Hands on hatching and help

[WVduckchick]

@WVduckchick
Can Orps ever show a frizzle gene???
I have one chick, that should not be, and may not be but has a few feathers coming in that make me think frizzle?? I'll get a pic.. it may just be the way it looks with only a few feathers over fluff. .

I would suspect it could, if bred with a frizzle, but I have no direct knowledge of it.

 

[WildHens]

I would suspect it could, if bred with a frizzle, but I have no direct knowledge of it.

I don't think any of the parents had it tho..none that I could see anyways

 

[WildHens]

Okay, off topic but I have to share this: THIS is why I will never, EVER use a heat lamp with my chicks. This was not too far from me - we saw the smoke and wondered what it was. Now we know. Besides the benefits to the chicks (immediately learning day/night cycles, fast feathering, far less pasty butt - I've had it in two chicks and they both arrived here with it - less food consumption, and no need to get them used to a big, scary world without the security of lights 24/7) heat lamps scare the pee-wadding out of me. They heat everything around them - the air, the walls, the floor, the brooder, the food, the water, the dust - and I can't think of anything more UN-natural to do to these little babies. Yokel and Sweet Pea have been living outside for 2 weeks, and Sluf has been out there since he was a day old. They went out practically from the incubator. All are thriving, and my setup will still be out there every single morning. So sad.

That's awful .. and I agree 110% .. No lamps here at all.. when I was nervous about it getting chilly in the big brooder, I put an electric heater out there on a thermostat. .don't think they needed it , but it made me feel better about brooding outside. They would have all come back inside if it came down to using a light

 

[WVduckchick]

After I lost a few chicks to a burned out brooder bulb (they trampled each other in the dark), I bought a Brinsea plate brooder. Love that thing!! Still use a small light, with just a plant grow bulb in emergencies when I have staggered hatches separated, but doubt I will ever use those big red bulbs ever again.

(thanks for the reminder, I've been meaning to order another plate brooder).

 

[Blooie]

I just use a heating pad cave and the results have been stellar!

 

[WildHens]

I just use a heating pad cave and the results have been stellar!

Not to mention, much much cheaper than anything else. I buy heating g pads from the dollar store for 12 or 13$ .. they only have an on/off setting, but it's plenty enough for even new babies fresh out of the hatcher. The wire frame and towels I just reuse. Sometimes I make bigger ones that hold 2 or 3 heating pads. .but I LOVE that the babies aren't afraid of the dark and pasty butt is a thing of the past here.

 

[WVduckchick]

Not to mention, much much cheaper than anything else. I buy heating g pads from the dollar store for 12 or 13$ .. they only have an on/off setting, but it's plenty enough for even new babies fresh out of the hatcher. The wire frame and towels I just reuse. Sometimes I make bigger ones that hold 2 or 3 heating pads. .but I LOVE that the babies aren't afraid of the dark and pasty butt is a thing of the past here.

I haven't found them that cheap! I Will have to look again.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Blooie's stupid question of the week. <sigh, YES, again!!) Ken and I have to go out of town Friday afternoon and be gone overnight. I would have had Katie come over and turn eggs, but she informed me today that she's scared to do it. She was fine when all the eggs were standing up in the Brinsea before and we just rotated the entire incubator from side to side, but she knows she's a bit of a clutz and the thought of picking up these and turning them by hand terrifies her. Kids with Autism can sometimes pick odd things to fixate on, and this is hers. I DO NOT want to push her, if you get my drift. This is the kid who can take care of the entire coop and run by herself for a week, doing everything from feeding and cleaning to gathering eggs and even letting them out for bit of free time and getting them back in, so it's not that she's afraid of a little work. She's genuinely afraid she'll break one.

So my question... tomorrow starts day 7. Will I do harm to the embryos if they go what amounts to about 24 to 26 hours without being turned? I hate to do it, but Bug is all I have to take care of things and I don't want to traumatize her. She already feels like she's letting "her chicks" down but we tried it tonight and her arms started doing their flap thing....

It wouldn't be ideal, but if worse came to worse I don't think 24 hours would be a compromiser.

I don't pick mineup unless I am candling too, I usually just roll them.

I would risk not turning, so as not to worry her, but would it be possible to put them in cartons or something to make it safer for her to do? Like when she is just tilting the other bator? Just to give them at least a little movement. Just a thought.

Good idea. Could set them upright in a carton for a day and have her tilt.

So my baby hatched last night right around midnight. It's still pretty wobbly, it's down still looks pretty sticky and matted, and there is a 1 inch "hair" (dried vein?) hang off its rear end. Any advice?

