Hucklekree's 2023 Incubation Records (for funsies)

[Hucklekree]

This is sad. I am sorry.

I will never, ever use a brooding plate. I know the heat lamp is such a pain, but I see so many brooder plate issues.

In regard to the sudden deaths, I recently switched to hemp bedding, opposed to pine shavings or any other medium - and I am so pleased with it. I worked in a pine lumber mill for years, and we produced residual products with the big ticket being shavings and wood chips. The shavings come from the machine that planes the wood smooth, the chips come from the larger pieces that go through the chipper, mainly the ends of the boards after they are trimmed to size. Most all pine mills treat the lumber with an anti mold, that in its concentrated form is deadly if you were to drink a tablespoon of it. But it is diluted so heavily that it has been deemed fine by the EPA. The old method was a large dip tank, and finished loads of lumber would be dipped in the solution, but around 2013 most places changed to a method where the boards would go through a "spray box" while going through the planer.

Long story short, this solution ends up in the shavings and very well can be harmful to baby chicks while not being harmful to humans.

I am so intrigued and shocked by this information. Thanks for sharing it. Whatever was getting my chicks has thankfully stopped. Truthfully I believe it to be a problem with the chicks themselves and not the housing as nobody else has had a problem before or after. Or maybe it was the brooder plate...

I have them in a box with a rubberized floor with holes that allow the droppings to fall through. No shavings for them.

 

[Hucklekree]

Here are some of the current littles. They are in their outside run for some exercise. Twice that amount in there now.

 

[BastyPutt]

Here are some of the current littles. They are in their outside run for some exercise. Twice that amount in there now.

View attachment 3570848

A beautiful healthy looking little flock!

 

[Hucklekree]

Thanks And thanks for commenting and following. I wish I could get some better pictures but they are fast and I am too busy to give them a proper photoshoot .

 

[Hucklekree]

Just had 1 chick surprise me out of my BYMs and popped out three days ahead of schedule. Two more are pipped and ready to follow. Who knows though if they are early or not as the ducks were late according to my record keeping. I incubated them in the same machine too. Hatching is in a different one. So I guess I should double check my records going forward...

 

[Hucklekree]

So far 5 out of 7 have hatched with pips on the last two. Hatch day was supposed to be tomorrow. Not sure why they were so early. 1 out of the 5 hatched has spraddle leg (first time ever dealing with it), seems to be responding to treatment.

 

[Hucklekree]

6 total hatched from the BYM. No eggs currently set. I will be giving the bators a good cleaning and then reset with some duck eggs. Welsh Harlequins, Golden Cascades and Silver Appleyard.

 

[Hucklekree]

Filled the incubator with 22 BYM to test hatch after cleaning and letting them rest for a bit.

 

[Hucklekree]

3 clears from birds I was curious about for fertilization rates. Gues sthat answers my question.

replaced with 3 more fresh eggs.

Removed 3 early quitters from the first 22. Down to 19 eggs - 16 original set and 3 late additions.

 

[Hucklekree]

Well, it isn't looking good for these eggs. Forgot to reset the incubator countdown and it stopped turning them sometime between the 8th and the 15th when I caught it. Not great. I have 11 eggs of the original 22 in lockdown with internal pips (or close to it), and one with an external. There are four more of the originals that have have nebulously clear sections with veining that I would not expect to find at day 18. My thoughts are that it is because of the lack of turning.

Then there are the three from the second batch that I replaced some of the clears and early quitters with. They are sporting nebulously clear areas and the development doesn't look normal. Time will tell.

Kicking myself for the mistake.