12th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-Along

[EggSighted4Life]

I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one who's hatching has started!

I heard the mad peeping last night, which is always a good sign when hatching.. and I see 2 chicks already hatched!

It's a tad early for me.. but I'll take it.

Lets see those hatching babies keep coming along everybody!

 

[ronott1]

It does damage growing embryos. This study was actually focused on whether a higher number of females would hatch when exposed to short periods of radiation from x-rays but if you read through it talks about the high mortality rate from being exposed to x-rays as well as the lesions and other permanent damage that can occur in surviving chicks.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien...859a9d2&pid=1-s2.0-S0032579119562290-main.pdf

I wonder if there is an amount of exposure that harms the embryo.

Most of the methods that involve getting more females to hatch assumes high mortality-- so you get less females over all from the hatch.

For shipping eggs, they are not actively developing and the xray time and dose is low from shipping scans

 

[EggSighted4Life]

My gut feeling is that it's the pretty near constant vibration of transport that affects hatch rate. The eggs can be well protected against sudden shock so they arrive perfectly intact, but I'd think even a low level vibration wouldn't do the blastoderm any good.

Haugh unit is definitely effected by vibration.. which I think is an overall indicator of everything but this article might be interesting..

https://www.agroengineering.org/index.php/jae/article/view/593/607

 

[AmesHillFarm]

First chick is out! Three more pips! So much excite!!!

 

[ronott1]

If they were set on the 13th today should be day 20 so it's not too unusual to not see much yet.

The day they are set counts as day 0 and doesn't rollover to day one until 24 hours after set. A good rule of thumb is eggs are due to hatch on the same day of the week you set them on (so if you set on a Saturday the 21st day will also be a Saturday).

A lot of my eggs wiggle a lot getting into hatching position but once they are in position there is often a period where they do a lot of resting. Once they've internally pipped it's not too unusual for them to not move around for a while as well as they need to adjust to using their lungs and aren't trying to make an external pip yet. Sometimes they are pretty quiet during this period too, (my silkies don't tend to peep often during this stage). Hopefully everything is fine with your little guys and they are just resting getting ready for the next stage of hatching!

It is normal!

 

[Araucana Nest]

Day 20 here and this morning 6:00 am I unexpectedly discovered an external pip in one of my bantam silkie eggs! Increased humiditiy immediately, then started to recover from my shock Saw the little grey beak moving and the little one talked a lot 9:30 am I discovered a second external pip on a neighbouring egg! 11:10 discovery of the third external pip (again a neighbour)!
First egg:
View attachment 2595821

Now three external pips:

Very cool photo.

 

[JCaseyHammond]

Looks good. The last few days are torture! I don't know how hens do it with so much patience.

They don’t that’s why broodies are grumpy lol

 

[JCaseyHammond]

If you have any of that rubberized cupboard and drawer liner. You might want to put some down in there. I cut a piece then cut the corners as I was taking the tray out and getting ready for lock down..

I have liner but didn’t know til you said this. Should I take out the turning rack now? And put liner on the grate at this point (peeps and pips but no zips)

or leave it alone???

Manual doesn’t say to remove turning carousel thingy?
Edited to add, running a new Nurture Right 360 that stopped turning 3 days before scheduled hatch ( tomorrow)

 

[JCaseyHammond]

Yes very antsy. I have peeping and four eggs moving and I'm paranoid about checking n the eggs. Will the humidity hold, will the temperature hold, are they going to ever externally pip or suffocate in there... **grabs paper bag** How will I ever sleep?

Ugh my broody cat is driving me crazy! Come on hatchlings

 

[JCaseyHammond]

It's interesting that you bring up foil. I received my first shipped eggs ever that the cartons inside the box were also wrapped in foil. I still had clears and quitters but so far a good number made it to lockdown and hopefully will also hatch! Maybe the foil was beneficial?

Would it be possible to design a shipping container based on a clear plastic egg carton placed inside a larger padded foil-lined box with Velcro or snap closures so that Customs officials can open the box, visually inspect the contents, then close the box? To skip having to x-ray it?

Edited- and paste a copy of the article inside the box lid!!!