Hands on hatching and help

[WildHens]

Just realized how awful those pics are..

 

[casportpony]

Just realized how awful those pics are..

How old is it?

-Kathy

 

[chickengirl72]

Here are some videos I took with the incubator open. And guess what? Nothing got shrink wrapped from me doing it! Though the eggs did cool down, but that was only because I had the lid off for at least 15 minutes.

-Kathy

What are those little orange things the eggs are resting in?

We have 3 ducklings hatched out today. My husband woke me up at 5:30 this morning to let me know the first one had hatched, LOL. They're a lot bigger than i was expecting and are bumping into the eggs that havent hatched, and the eggs are rolling around a bit. I popped the lid and moved the eggs out towards the edges and moved the pip marks back up, spritzed everything and got the lid back on as fast as i could.

Those little dishes look like they'd prevent all the rolling around?

Thanks everyone for all your help and advice, this is our first successful hatch and i'm sure it wouldn't have happened without the BYC folks <3

 

[walkswithdog]

Hi, I'm Cher and I candle whenever I want to. I also have hatched old eggs 4 wks and more, muddy cold eggs, eggs after a temperature drop, after nasty spikes, after nearly anything someone told me not to do. I've hatched still air and fan, foam hand built, foam commercial, hand made incubators of three sorts and a redwood Leahy from the 1900's. Reptile incubators also work. Helping most often results in a normal chicken, once you've the knack. Right now I've a Cochin mix drying in a brinsea mini with other eggs two or three different ages. I don't even (gasp) play with humidity. I ignore it.

I usually stop it turning the last couple days but sometimes not. Hens just aren't brilliant and not all are even good Brodie's, much less great ones. Eggs go I hatched and late under hens too, all the time. It's actually why, despite having brooding hens, I had to have an incubator to save damaged eggs, late eggs and stuck chicks. The RULES are generalities. Follow them until you get a feel for things and how it should go, then play with rules on free eggs. Playing with the rules on expensive eggs is just dumb. Not candling tho. I do that whenever I want. Cuz I'm a bad hen, so there, lol.

 

[WildHens]

How old is it?

-Kathy

It hatched about 2am Monday night/early Tuesday. .completely unassisted but had a sac(very dark, almost black ) of what I thought was intestinal in nature. .it was large, little smaller than a ping-pong ball...whatever "it" was absorbed by 7am the following morning

 

[2crazyflockers]

That's great! Congrats on the babies!!

thank you! I just love them soon much!!

 

[casportpony]

Quote: They are Gatorade lids that I use to keep the off the wet paper towels, and they do keep them from rolling around, though I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing?

Congrats on your ducklings!

-Kathy

 

[WildHens]

Hi, I'm Cher and I candle whenever I want to. I also have hatched old eggs 4 wks and more, muddy cold eggs, eggs after a temperature drop, after nasty spikes, after nearly anything someone told me not to do. I've hatched still air and fan, foam hand built, foam commercial, hand made incubators of three sorts and a redwood Leahy from the 1900's. Reptile incubators also work. Helping most often results in a normal chicken, once you've the knack. Right now I've a Cochin mix drying in a brinsea mini with other eggs two or three different ages. I don't even (gasp) play with humidity. I ignore it.

I usually stop it turning the last couple days but sometimes not. Hens just aren't brilliant and not all are even good Brodie's, much less great ones. Eggs go I hatched and late under hens too, all the time. It's actually why, despite having brooding hens, I had to have an incubator to save damaged eggs, late eggs and stuck chicks. The RULES are generalities. Follow them until you get a feel for things and how it should go, then play with rules on free eggs. Playing with the rules on expensive eggs is just dumb. Not candling tho. I do that whenever I want. Cuz I'm a bad hen, so there, lol.

I love every single word of that..lol

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hi, I'm Cher and I candle whenever I want to. I also have hatched old eggs 4 wks and more, muddy cold eggs, eggs after a temperature drop, after nasty spikes, after nearly anything someone told me not to do. I've hatched still air and fan, foam hand built, foam commercial, hand made incubators of three sorts and a redwood Leahy from the 1900's. Reptile incubators also work. Helping most often results in a normal chicken, once you've the knack. Right now I've a Cochin mix drying in a brinsea mini with other eggs two or three different ages. I don't even (gasp) play with humidity. I ignore it.

I usually stop it turning the last couple days but sometimes not. Hens just aren't brilliant and not all are even good Brodie's, much less great ones. Eggs go I hatched and late under hens too, all the time. It's actually why, despite having brooding hens, I had to have an incubator to save damaged eggs, late eggs and stuck chicks. The RULES are generalities. Follow them until you get a feel for things and how it should go, then play with rules on free eggs. Playing with the rules on expensive eggs is just dumb. Not candling tho. I do that whenever I want. Cuz I'm a bad hen, so there, lol.

See you belong on this thread....lol

 

[Beau Garden]

Okay. I opened a few eggs to see what was going on and they definitely died in the early stages. Im thinking that it had something to do with my temp. There was a day that i put a different thermometer in because i didnt trust the one that was in it and it was reading at 106! I freaked out and turned it down so my thought is that was the point that killed them. I refuse to quit and im going to get a new batch and buy a new thermometer and humidity monitor. Hopefully the next group will make it.