"Springing in the Chicks" 2016 April Hatch-a-Long Hosted by Mike & Sally

[Chaos18]

SIlkie Rooster over a silkie hen and a silkie X hen. The ones in jan only took 19 days to first pip. I guess bieng cold now slows the hatch.

Yes, being colder will slow there development.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote:

​

Land of the Free​

Because of the brave!​

May 2016 Hatch-a-Long​

Hosted by, Mike & Sally​

​

Have Eggs in the incubator/s or under hens​

ANYTIME​

in MAY, 2016 to join us!​

I'm here too. I wanted to update here first.

 

[GitaBooks]

The last hatched, a runt and one of her normal sized sisters.


[/IMG]

I have a broody hen with five chicks, each hatched a day or so apart, so the first one is huge compared to the last.

These might be out of order, but I'll try to get their names right. They all look pretty similar.

First chick to hatch, this little gal (or guy) is April's Beauty. One of my first incubator chicks to hatch on time (actually earlier) without any problems! It was so awesome to just wake up to hearing a chick screaming and hatching, strong and ready to go to its mother.


I took her out and then tucked her under Ruby, who was in the nest box on some eggs I didn't think would hatch, though actually I think a couple actually did! I brought those eggs inside now that she had a chick (left her a couple so she would stay on her nest until I could move her to the broody pen). She was happy to have a baby and the baby settled right in, happy to have the warmth and heart-beat of his mother.


Second chick was Soft Sparrow. The name came from how quiet he was compared to April, as well as the fact his cheeps sounded just like the birds outside the window (I always mix the two up). Lastly, I had watched Pirates of the Caribbean so I just couldn't help it.

Ruby was glad to take the two together and obviously April adored a sibling to cuddle with.


This sweet little girl is Ororo, named for the fact that the weather suddenly changed from warm to cold, the wind shifting directions and a storm coming. (Ororo is Storm's real name from the X-men comics for anyone wondering).


Here is Honey Baby. I got the family gathered around to watch her come out and I was cheeping to her to encourage her but she kept not coming. My brother finally said "maybe she doesn't speak that language. Try English." So I did, I said, "come on out, Honey Baby," and she burst out right then. Yep, I guess she wanted that to be her name.


This poor little guy was all healthy and ready to come out too, but unfortunately his mother made a mistake. When I put Celeb (we watched him hatch and videoed it, hints the name) outside with the others the mother stood over the babies to keep them warm instead of sitting. The other chicks could all tuck up against her, but Celeb couldn't stand. I was worried about this but tried to keep him warm and safe all the same. When I went out to check he had just passed minutes ago. I tried for a long time to revive him with pressing on his little chest and breathing into his beak, but it didn't work. It was really sad, but at least he got to get out of his egg and taste freedom and hear his mother's voice.


I think this is Celeb, but I could be wrong. We were trying to help her with both of her last two chicks, since they were days younger then the others.


The last little guy to hatch in the incubator was Crusoe, named for the fact that he is a survivor. I say that because I insisted he survived unlike Celeb. Crusoe was assisted just slightly because I was worried about loosing him, but really he didn't need it. I just chipped around the outside when he didn't make progress (I was worried having opened it with Celeb had dried his shell). You can tell he is way stronger then a normal assisted chick, able to tuck his legs under him and lift his head up.


There was another egg starting to hatch after Crusoe, but I knew Ruby could only take one more, so after hours of helping Crusoe stay warm I tucked him outside and sat for hours watching her keep him warm. I held him when she felt like moving and then waited until evening to make sure he was under his mother for the night. In the morning he was strong enough to crawl around.

The last chick I put under another broody (while still in the egg). Pip, up in the hay-loft, took to him and the new eggs (her eggs went under Princess, who had just gone broody). However, the other four eggs that I put with the hatching one weren't ready yet, so Pip ended up getting off to come down and eat. Her poor little guy was screaming up a storm in the hay loft and I realized he might just jump down! I rushed up and he ran from me towards the edge. He was about to squeeze out and fall when I caught him at the last second. Talk about adrenaline!!!!

