APRIL Hatch a long ......Anyone?

[Gen9]

Awesome! Here are pics of the lavendar o crosses that have hatched so far My friends and family shook their heads when we moved to the country from New Orleans almost 3 years ago... When you look at this sunrise... how could you ever NOT want to be here?

I lived in Yuma for 6 years, oh my, I do miss the sunrises & sunsets out there! Thanks for the memories

my gosh have to go look at all the posts..this thread is moving along fast... My update is my failed hatch now on day 23 . 4:30 am went to add water as long as i had waken up......now had 2 chicks out not one and at least 2 more pips....again this is day 23!!! !Never say never..how they made it thru the stinky mold infested bator i dont know but i better buy pine shavings fast! 6:30 am....Storms about to come thru...fingers crossed for no outage. 4 pips..2 hatched...

Yay! Congrats! I only saw 1 of my embryos moving when I candled on Day 17/18. Out of 30 I pulled 11 I thought were bad, cracked open 4 that died before day 5, then 1 looked like it died around day 10, then 2 that looked like I killed them when I cracked them open so after being traumatized, I put the other 4 back thinking I don't want to kill anymore. Tried marking the air cell, I didn't have a definite low point, it was even around the top of the egg, so maybe those ones are unviable. This is the first time I saw anything like this. Guess I'll find out next week when my hatch is over :-/

I'm on day 19, lock down last night. I have one problem I can't get my humidity up it's at 42. Can anybody help me with this I have the reservoir filled two sponges in there and a bowl of water with a towel in it. I used an automatic egg turner and I removed it and remove the vent plugs. I got up this morning and the humidity was at 39 so I put one vent plug back in and the humidity went up to 42. I didn't have this problem went the eggs were in the automatic egg tuner. Should I put the eggs in a carton? To keep them up higher. Please help me!

Day 19 here as well. Hope you get it figured out. I have a problem with keeping my humidity up as well. Putting a washcloth or towel to get more surface moisture helps, I just have to stay on top of it, when it gets to 65% I add more to get up to 70% - trying to keep it in between 65-70. I have to do this every hour or 2, it sucks!

Sclark73, I have a little giant still air incubator. I only put one vent plug back in out of the two, do you think I sure put the other back in?

My advice is not to, chicks need oxygen & they will suffocate if you plug up the bator. Maybe move it to the bathroom & run a hot shower to get the room steamy. I don't know what else you can do but you don't want CO2 to build up & kill your hatch.

 

[Gen9]

Love all the pics, emus, ostriches & pheasants... This is probably the best hatch along thread yet! Even if my hatch turns out bad, I'm enjoying all the varieties of birds on this thread. This is my favorite time of year

 

[Gen9]

First external pip at 7 AM.

Now for the real excitement to begin. I just candled to check aircells again and heard chirping. I have 2 internal pips(one EE and a BLRW) so far only 9 more to go out of my first batch anyhow.

Yay! Good luck to both of you

I just hatched a wonderful batch of mutt chickens.- they are almost 15 hours now. I am going to be overnighting them to Wisconsin tonight. Is there anyway that I can tell if they are roos or hens just by how long their bodies are or any other good ideas? I know that the feather technique doesn't work because I tried it my last (and only) hatch - or at least it doesn't for mutt chicks Can I tell by the size of their heads? Thanks so much!

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/sexing_chicks.html PDF (requires purchase) http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/xlm/13/4/640/

 

[Sclark73]

I lived in Yuma for 6 years, oh my, I do miss the sunrises & sunsets out there! Thanks for the memories

Yay! Congrats!

I only saw 1 of my embryos moving when I candled on Day 17/18. Out of 30 I pulled 11 I thought were bad, cracked open 4 that died before day 5, then 1 looked like it died around day 10, then 2 that looked like I killed them when I cracked them open

so after being traumatized, I put the other 4 back thinking I don't want to kill anymore. Tried marking the air cell, I didn't have a definite low point, it was even around the top of the egg, so maybe those ones are unviable. This is the first time I saw anything like this. Guess I'll find out next week when my hatch is over :-/
Day 19 here as well. Hope you get it figured out. I have a problem with keeping my humidity up as well. Putting a washcloth or towel to get more surface moisture helps, I just have to stay on top of it, when it gets to 65% I add more to get up to 70% - trying to keep it in between 65-70. I have to do this every hour or 2, it sucks!
My advice is not to, chicks need oxygen & they will suffocate if you plug up the bator. Maybe move it to the bathroom & run a hot shower to get the room steamy. I don't know what else you can do but you don't want CO2 to build up & kill your hatch.

