4th Annual BYC NYD Hatch-a-long

[wolfytm2002]

I feel like cursing like a sailor! How did this happen? I have a pip on the bottom of the egg! What do I do now?

Last month when I had 19 out of 21 hatch, there were several who pipped from the bottom side, large end. I let them do their thing and they hatched out just fine. I have never had one to pip on the small end tho so if thats whats going on Im not really sure what to say, aside from taking the advice from ronott1. Good luck!!!

 

[cochins1088]

I feel like cursing like a sailor! How did this happen? I have a pip on the bottom of the egg! What do I do now?

I've had many chicks hatch by themselves even when they pip the wrong end. I say it's a 50 50 chance that either it will hatch on it's own or will need to be helped. Make sure the baby is able to breathe the out side of the egg since it has no air cell. After that, wait the 24 hours before helping. If it hatches, than great, if it doesn't, then you'll need to help it. Sally just wrote a great article on helping the little guys hatch.

Make sure you give it that 24 hours though. When I first hatched eggs, one of them did this. I did researched and decided I would help it out in the morning, but it had alreay hatched. The chances of it hatching on it's own are decreased, but they can still do it sometimes. Good Luck!

 

[cluck-cluck]

Yah, I ment wrong end

I'm going to wait just like you said, and give it some time. I'm going to sleep now. I think it can breathe so there isn't any rush. Hopefully it will survive

 

[Brechin]

I hope your little chick comes out of that wrong pip position! I am freaking out myself over here because of my double yolker. Last time I candled and could see anything they were both facing head down towards the correct end. They were facing each other too and kicked and bouncing up and down but always facing each other. It was like they were looking into a mirror. Wish I would have taken pics! But I just hope they pip at all. If I don't hear anything from them I am sure I will just die!!

 

[OR4-hmom]

I'm hand turning eggs but the bator doesn't seem that warm. Therm. says 101, humid. at 30,
Not sure if all the canning I do has affected the feeling my hands

 

[Jessiey]

I have no pips yet, but my eggs the last day and a half are not always on X or O when I go to turn them... lol. I'm REALLY trying to just pretend like they aren't there..... lol I don't want to accidentally kill anyone by trying to 'help'

 

[Selah]

We did final candle tonight and then lockdown in our home made styrofoam recycled Omaha Steaks cooler.
We originally started with 12 silkies, and six of our own BO/red production sex links, for a total of 18 eggs.
Candle after 1+week set, revealed progress in all but 2 apparently unfertile white silkies, left a total 16 eggs.
Had to skip second candle.
Candle and lockdown last evening revealed apparent good progress in all but one black silkie, which egg-topsy revaled as a fairly early quitter. We go to lockdown with our original 6 BO/production reds, and 9 silkies, for a total of 15.

Unfortunately, reconfiguring the interior of our bator to go from manual tilt table to side-laying towel-lined tray made it necessary to recalibrate our wafer thermostat...and that is why I am still awake to attend to these dear eggs which have been my nearly constant companions these weeks

I am so excited to get silkies, especially the two blues which have developed thus far...and always happy to hatch my BO/prod. reds, as they are lovely little hens the color of creamy pumpkin.

And of course, I am already dreaming about what I can hatch next...I would love some blue egg-layers, and maybe some marans...

 

[RavenWood]

I feel like cursing like a sailor! How did this happen? I have a pip on the bottom of the egg! What do I do now?

SallySunshine just posted a link to her Step by Step Guide to Assist - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching - she mentions wrong end pipping.

 

[RavenWood]

I have no pips yet, but my eggs the last day and a half are not always on X or O when I go to turn them... lol. I'm REALLY trying to just pretend like they aren't there..... lol I don't want to accidentally kill anyone by trying to 'help'

Ya - me too - otherwise I'm standing over it expectantly! I'm having issues with my temps at the moment. Grrr. But my humidity seems to be holding steady around 63% with one plug out.

We did final candle tonight and then lockdown in our home made styrofoam recycled Omaha Steaks cooler.
We originally started with 12 silkies, and six of our own BO/red production sex links, for a total of 18 eggs.
Candle after 1+week set, revealed progress in all but 2 apparently unfertile white silkies, left a total 16 eggs.
Had to skip second candle.
Candle and lockdown last evening revealed apparent good progress in all but one black silkie, which egg-topsy revaled as a fairly early quitter. We go to lockdown with our original 6 BO/production reds, and 9 silkies, for a total of 15.

Unfortunately, reconfiguring the interior of our bator to go from manual tilt table to side-laying towel-lined tray made it necessary to recalibrate our wafer thermostat...and that is why I am still awake to attend to these dear eggs which have been my nearly constant companions these weeks

I am so excited to get silkies, especially the two blues which have developed thus far...and always happy to hatch my BO/prod. reds, as they are lovely little hens the color of creamy pumpkin.

And of course, I am already dreaming about what I can hatch next...I would love some blue egg-layers, and maybe some marans...

I'm having the same issue with my wafer. Stupid wafers. Why on earth do they make these bators for hundreds of dollars, knowing how touchy hatching eggs are for temp/humidity, and yet they for that price they can't give you digital settable thermostat??

I was really hoping to have silkies of my own to hatch too, but mine weren't laying yet. Oh I'd love a blue or a red/buff (whatever that colour is called) and I was hoping for some pure Ameraucanas too, but my eggs were duds. Maybe my rooster passed on his blue egg laying gene to my orpingtons! I did set Marans though.

 

[Selah]

Ya - me too - otherwise I'm standing over it expectantly! I'm having issues with my temps at the moment. Grrr. But my humidity seems to be holding steady around 63% with one plug out.
I'm having the same issue with my wafer. Stupid wafers. Why on earth do they make these bators for hundreds of dollars, knowing how touchy hatching eggs are for temp/humidity, and yet they for that price they can't give you digital settable thermostat??

I was really hoping to have silkies of my own to hatch too, but mine weren't laying yet. Oh I'd love a blue or a red/buff (whatever that colour is called) and I was hoping for some pure Ameraucanas too, but my eggs were duds. Maybe my rooster passed on his blue egg laying gene to my orpingtons! I did set Marans though.

This is our second attempt at hatching in our homemade 'bator ...crazy as it seems, we actually did not have any thermostat our first hatch. All was stable and fine and dandy, 'til we got to the part about needing AIR HOLES! We laugh about it now...but I thought I'd drive myself crazy trying to maintain a stable sufficient temp in that thing. We managed to hatch 8 of 16 set though...not to bad for the conditions, I didn't think. They were our own BO/red production eggs, so certainly not much to lose, but I did promise myself that I would never try without some sort of thermostat. I may be tired after tonite, but all in all a much more serene experience all round.
I have maintained around 50% humidity with one plug out throughout, but would like to get it up into the 60's. I increased the water surface area and am up tp 53%, but I may have to think about a half-plug for the hole. I really thought the humidity affected the rubberiness of the membranes of my last hatch.