Once its dried up, it should fall off by itself, or you can clip it shorter with scissors. Sometimes they are longer and I'll snip them, but just an inch should fall off pretty quickly on its own.

edit to add congrats on the hatchling!

xs 2


Ok, I am not knocking other methods than the heat light, I can see where it is the least natural and it does run a high concern for fire. I still use my brooder light. I do worry constantly about the heat coming off it against the wall and cage, I will say that,but other than that, I have had no problems with my chicks feathering out, with pasty butt with sleep patterns. At night they lay down and go to sleep no problems. Usually once they start feathering in decent and it's warm inside, I shut it off for a few hours a day, only using it when it's cooler or at night until they are feathered in. Every one of my girls in the coop were raised under the broody light and they transtioned just fine. I do brood inside my house for at least 6 weeks. Yes, what a friggin pain. And dust...OMG, but it's always worked for me. I just don't understand the talk about pasty butt and night habits.

Never had a problem.

 

[WildHens]

It wouldn't be ideal, but if worse came to worse I don't think 24 hours would be a compromiser.     I don't pick mineup unless I am candling too, I usually just roll them.

Good idea. Could set them upright in a carton for a day and have her tilt.



xs 2


Ok, I am not knocking other methods than the heat light, I can see where it is the least natural and it does run a high concern for fire. I still use my brooder light. I do worry constantly about the heat coming off it against the wall and cage, I will say that,but other than that, I have had no problems with my chicks feathering out, with pasty butt with sleep patterns. At night they lay down and go to sleep no problems. Usually once they start feathering in decent and it's warm inside, I shut it off for a few hours a day, only using it when it's cooler or at night until  they are feathered in.  Every one of my girls in the coop were raised under the broody light and they transtioned just fine.  I do brood inside my house for at least 6 weeks.  Yes, what a friggin pain. And dust...OMG, but it's always worked for me.  I just don't understand the talk about pasty butt and night habits.    Never had a problem.

You have good babies.. even my chicks in the outside brooder have an issue with days/nights bc of the security light that shines thru the window into part of the brooder. On average tho, I'd say the chicks I brood with the cave, feather out starting about 2, maybe 3 weeks earlier. . Don't know the whys or hows of the pasty butt, but it's non existant now.. even in the silkies which always seemed to get it before.. I keep telling myself I want to do a side by side comparison of identical breed chicks..using my Norwegians bc of the auto sexing so I wasn't accidently comparing boys and girls against each other. .
I did bring in a couple of the chicks that had been in the outside brooder with the security light, and brought them to the brooder in my room where it's mostly a natural schedule from the light coming in the window, and when it got dark, they did a frantic screaming run around the brooder like the world was ending..the older chicks were peeking from the cave looking at them like they had 3 heads. I just tucked them inside and used my hand to block the opening for a few seconds until everyone was quiet and calm..that was all it took tho.
I thought it was the silliest thing I'd ever heard way back when.. but I'm a firm follower now.. I think everyone should try it at least once , but that's just me..lol..
And no hun, I don't think anyone here, new or old would ever ever in a million years think that you would tell or think that one way was better than anothers.. that's what makes u the amazing person you are ♡♡♡

 

[walkswithdog]

I use reptile heat mats and where I am drying chicks a ceramic reptile heat bulb, I use a reptiherm thermostat with the sensor right under the bulb to prevent over heating. Ceramic heating bulbs were created to be safer, not as subject to burning things down. And they're more moisture resistant than heat lamps or human heating pads. Even the kennel heat mats for outdoors are cheaper than the Brinsea brooder. OMG. I can't pay that. I get my reptile stuff from Big Apple Herp. online. Reptile people have to deal with humid or wet environments and EXACT temp and humidity and I find their recommended equipment very reliable for chicks. Retiiles and baby chicks have a lot in common.Shouldn't burn or over heat either, water/humidity and electricity can be bad. Forgive the typos my computer is behaving badly and typing ever third letter late. It's weird. And annoying. Using a heat lamp without a sensor is asking for it. Brooders need thermostats, should be humidity resistant at a minimum. Fires and burns aren't really the fault of the equipment as much as operator. If there had been a sensor and the light properly mounted out of reach, nothing burns. I do prefer mats, I think day night cycles do prevent stress. But heat lamps, red ones, actually help some chickens and chicks( feather picking aggression) , and the red has been proven to not interfere with normal sleep cycles In birds. Or reptiles. Still ceramics and mats are safer. Human heat mats actually do cause burns and catch fire with some frequency.. They really are cheaply made, they really do burn people often. It's worth considering.