November 2016 Hatch-a-long!!

[Jessimom]

They are absolutely going to love being out in that coop! Mine are inside the coop in a brooder/grow-out box, but I don't have a secure enough area in the run to let them play in.

They'll have to get a little bigger first.

I just got them moved an hour ago. I went to check on them and they were piled in one corner, mostly under the heat plate. It's RIGHT outside my door, so it's easy to check on them. They currently are locked into the coop section. Tomorrow morning I'll open the door and see if they want to venture out. Tonight is the coldest night this week, so if they seem to do ok tonight, I think they'll be fine! It's supposed to rain off and on the next few days. We'll see how they do!






In my big coop, when I introduce new chicks, I use chicken wire and made a circle, and i put the babies in the circle and let the other chicks walk around them. Good luck getting your moved out!!

 

[NysiaAnera]

I do check on my chicks, day and night! Lol They were fully feathered when we moved them out, but I set up a heat light just in case. They actually use it quite a bit, but that is okay, the temperature difference is quite extreme. Looks like we are not going to get the week long super deep freeze, but we will have a couple nights below 0°F. Basically normal weather here. The chicks have been mostly staying close together up near the food/water/roosts. Every evening, I give all the chickens a grain mix, so I have been scattering theirs out farther to encourage them to explore more, and get out where they can see and interact with the flock through the fence. So far, so good! Most of the flock does not go back there these days, but they can still see each other when the chickens are in the run eating.

 

[Tashaf]

Ok, question..... it may sound dumb but I'm seeing a pattern. I have a new red rooster with my favorite hen. I've been incubating the eggs I get from her with other eggs and although I don't get many eggs from her cause it's winter. Each time it comes to hatching date they die right before. Or they don't grow at all. Could he just put off weak offspring or something??

 

[FridayYet]

Ok, question..... it may sound dumb but I'm seeing a pattern. I have a new red rooster with my favorite hen. I've been incubating the eggs I get from her with other eggs and although I don't get many eggs from her cause it's winter. Each time it comes to hatching date they die right before. Or they don't grow at all. Could he just put off weak offspring or something??

Do you have other eggs in the same batch that hatch OK?

If they don't grow at all, there could be a fertility issue. But maybe that hen lays eggs that are a little less porous and need a lower humidity. Did you open the eggs and were the chicks goopy?

 

[Faraday40]

Ok, question..... it may sound dumb but I'm seeing a pattern. I have a new red rooster with my favorite hen. I've been incubating the eggs I get from her with other eggs and although I don't get many eggs from her cause it's winter. Each time it comes to hatching date they die right before. Or they don't grow at all. Could he just put off weak offspring or something??

Those are very good questions.

If it seems they are clear / not fertile, you can inspect both the male & female near the vent. It may sound silly, but one or both may need a trim. (My Orpingtons have A LOT of fluffy butt feathers & those do get in the way during mating. Too much cushion! LOL Whenever I suspect low fertility, I do some "grooming" & all is good again.)

A chick dying before hatching could be for several reasons. If all the other eggs are hatching fine & it's a pullet egg, the egg could be too small for the chick inside to maneuver & eventually hatch. A pullet egg also comes in all kinds of shapes & thicknesses, which could also cause complications during incubation & hatching. When selecting eggs to incubate, look for the best, normal-looking, egg shape. Too large could mean porous or thinner shelled. Eggs with bumps & soiled eggs are also not very good to set.

If it's not the eggs nor the mating, then recheck all the incubation settings. It's also a good idea to do an egg-topsy after day 24 or so. (whenever you're sure they're dead.) You can tell a lot by the size of the air cell & how much of the yolk sac was absorbed.
Here are links for more info:
https://poultrykeeper.com/incubating-and-hatching-eggs/incubation-troubleshooting-guide/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/egg-failure-to-hatch-diagnosing-incubation-problems

 

[Tashaf]

Do you have other eggs in the same batch that hatch OK?  

If they don't grow at all, there could be a fertility issue.  But maybe that hen lays eggs that are a little less porous and need a lower humidity.  Did you open the eggs and were the chicks goopy?

That Hens eggs are usually fine and hatch out good with a different rooster. She is not too young or too old and my hens get very good nutrition. Some don't grow at all some get close to hatching and die right before. I didn't open the eggs.

 

[Tashaf]

Those are very good questions.

If it seems they are clear / not fertile, you can inspect both the male & female near the vent.  It may sound silly, but one or both may need a trim.  (My Orpingtons have A LOT of fluffy butt feathers & those do get in the way during mating.  Too much cushion! LOL  Whenever I suspect low fertility, I do some "grooming" & all is good again.)

A chick dying before hatching could be for several reasons.  If all the other eggs are hatching fine & it's a pullet egg, the egg could be too small for the chick inside to maneuver & eventually hatch.  A pullet egg also comes in all kinds of shapes & thicknesses, which could also cause complications during incubation & hatching.  When selecting eggs to incubate, look for the best, normal-looking, egg shape.  Too large could mean porous or thinner shelled.  Eggs with bumps & soiled eggs are also not very good to set.  

If it's not the eggs nor the mating, then recheck all the incubation settings.  It's also a good idea to do an egg-topsy after day 24 or so.  (whenever you're sure they're dead.)  You can tell a lot by the size of the air cell & how much of the yolk sac was absorbed.
Here are links for more info:
https://poultrykeeper.com/incubating-and-hatching-eggs/incubation-troubleshooting-guide/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/egg-failure-to-hatch-diagnosing-incubation-problems

Her eggs are good hatchers when fertilized by another roo and the rest of the hens eggs in the same batch are hatching out just fine.

 

[FridayYet]

That's quite the puzzle.

 

[Tashaf]

Help! I've had great success with a still air incubator. I heard using a forced air is even better so I bought one and checked the temperatures to make sure it's working properly and all checks out. But now I'm having a significant drop in hatch success rate. What's going on?? I live in Texas so we don't have too much cold. So, I know that's not the problem. I have noticed that the incubator gets dryer than the other on humidity rate. It gets down to 20 humidity. This time it seems like my air cells are smaller but maybe that's just my opinion. Please, anyone help me know what to do????

 

[Faraday40]

Help! I've had great success with a still air incubator. I heard using a forced air is even better so I bought one and checked the temperatures to make sure it's working properly and all checks out. But now I'm having a significant drop in hatch success rate. What's going on?? I live in Texas so we don't have too much cold. So, I know that's not the problem. I have noticed that the incubator gets dryer than the other on humidity rate. It gets down to 20 humidity. This time it seems like my air cells are smaller but maybe that's just my opinion. Please, anyone help me know what to do????

Yes. The fan does seem to wick away the humidity. I added some plastic tubing & through which I add water daily. I like to "dry incubate" so I aim for about 30-35% for 18 days, then I triple the water's surface area, add sponges, & whatever other tricks I can think of to get the humidity as high as it can go for days 18-21. (As high as I can get it is about 60-65% humidity.) Day 18 is the hardest because when I change the humidity, the temp changes on me. I always plan to be nearby, so I can check the temps every 30-60 min. If after the hatch you are finding well developed chicks that are getting shrink wrapped inside the shell, it could be low humidity near the end.

If you notice temp fluctuations because the room temp may be varied (near a door, window, or using a styrofoam incubator) I read that several people wrap the whole incubator in a blanket/towel - especially along the seams & viewing windows. Another thing you could try is adding heat sinks. (water bottles or cleaned rocks) Just anything to absorb the heat so that when the incubator gets opened & closed, the temp get back up to normal faster. I do this when I have a small number of eggs in a large incubator.