Hands on hatching and help

[josefini]

Thank you for the kind words )). I def'ly need to upgrade my hygrometer, and thanks to this site im hoping to get "better". NB my ridiculously lucky brother hatched 5/10 ducks with that same horrid janoel. Never washed his hands when turning, let his toddlers hold the eggs, opened it during pips and hatch etc. omg. Lol.

 

[pipAchick]

Happy weekend every hatcher! Catching up but really great chick pictures! Really enjoy them.

Sorry about machine&humidity issues,espically on the little silkie. Going to pull our incubater out and sanitize for another go round of hatching. Have a good one.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

Thank you for the kind words )). I def'ly need to upgrade my hygrometer, and thanks to this site im hoping to get "better". NB my ridiculously lucky brother hatched 5/10 ducks with that same horrid janoel. Never washed his hands when turning, let his toddlers hold the eggs, opened it during pips and hatch etc. omg. Lol.

Isn't that the way of it lol.. I've read all these books and talked to all these experienced hatchers I've studied my butt off. If I don't get Adleast 2 chicks out of this hatch I'm going to be kicking myself in the arse lol..

 

[Mschkweasnduck]

Thank you for the kind words )). I def'ly need to upgrade my hygrometer, and thanks to this site im hoping to get "better". NB my ridiculously lucky brother hatched 5/10 ducks with that same horrid janoel. Never washed his hands when turning, let his toddlers hold the eggs, opened it during pips and hatch etc. omg. Lol.

I could never from day one of my first hatch,leave anything alone
A friend lent me a little giant styrofoam ,oldy ...but goody I guess .my first was not many 7/18 and wouldn't you know it ,I have one hen ,Hannah ,the rest were all cockerels.3 in the freezer,3 rehomed

2nd hatch 5/15 so again...not great but then came 8 duck eggs...LOST EM ALL. STICKIN TO CHICKENS
This last round I'm playing with my curiosity and I've set many "rounded " eggs and 5 pointy ...they are a pippin today,due tomorrow
I have never ever ever ever...used a hydrometer

maybe I should and I can perfect my hatch rate ...my luck, I'd lose em all :/
I have 25 buns in the oven ,and the timer is about to pip
I love this thread!!!

 

[jenniferlamar70]

I could never from day one of my first hatch,leave anything alone
A friend lent me a little giant styrofoam ,oldy ...but goody I guess .my first was not many 7/18 and wouldn't you know it ,I have one hen ,Hannah ,the rest were all cockerels.3 in the freezer,3 rehomed

2nd hatch 5/15 so again...not great but then came 8 duck eggs...LOST EM ALL. STICKIN TO CHICKENS
This last round I'm playing with my curiosity and I've set many "rounded " eggs and 5 pointy ...they are a pippin today,due tomorrow
I have never ever ever ever...used a hydrometer

maybe I should and I can perfect my hatch rate ...my luck, I'd lose em all :/
I have 25 buns in the oven ,and the timer is about to pip
I love this thread!!!

Just wanted to advise you get a hygrometer. That's one of the most important things in hatching. Almost as important as temp. With a hygrometer your hatches should really improve..

 

[MultipleAnimals]

Hello! I am semi new. I have posted here or there over the years but mostly just do a lot of reading through the threads. I have been reading through this one for 2 days now waiting on my first batch of chicks to hatch! I made a homemade incubator last month and set 6 eggs from my flock. There are 5 that were good to go as of day 18 but I haven't candled since and so far three have pipped! Another is rocking around! This is so exciting I had to share with someone besides my husband who thinks I've lost it! Lol I can't pull myself away from the incubator!!!

How did you make your HomeMade Incubator? I made one back in Jan/Feb and I lost two batches due to heat for the first one and people dropping stuff on the second batch, trying again a third time, I am currently on day 13 and they are due to hatch around the 18/19. I have fixed the humidity and temperature. So you should keep an eye on the incubator for the 21 days. But back to why I quoted u, how did you make your Incubator?

 

[SlikerFarm]

Aww, so cute! Do they lay pink eggs?
A lot of people have said that! But this is my super clumsy boy and I just have a feeling he would fall over and the bag wouldn't be tight enough or something and we'd be going back to the ER! I can see it all now....lol.

I wish they laid pink eggs! They lay brown eggs sadly, lol. And I'm glad your son's doing well. What a bummer to have a broken limb in the summer!

