FEBRUARY Hatch-A-Long 2015:Please Read First Post To Join H-A-L

[ChickenLady2014]

A second egg bomb went off this evening.  Fortunately, it was not nearly as bad as the one from last night.  All the remaining eggs look great.  So far, my hatch results have been: 1. explosive stinky mess, 2. Failure to progress due to shrink wrapping of membranes with assisted hatch, 3. explosive stinky mess.  Nine more to go.  I am so happy my next few batches of eggs will be in the incubator.  I really, really want to use broodies whenever I can, but this particular clutch is going to be the death of me!

Oh no, surprised the hen didn't kick either of the eggs out of the nest before they exploded.

 

[LisaLouHoo]

A second egg bomb went off this evening.  Fortunately, it was not nearly as bad as the one from last night.  All the remaining eggs look great.  So far, my hatch results have been: 1. explosive stinky mess, 2. Failure to progress due to shrink wrapping of membranes with assisted hatch, 3. explosive stinky mess.  Nine more to go.  I am so happy my next few batches of eggs will be in the incubator.  I really, really want to use broodies whenever I can, but this particular clutch is going to be the death of me!

Years ago we had one lone female goose who would lay eggs and sometimes hide them and go broody. We knew she had been setting on them a long time, so we finally were going to take care of them when she got off the nest for a break and my daughter and I reached down to start putting them in a pail and one exploded. The stench was so bad that I started dry heaving. And I don't have a weak stomach!! With that being said, I really do like using the broody, though. Mostly I like when they care for them afterwards and show them the ropes. Good luck with your remaining eggs!!! I hope you get lots of

 

[thegrovestead]

Were they due to hatch today? If you just started to hear cheeping, that's normal and leave it be for now.

Day 22 and it's been ~12 hours since hearing chirping inside one of the eggs, but still no external pip. And i haven't heard any more chirping.

Any suggestions? Should I assist?

 

[cedarcovefarm]

Well I'm glad I didn't open the incubator to add more water last night . I got up this morning and I have a pip!!!!it looks like a crested cream leg bar will be my first chick

 

[thegrovestead]

Day 22 and it's been ~12 hours since hearing chirping inside one of the eggs, but still no external pip. And i haven't heard any more chirping.

Any suggestions? Should I assist?

To answer my own question -- no, I did not need to assist. The second egg pipped about 20 hours later and is in the process of hatching now.

 

[minihorse927]

To answer my own question -- no, I did not need to assist. The second egg pipped about 20 hours later and is in the process of hatching now.

great! Sorry I was in bed and didn't get back sooner!

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

SO.... Now that all egg bombs have gone off, the house no longer smells terrible, and the assisted hatch from last night is, sleeping comfortably in the incubator... I really don't expect it to even think about doing anything other than sleep for another day. (I know I would if I spent 2 days trying to get out of an egg)

But then.....
Pip #2: Breech.

This is my first breech baby. I don't have high hopes for a malposition like that. I'll give it a bit less time than a normal chick in trouble, so instead of letting it hang out for a couple of days, I'll give it around 24 hours...

I am pretty sure I am going to retire this hen in the fall. She will be useful as a broody for someone else's eggs, but seeing as the first two ducklings to pip in the clutch have already had hatching issues, and I still have 8 to go, I am less than happy with the genetics of this brood. If I want to be really generous I may consider covering her with another drake in order to determine which side the hatching issues are coming from...

 

[cedarcovefarm]

To answer my own question -- no, I did not need to assist. The second egg pipped about 20 hours later and is in the process of hatching now.

Glad things are underway for your little chick. It's hard to know just the right thing to do.

Lady hawke-I'm curious, did those eggs smell before they blew? Or was it not noticeable since it was under a broody? I had one egg in the incubator I pulled, but it was very stinky. It's kinda got me worried that one could blow without any warning

I still have 1 other egg in the bator that I think might not grow out but I left because I wasn't sure.

Let's see more chic pics if anybody has some to share!

 

[Hatching Addict]

I had 6 of my original 15 duck eggs to actually hatch. I'm actually pretty excited about that because right before they were suppose to hatch, the thermometer read 106 degrees.

I wasn't sure how long the temp had been elevated or how it happened. It could have been as long as three days...but since some made it...I don't really think so. Anyway, thankful for those that did hatch.

So that finishes up my hatching for the month of Feb...looking forward to my March hatches! Also glad to see all the great pictures of everybody's Feb hatches!

 

[oolyboolu]

Hatch day, hatch day, tra la la la la!!

Now to wait for it to actually happen

this will be a long day at work :/