Valentine's Day 1st Annual Hatch Along

[paris_r]

out of 20 eggs at lockdown i candled 2 after i got new batteries in my flashlight and found out they were duds to begin with (darker spottier shells, 2 dont look like they are moving. 2 hatched VERY early (1.5 and 2 days early!) and needed assistance and some treatment but now seem fine and are wobbling around in the incubator. 3 pipped early (i am still not due till tomorrow at 1:30 am.) and needed help (membranes breaking down ). now these are all bantams, so they may just hatch early, but i had massive issued with my incubator and these are my first shipped eggs. mostly sizzles, sizzle showgirls and mille fleur d'uccles. the millies have done fine on development and have yet to pip. i also have some of my own silkies and d'uccles in there too-none of these have started yet.

 

[emvickrey]

I got 6 that hatched but one died over night. It was the last sizzle that hatched. It was walking on it's toes so I booted it. I don't know how ya all are counting them but I got 6 to hatch and 5 lived overnight and still going.

 

[robgray]

'made hatch' for need of incubator space?? you must be a guy 'Rob' My sister and I cant be the only women on the planet that have used cleavage space to warm chicks or eggs! 

No I'm a gal! Mixed my name and one of my sons names for screen name. But when I say I "made" it hatch, this is what happened....the last shipped eggs ended up coming late so I set the first 24 knowing I would have a two day hatch time before I had to lockdown the third shipped eggs. I use one incubator just for lockdown and hatch and another for incubation. The last one had pipped about 30 hours before and was peeping away....finally I opened a little shell and all the membrane was white and very dry so I took away some more of the shell and out it popped and after half an hour she went in the brooder with the rest. Then I disinfected the bator and put in the next eggs which are BBSorps and FBM s. Whew it was quite a day yesterday. I was exhausted. I told my husband I felt like I'd given birth!!!

 

[HerbGir1972]

Just can't get pics to load, so I posted on our page http://facebook.com/BaileysBirdsSC7

 

[wornoutmomto3]

Well, that was interesting. My hatch rate improved tremendously since my last two hatches: 3/12 and 0/24. This time we have 19/26. I placed 4 chicks under a broody hen. There are 10 in a brooder, and 1 still drying in the incubator. As for a Valentines "Day" hatch; none actually hatched on Valentines: 2 on Thursday, 14 on Friday, and the last 3 today. We did have a couple losses after hatch, but otherwise all seem happy and healthy.
While still drying some of the newly hatched chicks were bumping and spinning the unhatched eggs quite a bit before I moved them to a separate incubator for drying. Could that affect hatchability?

 

[Bushmansbliss]

I wouldn't worry about a little joseling of the eggs by the hatched chicks, I've had over 100 hatch in my bator before and all who were set to hatch did. Might even be good motivation for those unhatched to hurry up

When I hatch quail I do worry about the joseling though b/c they tend to push the empty shells around the unhatched and seal them in their eggs. So I'd watch but not worry.

 

[ochochicas]

This is the chick that pipped on the wrong end and I had to help him get his head out. During the night the other chicks ran him over, crushing the shell and pushing it away. The shell was bloody and they chick had a lot of membrane left hanging off him. He's been in the incubator all day and now his umbilicus looks like the photos. Is this something that will dry up and close up on its own? Or do I need to do something else with him? It already looks better than it did, but you can see a protruding bump the size of then end of a pinky finger.

I've taken him out of the incubator since he is dry and the last chick has already hatched. The incubator is a mess and it is starting to smell bad in there.

 

[minihorse927]

I have had the happen before. I would wipe a hint of iodine on ours with a qtip and let it dry up. If you can clean the incubator and put it by itself, it would be better. The other chicks tend to pick at it if they see it and can pull it all back out.

 

[robgray]

I read also that some corn starch on top of the iodine is good to keep it dry. Your biggest problem will be herniation and/or infection.

 

[sarahandbray]

When your hatch is over, how do you clean your styrofoam Bator?
I have the plastic tray, the metal grate over that, and the top & bottom of the incubator. The turner looks fine and doesn't smell/isn't dirty.