eggs and who was borrowing some shavings as nearly all of his ebay eggs had hatched....on day 21!

So I was chatting to him and he asked me to fill a bowl with tepid water, he then held each egg in turn up to his ear and then (presumably when he heard nothing) he placed it in the water. Once it had settled it didn't move. He said that was becuase the chick had died. He candled the eggs too and showed me that they had (well mostly) had been fertile but somehow the chick had died.

So then we explored what might have happened - the bator wasn't near a window, no direcft sunlight, etc, etc, etc.......and THEN it dawned on me..........it has been sitting above the dishwasher for the last three weeks! No wonder the poor wee things died! Every time the dishwasher has been on (almost daily), there will surely have been a real surge in the termperature? The dishwasher sits under the counter but I'm thinking that the heat will probably still travel through it....what a total eejit I feel.

And now made all the worse by reading the post from Bramble-poultry about not taking the lid off......lost count how many times over last few days...but then of course there was probably no life by then so maybe that wasn't so bad (this time round!).

Anyway, he's a country sort of chap so says he'll give me some eggs in exchange for the shavings..............not sure I want to give it another go seeing I made such a mess of things this time round.....

[frias]

That would be shame. Now you know what might have gone wrong you will be more prepared. Go on, you know you want to.

[di]

Don't be down on yourself...I bet if you chatted to each of us that have done hatching,we've all made mistakes that have made us feel like crap chickie killers...it's a tough learning curve...besides...the dishwasher might not have played any part?
If you want to see crap,then search for my Marigold on eggs thread...I left her to get mites & almost die from having the blood sucked from her...wasn't intentional,but with hindsight could have been avoided,my hope is that now any Grape using a Broody hen will remember my awful mistake & powder up their girls in preparation!
If it does turn out the dishwasher was your problem,then I'm sure plenty of us would never have thought it would make a difference,so your experience has helped us along!
Don't let it put you off trying again!xx
Sorry,I waffle when tired!

[Tiny1000]

I only had one chick hatch from 12 eggs because my thermostat packed up - I felt really guilty as I built the incubator - but without a doubt I would have a go again if I didn't already my full quota of six hens (council bye laws), so you should go out there, buy some more eggs (locally) and try straight away - nobody is an expert first time, we learn by our mistakes, I'm sure you know more now then you did 25 days ago - Go For It

[Bramble-Poultry]

Tiny1000 - i wonder how that council byelaw stands up against the Allotments act of 1950 (still current law, never repealed) that states that all persons, be they tennets or property owners have the right to keep chickens for the purpose of food regardless of any convenant placed upon the said person by the land onwer?

for the exact wording and further information, look up the act on the t'internet, but it is the piece of legislation uised by the couple in the north very recently who faced eviction as the council said no hens at all..... it then got overturned by the allotments act. Just a thought.......