5th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2014 Hatch-A-Long

[Chickencame1st]

Update--

I had 17 eggs set and have 13 chirpers--the others are still in the incubator with no pips--so holding out hope--Last night at about 11PM was the actual 21 day mark--so there could still be hope--candling shows a chick in there and a healthy air sac.

Below is a group pictures--BUT I have one little cockerel that I have pictured below with some sort of eye issue--HELP. If I need to go to the vet I will.

1 eye looks fine--

This eye will open but stays closed most of the time--the little guy seems a little lethargic but not totally out of it--still runs around.


This is the temp brooder in our master bath--





PM me if you like--at work and sometime the phone is hard to get responses.
Also--my offline email [email protected]

Not sure if I should feel desperate or not--I have not isolated the little guy.

THANKS

 

[msladyhawke]

Blue Spitzhauben over Bresse. So dang cute!

Oh my, CUTE is an understatement!!!!

 

[GerbilsOnToast]

Can I ask some that have had more chick experience than me...
My lone survivor Hawke is 3 days from pip. Even though she seemed happy yesterday with her feather duster today she just sits and CHEEPS. I haven't seen her eat any crumble, she has picked it up but it seems to big for her. She is drinking water on her own and it has electrolytes and vitamins in it. Earlier she was quiet and I went to check on her and she was standing in the middle of the brooder, beak straight up in the air, and bubbles were coming out of her beak. What could be wrong? Is something wrong? What can I do to get her to eat something? I tried yogurt and all she did was peck it then sling her head around. I am going to be heart broken if I there is something I could have done and didn't....

RE: feeding - when I have chicks that seem to be struggling with crumble, I hard boil an egg & offer them the mashed yolk. You could also put a teaspoon or so of crumble on a plastic lid or something similar and dampen it with warm water to soften it. Note that either of these should be taken out in about two hours to avoid spoilage - give some time to see if she's ready for the dry stuff, if not (and she at least consumed *some* of it) replace it after another hour or so, repeat until she gets into the dry crumble. Do keep the dry crumble and water available at all times while supplementing.

 

[chicken pickin]

Here are a few pics of my babies(not all of them) I already added them to the chick contest

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Can I ask some that have had more chick experience than me...
My lone survivor Hawke is 3 days from pip. Even though she seemed happy yesterday with her feather duster today she just sits and CHEEPS. I haven't seen her eat any crumble, she has picked it up but it seems to big for her. She is drinking water on her own and it has electrolytes and vitamins in it. Earlier she was quiet and I went to check on her and she was standing in the middle of the brooder, beak straight up in the air, and bubbles were coming out of her beak. What could be wrong? Is something wrong? What can I do to get her to eat something? I tried yogurt and all she did was peck it then sling her head around. I am going to be heart broken if I there is something I could have done and didn't....

Make a slurry with the starter crumbles. Just a little warm water or even some yogurt. You may even have to feed her.
I don't know how big your brooder is but if there's enough space to make a cool zone, lower your heat lamp. Constant chirping is usually either too cold or lonely. With only one it is hard to tell if they are finding their comfort zone.

Good morning, all! I have over 20 pages to catch up on, so before I do that I wanted to update ya'll.

We got snow and ice early last night, and with satellite internet, that means no signal. So that is why it has taken me so long.

I followed Ron's advice on the chick that hadn't absorbed its yolk yet, and who still had veins running along the inner membrane. I put it upright in an egg carton and left it be, except to use a qtip to moisten the membrane. After doing this every five minutes for an hour (cuz it would dry out in five minutes, even with the humidity above 80%), I decided to improvise. I didn't have any bacitracin, only neosporin with pain relief, so I couldn't use it. I took a square piece of sterile gauze and cut a hole in the middle. I wet it with warm water and draped it over the exposed membrane, being sure baby's beak was poking through the hole I made so it could breath.



