September Hatch-A-Long

I have some that are a few days behind the other so I'm still rotating till they pip...I know, I know, breaking the rules sticking my hands in there but every broody I've ever had still came out to greet me and my chicks still hatched so I don't think it can be that strict.
 
I have some that are a few days behind the other so I'm still rotating till they pip...I know, I know, breaking the rules sticking my hands in there but every broody I've ever had still came out to greet me and my chicks still hatched so I don't think it can be that strict.


I tend to agree with you on this, Ethel seemed to spend a lot of time away from her nest and still had 5 nice babies, and had she not timed the hatching for the day with 3 inches of rain, I think she would have had a dozen.
 
I tend to agree with you on this, Ethel seemed to spend a lot of time away from her nest and still had 5 nice babies, and had she not timed the hatching for the day with 3 inches of rain, I think she would have had a dozen.
Phew! I'm not alone! I know that incubating is different and it's probably a poor substitute for a good broody and I'm definitely no where near an expert but I had a broody hen last year that set 3 clutches of 18-22 and every day when I'd go out to feed she'd come out and eat for a good 15 minutes or more, even while they were hatching. We only lost 1 each time but she was a Welsummer, not a big hen, and covering all those, I don't know how she hatched as many as she did! So far I've only opened that bator a hand full of times since lockdown and I'm pretty stealthy about it so the temps only dropped to 99 each time, and I've let the temp come back up for a few hours in between. I probably would have been more diligent about it but of my 10 eggs only 4 were about on pace for hatching today, another 2 should have another 3 days on them then the others are 2-3 days behind them even though they got set at the same time. I'm guessing there's a temperature gap towards the center of my bator where the fan is (as well as the vents) and next time I'll rotate them around and see if I can close that gap.
 
I tend to agree with you on this, Ethel seemed to spend a lot of time away from her nest and still had 5 nice babies, and had she not timed the hatching for the day with 3 inches of rain, I think she would have had a dozen.
By the way, that Welsummer broody of mine was named Ethel too! I don't know what it is about the motherly type but that name always seems to fit so well.
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I attempted to assist an Icelandic chick that had been pipped without progress for over 18 hours. I knew it was a losing proposition from the start, but it was well and truly stuck. As all the hatched chicks were fluffed and no other eggs were pipping I figured I had nothing to lose. Following recommendations from the guide to assisted hatching I got it partway out of the shell and found its membrane had dried out and it was stuck to it. I wrapped it in a cloth moistened with warm water and placed it in the incubator alone (my son helped with an ASAP transfer to the brooder for the hatched chicks). It lasted another 45 minutes, but I had waited too long to help.

I don't know how it dried out like that as the humidity was at 70% or higher since lockdown. I still have five Icelandic eggs with movement and no internal pipping, so I have them in for another day or two. As of now I have four healthy Icelandic chicks and five EE X BA chicks hopping around in my brooder. Not the hatch I had hoped for, but very fulfilling for my first hatch. I am still hoping for a few more Icelandic chicks, but will take what I can get.
Here are the required pics of the fuzziness to date.

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400


The chipmunk marked ones are the Icelandic and the black and silver are the EE X BA, which I'm really happy to have since their mother was digested by my flock reduction specialist, Shylah the Labrador.
 
I attempted to assist an Icelandic chick that had been pipped without progress for over 18 hours. I knew it was a losing proposition from the start, but it was well and truly stuck. As all the hatched chicks were fluffed and no other eggs were pipping I figured I had nothing to lose. Following recommendations from the guide to assisted hatching I got it partway out of the shell and found its membrane had dried out and it was stuck to it. I wrapped it in a cloth moistened with warm water and placed it in the incubator alone (my son helped with an ASAP transfer to the brooder for the hatched chicks). It lasted another 45 minutes, but I had waited too long to help.

I don't know how it dried out like that as the humidity was at 70% or higher since lockdown. I still have five Icelandic eggs with movement and no internal pipping, so I have them in for another day or two. As of now I have four healthy Icelandic chicks and five EE X BA chicks hopping around in my brooder. Not the hatch I had hoped for, but very fulfilling for my first hatch. I am still hoping for a few more Icelandic chicks, but will take what I can get.
Here are the required pics of the fuzziness to date.

400


400


The chipmunk marked ones are the Icelandic and the black and silver are the EE X BA, which I'm really happy to have since their mother was digested by my flock reduction specialist, Shylah the Labrador.
Your late Icelandic may have been a sticky chick, not shrinkwrapped. Sticky chick is the result of too much humidity, not too little.
 
So far only one hasn't made it. It pipped in the wrong spot and bled out. It also had a severely herniated navel area when I opened it up so it was probably for the best.
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6 fluff butts out so far. I put them in the brooder because they were helping pull away the shell off one egg... Trouble makers already!
Sorry about that!
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Hey all, I'm a late joiner to this hatch a long. I have 20 duck eggs on day 26 of 28. I had a terrible first hatch with only one survivor...I later worked out I had my temp too low :( fast forward to last night where 20 eggs all with good growth and excellent air cells, I was egg-cited!! This morning, the power went off, after half an hour the temp was below 90 and I made a call to the power company. Advice that the outage was expected to be fixed in 3 hours had me rushin around to fire up the old wood oven and get those eggs in the warming oven. Did it, got them up to temp and relaxed...only to come back five minutes later to find the temp up to 110. OMG! After a few curses suitable for children's ears I cooled the eggs back to temp and had to leave them to drive the kids to school, about 20 mins. When I got home they were about 105 and the power was back on! Candled and 7 were pipped internally and tapping, one was quackling. Not sure what is going to happen to this hatch but I have my fingers toes and tail crossed....my 5yo has labelled me the duck killer from the previous hatch, **** it, I was so looking forward to be able to clear my name with this hatch?! :rolleyes:
 
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Hey all, I'm a late joiner to this hatch a long. I have 20 duck eggs on day 26 of 28. I had a terrible first hatch with only one survivor...I later worked out I had my temp too low
sad.png
fast forward to last night where 20 eggs all with good growth and excellent air cells, I was egg-cited!! This morning, the power went off, after half an hour the temp was below 90 and I made a call to the power company. Advice that the outage was expected to be fixed in 3 hours had me rushin around to fire up the old wood oven and get those eggs in the warming oven. Did it, got them up to temp and relaxed...only to come back five minutes later to find the temp up to 110. OMG! After a few curses suitable for children's ears I cooled the eggs back to temp and had to leave them to drive the kids to school, about 20 mins. When I got home they were about 105 and the power was back on! Candled and 7 were pipped internally and tapping, one was quackling. Not sure what is going to happen to this hatch but I have my fingers toes and tail crossed....my 5yo has labelled me the duck killer from the previous hatch, **** it, I was so looking forward to be able to clear my name with this hatch?!
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Crazy morning!! Hopefully the eggs didn't get a chance to cool or heat up to much!! Good to hear you have internal pipping!!
 

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