Against the odds hatching thread (with pictures and questions)

[K0k0shka]

Mission accomplished! All 15 chicks got their shot. As a reward for putting up with me stabbing them, I gave them their first treat - some of the sweet bread I’d baked recently. I don’t think they knew what to do with it though, even though I crumbled it for them. Kinda pecked at it and left it alone, so I took it out. Oh well. It’s been 2 hours and everybody is looking good and lively, and still run up to me when I walk up to the brooder, so hopefully no hard feelings

 

[adirondak5]

Mission accomplished! All 15 chicks got their shot. As a reward for putting up with me stabbing them, I gave them their first treat - some of the sweet bread I’d baked recently. I don’t think they knew what to do with it though, even though I crumbled it for them. Kinda pecked at it and left it alone, so I took it out. Oh well. It’s been 2 hours and everybody is looking good and lively, and still run up to me when I walk up to the brooder, so hopefully no hard feelings

That's great , any problems/issues with anything ? Any tips ?

 

[K0k0shka]

That's great , any problems/issues with anything ? Any tips ?

No problems and no side effects yet. I read that they might get pasty butt, so I’ll keep an eye out for that. After the shot they ate, played and went to bed for the night as usual.

This website has useful instructions with pictures:
https://backyardpoultry.iamcountrys...inister-the-mareks-vaccine-to-poultry-chicks/

Tips (not covered in the above article). This is a two person job, especially if you haven’t done it before. If you’re right handed, have the other person hold the chick in front of you, with its head pointing to your right. With your left hand, pinch the skin behind the neck, and with your right, insert the needle in the skin fold. The direction of the chick matters because this way the needle will point away from its head, so in case it jumps, you won't stab its little skull.

The instructions say to do it when the chicks are one day old. Technically, as long as they haven't been exposed to the virus and are "clean", they can be vaccinated whenever, but new chicks are clean for sure, hence the vaccination after hatch vs. later. I got delayed because I was waiting on the owner of the other chicks to make up her mind, so mine were 3 days old when I gave them the shot. Not a big deal, BUT, if you can, I'd recommend doing it at 1 day old. The reason is because a 1 day old chick is still pretty weak and slow. By 3 days old, they kick and pull and put up a good fight! So it's just easier when they're 1 day old.

The vaccine from Meyer comes with one 1ml syringe. But the instructions ask for that plus a 3ml syringe, which I did not have. I assumed it came with everything I'd need... Not a big deal and I made it work, but the 3ml syringe would've made things easier. It's because at one point you need to draw 3ml of the diluent, and with a 1ml needle, you just have to do it three times.

Do the whole procedure over a waterproof surface or something you can wipe easily that won't get ruined, because the diluent comes in a bag and after a few stabs, it starts to leak everywhere, and it's orange, so it stains.

That's all I can think of. It was pretty fast and easy. Good luck, and let me know if I can help in any way!

 

[K0k0shka]

The kids watching "chicken TV"

I'm really happy with my brooder setup. I'd read about chicks being afraid when you reach down from the top to pick them up, because that's an innate fear they have of aerial predators. Most brooders I've seen open on the top and you reach down, and a lot have opaque walls, so you really only see them top down. I decided to go for a TV kind of setup, so my kids could see them better and interact with them more easily, without reaching down. I lifted the brooder so it's at eye level for them (also, this way I don't have to bend down). This is so much better for everybody! The chicks are not afraid of us at all, in fact they run up to us when we approach, and want to explore our fingers, bracelets, buttons, etc. when we reach in. Everything is easy to see, and easy to reach when you open the access door (it swings all the way down). The box has no top, just bird netting, and it has a side window (next to a window in the hallway), so there's a lot of natural light. With a heating pad instead of a bright heating lamp glaring at them day and night, and with the natural light from the windows in the house and the windows in the brooder, the chicks can have a normal circadian rhythm. They are very good at gathering under the heater for the night when the light starts getting low, and they sleep there quietly all night.

The bird netting and cardboard box combination was incredibly easy to work with - no poking your fingers on HC or heavy wooden construction. This is lightweight and easy, and does the job just fine. The chicks can't get out, and the cat can't get in In the morning, the kids wake up way too early, but instead of bothering us, they each pull up a chair and sit down to watch "chicken TV". What a great and wholesome isolation activity!

The only thing I want to modify about this setup is I want to tape a band of bird netting maybe 6 inches tall, across the bottom front of the doorway, so the chicks don't jump out when we open the door all the way. I gave the box a pretty tall lip on the bottom, but the sand ate some of the height, and the chicks can easily clear the rest. Other than that, it's perfect and I love it!

 

[My2butterflies]

This has been very interesting to read!
I made a homemake incubator and have guinea eggs going on day 12. Sadly I think I’ve made just about every mistake a person a can make and have no hope of hatching
On a better note, I have a real incubator arriving tomorrow and will be setting up a new batch of eggs!
I’m sure I’ll be referencing this post as I go. I love how you keep it so up to date as you went along! Congratulations on your beautiful babies

 

[K0k0shka]

This has been very interesting to read!
I made a homemake incubator and have guinea eggs going on day 12. Sadly I think I’ve made just about every mistake a person a can make and have no hope of hatching
On a better note, I have a real incubator arriving tomorrow and will be setting up a new batch of eggs!
I’m sure I’ll be referencing this post as I go. I love how you keep it so up to date as you went along! Congratulations on your beautiful babies

Thank you! I hope you find this thread helpful. Good luck with your next batch!

 

[adirondak5]

You did a great job on the brooder , the Chicken TV view especially for the kids is a great idea .

 

[K0k0shka]

You did a great job on the brooder , the Chicken TV view especially for the kids is a great idea .

Thank you!

 

[K0k0shka]

I opened the remaining 4 eggs last night (day 25). Two Barnevelders and two Silver Laced Orpingtons. They were all dead, as I expected. However, I was surprised to find that 2 had internal pips! Both of the Barnevelders had pipped and then died. They were bigger than the orps, more developed, and, from what I could tell, they were positioned properly. They had unabsorbed yolk sacs the size of a cherry. But I suppose they would've absorbed that between the internal and external pip, so maybe they were on track developmentally. I really don't know why they died. Conditions in the incubator were fine, as proven by the otherwise very successful hatch... The two orps were smaller and less developed, and also had unabsorbed yolk sacs, also the size of a cherry. One of them was especially small, and had not turned itself around yet. It was still head down in the egg (or maybe it was malpositioned, head down towards the pointy end?) I would've really liked one more of those, because I currently only have 2 hatched, and I hope they're not both roosters. The Barnevelders did very well overall, and I have 4, so I'm okay losing those last two.

I'll post some numbers and statistics from the hatch later on. There are some interesting observations on how this played out. Overall though, I'm very happy with how everything went, and I ended up with way more chickens than I thought I'd have!

 

[aart]

However, I was surprised to find that 2 had internal pips! Both of the Barnevelders had pipped and then died.

Bummer!
Was there more fluid in these eggs or in the air cell?
Maybe drowned?
Kudos on the eggtopsies, a tough but fascinating process.