This worked very well...the membrane stayed moist, and before I went to bed, I wet the gauze again. This morning my mom was up before me, and she told me when I got up that the membrane was dry...but not completely dry. So she wet it again. I checked under the gauze, and all the veins were gone. So I peeled the membrane about halfway down...and encountered a very small amount of bleeding, so I stopped. I noticed the membrane was pretty stuck to the chick, but didn't want to mess with it any more, so I draped damp gauze over it, put it back in the incubator, and left it be.
At 8:30, baby started wriggling like crazy, and 7 minutes later, she was out of the shell. Baby's bottom was stuck to the membrane, so I gently pulled it partially off and trimmed it...part of her umbilical? was sticking out of a tiny hole. Since I know nothing about the anatomy of a baby chick, I'm going to assume that this area...the vent?...is where the yolk gets pulled up into the body, and it seals itself off. The yolk was not visually present, so I believe the piece still hanging is the umbilical...but I could be wrong.









Baby didn't move around much after being born. Over the past few hours, she has been gaining her strength, and is now able to stand for a few seconds. She's peeping like crazy...she can hear the chicks in the brooder

...poor little one is lonely, I reckon! She isn't fully dry yet, so she's gotta stay in there until she is. I will see how much strength and energy she has once she's dry...don't want her not to be able to defend herself if the other five chicks decide to pick on her!!!






So, here's the final count for me.
I set 10 eggs on the 12th. The were either Barred Rock or Commercial Blacks (Hatchery BR cross) or both, fertilized by a Barred Rock cockerel.
2 were clears, 1 died around day 6, and another died at lockdown.
4 healthy chicks born on hatch day. 1 born with curled feet and toes (which, by the way, are COMPLETELY HEALED!!! Her sandals fell off, and her toes and feet are completely straight!!!

)
1 born today, with help from me.
That makes 6/10...60% hatch rate. Not bad for my first time!!!

My camera decided to take a crap, and only the "flower" setting works now (that's why in the pics I've been posting, the chicks are being lit up with a flashlight). So, I couldn't take pics of the chicks because the lighting in my house is too dim, and it's really hard to take pics of active chicks (not in an incubator) with a flashlight in one hand, camera in the other. So today I took them out one by one, and sat them in sunlight...still not the best pics, but at least they aren't blurry and you can actually SEE them!

Eggcellent improvisation.


-----------------------------------------------------------------\

I don't have any final results as some are still hatching. But so far I've pulled 28 out of the hatcher. I didn't know there were that many in there. I hope I didn't keep it open too long.
I know there are at least 5 more. That would be 33 of 47. 38 went to the hatcher.

 

[GerbilsOnToast]

Good morning, all! I have over 20 pages to catch up on, so before I do that I wanted to update ya'll.

We got snow and ice early last night, and with satellite internet, that means no signal. So that is why it has taken me so long.

I followed Ron's advice on the chick that hadn't absorbed its yolk yet, and who still had veins running along the inner membrane. I put it upright in an egg carton and left it be, except to use a qtip to moisten the membrane. After doing this every five minutes for an hour (cuz it would dry out in five minutes, even with the humidity above 80%), I decided to improvise. I didn't have any bacitracin, only neosporin with pain relief, so I couldn't use it. I took a square piece of sterile gauze and cut a hole in the middle. I wet it with warm water and draped it over the exposed membrane, being sure baby's beak was poking through the hole I made so it could breath.



This worked very well...the membrane stayed moist, and before I went to bed, I wet the gauze again. This morning my mom was up before me, and she told me when I got up that the membrane was dry...but not completely dry. So she wet it again. I checked under the gauze, and all the veins were gone. So I peeled the membrane about halfway down...and encountered a very small amount of bleeding, so I stopped. I noticed the membrane was pretty stuck to the chick, but didn't want to mess with it any more, so I draped damp gauze over it, put it back in the incubator, and left it be.
At 8:30, baby started wriggling like crazy, and 7 minutes later, she was out of the shell. Baby's bottom was stuck to the membrane, so I gently pulled it partially off and trimmed it...part of her umbilical? was sticking out of a tiny hole. Since I know nothing about the anatomy of a baby chick, I'm going to assume that this area...the vent?...is where the yolk gets pulled up into the body, and it seals itself off. The yolk was not visually present, so I believe the piece still hanging is the umbilical...but I could be wrong.









