The 6th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[potagergirl]

We ended Easter with 5 new chickie babies, 2 more eggs pipped and 4 undetermined, and 1 that died.
original number of eggs set: 18
eggs removed after candling: 6
lockdown: 12

I will be waiting a couple more days to see if the other 4 decide to hatch.
This was fun I really have enjoyed lurking around reading posts through the entire hatch-a-long =)

 

[campingshaws]

Ugh. I had such high hopes! Everyone was doing really well, but my broody squished a chick and in the bator three pipped upside down in the cartons and died before I noticed.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Ugh. I had such high hopes! Everyone was doing really well, but my broody squished a chick and in the bator three pipped upside down in the cartons and died before I noticed.

That's the biggest reason I choose to lay my down. Sorry to hear that.

 

[NotAFarm]

I had two more hatch including the one which I dropped and cracked half way while locking down. So up to 43/52 on lockdown.3 more have pips.

Now tough call! One egg pipped almost 24 hrs ago. Can't seem to zip. I left it alone and was thinking it's dead. Took it out to candle and there was loud cheeping. So put it back but the membrane has completely dried up and is yellow/brown. I remember when I first saw it pip yesterday, there was a little blood on the pip site. Shall I open the shell and rescue? Its been almost 3 hrs now since I put the egg back, so a total of 27 hrs since it pipped.

I would say, get a paper towel and wet it with warm (99F) water and wring it out good. Take the egg out, wrap the paper towel around the "bottom" half. Gently remove the "top" of the egg in a circle replicating a zip....but do not help the chick out of the shell. Put the opened egg with the damp paper towel back in the incubator, upright if possible. The chick needs to push itself out of the shell......this is assuming that once the egg is open the chick is still breathing.

 

[Faraday40]

An hour ago nothing at all from any of my 13 eggs that made it to lockdown. I just went and checked again and all of the sudden I have 7 pips. Day 22. Finally.

I HAVE A PIP!!! Only one, but 1>zero!

Finally! Now hoping for more. The pip is on one of the question marked eggs too.

Can you typically hear cheeps after a pip, or am I crazy?!

Congratulations!

Hatch Update:
So worried when this morning when we had no pips. (Day 21-22)
Now we have 5 out of 6 eggs pipped. They'll be officially late, but I can deal with that much better than 0 hatching. (Especially when I couldn't think of what went wrong.) My best guess is that my broody was sitting on these eggs when the temps dipped down to the teens at night. I remember her water freezing solid many nights, so perhaps the initial incubation temps were lower than normal & delayed the hatch.

The hatch-a-long eggs were moved to our incubator so new replacement (science project) eggs could be incubated by the broody. it looks like we'll be getting our Easter chicks just a little late. Meanwhile, the broody is continuing to sit on the new eggs.

Just look at that determined little face!

Our Queen Cookie is enjoying breakfast in bed. Both water & food have been moved within stretching reach, so she never has to leave the nest. She also learned that we remove her waste right away, so when we go out to check on her, she makes a special poop just for us. (Always right on cue. I never imagined a chicken could learn to poop on a schedule. I seem to learn something new every time we hatch!)

 

[lungewhipqueen]

Well only 9 out of 20 hatched for me. The fan quit on my incubator and I didn't catch it in time to make adjustments. I'm glad any of them hatched! I had a few quitters when I candled at lock down and I had one that never pipped internally and one that died while zipping... never had one do that before. But in the end I got 4 bantam Cochins, 3 Buff Orpingtons, and 2 Black Australorps. :^)

Here they are with some chicks that hatched last weekend!

 

[calientepocket]

I HAVE A PIP!!! Only one, but 1>zero!

Finally! Now hoping for more. The pip is on one of the question marked eggs too.

Can you typically hear cheeps after a pip, or am I crazy?!

So I noticed this pip nearly 5 hours ago, and still no progress. I do still hear cheeping. At what point should I try to assist the chick?

 

[LPeaslee]

Ugh. I had such high hopes! Everyone was doing really well, but my broody squished a chick and in the bator three pipped upside down in the cartons and died before I noticed.

That's too bad about the broody.

I set 3 eggs under a broody shortly after the HAL started. I just couldn't break one of my BCMs so I let her have 3 eggs. Well my Black Australorp went broody after a week in and pushed the BCM of the nest. Just last week I found one of the eggs completely smashed under the Australorp, but the other 2 should hatch later this week.

 

[Faraday40]

So I noticed this pip nearly 5 hours ago, and still no progress. I do still hear cheeping. At what point should I try to assist the chick?

No. They can rest a long time before zipping. The 1st chick will often take more time from pip to hatch than the later ones. (The later ones hear the others peeping & pecking & hurry it along, but the early ones don't have that pressure.) There's no need to assist unless it's been over 24 hrs with no progress & you see shrink wrapped chicks or hear the peeping fading. Even then, assisting a hatch is very tricky & only a last resort when you're certain it's dying.

 

[LPeaslee]

So I noticed this pip nearly 5 hours ago, and still no progress.  I do still hear cheeping.  At what point should I try to assist the chick?

General rule of thumb is to wait 24hr.