Anyone setting eggs tomorrow (13th March, EDD Apr 3rd)

[TheReidHomestead]

Hi Folks!!! Busy day today and finally have a moment at the computer for an update and check-in!!!

Sorry about the losses. :-(

We have 15 chicks and another fully pipped just waiting for it to pop out!!! Oh, and our little guy who had me worried last night is doing great today so I'm thrilled about that!

Our tally so far:

3 blue andalusion
2 BLRW
1 lavender bantam cochin
1 LF black cochin
5 of our own black bantam cochins
3 BBS bantam cochin, one is definently splash, not sure if the other 2 are blue or black yet

The one that is fully pipped and almost out is another BBS bantam cochin.

Whew! Have to get dinner going and then I hope to relax a bit and will try and get some pic's loaded.

Tamara

 

[ChickFila]

(update)
I set my eggs late night on March 13th, so I thought chicks would come out on either today or tomorrow.
Well, now I have 8 chicks already hatched (7 of them were hatched yesterday, one hatched this morning), and have 2 more pips out of 14 eggs!
Considering all 14 eggs are shipped eggs, it's not that bad!

 

[loopy12]

My blue jersey giant died in its shell.

I knew something wasn't right. It pipped early hours of this morning and nothing since.
The chicks rolled it upside down and I wonder if thats what did it. I opened the egg and he looked like he'd tried to turn around from where he'd been pipping

I'm particularly sad because that little guy was the one who was rocking violently on day 19 and 20 when none of the others were keeping me company.

I have 3 pips at the moment. I'm really worried about them getting shrink wrapped. Humidity says it 70% but thats on the wire.
I don't know if its paranoia after the BJG but I feel like they're not progressing. Should I help?
One is part zipped peeping away but just doesn't seem to be turning to zip all the way...could it be stuck on the other side so can't turn???
How would I help it? Warm damp cloth, pick away at shell, stop if blood - is that right?

The temperature has been all over the place in there with chicks hatching and stuf - anywhere between 97 and 103

Also all remaining eggs have been rolled to the far sides of the bator. Could it be cooler there? Could that be causing problems?

Help!

 

[loopy12]

I went ahead and pulled some shell of the partially zipped one. It had looked fine at the zip site but when I got under the membrane I found it was shrink wrapped

I wet it with a warm damp cloth, peeled it back until the chick as able to get its head out on its own then put it back in the bator on the cloth. It jumped out a few minutes later and is resting there now.

Knowing that one was shrink wrapped I worked a bit on the two other pips. I have opened it up around there faces but could see some blood vessels in the membrane still so wrapped them in their cloths, misted them and put them back in until they're a bit more ready.

I should never have taken the second batch of chicks out. That must have been what did it.

I feel like such a fool - I read it a million times -

don't open the incubator until all have hatched

It was just because they were pecking at the newly hatched one's eyes and I couldn't bare it

Its a hard lesson to learn. I hope they're going to be ok.

I'm so angry with myself.

I won't do it with my ducks in a few weeks, I promise.

Question is now, what about the ones that haven't pipped. Could they be shrink wrapped or does it only happen when they've pipped?

 

[TheReidHomestead]

I think it only happens once they've pipped, but not sure on that. We had to help out a couple as well. They had each pipped a big old hole in the shell last night, and then just sat and chirped but no movement most of today. This afternoon we helped one out and the one that is fully pipped we helped finish the pipping for him and misted him up.

The one we helped out this afternoon was the black cochin, and his wing was litterally crusted stiff to his side, so he got a little bath to help get it unstuck.

Someone above mentioned their birds not fluffing up and looking sticky. I have given mine baths before to help this. I read somewhere on here about it and it was recommended to use a toothbrush to help comb out the gunk while bathing it. I've done this several times with great success. Especially when helping them out and finding a large section of them crustified like I mentioned above. I figure it's not much different from soaking their tushy in a bowl of warm water when they have pasty butts. I put them right back in the bator afterwards and I try to be as quick and as gentle as I can, then wrap them up in a paper towel to get as much of the excess water off them.

 

[loopy12]

I think my crisis may

have passed...the chick I helped out is running around in there happily yelling its head off. The two I got their heads out are resting, breathing and cheeping normally. Their membranes are damp, I can see so will leave them like that until their blood vessels in the membrane disappear, or until they hatch themselves, which I think they could now.

There's enough damp cloths in their to keep a rainforest supplied. Hopefully humidity won't go to the other extreme now

I have, I suppose, re-locked down.

I am a little bit hopeful for the remaining eggs.

I re-locked-down at 9pm, temps are back up and stable and in the last 45 minutes I've seen two new pips appear. Just

they're ok on the inside.
I removed one egg that hadn't pipped. Sadly the chick inside was dead, but it wasn't shrink wrapped, so am hoping the humidity problem only affected the ones that had pipped at the time.

So

for the rest...
Will update tomorrow.

WA4-H, ChickFilA & Raimnel: meant to say congratulations but was in crisis...so CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

[loopy12]

Sorry, me again

When a chick has absorbed the yolk and all the membrane blood vessels close down, as long as it can breathe can it just sit in the egg? What would make it die?
In other words, I think the two I released the heads from the shrink wrapped membranes won't be ready to hatch for at least a few more hours - so can I go to bed or will they die if I don't help them out the rest of the way?

By the way, Tamara, was just looking at your blog from the link in your signature. You middle DD has the same name as my DD...

 

[TheReidHomestead]

Loopy, glad your crisis has passed. I think they would only die if they were too weak or had some other non-helpable problem. I'd be nervous that they would still be "stuck" somewhere in there and probably stay up until they were out. Or at least check on them in a few hours. But that's just me!!! BTW, I noticed above you said you lived in England, are you from there? My husband was born in Gloucester. His parents are from England but they moved over here when he was about 2 months old. That's cool our DD's have the same name!!

Tamara

 

[loopy12]

Yes, I'm actually English - grew up in Southampton, lived last decade or so in and then near Cambridge. DH is American. Our daughter has dual nationality. We moved over here nearly 2 years ago now.

I will stay up to 1am and see how they are at that point. Worried about taking them out to fiddle with more and shrink wrapping the two new pips - then I'd be back to square one!

NEVER OPEN INCUBATOR UNTIL ALL HAVE HATCHED.

On the bright side I just went to top up my water wells in the duck egg incubator and (since the flashlight seems permanently welded to my hand these days) I candled a few - NOT PICKING THEM UP - just shining it down on top of them (trying to learn that lesson too).
Duck eggs are so transparent compared to chicken eggs. The half dozen I randomly peeped in at all had blood vessels and one I could clearly see a beating heart

Great news as I wasn't even sure my ducks were, um, 'at that stage in their relationship yet'

I won't candle any of them again until day 12 now.

I am learning my lessons the hard way.

 

[raimnel]

Hi all, boy lots going on on here. my # 9 seems to be getting better, and I have no more pips. I have 1 on day 22, and 9 on day 20. heres to

that some more hatch.