12th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-Along

[Don 27]

Well the end is in sight here. I am down to about 5 eggs with veining in the incubator so I guess I will end up with a couple of chicks at least. Time to figure out what I will be using for a brooder!
The 2 broody hens and the broody rooster are not doing the best job. I checked on them yesterday & there were 3 eggs that were not under a hen. Maybe the hens were trying to give them to the rooster? I put them next to a hen, expecting she would tuck them under her but she did nothing. They are not filling me with a lot of confidence lol.

I have heard that a hen can tell if an egg is dead by its ability to hold heat. I don't know how true that, is but every year when my hen goes brood y she will roll eggs out of the nest , and sometimes all the way out of the barn.

 

[JaeG]

This morning: one died in the brooder, looks like it was smothered in its water*, and one dead in the incubator, no idea why, it was hatched and dry. 46 active quail chicks in the brooder and *maybe* a couple more hatching in the incubator.

*water is in a yogurt lid, super shallow

After the hatch is over, we will do an eggtopsy and I'll make a post about it. We took a very hands off approach to this hatch as a control/experiment to see just how hands off we could be while hatching quail.

Quail are amazingly adept at drowning in mere millimeters of water. It's often best to put marbles or stones in the water so they have to drink between them and cannot get themselves wet.

 

[Honora]

What was different in this hatch? Hope some chiks hatch

The only thing different was that I had the incubator on the floor for the first half. Seems like it affected the temperature somehow

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I need advice!! So i have 10 eggs in incubator .. today is day 18 and .. one of my hens become broody today ..and funy things is that she is biological mother to 5 eggs in incubator.. can u give her chiks when they hatched or is better to give her eggs now.. i think its better that she lay 2 days and then give her chiks ..what do you thnik? Anyone with experience??

Can belive this happend and i put egggs in incubator just for jer beacuse she is my favorite.. i would love let her be Mother but i dont want more chicks this year

I'm not sure if someone already answered because I'm just now scrolling through comments again but unless your hen is a proven broody that will just take any chick you put in front of them it's probably better to wait a week or or two before giving them chicks. I looked in my coop this morning because a hen was missing and it seems I may have the same situation, lol, mine is a new broody too so I'm going to wait.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Oh my goodness. Dixie abandoned her eggs today and I found them cold.

I candled them and thought they were both dead. (All the ones in the incubator had died and I’d already switched it off and cleaned it.)

So I opened her eggs up to be sure before I tossed them and one of them is alive

Trying desperately to save it now

What do I do @CluckNDoodle ?! @JaeG

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Is it due to hatch too? Turn the incubator back on, apply some antibiotic ointment without pain reliever, or coconut oil to the membrane. Ointment lasts longer than anything so it's the best choice. If not reapplied often enough the others dry out and make the membrane hard.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I'm not sure if someone already answered because I'm just now scrolling through comments again but unless your hen is a proven broody that will just take any chick you put in front of them it's probably better to wait a week or or two before giving them chicks. I looked in my coop this morning because a hen was missing and it seems I may have the same situation, lol, mine is a new broody too so I'm going to wait.

I have a broody silkie girl as well and I was thinking of placing my one chick due on Saturday, along with the hatchery chicks, due to arrive the same day, under her. She is young, has never hatched chicks, but this is the second time she has been broody and she always shows great interest in my brooder chicks when they are outside.
She seems quite determined. I tried to break her broodiness last time, but it did not work. Should I chance the chicks with her?

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I double checked the other one and it is alive as well. I am scarred for life...never opening another egg that isn’t more than 4 days overdue.
I oiled both membranes with a qtip and have them in the incubator with humidity up to 75%

is that high enough @BullChick or should it be higher?

If she's been abandoning them to the point of cooling it will delay the hatch too.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I have a broody silkie girl as well and I was thinking of placing my one chick due on Saturday, along with the hatchery chicks, due to arrive the same day, under her. She is young, has never hatched chicks, but this is the second time she has been broody and she always shows great interest in my brooder chicks when they are outside.
She seems quite determined. I tried to break her broodiness last time, but it did not work. Should I chance the chicks with her?

If you do try, this is what I would do. Place the chicks under her wings after dark when she's settled for the night, try not to disturb her but check to make sure she's keeping them warm and accepting them before you go to bed. Then get up before the sun in the morning, before your hens wake up, so you can see how she's responding to them. At this point you will know if she's accepting them or not. Some hens just walk away and your only issue would be warming them up. I take extra precautions because some hens will attack them.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I have heard that a hen can tell if an egg is dead by its ability to hold heat. I don't know how true that, is but every year when my hen goes brood y she will roll eggs out of the nest , and sometimes all the way out of the barn.

Maybe, a lot of people say this but I've had hens kick perfectly healthy eggs out and stay on eggs that are about not explode. So I hesitate to be a firm believer of this, lol.

 

[ronott1]

Well here's a few photos of the first 3 hatchlings...the other photos won't load. The rest of the photos were supposed to be of a better view of my brooder setup, a photo of my newest hatchling, and a photo of 1 out of 8 or so other pips
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they ae so cute!

Day 22 here, no pips. I have a feeling nothing will hatch. I’m not sure what went wrong with this hatch but something clearly did. Half the eggs quit early on & out of 7 eggs that made it to lockdown none have hatched. Oh well, I will try again & hope to have a good hatch next time like I had in February.
On the plus side, one of the eggs the broody kicked out of the nest is alive! If it hatches I will give it back to her.

I am sorry! Do you hear any peeps?

Temperature is the most common cause of poor hatching. Eggtopsy is a good way to help figure out what happened

i think i’m super late to officially join, but i basically unofficially had a hatch a long! set my eggs under my broody silkie on 3/14/21, and hatched 4/3/21. Dad was a silver laced chocolate orpington and mom is a ameracauna/australorp EE. 2 black boys and one chocolate baby girl! so happy! posting pics of bio parents and babies. will post pics of babies with adoptive mama soon if anyone wants to see.

dad
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mom (black hen)
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babies!
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Welcome!

Last four of my mystery ducks hatched between 9pm last night and the last at 4am today. Didn't get much sleep! I'm really pleased, my first duck hatch and 7/7 made it. I am thinking they are a pekin, runner, cayuga clan. I am in love though Letting them dry some more then over to the brooder. Wishing everyone a lovely Easter.
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They are very cute!