Against the odds hatching thread (with pictures and questions)

[K0k0shka]

You did everything right. Don't second guess yourself. The time window between absorbing the blood and suffocating would have been incredibly small. If it was there at all.

As for the statistics of the individual breeds and color varieties I have noticed that too! It's uncanny. Some eggs absolutely ship better than other. Even in the same box. I think it has a lot to do with the breeder flock (age of birds, genetics/inbreeding, eggs size and overall health) , how fresh the eggs were when shipped. My February hatch I had like 8 breeds from 1 breeder. Some breeds all quit within a day of each other (no other breeds did in that time window). Other were super robust and all hatched healthy. Another breed were all a full day late and pipped but then struggled to hatch. It was a very eye opening hatch for me.

From the hatch a longs I know others had similar experience with the exact same breeder but the breeds that struggled/thrived switched! I have some theories on this it like to test out but my last chicks of the year hatch tomorrow. So I won't have a chance till next spring.

If I ever really want a certain type of bird I buy chicks. Right now is a really terrible time to be shipping anything. I've heard some horror stories about delays. The system is just so over taxes because of the current state of affairs.

Thank you for the kind words. That’s very reassuring.

Interesting about the statistics! I’ll email the breeder and describe my outcome, in case he can use the data and maybe look into the partridge flock and see if they’re having any issues (age, health, genetics etc). I’ll find a way to get more partridges once life returns to normal. No point in doing it now, the USPS is struggling enough. Maybe next spring.

 

[K0k0shka]

Update: head count is up to 14. The white local egg hatched this morning. Looks like a gray chick. It had a lot of goop and shell pieces glued to its butt and back. I re-hydrated them with a warm damp paper towel until I could rub them off. It’s an energetic little guy and fought me the whole time, but now it’s clean and back in the incubator with a friend to dry off. This chick, one of the green egged local chicks, and herniated chick are still in the incubator, everybody else is having a party running around the brooder. The reason why I still have those chicks in the incubator: herniated chick’s protrusion is drying and shrinking, but not done yet, so it’s under observation in there, where it’s cleaner and safer. Wet new chick needs a friend or it starts yelling, but I can’t put it together with herniated chick, because herniated chick is a little butthole and pecks it too much on the exposed skin. So... wet local chick is with a dry local chick for company, and butthole is in the basket healing its red thing.

Total count so far: 11 shipped chicks, 3 local chicks. 1 remaining local egg with movement (when candled) but no pips yet, and 5 remaining shipped eggs with safety holes but no movement. I’ll candle again tonight.

 

[K0k0shka]

There’s a lot of group interest in the nipple waterer. I can’t tell if they are able to depress the nipples on their own, so I periodically go and push them in myself, to let some water out into the cups. By now the chicks definitely know that that’s where their water is, and go there to drink. I still show any new chicks I move to the brooder where everything is, but there’s enough of them in there now that they also learn from each other.

Oh, and they are all VERY good at finding the cave and going back in it to warm up, and settling in there for the night as it starts getting dark. The new chicks just follow the rest in. So I don’t have to worry about anybody left out in the cold anymore!

 

[aart]

I can’t tell if they are able to depress the nipples on their own

That's why you use an open waterer the first week or two.

 

[K0k0shka]

That's why you use an open waterer the first week or two.

But folks on here say they do it from the start and their chicks do fine... Wanted to test that theory. I might add a second water source just in case.

 

[aart]

But folks on here say they do it from the start and their chicks do fine... Wanted to test that theory. I might add a second water source just in case.

You're risk to take....figured you'd want to go redundant, like with the temp probes
Maybe your HN springs are softer than mine, but I know my chicks took a good week or more to be able to push hard enough.

 

[K0k0shka]

Improvements:

I filled the green lid/tray all the way up with water and showed the chicks that they can drink from there, too.

I also lifted the “wings” to give them more room under the heating pad.

 

[em_dawson]

Improvements:

I filled the green lid/tray all the way up with water and showed the chicks that they can drink from there, too.
View attachment 2099278
I also lifted the “wings” to give them more room under the heating pad.
View attachment 2099277

They’re adorable and you’re doing great!!!

 

[aart]

Excellent 'upgrades'!

 

[K0k0shka]

The last of the local eggs just hatched! From one of the green eggs. This one is lighter in color, the rest are all dark, including the one from the white egg. Her flock is mixed, so parentage is a bit of a guessing game.

I moved pecky little butthole with the navel issue to the brooder earlier this evening. It was loud and harassing the others through the basket mesh. Its navel has a scab-like thing now, and because the chick itself is acting normal, I felt better moving it. Hopefully it won’t get pecked too much. I’ll keep an eye on it.

The chick from the white local egg hatched over 12 hours ago, but isn’t fluffy yet... It had dried up goop and shell bits on it which I wiped off earlier, but the down on its back seems to have been glued down as well. Like it wiped itself on something sticky coming out, and it dried the down hard on its back... Should I dampen it and try to wipe it clean? I read that you’re not supposed to wet new chicks, but I doubt this is good either... It’s still in the incubator, so it will be warm. Here’s what it looks like right now (looks wet but it’s not):

Also, I candled the last remaining 5 eggs (all mine). No movement Are they dead? I know some hatch very late, but should they be moving at this point? Only one of them has something that miiiiight be an internal pip, but I can’t really tell:


That little pushed up shape. I don’t think it was there last night. I gave them all safety holes last night. So now I just put them back in the incubator...