12th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-Along

[BesideStillWaters]

Are you ready for every chick parent out there to give you their advice?
The yolk gives them three days of food. Typically, we don’t wait that long. I have removed wet chicks that were lonely, and driving me insane with their screaming. Once they were in the brooder (under the heat lamp), they were quiet because hatch mates were in there too.
I have never dipped a beak or bill, and never had a problem with any bird finding the water and food. Ducks, chickens, turkeys or quail.

On my last hatch, everyone figured out food and water fairly quickly but one. That one would not eat or drink no matter how much I dipped the beak or did water drops on the beak. I hoped seeing the others eat and drink would help, I think there were about 10 out at the time, and the ones who came after this one picked up on it before this one did. FINALLY figured it out. I was losing my mind trying to get the little guy to eat or drink something.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

My eggs go into lockdown in 3 days. So far all the mixed eggs are doing great. I candled a few of the Marans at day 14 and from what I could tell they were doing great as well. I will candle all the Marans eggs before lockdown, that is when I can tell the most about them anyway. My broody who was not part of the hatch-a-long had 4 out of her 7 eggs hatch. Sadly for the first time ever that she has had chicks she stepped on 2 of the chicks with her bad leg and killed them. The 2 remaining chicks Pickles and Basil are doing well and have learned to avoid momma's bad leg. Pickles is the Marans x Orp cross and she came out looking like nothing I was expecting. And she's feathering in surprisingly too. I was expecting mostly black feathering coming in. Well look at her here at 5 days old when I took this. Brown feathering, and is that sort of a partridge pattern trying to happen? Either way she's adorable, got her daddy's feathered legs and until she crows she is a she lol.
Few hours old
View attachment 2595261
5 days old
View attachment 2595264View attachment 2595266

Aww, sad she accidentally killed two of them. Glad the other two learned. They are beautiful.

 

[Chickeria]

Day 20 here and this morning 6:00 am I unexpectedly discovered an external pip in one of my bantam silkie eggs! Increased humiditiy immediately, then started to recover from my shock Saw the little grey beak moving and the little one talked a lot 9:30 am I discovered a second external pip on a neighbouring egg! 11:10 discovery of the third external pip (again a neighbour)!
First egg:

Now three external pips:

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Does anyone else ever get Antsy on the final Days? I'm like itching to see when I'll see some movement or pips
And canceling from the outside doesn't really work that well
Do these look normal? I can't tell

Yes very antsy. I have peeping and four eggs moving and I'm paranoid about checking n the eggs. Will the humidity hold, will the temperature hold, are they going to ever externally pip or suffocate in there... **grabs paper bag** How will I ever sleep?

 

[BesideStillWaters]

SAME!! I have this mad but productive habit of cleaning the house or doing outside work when I am super stressed by something.

Hoping to relax, I helped my mom and grandma put a puzzle together. I think that was more stressful than watching the hatching. The puzzle was intense for a 300 piece.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

So my eggs are due to hatch Saturday. I had to move them from my large incubator to my small one since it’s better for hatching.

I cleaned the small incubator and let it dry so I waited later into day 18 to move them. I checked my other eggs (BCM) looking good.

Put my 5 eggs ready for lockdown in my new plastic egg carton I got from Tractor supply, closed it to keep the heat in while moving them upstairs, opened it up and found the carton crushed my EE eggs.

As a desperate last resort I used some birthday candle wax on the large cracks.

idk guess, im pretty devastated over this. My EE chicks mixed with my Ayam Cemani Rooster are my favorites.

Oh no, that's so sad. Hope they make it!

 

[Chickeria]

Oh no, that's so sad. Hope they make it!

x 2
Fingers crossed for the cracked sealed eggs - sending positive thoughts

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Checked on my incubator yesterday morning, it was 105 degrees in there and climbing, according to the thermometer I put inside. The thermometer reading on the incubator said 98.5, and it was stuck. I opened it real quick and let the hot air out, and then tapped on the lid of the incubator. Suddenly, it registered it was 101.5 and shut the heat off. I don't think it was like that too long.

Yesterday afternoon, I checked again and it was starting to dip below 96 and not come on. So I had to up the temperature. Now I'm at 101.8 on the unit just to keep it maintaining at 98 degrees in there. It's maddening and not helping me stay calm and wait for chicks to externally pip. I'm terrified it's going to stick again and cook the chicks before they get to hatch.

 

[CSolis]

Checked on my incubator yesterday morning, it was 105 degrees in there and climbing, according to the thermometer I put inside. The thermometer reading on the incubator said 98.5, and it was stuck. I opened it real quick and let the hot air out, and then tapped on the lid of the incubator. Suddenly, it registered it was 101.5 and shut the heat off. I don't think it was like that too long.

Yesterday afternoon, I checked again and it was starting to dip below 96 and not come on. So I had to up the temperature. Now I'm at 101.8 on the unit just to keep it maintaining at 98 degrees in there. It's maddening and not helping me stay calm and wait for chicks to externally pip. I'm terrified it's going to stick again and cook the chicks before they get to hatch.

Yup, my other bator I got last year started that business... So I got a Nurture Right 360 this month to do my incubating in... Don't like cooked babies at all.

 

[StackedSfarms]

Lock down last night. Everyone looks good except 3 or 4. This will be the most chicks I've ever hatched in one go. So egg-cited to see what my crosses look like! Speaking of that, I've got an array of breeds in my collection lol, Whats your favorite cross?