MARCH Hatch-A-Long 2015: Please Read the First Post to JOIN the H-A-L

[Torch404]

I can see why people get addicted to hatching it's like gambling. I've been staring at these eggs for 3 weeks...is this going to be a jackpot or bust?


Thanks Fuzzybutt, I'm hatching them in cartons with a hole punched in the bottom. I wanted some air flow but also to catch some hatching mess. I've managed to get it to about 45-49%, I'll keep trying things till it gets up there, at least until first peep.

 

[Studio Chick]

I can see why people get addicted to hatching it's like gambling. I've been staring at these eggs for 3 weeks...is this going to be a jackpot or bust?


Thanks Fuzzybutt, I'm hatching them in cartons with a hole punched in the bottom. I wanted some air flow but also to catch some hatching mess. I've managed to get it to about 45-49%, I'll keep trying things till it gets up there, at least until first peep.

Isn't that the truth! It was my first time trying, out of two set of eggs I have 37 fluffy butts in two different brooders right now. I also have to brag on Bama1, I bought some Black Bantam Orp eggs from her on the "Just in time for Hatching" thread. I ordered 12+, she sent 20, I now have 17 of those little cuties running around!
Even being sleep deprived, and now cleaning out brooders everyday, I would love to do it again! I just have to convince my DH that I need a couple more enclosed pens in the barn

 

[vonrow]

I guess I should post an update now that we are done with this recent batch. It's been anything but an easy run this time. Spiked temps just before lockdown, fouled eggs, a few odd deaths during the hatch... and one desicated chick last night in the brooder. A quick rundown: set 42 eggs, culled them a few times down to 32 by lockdown. 14 hatched late on day 23. One was lost in the egg just after it zipped, 2 others were lost a couple days later. So we were left with a total of 10 that made it to the brooder...up until yesterday. I noticed 3 of the chicks were undersized and their feet looked like dried twigs. (not drinking or eating since hatch) And the little puffballs were about half the size of the other chicks. So I started an immediate dropper-feed program for those 3. After the 2nd feeding I lost one them. So, down to 9 in the brooder. Grrr! Things are getting better now though. I'm not gunna say the 2 little birds are out of the woods, but they are looking better now. Maybe in a day or two they will have the strength and size to make their way to the water and food on their own. Their feet are looking more like chicken legs now instead of shriveled dried onions. If they don't make it then that will drop this batch down to 7. (I still call it a win after all the drama this hatch has been)

 

[Heron's Nest Farm]

I can see why people get addicted to hatching it's like gambling. I've been staring at these eggs for 3 weeks...is this going to be a jackpot or bust?

Uuummmm....I'm feeling A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE! Gambling? I don't have a problem...well..

My name is April and I'm a hatchaholic...

I guess I should post an update now that we are done with this recent batch. It's been anything but an easy run this time. Spiked temps just before lockdown, fouled eggs, a few odd deaths during the hatch... and one desicated chick last night in the brooder. A quick rundown: set 42 eggs, culled them a few times down to 32 by lockdown. 14 hatched late on day 23. One was lost in the egg just after it zipped, 2 others were lost a couple days later. So we were left with a total of 10 that made it to the brooder...up until yesterday. I noticed 3 of the chicks were undersized and their feet looked like dried twigs. (not drinking or eating since hatch) And the little puffballs were about half the size of the other chicks. So I started an immediate dropper-feed program for those 3. After the 2nd feeding I lost one them. So, down to 9 in the brooder. Grrr! Things are getting better now though. I'm not gunna say the 2 little birds are out of the woods, but they are looking better now. Maybe in a day or two they will have the strength and size to make their way to the water and food on their own. Their feet are looking more like chicken legs now instead of shriveled dried onions. If they don't make it then that will drop this batch down to 7. (I still call it a win after all the drama this hatch has been)

Oh my. What a challenge. I hope that with every hatch I somehow gain a sense of connecting the many dots of animal husbandry. Slowly I am seeing a picture emerge. Will any of us ever arrive? You had a keen sense of what was wrong by looking at their feet?! Great job!!!! It sounds like you kept your cool and pushed through.

