2026 Emu Hatch-Along

[Strawberry74]

Oops, forgot to go down the list…

7 boys so far. 6 blondes and 1 standard. There are still 20+ eggs in the incubators. So more to come. Sadly, 2 didn’t make it so far. I fully opened an egg this evening, knowing that something was wrong. Its brains are outside of its skull.

This is the second time I’ve seen that in 3 seasons. I’m curious what causes it to happen. Seen it in chickens as well. It must be during the beginning stages of incubation.

That's a lot of boys!! Very odd about the deformed chick. I wonder what causes that? I've never seen it.

Do you sex them immediately after hatch or wait a bit?

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

That's a lot of boys!! Very odd about the deformed chick. I wonder what causes that? I've never seen it.

Do you sex them immediately after hatch or wait a bit?

All these boys have me in a real pickle lol everyone wanting chicks wants an unrelated pair. Can’t provide that with all boys!

I sex them pretty soon after hatch. The males doojabby can hide if you don’t make everything come out of the vent. Which could trick you into thinking you have a female. This is why I sex females twice. If there is a white “point or tip” it’s for sure a male and you don’t need to recheck.

Keep blue and pink zip ties handy.

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

I wasn’t going to post this, but I think it’s important for anyone hatching to know what you could run into. I’m not sure what causes this, but it’s a no go in the living department unfortunately. It’s completely alive and breathing during the photo.

The photo has been cleaned up a bit to make it more presentable. As there were some blood vessels still present in the membrane of the egg. You never want to rupture one on a viable chick. I knew something was wrong and it’s the only reason the egg was fully opened. I don’t suggest this for anyone new to hatching.

 

[Slothinc]

Poop machines are well oiled (with spinach, blueberries & grass) and running great!
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Oh my goodness, that little guy with brown cow spots instead of stripes! If he isn’t just the most adorable baby

So sorry about the poor little one that didn’t make it due to the skull not being formed properly

 

[Strawberry74]

All these boys have me in a real pickle lol everyone wanting chicks wants an unrelated pair. Can’t provide that with all boys!

I sex them pretty soon after hatch. The males doojabby can hide if you don’t make everything come out of the vent. Which could trick you into thinking you have a female. This is why I sex females twice. If there is a white “point or tip” it’s for sure a male and you don’t need to recheck.

Keep blue and pink zip ties handy.

Within how many hours after hatch?