Update

No pictures yet, but Alvin is thriving this morning and we have another chick that hatched overnight (also from my first seller) I will more definitely be buying from this seller again, the chicks are beautiful and healthy.

I am waiting to take the new chick (who will be Dave, as we're still apparently on the Chipmunks kick) out of the incubator until Boy gets home from school, then I will get pictures.

I'm very happy that Alvin is looking so well today, I fully expected for us to lose him overnight.

So, we now have four chicks that essentially have each been hatched on a different day. I've never had a hatch like this, and it makes me wonder if there is a bad fluctuation of temperature throughout the incubator.

Update: ALVIN!

Alvin in the brooder gets knocked down and shivers.

We have a third chick today. It was a tricky situation, as the humidity in the incubator has always been an issue and it was much worse (apparently) this morning. I found a chick pipped, zipped, and stuck in the egg. With a warm and wet paper towel I was able to assist the chick in surviving. I hate doing that, but I couldn't stand back and let it die.

The boys have named him/her Alvin (we now have Alvin, Simon, and Theodore). I honestly don't know if it's going to make it. Right now I have had to put it back in the incubator because the older and stronger chicks won't let it near enough to the lamp to stay warm.

Other than the problems it had because of the incubator, it is a beautiful little chick. I really hope it makes it.

Alvin is from egg 11 from my first seller-- which, I think, is why it is such a pretty chick. It's a fighter, for sure, or it would never have made it this long.

Alvin doesn't open its eyes.

I do have one other pip in the incubator thus far, but it hasn't made any progress in about five hours, so I am very doubtful that it will go anywhere.

I keep hoping that we will end up with a few more chicks. Three out of the sixteen eggs that went into lock down are not enough!

Cheeks being an egg. Just added this because he's so cute.

Pics

The first chick to hatch is hiding, while the first to pip is taking a look around. #1 is from my first seller, #2 is from the 2nd seller.

A better look at chick #1

Update

We have had a second pip and, while the first pip is still working, the second pip has hatched, so we have one little chick so far.

This is #9 of the eggs from the first seller, that I numbered with magic marker when they arrived.

As I was writing the above Boy and NoWay checked on the incubator and announced that the first pip has hatched, so chick number two has hatched!

No other pips that we've seen.

It's Due Day!

I was explaining to Boy that today is due day for the eggs and he shouted, "NO! I don't want to turn them in!" I guess first grade and homework changes how he thinks of 'due'.

So far there's nothing exciting to report. We had one egg that was cheeping last night and shaking, but it has not moved or made a sound since the incubator got messed with last night, so I have little hope for that one.

On the other hand, we DO have a pip (a tiny hole chipped in the egg) that is progressing.

I have had issues with temperatures through this whole incubating experience, so I figure that some will be late. I have no way to monitor humidity and I am concerned with the fact that my incubator has holes that lets moisture out, hopefully the levels will end up being fine.

I think this is the point that anyone who hatches chickens becomes a total stress case and worries that no eggs will hatch at all.

16 eggs have made it to today. If any of them hatch I will be relieved.

That total is not counting the Marans, who are due in a week.

As things progress (or don't) I will keep updating. The egg that has a pip is in a bad spot for pictures.

Week Two!

I'm a day late on this update. Merry Christmas everyone!

I candled the eggs today-- all of them, and threw out nine of them. Two were clear (infertile), one of the small white ones from the second seller, and the other, unfortunately, an infertile Marans egg. I also tossed some partially developed ones that quit on me.

Say Goodbye to My Little Friends-- 7 of today's discards

I have left:
11 Marans eggs (three iffy and getting the benefit of the doubt)
9 Americaunas from my first seller.
5 random eggs from the second seller (three of which are iffy, but are getting another chance)

The eggs from the first two sellers are both due the 1st at about 6 am. I have been having temperature issues, so they may be a little late or early. I will be 'locking down' (not moving the eggs or opening the incubator' on Wednesday, which is good timing, as my nephew is getting married that day and I won't be home to move them anyway!

Tuesday night I will be removing the eggs that should be hatching from their egg cartons and let them prepare for hatching. I have hatched in the egg cartons before and have lost a few chicks from them hatching upside down. I have kept them in the cartons thus far just to improve the ease of rotating the eggs.

This is the point at which I start getting really nervous about having any of the chicks hatch at all.

So, Am I Saving Money?

The general question is, am I saving money by hatching these chickens myself?

The short answer is a simple 'no'. However, it is much more complicated than that. We won't have a definitive answer until we have a final hatch, but right now, if every single chicken hatched, we'd have to price them at $2.00 each to break even. On egg cost alone. That doesn't even count the incubator expense, though it DOES include the cost of shipping the eggs.

However, twelve of the remaining eggs are highly valuable Marans eggs, which may help to recap the expenses. Hopefully that will balance out the total wash out that the second purchase was. Of the sixteen eggs I received from the second seller one was broken in half, one was visibly rotten, and six more have proven to be infertile. Those are bad numbers! The others are much more what I would expect, with the majority of eggs showing growth and the case of one little chickie already dancing around.

I have also been very picky about purebreds. If I had wanted mutt eggs I could have gotten them cheaper. I am hoping that sticking to purebred chickens will also increase my chance to earn back what I spent and start paying off the incubator.

How the Marans hatch has a lot to do with whether I will save money or even make it. If I have a good hatch rate, then I potentially have earnings in sight.

Of course, all of this is just counting money. The experience is a whole other thing!