I added a little honey to my chicks water last time when I had one that couldn't lift it's head. I dipped it's beak every hour I was awake during the day. Finally it turned the corner. I used honey because midwives use it. It penetrates the cell wall immediately. I mix it in some warm water until dissolved then add to the water holder with the electrolytes. You might try that.

What other brooder tricks have all of you learned?

 

[vonrow]

Ironic that you mention honey, as that is part of the recipe I use for situations like this. Honey has great caloric value for anemic chicks, is easy to digest, and has anti fungal / bacterial qualities as well. This is the first year I've ever played with incubators, but I'm no stranger to birds. We raised hundreds of them as a family effort when I was a kid (hobby farm) and I used to breed and raise parakeets about 10 years ago. After a while you come to a point when you can "read" a bird's behavior, or your gut tells ya something just aint right.

 

[ochochicas]

Day 19 today! This is the most boring time for hatching eggs. Fortunately I'm at work and don't have the temptation of messing with the eggs.

Like many of you, I've had trouble this hatch keeping my humidity up. I filled a spray bottle with hot water this morning and sprayed down the sides of the incubator. Humidity is now 71%. Despite it having rained for the last three days straight, it is difficult to keep the humidity high enough in the incubator. I will spray it down again tomorrow morning if I have to, and hopefully there will be some pips in the afternoon. I can hardly wait!

 

[scflock]

Day 19 for me as well. I have 10 WCBP, 8 d'uccle, and 2 cuckoo Marans that made it to lockdown. Had only one clear d'uccle, but 7 clear polish. My rooster definitely has his favorite ladies

 

[uzisuzuki]

Oh, Uzi, I'm so sorry...I lost one of my babies too, she internally pipped then just up and quit. It's heartbreaking. :/ I'm glad you still have two beautiful healthy babies to keep you occupied, though! They're real cuties!

Sorry to hear it! I had 2 out of 12 that didn't make it. I cried a lot that day. Kind of heartbreaking......especially after doing all that work to get out of that egg. My 13 yo daughter said.....mom, I wished she wouldn't even have hatched. Would have been easier, but oh well. Enjoy your 2 beautiful babies! .....And I was thinking you were planning to start some more eggs?

I am sorry. I had one I actually had to put down last time. It sounded much the same. It is so heartbreaking. I feel you.

Thanks so much, everyone. It's been pretty sad, but the other 2 chicks are doing great and I'm trying to focus on that. I also set the hatching eggs yesterday that I had planned to do the March HAL with. It really sucked to have that little dude work so hard to get out and then not make it, but at least it went fast and in its sleep and I didn't have to kill it myself.


Here's the little dude that didn't make it - I named it Neutron.






And here are the two that did make it (with my dogs). They're named Mercury and Frost and my dogs think the chicks are their babies to take care of. It's pretty funny.

 

[HerbGir1972]

Holy crap we now have 2...yes 2 incubators....no (eye twitching) I do not have a problem...

 

[bekkanblue]

Holy crap we now have 2...yes 2 incubators....no (eye twitching) I do not have a problem...

I'll be up to 3 when I get home tonight. And maybe 4 by tomorrow.... tho' I really should study and/or clean house before tackling the cooler-bator project... But I have the day off! In my defense, bators #1 and #2 are Minis, designed to curb my enthusiasm and they probably have.... a little.... But my birds are NOT helping! So generous in giving me egg hunts multiple times a day (which is so much fun!) And then all the pictures of chicks on here....

I really need to get a bigger brooder built for my soon-to-be juvie Jaerhons and 2 token Iowa Blues. They are being very very patient, but pretty soon I think they're going to knock off the cats and take over the living room!