Really bummed about Bon Bon's eggs being duds.
BUT--since we cooped Truffle, our new bantam Cochin roo, with the girls who laid #6 & 7, at least those bantam eggs will have a bantam Cochin daddy!
So my two surprises MAY just pan out! 😃🐣
Next is the May 2nd hatch!
Banty eggs WILL pip 1-2 days early!
Candling tonight: #1, 2, 4 & 5 (all Bon Bon's) were duds.
#8 is so dark-shelled, I'm unsure (it stays in).
TOTAL EMBRYOS: 9 eggs! (if #8 hatches it'll be ten)
#6, 7 (both Bantams), 9, 10, 11 (Enzyme's), 12, 13, 14 & 16.
Nine (or ten) embryos out of 14 eggs is really good for high altitude hatching!😀
#5-7 bantam eggs will have Brick, Luna, Bobo, or Basil for moms.
The other eggs are mystery moms, although blue and green eggs are from our Easter Egger/Americaunas mix hens.
The brown eggs (#14, 15, 16) are a true mystery!
UNFORTUNATELY, clumsy me broke 2 eggs: #3 & 15, 🤬leaving a total of 14 eggs.
Candling for the #Chickam eggs is done! 😀
I'd set 16 eggs in the incubator.
7 bantam eggs all fathered by Truffle, a new bantam Cochin roo (#1-4 are from Bon Bon, a new banty Cochin hen).
And 9 full-size eggs fathered by Mjolnir or Yeti (#8 dark brown from Nyx, #11 light blue from Enzyme).
My big concern is that if Bon Bon's eggs hatch, the chicks will be TINY--and I worry about a mama hen accidentally stepping on them.
But having broody hens on standby as emergency moms if the power goes out is vital (last year I stopped counting at 19 power outages).
We'll just see how things go!
Both Dart and Moose are broody, and may be recruited as #Chickam moms!
Moose (Salmon Faverolle) is only 1 year old so may not be the best choice.
Dart is older, has a slender build & isn't floofy at all--but FIERCE, & gets excited when the kid shows her the eggs in the incubator.
After the hatch I'll be test-running the incubator again, trying different shelf positions. Don't know if I can get it dialed in better, but even if I do that 'only adjusts by whole degrees' thing is a huge problem.
Oh, for my old #ReptiPro! 😕
In two days I'm candling the #Chickam eggs to see how many embryos we have! 😀🐓🐣
Have to say, I'm NOT impressed with this #Vevor incubator.
Can't adjust it by 1/2 degrees, the fan cycles on/off (screws up humidity), & that thrice-accused exposed fan are SERIOUS downsides. Have to go 1 degree too hot.
Welp...
Sad to say that I broke *another* egg, #3, a banty egg from Bon Bon.
Second one I've broken this week, both when the fan in the top of the #Vevor bit me.
Especially frustrating as I've NEVER broken a #Chickam egg!
I am NOT IMPRESSED with this unit.😠
After the hatch I'll rig a fan cover.
Incubation for the 18th year of #Chickam has begun! 😀
There are 15 eggs (I dropped #15 & elected not to replace it).
I'll candle in 10 days to count embryos & remove any duds.
Hatch is May 2nd--but banty eggs hatch 1-2 days befoire that!
Watch the hatch here: www.youtube.com/@jackshenhouse
It's a real shame ReptiPro went out of business, they had the superior product. 😕
But glad you're mad with me. 😁
The incubator already has two fans that cycle on and off every few minutes, one at the top and another at the bottom.
But that was a good thought, thank you!
When the chicks hatch they always wobble over to the fan--since they've heard it while incubating, they believe it's mom!
#5-7 bantam eggs will have Brick, Luna, Bobo, or Basil for moms.
The other eggs are mystery moms, although blue and green eggs are from our Easter Egger/Americaunas mix hens.
The brown eggs (#14, 15, 16) are a true mystery! 😁🐓
These sixteen eggs will go into our #Vevor incubator tomorrow morning!
There are: 7 bantam eggs all fathered by Truffle, a new bantam Cochin roo (#1-4 are from Bon Bon, a new banty Cochin hen).
And 9 full-size eggs fathered by Mjolnir or Yeti (#8 dark brown from Nyx, #11 light blue from Enzyme).
The hardest part of #Chickam is choosing the eggs, because of limited room in the incubator. 🫤
Out of EIGHT DOZEN candidates...
But it may mean that we get more bang for our bawk (sorry) and most of the eggs will hatch!
I'm gonna lean into banty eggs this year, and hopefully some surprises will pan out. 😀🐓🐣
Sorting through #Chickam candidate eggs tonight to see which ones will go into the incubator tomorrow!
Unfortunately the new #Vevor unit only adjusts by full degrees, and has a +/- of up to 5 degrees between the top & bottom of the unit...which means only 1 shelf of eggs, around a dozen.
The thing was a total workhorse. I found a replacement, but it's in Ireland...
Sheesh, I hope not! Last year was a freakin' nightmare.
It's the most wonderful time of the year, #Chickam!
Eggs go into our #Vevor incubator Sat. the 11th, hatch date Sat. May 2nd (any banty eggs will hatch a day or two early!).
Test running it now, please admire the baby chick disco, with cool blue light & embarassingly *gigantic* green water weasel.😁🐓
RIP #SpotCheck probe thermometer.
Been using it since #Chickam started in 2008, the LCD screen has failed. 😕
Husband might try to fix it.
EGG GATHERING FOR #CHICKAM HAS BEGUN.
For the next week we'll be setting egg aside, to go into the Incubator this coming Saturday the 11th, for our planned hatch on May 2nd!
Youngest banty hens are cooped with Truffle, our new banty Cochin roo...can't wait to see his little round fluffball chicks!
And as usual, when we do go live with the #Chickam hatch it will be on our YouTube channel, you can subscribe here:
www.youtube.com/@jackshenhouse
Okay, so with our VERY mild winter and now HOT spring, we're gonna scoot our #Chickam hatch date up a bit.
The chickens are ALL twitterpated. 😁🐓
I'll set eggs in the incubator April 11th, aiming for a hatch date of May 2nd!
Follow us here for updates, also on my blog:
jackshenhouse.blogspot.com
Got a late start today (the weather report said wind/snow), but #Chickam is running!
www.youtube.com/@jackshenhouse
#Chickam and the Wheel of Food is live!
Go here and click the 'Live' button:
www.youtube.com/@jackshenhouse
Working on getting #Chickam running now, should be just a few minutes...
Still a go for #Chickam tomorrow & Sunday!
Our weather is holding, tho well below freezing at night.
Tomorrow the 7th & Sunday the 8th we'll go live at 9-10AM (PST) to about 4-5 PM.
Come watch the chickens battle the Wheel of Food! 🐓😃
We'll be webcasting here: www.youtube.com/@jackshenhouse
Tentatively planning on running #Chickam on the flock this weekend, weather permitting...
Still getting nighttime temps that are below freezing. Daylight hours warm enough to NOT kill my laptop are still short, so the hours we'd run it would be something like 10 or 11AM to about 4PM, PST.
#Chickam 2026 is loosely planned...
I'll set eggs in the incubator May 1st or 2nd, aiming for a hatch date of May 23rd/24th! 🥚🐣🐓