Anyways, I caught Pip and put them together in the A-frame, where he ran around screaming until he found her and then she ate and drank. She was a little confused, not calling to him for a few minutes, but now they seem bonded. And yes, I did name her chick Aviator for the fact he nearly fell to his doom. If its a girl I'm changing it to Ariel.

Her other eggs were cold but when I took them in three were still alive (one was infertile) so they are in the incubator. I opened the top but are letting them do things their own way so the are stronger and hopefully can come out on their own time. I was worried about them being weak from having dried out and gone cold, but with the hole in the top at least I can watch their progress and see if they are weakening.

So my count so far is 7 hatched, 6 survived. All bantams.

I also have three more broody hens (Princess, Posse, and Scarlet) who are due this May. Yeah, its a little chaotic trying to keep the right eggs under them and make sure they are on the right nest boxes, but hopefully all goes well and the broody pens will be available when their chicks are finally hatched.

 

[mlm Mike]

I HAVE A PIP!!!!!!

Quote: Interesting.

Quote:
I'm just surprised chicks would run that late under a broody hen.

 

[SunnysideFowl]

I have a broody hen with five chicks, each hatched a day or so apart, so the first one is huge compared to the last. These might be out of order, but I'll try to get their names right. They all look pretty similar. First chick to hatch, this little gal (or guy) is April's Beauty. One of my first incubator chicks to hatch on time (actually earlier) without any problems! It was so awesome to just wake up to hearing a chick screaming and hatching, strong and ready to go to its mother. I took her out and then tucked her under Ruby, who was in the nest box on some eggs I didn't think would hatch, though actually I think a couple actually did! I brought those eggs inside now that she had a chick (left her a couple so she would stay on her nest until I could move her to the broody pen). She was happy to have a baby and the baby settled right in, happy to have the warmth and heart-beat of his mother. Second chick was Soft Sparrow. The name came from how quiet he was compared to April, as well as the fact his cheeps sounded just like the birds outside the window (I always mix the two up). Lastly, I had watched Pirates of the Caribbean so I just couldn't help it. Ruby was glad to take the two together and obviously April adored a sibling to cuddle with. This sweet little girl is Ororo, named for the fact that the weather suddenly changed from warm to cold, the wind shifting directions and a storm coming. (Ororo is Storm's real name from the X-men comics for anyone wondering). Here is Honey Baby. I got the family gathered around to watch her come out and I was cheeping to her to encourage her but she kept not coming. My brother finally said "maybe she doesn't speak that language. Try English." So I did, I said, "come on out, Honey Baby," and she burst out right then. Yep, I guess she wanted that to be her name. This poor little guy was all healthy and ready to come out too, but unfortunately his mother made a mistake. When I put Celeb (we watched him hatch and videoed it, hints the name) outside with the others the mother stood over the babies to keep them warm instead of sitting. The other chicks could all tuck up against her, but Celeb couldn't stand. I was worried about this but tried to keep him warm and safe all the same. When I went out to check he had just passed minutes ago. I tried for a long time to revive him with pressing on his little chest and breathing into his beak, but it didn't work. It was really sad, but at least he got to get out of his egg and taste freedom and hear his mother's voice. I think this is Celeb, but I could be wrong. We were trying to help her with both of her last two chicks, since they were days younger then the others. The last little guy to hatch in the incubator was Crusoe, named for the fact that he is a survivor. I say that because I insisted he survived unlike Celeb. Crusoe was assisted just slightly because I was worried about loosing him, but really he didn't need it. I just chipped around the outside when he didn't make progress (I was worried having opened it with Celeb had dried his shell). You can tell he is way stronger then a normal assisted chick, able to tuck his legs under him and lift his head up. There was another egg starting to hatch after Crusoe, but I knew Ruby could only take one more, so after hours of helping Crusoe stay warm I tucked him outside and sat for hours watching her keep him warm. I held him when she felt like moving and then waited until evening to make sure he was under his mother for the night. In the morning he was strong enough to crawl around. The last chick I put under another broody (while still in the egg). Pip, up in the hay-loft, took to him and the new eggs (her eggs went under Princess, who had just gone broody). However, the other four eggs that I put with the hatching one weren't ready yet, so Pip ended up getting off to come down and eat. Her poor little guy was screaming up a storm in the hay loft and I realized he might just jump down! I rushed up and he ran from me towards the edge. He was about to squeeze out and fall when I caught him at the last second. Talk about adrenaline!!!! Anyways, I caught Pip and put them together in the A-frame, where he ran around screaming until he found her and then she ate and drank. She was a little confused, not calling to him for a few minutes, but now they seem bonded. And yes, I did name her chick Aviator for the fact he nearly fell to his doom. If its a girl I'm changing it to Ariel. Her other eggs were cold but when I took them in three were still alive (one was infertile) so they are in the incubator. I opened the top but are letting them do things their own way so the are stronger and hopefully can come out on their own time. I was worried about them being weak from having dried out and gone cold, but with the hole in the top at least I can watch their progress and see if they are weakening. So my count so far is 7 hatched, 6 survived. All bantams. I also have three more broody hens (Princess, Posse, and Scarlet) who are due this May. Yeah, its a little chaotic trying to keep the right eggs under them and make sure they are on the right nest boxes, but hopefully all goes well and the broody pens will be available when their chicks are finally hatched.

