Day 22 - how could all of them be dead?

[MamaHen1234]

Finally a chick! It was not the front runner, but pulled ahead overnight. Front runner is a small egg, has dime-sized hole for 24 hrs, and seems stuck but is still chirping. Thanks for your support. We're at day 23....

 

[startingaflock]

I am on day 24 and my last one of 18 just got out of it's shell. It ended up very dry and so what I did was break away as much of the shell that I could (without pulling) and then laid the egg of a wet paper towel. The little guy is out now!

 

[miniegg]

I'm happy for you, well done. I've been reading a lot, I'm on day 23 and not a peep, one egg was rocking a little bit this morning. I thought maybe it was my imagination at first but then the movement was much more pronounced.... but nothing since, that one's also stopped moving. It's my first hatch too, I put a rolled up damp jay cloth in there this morning as I was worried about humidity. It's not soaking wet and will probably add as much moisture as a hatched chick does.

I so hope at least a few hatch. I started with 10, discarded 3 after a couple of weeks .... all seemed good at lockdown, one looked much less formed than the others, but I thought I may as well leave it in.

My only thought is that the temp in the inci was down early on and I turned it up. I can't remember which day it was I saw that. I think day 1 or 2, been spot on 100 since. It's so frustrating. I'm off work this week and keep having to go and check them.... driving me mad!!!

My inci is a still air covatutto, you just keep a tray topped up in the bottom.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I'm sorry for your losses. I know that it's very disconcerting to have so many eggs and only one or two hatch. I've had the same sort of situation.

Unfortunately with shipped eggs the odds aren't good for a big hatch to begin with and not having a good way to measure humidity - well those are two areas where hatches either succeed or fail.

Learn how to candle eggs - even if it's only to see if something has started to grow. We used White Leghorn eggs as our first homeschool project because they are easy to see through. It was very exciting for us to watch the little chicks growing inside the egg. Unfortunately - out of 6 hatched, 1 died on the 3rd day and the remaining 5 ended up with 4 roosters! HAHA! Oh well, that one pullet still lays a white egg pretty much every day for us.

If you hatch again - get an inexpensive ditigal humidity and temperature sensor. The humidity levels are very important to keep correct - even more so then the temperature. Study whether you want to do dry hatch - which is another option. I just used a broody the last time and she worked out well for us. Hang in there - it gets easier with practice.

 

[dinahmoe]

Finally a chick! It was not the front runner, but pulled ahead overnight. Front runner is a small egg, has dime-sized hole for 24 hrs, and seems stuck but is still chirping. Thanks for your support. We're at day 23....

yeah,i hope you get some more soon to go with that one.
congrats on your new little one.
D

 

[hondo58]

Finally a chick! It was not the front runner, but pulled ahead overnight. Front runner is a small egg, has dime-sized hole for 24 hrs, and seems stuck but is still chirping. Thanks for your support. We're at day 23....

Hooray!

 

[miniegg]

Well I just did the float test on 3 of mine and candled them, 2 were lively as anything, the other floated.... I left the rest and put them back in the inci quickly. I couldn't tell if they'd pipped internally, there was still an air pocket at the end but I could see a shadow in 1, I just wanted to get them back in the inci though so didn't look closely. I went to the pet shop earlier to see if I could get a digital thermometer & humidity sensor. My luck it had just closed, will go out early tomorrow and get one.... Late in day 23 now, I hope day 24 sees at least a bit of progress!!

Thanks for the advice Bobbieschicks, I got some cotswold legbars, they are light blue eggs but gone white in incubation, so easy to see through & a mix of orpingtons.... most are a bit darker but I can see in them ok. I candled mine before lockdown, 6 looked good... I was unsure about 1, so decided to leave it in, I got rid of 3. I'm wondering if mine are a bit behind, because to be honest they didn't look like a day 18 egg when I candled them from what I read elsewhere.... I wonder if the temp drop early on has just made them later. I just hope that having them in lockdown so long won't do them any harm if so.

I so hope I at least get a couple hatch. I tied the damp cloth up and left it in... It's the size of a small chick, so I don't think it will do any harm...

Fingers crossed

 

[miniegg]

Any more chicks mamahen?

I have one pipped and zipping round the egg. He seems lively enough, I just hope he makes it okay. I don't want to interfere and risk losing him....

Nothing from the rest. I upped humidity and the temp a bit... mine's a preset inci. I bought a dual thermo/hygro earlier and according to that both humidity and temp were down. Although I did just realise I should have filled the second container with water, so prob my fault about the bad results, although instructions don't say to they are a bad translated version obviously, it's an italian inci. I thought it strange that there were 2 containers and I only had to fill one..... and of course there was also the issue of a lack of an independent measuring device!

I'm now checking all the time, I'm scared of the temp going out of control as I shoved a wet cloth in and filled every container space in there earlier to get the humidity up. It's up now, I removed the cloth as I don't want the baby to drown near it and now I'm scared of temp going too high.

I did the float test again earlier and that was when I realised he was peeping. I could hear him very faintly. He was the only one to bob around, the others all floated okay, but I fear they are dead as I had movement from a few yesterday and now there's nothing. I thought if they were alive his cheeps might set them going but no movement at all.

I'll be grateful for the one, he's either a blue or black orp... Can't tell as I had a mix of orps and all shells were marked. I had one of each, much of the pencil rubbed off when I dried them after float testing and I chucked a couple 2 weeks in that weren't fertile.

Oh this is stressful, I'll be so happy if he makes it and over the moon if he gets a little friend too... If not I think I'll have to go and buy him a friend as he'll be lonely.

Tina

 

[MamaHen1234]

I did the same thing with my 4th chick - a Red Silkie - and it limped along (literally) for a couple days but died on day three. So sad. I wish you better luck with yours. I've heard it can be successful, and for me it was still better than watching it chirp to death while looking at me from the hole in it's shell. Poor Silkie.

 

[MamaHen1234]

I am on day 24 and my last one of 18 just got out of it's shell. It ended up very dry and so what I did was break away as much of the shell that I could (without pulling) and then laid the egg of a wet paper towel. The little guy is out now!

I did the same thing with my 4th chick - a Red Silkie - and it limped along (literally) for a couple days but died on day three. So sad. I wish you better luck with yours. I've heard it can be successful, and for me it was still better than watching it chirp to death while looking at me from the hole in it's shell. Poor Silkie.