Anyone hatching April 5-7 or so? ALL DONE, READY TO BE LOCKED

[Cynthia12]

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We need a LIKE button....yes, thanks to suechick! This was fun!!

Beautiful babies, suechick..where do you live to have green grass? And yes, I agree..cute girls too!

 

[Cynthia12]

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wow, nice job!

 

[latebloomer]

okay, now i need some advice

i couldn't get my brooder up to temperature with the light i was using (strange, because it was warm enough four weeks ago)

so i put my chicks back in the incubator after taking out all of the shells and miscellaneous hatching debris

i left the top off for quite a while (three or four minutes) and the humidity got down to the low fifties

i also consolidated the eggs that hadn't hatched into one location, six eggs, as i was moving them, i heard cheeping from one of the eggs, but it hadn't pipped.

with the drop in humidity (and also temperature) is the chick in this egg in trouble, should i start the process of hatching him, or let him be.

i'm concerned about the drop in humidity affecting him negatively and wondering if i helped him out if he'd be better off than waiting, not knowing what's going on inside his shell.

anyone...

 

[Cynthia12]

I thought I would let you all know, that my baby that was struggling, is now doing better, much stronger!

Thanks to electrolytes about every hour and a half yesterday..think that did the trick.

 

[Delmar]

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OK I finally got a pic of my chick, Myrtle in her army boots!

 

[Delmar]

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Have you built one of those cookie tin water heaters? If so I'm sure you are done using it for the season. I put mine in the brooder for the first night. It didn't warm the whole thing up but the chick just stayed close to it where it was warm. Don't worry if the top is too hot as long as the sides are not too hot to put your hand on. I was pretty happy with that setup, but Mrs Delmar still went out and bought a heat lamp the next day!

 

[Suechick]

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OK I finally got a pic of my chick, Myrtle in her army boots!
http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/ac214/deardelmar/firstchisk3.jpg?t=1302364315

Hey delmar, what a cutie!!

But, for the boot to work you have to have the toes taped down straight onto a little piece of stiff cardboard, like a piece of a cereal or pasta box. I found I had to use the strongest tape. Well, not duct tape. But a good strong medical tape. Waterproof is the best.
If it's a loner it will want to have company all the time. Can you get a buddy for it?

 

[Suechick]

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I found that my brooder temp maintains better when I cover it. So right now my chicks are in a ventilated cardboard box with the lid just cracked. When the temp in my house goes down at night I've been covering it with a blanket to keep the chicks nice and toasty. I also notice that when there is a draft on it the temp goes down 5 to 10 degrees but then comes back up. The chicks are OK to have a temporary drop in temp. My broody took her 2 day old chicks out yesterday they hung out in the yard for about an hour and the temp was in the 60s. Some of the chicks were under her, but most were exploring in the yard, so if it's OK for them I figure my chicks in the brooder at 80 degrees are OK for 1/2 hour.

I'd suggest trying to move the chicks back to the brooder. And, if you're hatch date has passed the one that's chirping may have been positioned poorly to pip. I'd candle to find the air cell and give it a pip/zip treatment in a steamy bathroom then back to the bator and up the humidity in the bator.

I know others say if it can't make it out of the shell that they leave it alone. It's up to you.

 

[Suechick]

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We need a LIKE button....yes, thanks to suechick! This was fun!!

Beautiful babies, suechick..where do you live to have green grass? And yes, I agree..cute girls too!

Thanks guys. It has been really helpful for me too!! Makes the stress a little less to have some friends going through it with me.

So, thank you to all of you for sharing the journey!!

Oh, and did you notice the tropical plants in the background? We live in San Diego county. Surf's up!

 

[Suechick]

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So sad. I found some beautiful unhatched chicks too. It always hurts.

I'm sorry for your loss.