April Hatch-Along!!!!!!! Whos with me?????

[Goin Quackrrs]

I posted lots of pics on the Hatch Day thread, but here's one of my newly hatched babies!

 

[ChicagoDucks]

Awesome photo. Thanks for sharing.

I posted lots of pics on the Hatch Day thread, but here's one of my newly hatched babies!

 

[hfchristy]

And finally, on day 4 I had 4 eggs that were looking pretty good. Day 7, I have a couple of others that were NOT showing any signs of growth 3 days before. Will this gap even out, or should I expect the eggs that got a later start to hatch later, too? Should I make a point of rotating the eggs around the incubator (a still air one) so that the same eggs aren't sitting under the heat element or in a similar hot spot all the time?

Looks like that's probably a moot point. The incubator cooled off while I was turning eggs last night and I resisted the temptation to crank the heat to try to get it back up. (I had some that started in egg cartons due to funky air cells, and switched them to side-laying yesterday. Didn't account for how much longer they would take to turn in a crowded incubator.) Came downstairs this morning to find it at 99 degrees (still-air, so quite cool). I candled as many of the bantam eggs as I could stomach and didn't see any that looked healthy. Veins are still present, but the embryo looks fainter and fuzzy and it all wobbles in a slightly jelly-like way. If I killed them all last night, how long would I have before risk of explosion? I don't know what I'm doing, so don't want to risk taking anything out that might not really be dead.

Oddly, I've got some Welsh Harlequins that I'm incubating for a friend. They arrived later than the bantams, so I think they're on Day 5, and I did see a few beating hearts there. Are bantams (Australian Spotteds) more susceptible to temp fluctuations than bigger birds, or is a day 5 embryo more resilient than day 9?

Christy

 

[ChicagoDucks]

I'd say give it time. 99 for one evening is probably not be the end of the world. If you still see the blood vessels, they are probably still alive. It is hard to keep from worrying.

Check out Pete55's hatching guide:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...toulouse-incubation-diary-with-pics-hatch-day
and the other links here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pete55s-page
You'll see that on day 9, the embryo kind of looks fuzzier and a little fainter as the embryo grows and the blood vessels cover more of the sub-shell membranes.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Looks like that's probably a moot point. The incubator cooled off while I was turning eggs last night and I resisted the temptation to crank the heat to try to get it back up. (I had some that started in egg cartons due to funky air cells, and switched them to side-laying yesterday. Didn't account for how much longer they would take to turn in a crowded incubator.) Came downstairs this morning to find it at 99 degrees (still-air, so quite cool). I candled as many of the bantam eggs as I could stomach and didn't see any that looked healthy. Veins are still present, but the embryo looks fainter and fuzzy and it all wobbles in a slightly jelly-like way. If I killed them all last night, how long would I have before risk of explosion? I don't know what I'm doing, so don't want to risk taking anything out that might not really be dead.

Oddly, I've got some Welsh Harlequins that I'm incubating for a friend. They arrived later than the bantams, so I think they're on Day 5, and I did see a few beating hearts there. Are bantams (Australian Spotteds) more susceptible to temp fluctuations than bigger birds, or is a day 5 embryo more resilient than day 9?

Christy

 

[ChicagoDucks]

I am at day 25.5. Just a few more days till the hatch.

I am thrilled, but this is where my paranoia starts to set in. Does that air cell look too big? Is the humidity too low? Is my thermometer lying to me? Why aren't my eggs moving?!?!?!

If I don't find something to do far away from the incubator, I will spend all day watching the eggs, worrying and being tempted to open the incubator to listen to the eggs or see if I can feel them moving.

All 8 eggs are still alive. All but 1 have internally pipped. This morning I heard the little "rap, rap, rap" of the ducklings taking their first breaths from the air cell. I swear I heard a little chirping too, but maybe that is just my imagination taking advantage of me.

OK. Time to walk away from the incubator.

 

[COUNTRYBOI]

i got one hatched baby coturnix quail .. i was worried because my incubator went on the frits couple weeks ago got up to 105 actually thats how i found this forum so kinda glad it did lol...from what i hear a bunch of people had the same problem about the same time weird... i got chickens hatching 7th and 9th and turkey hatching though out this mounth.. i have about 10 hatch days this mounth so wish me luck ...

 

[COUNTRYBOI]

I am at day 25.5. Just a few more days till the hatch.

I am thrilled, but this is where my paranoia starts to set in. Does that air cell look too big? Is the humidity too low? Is my thermometer lying to me? Why aren't my eggs moving?!?!?!

If I don't find something to do far away from the incubator, I will spend all day watching the eggs, worrying and being tempted to open the incubator to listen to the eggs or see if I can feel them moving.

All 8 eggs are still alive. All but 1 have internally pipped. This morning I heard the little "rap, rap, rap" of the ducklings taking their first breaths from the air cell. I swear I heard a little chirping too, but maybe that is just my imagination taking advantage of me.

OK. Time to walk away from the incubator.

you need a plexi glass front so you can see lol this moreing i walked by and heard peep peep looked in and had a few pips a one empty shell they were still on rocker rack hatch few days early this is day 15 on quail ......

 

[Mum]

i got one hatched baby coturnix quail .. i was worried because my incubator went on the frits couple weeks ago got up to 105 actually thats how i found this forum so kinda glad it did lol...from what i hear a bunch of people had the same problem about the same time weird... i got chickens hatching 7th and 9th and turkey hatching though out this mounth.. i have about 10 hatch days this mounth so wish me luck ...

Congratulations!!!!!

Good luck with your other hatches

 

[Chriswardens52]

Omg I am so excited I jus bought 5 Canada goose eggs from a local breeder

 

[hfchristy]

I'd say give it time. 99 for one evening is probably not be the end of the world. If you still see the blood vessels, they are probably still alive. It is hard to keep from worrying.

You're right. Besides the normal diffuse look of an older embryo (btw - how long do they stay "embryos" anyway?) my flashlight batteries needed a recharge. I did a full candle & purge of the bantam clears & quitters last night and ended up with 5 of the 16 being pretty clearly viable - the same number I thought I probably had the day before the temp dipped. And the one that had been in question had de-veined enough to be sure that it was time for it to go, too.

Then, after the incubator being totally stable all night long last night, we left the house for a few hours today and came home to 105 degrees. Ack! what the heck? The room temp has been between 70 and 72 this whole time, so that can't be the problem. I'm just hoping that it hadn't been that hot long enough to do much damage.
How long does it take to see if you've baked the poor ducklings? I peeked at a couple this evening and could see movement in one of the older eggs and heartbeats in a newer one, but also saw a couple of questionable eggs. Then again, I haven't gone through the newer batch in any systematic way, so I don't know whether those eggs were ones that were already seeming pretty unlikely.

Christy