 

[SlikerFarm]

Last night my husband and I quickly candled the last 6 eggs last night - all still moving! In fact, one had pipped on the bottom of the egg (probably from the chick footballing eggs before she was dry), and the underside of the egg was SOAKED. That egg had a paper-thin shell so I'm worried it absorbed too much water. I set the egg on its side thinking it would help drain the water. Well the chick is still alive because he rolled the egg upside down again! I set the egg right-side up now. No one else has externally pipped yet, but the eggs are rocking!

This is the chick that hatched yesterday. We named her Gabby because she hasn't stopped cheeping since before she hatched! The guinea hens don't know what to make of her, haha.

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[RubyNala97]

So glad you guys made it through the ordeal and that he is feeling better! (And super glad he didn't need pins!)

Thank you! Yes, I'm glad no pins! I went through that with my oldest when he was 6 and the pins came out of his elbow through the skin and it totally freaked him out! He thought he could do a summersault off the top of the slide and then fly off like a super hero. :/

Has anyone else noticed after just one day of incubation fertilized eggs already feel heavier. It's crazy cause their is not much there yet but I can feel a difference in the weight when I turn them. Am I crazy or do any of you notice this as well?

It's weird because you think as the air cell get bigger and they loose moisture they would feel lighter but they feel heavier instead. Then I notice once they internally and externally pip they feel super light!

Hi all, im new to the obsession. I had 1/24 shipped eggs make it to lockdown with visible movement all the way when candling. A little silkie. She pipped and 24 hours later started a strong zip. Then stalled out and i didnt get in soon enough to rescue. Peeled her sad little body out and she was beautiful. Such a sad loss. After talking with amylynn i think this was a humidity issue.

Now i have one americauna egg left in the bator. Its blue and ive seen an intact air cell, veins, and a dark shape, BUT never any movement. Its now day 22. I candled and float tested. No movement, tho it did float. (Dont scold - i know was too soon but im mad with grief over the lost silkie).

My question for the experienced: Whats the hope? It seems pretty slim to me. Any realistic chance its just late and i cant see movemevt thru the blue shell? I see articles about late hatching day 23 etc. But is that just a one in a million fantasy?

Part of me just wants a fresh start but i hate to give up if theres a valid hope....

I have had the float test lie. The eggs was still in the water but it was still alive. How does the air cell look? Does it look like it has "drawn down", grown really big and is formed around the chick? If not, then I would say not much hope. Did the silkie pip on time? If so then your temps are probably ok, which means they should at least be internally pipped or pipped by day 22.

Thank you for the kind words )). I def'ly need to upgrade my hygrometer, and thanks to this site im hoping to get "better". NB my ridiculously lucky brother hatched 5/10 ducks with that same horrid janoel. Never washed his hands when turning, let his toddlers hold the eggs, opened it during pips and hatch etc. omg. Lol.

LOL! Yeah but those were probably local eggs and not shipped! Local eggs are a breeze compared to shipped!

I wish they laid pink eggs! They lay brown eggs sadly, lol. And I'm glad your son's doing well. What a bummer to have a broken limb in the summer!

Oh man! I was thinking "cherry" must mean they lay close to that color egg. Lol! And thank you!

 

[sday615]

How did you make your HomeMade Incubator? I made one back in Jan/Feb and I lost two batches due to heat for the first one and people dropping stuff on the second batch, trying again a third time, I am currently on day 13 and they are due to hatch around the 18/19. I have fixed the humidity and temperature. So you should keep an eye on the incubator for the 21 days. But back to why I quoted u, how did you make your Incubator?

Hi! I had an old styrofoam cooler that we cut the front out of and then placed a 8x10 plastic clear frame in the front with duct tape. Then we cut a hole in the back and put a light socket through with a 40 watt dimable light bulb and plugged it into a lamp dimmer cord. I also put duct tape around the bulb socket to make sure it stays in place. I laid some paper towels down on the bottom and a mason jar with water for humidity and bought a indoor humidity/temp gauge and adjust the dimmer to raise/lower the temperature and then I just moved my water container closer or farther from the light or added/removed water to control humidity. We also put two holes in it for ventilation. I didn't know how well it would work since it's still air and homemade but we have 2 hatched eggs, 1 hatching now and another rocking. I haven't seen the 5th move in a while so it may not make it out but 4/6 it's better than I expected for my first hatch ever! How is yours made?