Baby didn't move around much after being born. Over the past few hours, she has been gaining her strength, and is now able to stand for a few seconds. She's peeping like crazy...she can hear the chicks in the brooder

...poor little one is lonely, I reckon! She isn't fully dry yet, so she's gotta stay in there until she is. I will see how much strength and energy she has once she's dry...don't want her not to be able to defend herself if the other five chicks decide to pick on her!!!






So, here's the final count for me.
I set 10 eggs on the 12th. The were either Barred Rock or Commercial Blacks (Hatchery BR cross) or both, fertilized by a Barred Rock cockerel.
2 were clears, 1 died around day 6, and another died at lockdown.
4 healthy chicks born on hatch day. 1 born with curled feet and toes (which, by the way, are COMPLETELY HEALED!!! Her sandals fell off, and her toes and feet are completely straight!!!

)
1 born today, with help from me.
That makes 6/10...60% hatch rate. Not bad for my first time!!!

My camera decided to take a crap, and only the "flower" setting works now (that's why in the pics I've been posting, the chicks are being lit up with a flashlight). So, I couldn't take pics of the chicks because the lighting in my house is too dim, and it's really hard to take pics of active chicks (not in an incubator) with a flashlight in one hand, camera in the other. So today I took them out one by one, and sat them in sunlight...still not the best pics, but at least they aren't blurry and you can actually SEE them!

YAY!!!

That's a great idea, too! I'm wondering if nesting the cup in a barely larger cup with water in it & the ends of the gauze between them might wick up the water & avoid drying altogether..... (but I really hope i don't have to put it to the test!) assuming it's alone in the bator, anyway. Congrats on saving baby!
Your chicks are beautiful!

 

[ronott1]

Update--

I had 17 eggs set and have 13 chirpers--the others are still in the incubator with no pips--so holding out hope--Last night at about 11PM was the actual 21 day mark--so there could still be hope--candling shows a chick in there and a healthy air sac.

Below is a group pictures--BUT I have one little cockerel that I have pictured below with some sort of eye issue--HELP. If I need to go to the vet I will.

1 eye looks fine--

This eye will open but stays closed most of the time--the little guy seems a little lethargic but not totally out of it--still runs around.


This is the temp brooder in our master bath--





PM me if you like--at work and sometime the phone is hard to get responses.
Also--my offline email [email protected]

Not sure if I should feel desperate or not--I have not isolated the little guy.

THANKS

I will send a PM!

Give the Slow one a drop of Poly Vi Sol(Baby drop vitamins) Without Iron(iron is bad for them) twice a day for a day or so. Use Vetrycin on the eye. It should be ok but it was injured. I have had a couple that hatched without an eye. They do fine. I have an RIR with one bad eye. She is a special needs chicken but holds her own with the layers!

 

[chickengirl1193]

I just took a bunch of pictures! for my official count and maybe some to enter in the contest, just lloading into the computer now. idk how we are going to pick a cutest chick.... they are ALL cute!

 

[GerbilsOnToast]

Update--

I had 17 eggs set and have 13 chirpers--the others are still in the incubator with no pips--so holding out hope--Last night at about 11PM was the actual 21 day mark--so there could still be hope--candling shows a chick in there and a healthy air sac.

Below is a group pictures--BUT I have one little cockerel that I have pictured below with some sort of eye issue--HELP. If I need to go to the vet I will.

1 eye looks fine--

This eye will open but stays closed most of the time--the little guy seems a little lethargic but not totally out of it--still runs around.


This is the temp brooder in our master bath--





PM me if you like--at work and sometime the phone is hard to get responses.
Also--my offline email [email protected]

Not sure if I should feel desperate or not--I have not isolated the little guy.

THANKS

Can't be sure from photo, but my guess would be a small abrasion (another chick, toenail, even shell during hatch). Do you have any opthalmic antibiotic ointment? Vet can supply; it's probably $7-$10 for a (very small) tube, neomycin in a petrolatum base. I'd segregate the chick & do a few days of topical antibiotic. Unless it's something genetic, it should clear up within a couple of days.

 

[GerbilsOnToast]

I just took a bunch of pictures! for my official count and maybe some to enter in the contest, just lloading into the computer now. idk how we are going to pick a cutest chick.... they are ALL cute!

yes - but what a wonderful problem to have!!!