You have a good point. I wouldn't keep it that way very long but you have to keep tweaking to figure out your incubator. I have 4 running all different and everyone I have to do something different to keep it up. My first home made one I put a container I screwed to the side and used pvc pipe to add water without opening, it didn't keep it high enough so I added a baby food jar of water on the bottom and for some reason it worked. My Brinsea I have to do nothing. The hova-bator styrofoam one I have both plugs open and duct tape on the seams and add an ounce of water when i see the humidity drop a bit all per advice from a person on the Wis board who swears by styrofoam incubators. When I need to get it up for lock down in both my home made I add a watered down rag or wash cloth and it does the trick. I dont know what a Little Giant is or what type of bator it is. Since your home all the time just keep trying until you figure it out. I don't think you dropped it too low to cause them to die btu thats my opinion. I have had it in the 40's and even 30's and they have hatched. And I'm no expert at anything. I have only been doing this since last year June but hatched quite a few chicks. I'm learning every day and am thankful for this site always giving advice, the people here are so great and helpful to everyone.

 

[Gen9]

Sclark73, I have a little giant still air incubator. I only put one vent plug back in out of the two, do you think I sure put the other back in?

Come to think of it; are you doing still air, or are you using a fan in your still air incubator? I have not done still air, but from my understanding is you don't need you humidity at 65-70% if it's still air. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though. I'm only on my 3rd hatch here lol
Either way, I'd take both plugs out, as they need oxygen now more than ever. Hope you find something that works

 

[Gen9]

You have a good point. I wouldn't keep it that way very long but you have to keep tweaking to figure out your incubator. I have 4 running all different and everyone I have to do something different to keep it up. My first home made one I put a container I screwed to the side and used pvc pipe to add water without opening, it didn't keep it high enough so I added a baby food jar of water on the bottom and for some reason it worked. My Brinsea I have to do nothing. The hova-bator styrofoam one I have both plugs open and duct tape on the seams and add an ounce of water when i see the humidity drop a bit all per advice from a person on the Wis board who swears by styrofoam incubators. When I need to get it up for lock down in both my home made I add a watered down rag or wash cloth and it does the trick. I dont know what a Little Giant is or what type of bator it is. Since your home all the time just keep trying until you figure it out. I don't think you dropped it too low to cause them to die btu thats my opinion. I have had it in the 40's and even 30's and they have hatched. And I'm no expert at anything. I have only been doing this since last year June but hatched quite a few chicks. I'm learning every day and am thankful for this site always giving advice, the people here are so great and helpful to everyone. 

Oh wow! Yeah, I'll be surprised if I get more than one hatching since I only saw one of them move during candling. I have an alarm that goes off every hour to check humidity, well last night I slept through 2 of them & the humidity got down to 57%! Yikes! . I don't think there's a right or wrong way to do the hatching, like you said; everyone has their own way of doing it, may work for some, may not, best thing to do is go with your gut! I'm using a home made incubator, it worked great the first time- got 18/20 to hatch. My 2nd time 3/5 hatched & this time, I've never been so unsure. I'll try the baby jar next time, that's a good idea. I started hatching the same time as you, just not as frequent due to constantly monitoring. Even though I'm a SAHM I've got lots of other things going on lol! i was fortunate enough to have my hubby babysit the humidity yesterday while I took our son on a road trip to see some specialists. He did a great job. I'm no expert either lol never worked with the LG incubator but did eyeball it at the feed store the other day. I've also read on here that some people don't raise the humidity until they get their first pip... So many different ways... I love this website & grateful for the knowledge & experience of others as well

 

[Sclark73]

I'm going stir crazy and don't follow rules very well. I candled again and 5 of 6 BLRW are nearing pip I hope they finish and hatch. I've spent most of the morning staring at the eggs waiting for a crack. 3 are chirping and of the 10, 9 look like they are progressing. A few are a bit behind but not by far. It's only day 20 so I won't get over worried. This is the first I've used this home made incubator for anything as I just finished it a few hours before using it for lockdown. When I leave them in the Brinsea I don't worry at all and they all hatch just fine on their own. My very first hatch last year I must of opening the bator 50 times or better to candle the eggs and they all hatched. Now I'm not telling anyone to do this cus I think I was just very lucky! I do however cover myself in my wool blanket when I candle to hold the temps and I usually only drop a few degrees and it's back up right away when I'm done. I'm so anxious to share photos if they hatch. I also decided it's probably a good time to get the feeders and waterers filled and ready so when they do hatch. I've spent so much time watching eggs I completely forgot about it.