What a process! My little runt was the last to hatch, assisted. All the others are roughly the same size as the large one pictured. The runt was hatching on her own, but i had three babies in the incubator still fluffing at that time. I left them unattended and when i came back they had knocked her pip side down. Some egg fluid had started to pool around her beak and she was blowing bubbles. I removed two of the chicks at that point, roll her beak side up, put her in a carton, used a qtip to remove excess liquid and broke the pip open a bit more so she could more her beak out of the fluid more easily. I left her like that to rest for a little while. Made sure she didn't get extra fluid again. After some time she hadn't progressed so i chipped away some more to help encourage her. She responded, and i let her be. Came back to check on her again and while she had made some progress i found out she was beginning yo become a sticky, glued up chick. So I proceeded to unstick her following the guidelines. She's made it quite well. No pasty butt, running with the others. Just tiny she's the only one i can tell apart lol

 

[GitaBooks]

Its a lot of effort to help the little guys, but it sure feels good when they finally make it out. Good job!

 

[mamahmendez]

@mlm Mike @Chaos18
Here is the link for the Duck Sexing Video I watched. It was informative. It started out with color sexing which applies to some breeds and then vent sexing. Good luck. I was able to accurately sex 1, get a good prediction on 2 and 1 of them I just couldn't do.

www.metzerfarms.com/SexingVideo.cfm

I hope that video works. Just Google "Metzer Duck Sexing Video" if it doesn't.

 

[TJordan]

I'm driving myself crazy. You would think this was my first hatch

STAY OUT and KEEP IT CLOSED WOMAN!!!!

 

[blkjak]

My hatch is officially over. 16 chicks in the end. I believe this has been my most positive hatches ever. Out of 16 chicks, 1 developed wry neck 2nd day after hatch but with vitamins is completely recovered. 3 of the last chicks had leg issues. Either slight splay leg or weakness or something but all have recovered (fingers crossed) to this point.

 

[Chaos18]

My hatch is officially over. 16 chicks in the end. I believe this has been my most positive hatches ever. Out of 16 chicks, 1 developed wry neck 2nd day after hatch but with vitamins is completely recovered. 3 of the last chicks had leg issues. Either slight splay leg or weakness or something but all have recovered (fingers crossed) to this point.

Glad to hear that they all recovered for you.