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

[KYTinpusher]

More of my saga… I got home from last night to see a chick zipping and another one with a big hole. Checked my numbers. Gadnabit… 25% humidity, 96 degrees!!

I moved the stupid incubator to the bathroom before I left, because the environment is more stable… so I thought.

It was 9:30pm, so I got the humidity back up and sat by to make sure these two made it out okay. The one that was zipping took its good old time, but did it by itself. The one with the big hole I had to help because it was shrink wrapped. Normally I won't help because I only want the strongest chicks, but this time I knew that it was my fault letting the humidity get that low. So I carefully made an artificial zip, pulled the membrane off a little, and put it back in the bator. It worked to get out for the next 20 minutes but finally made it. It has a problem with one eye - just trying to decide now if its "birth trauma" or a deformation. He can't close it, so I'm wondering if that's something you'd cull for. It would be awful to not be able to close one eye. Opinions?

Anyway, there was one more egg with a pip, and I had pretty much given up on everything else. Then right before I left this morning, I noticed another egg that was zipping around the bottom! An egg I had given up on. But wait… looking closer I realized it had been knocked upside down by the chicks running around the bator and it was actually zipping in the right place! There was a little blood though. I had to leave, so I said a little prayer over it and left. When I came home three hours later, that chick was out and looking great!

As it seems is always the case in my experience, the last pipped egg is a BCM, and it has made a big hole this morning, but hasn't progressed since. I'm letting it take its time.

No official number yet, but if the BCM makes it, I will have 11 hatch out of 16 that went to lock down. Not bad for thinking I'd killed them all!

Chicks are tough! Given that your chick with the eye problem was shrink wrapped, have you looked closely just to make sure that the eyelid isn't glued open? Try taking a q-tip with some warm water and cleaning above the eye to see if that unsticks it.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

More of my saga… I got home from last night to see a chick zipping and another one with a big hole. Checked my numbers. Gadnabit… 25% humidity, 96 degrees!!

I moved the stupid incubator to the bathroom before I left, because the environment is more stable… so I thought.

It was 9:30pm, so I got the humidity back up and sat by to make sure these two made it out okay. The one that was zipping took its good old time, but did it by itself. The one with the big hole I had to help because it was shrink wrapped. Normally I won't help because I only want the strongest chicks, but this time I knew that it was my fault letting the humidity get that low. So I carefully made an artificial zip, pulled the membrane off a little, and put it back in the bator. It worked to get out for the next 20 minutes but finally made it. It has a problem with one eye - just trying to decide now if its "birth trauma" or a deformation. He can't close it, so I'm wondering if that's something you'd cull for. It would be awful to not be able to close one eye. Opinions?

Anyway, there was one more egg with a pip, and I had pretty much given up on everything else. Then right before I left this morning, I noticed another egg that was zipping around the bottom! An egg I had given up on. But wait… looking closer I realized it had been knocked upside down by the chicks running around the bator and it was actually zipping in the right place! There was a little blood though. I had to leave, so I said a little prayer over it and left. When I came home three hours later, that chick was out and looking great!

As it seems is always the case in my experience, the last pipped egg is a BCM, and it has made a big hole this morning, but hasn't progressed since. I'm letting it take its time.

No official number yet, but if the BCM makes it, I will have 11 hatch out of 16 that went to lock down. Not bad for thinking I'd killed them all!

Have you taken a wet q-tip and washed over the eye? If the membrane was dried there could be just a tiny bit of membrane or goo that you can't see that is interfering.

 

[Busy Hatcher]

Thanks! I was really blessed. I was hoping for a few more BCM's but I am thankful for what I got! Especially since i couldn't candle them because they were too dark!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Chicks are tough! Given that your chick with the eye problem was shrink wrapped, have you looked closely just to make sure that the eyelid isn't glued open? Try taking a q-tip with some warm water and cleaning above the eye to see if that unsticks it.

You beat me to it!!!! lol I really need to take a typing class...lol

 

[Mama Bay]

For those who did the float test ... What do you think? Duds right??

 

[madicakes]

I am so upset right now. I had 9 eggs set to hatch....3 under my broody silkie and gave 6 to my stepdaughter to take to school in her classroom to hatch in the incubator. Well, my broody stopped setting about halfway through, and I didn't catch it in time to save them, so I lost those three. Today is day 21 for the incubator, and there hasn't been any indication they are going to hatch. I have been asking my stepdaughter throughout how they are going, etc. Never once did she mention to me that SHE HAD TAKEN THE INCUBATOR TO HER MOM'S HOUSE!!! So, here I thought my eggs were being hatched in the classroom with the teacher who knew what she was doing, only to find out that they haven't been, and my stepdaughter knows NOTHING about it...even what she is looking for when candling. Why she didn't tell me before yesterday that she had them at home, I don't know. PLUS, when she told me I thought she had taken the incubator home since they wouldn't be in school the day the chicks were due to hatch!!! I just found out today that she's had them the entire time!!!!! I am so upset. If I'd have known the teacher wasn't going to be there, I would have told her to bring the incubator to my house, where at least I could have kept an eye on them and looked up answers to any questions I had!!!!!!

 

[SoManyHats]

Chicks are tough! Given that your chick with the eye problem was shrink wrapped, have you looked closely just to make sure that the eyelid isn't glued open? Try taking a q-tip with some warm water and cleaning above the eye to see if that unsticks it.

Quote:

Yes, I have already washed the eye area and where his wing was glued to his body. I don't see anything there, but I'm going to give it some time before deciding what to do next.

 

[Razadia]

It's been busy around my house since the Saturday. I'm exhausted. I lost 2 chicks yesterday. One was a silkie cross (my little 5 toed baby) and the other one was the chick that pipped through a vein. I'n not particularly happy about it.

 

[emmyeagle]

Final count is 0 for 14. It was my first time, but I've learned a lot. Have duck eggs in now with about 10 days to go. Set 12 & down to 6. Hopefully they will all make it. They all look great. Lots of movement & good veining.

 

[Crystal Chick]

This was my first time trying to hatch eggs. Epic fail! I ordered 10 fertilized eggs by mail. 10 arrived; 3 were broken. I incubated the remaining 7 eggs. I tried to candle them, but my light wasn't very strong and they were brown eggs. I turned them every 8 hours, or so, the first week, then I got an egg turner to do the job. Nothing happened on hatch day, so I waited two more days. Nothing. I gently cracked open the eggs, only to find they were all scrambled, probably from shipment. Only one had an embryo that was probably a week old (just guessing based on pictures on the Internet). So frustrating, but that is life, right? So enough of my complaining... I went to the feed store and bought 4 baby chicks! I will have a chicken farm after all!!!!