 

[CashandTracy]

Sclark73, I have a little giant still air incubator. I only put one vent plug back in out of the two, do you think I sure put the other back in?

Vent plus need to be out, the growing chicks need ventilation and once they internally Pip they need the ventilation to breathe.

That said increasing humidity is about surface area of the water not volume. Put wy paper towels in your bator and moisten by dropping water on them thru the vents.

I hope this helps!

 

[Farmer Viola]

sadly, the first two pips from day 21 did not survive, they were both below the air cell. The one that was bleeding I discovered in eggtopsy that it actually pipped just below where the air cell started. there was a big thick active vein right there on the border and the chick pipped right into it. I did see it's beak move before I went to bed last night, but this morning at 6 am it was dead. The yolk was not yet absorbed, so I don't think I could have / should have intervened any sooner, or anything. just sad to see it die.

the one who pipped very very low in the shell also died before I got to it. I should have taken it out of the carton as soon as I saw that very low pip. live and learn I guess? I believe it drowned on day 21 in liquid pouring into its beak.

Day 22:

2 more chicks have hatched!!
and there are 2 external pips right now. nothing on the other 6 eggs, and I won't be home most of today so..

please hatch babies!!!

1 of the chicks that hatched was very foamy. I have never seen this before. wondering if it's air bubbles being breathed into excess liquid? Why is there excess liquid? I did a dry hatch and today is day 22, shouldn't be any excess by now. 1 of the external pips I have right now also looks kind of foamy. what does it mean...

 

[Sterl18]

Okay, final results are four live chicks. I assisted three of those. Late day 22 I just had a bad, bad feeling after two out of eight had side pips and the first one died. The last few days I had a hard time keeping temps stable. The humidity SAID it was plenty high, but I really question the accuracy after what happened.

Anyway, late on day 22 I decided to check an egg that had been internally pipped and moving for the better part of a day. Nothing,no movement. Opened the aircell and the little guy was shrink wrapped and dead. The egg that had an external pip was now only peeping weakly...decided to intervene and upon opening his pip a little more saw he was also drying out. I used mineral oil to moisten the membrane, and gently moved the membrane from his nostrils. After a couple minutes he started peeping with more vigor.

I decided to check a couple of eggs that I expected to hatch first, based on candling at lockdown - the aircells had started to shift when I taped up the bator lid to keep humidity in. Both gone. So at this point I said screw it and candled and opened aircells on the rest. Found two more that was still alive. One hadn't pipped internally so I cleared it's nostrils and it started peeping after a minute or so. So I had two pipped into aircells and stuck, and one side pip.

I worked mineral oil into the membrane and rotated around the four. There were blood vessels visible and I worked mineral oil to the edges of the shell as I went. The little chick that hadn't pipped was doing great, but I made a grave mistake and let them all get too cold. I had set up heat lamp, but I was worried it was too hot, etc....ack...that little chick did die. After she was gone and I removed her from the shell I saw her yolk fully absorbed and everything. I moved the heat lamp closer for the rest, figured if my hands weren't burning, neither were they!

After that I was a little more aggressive with the other two that had internally pipped. Freed head and shoulders slowly, eventually leaving them in the bottom half of their shell to kick out when they could. The side pip chick was super tricky, she had a blood vessel right between where she had pipped and the aircell...just was patient until the vessel dried up and I could clear her head.

The thee made it and so far they are all doing well. Little extra wobbly on their feet, but now they are all drinking and getting around fine. Of the chicks that didn't hatch, one was a wrong side pip that died before I decided to intervene. Three were positioned correctly with yolk sacs partially absorbed, and one fully absorbed (and internally pipped), one was completely backwards, head in the small end.

I know assisting is controversial, but the hatch went bad because of my equipment design failure. I'm glad I helped. I feel bad I didn't check one of the eggs that had the obvious slanted aircell earlier, but I was taking the hands off and let them do what they do approach. I am extremely happy to end up with four live chicks from a little styrofoam seafood shipping box that was thrown together macgyver style. We will try again next year, with calibrated t-stats and humidity sensors (unless I have four little roos here).

Sorry so long!! Wasn't sure I should share, but that's my story and learning experience. If you take anything from this it should be to calibrate your equipment and have redundancy...I feel stupid for not at least getting a second hygrometer in there over the course of three weeks! It never took much to raise the humidity...it was a small space, but I should have suspected something was up.