April Hatch Thread--Come Join Us!

[Nursiedeer]

http://skeffling.hubpages.com/hub/Chicken-Incubators-and-getting-the-most-chicks-from-your-hatching-eggs "For rolling, detached or disrupted air cells (so cells no longer at fat end of the egg but like a spirit level bubble on the long side), you’ll need to change your hatch plan. They need to sit 24 hours always pointy end down, to see if the cells will reattach. Leave them in the egg carton for all 21 days of the hatch.

best way I know to explain. They roll with the movement of the egg.
If I have my eggs vertical they look ok but if I move they roll...

I do see growth in the egg but they are small and almost seem to have stopped recently. THe eggs should be full but are not...so.
just waiting

 

[Bitterroot]

Thanks! Since last night, I've been running at around 16-19% without water (depending on what hydrometer I look at) Is there a chart that shows you what the eggs should weigh by certain days of incubation? I know they should lose 12-14% of their starting weight by lockdown but what about by day 7, day 14, etc? So you know you're on track

I haven't ever seen one. I've done up one for myself on paper, and am thinking of converting it to a chart for a page here, so others don't have to go through all the calculating. I don't know how to code the table for the chart format, so that's my holdup.

The formulas I used, I got off a forum somewhere.

W - (0.0057 x D x W)
W - (0.0067 x D x W)

W = start weight
D = days of incubation

Do those two simple equations, and it will give you your weight range with 12-14% weight loss for each egg, at any day of incubation you choose to weigh them.

Of course you'll need a very accurate scale. To test yours, plop a penny on there, they weigh 2.5 grams.

Example - Egg weighs 60 grams at the start. At day 5, your weight loss range should be from 58.29 - 57.99 grams. Day 10 it should weigh 56.58 - 55.98 grams, etc.

Hope that helps any?

 

[Arkansas81]

I read where someone was asking what to do to help a chick that isn't thriving and being picked on...this is what I did. One of my chicks couldn't walk to good, I knew it wasn't splayed leg or a slipped tendon. She would walk-stumble then sit back down. I was afraid she wasn't getting enough to drink or eat so..........

I got a small glass dish-any will do...put some of the chick food in it and put wet it down-stir. You can also put some pedialite in it too..put some save-a-chick in the water with electrolytes-I got the packets from tsc cost a few $$. I made sure the chick food was wet-plain water or pedialyte or put some of the waterer water in it...hold the chick and scoop a small amout of wet food on a plastic spoon. Hold the chick to the plastic spoon with the wet food on it-if the chick doesn 't readily eat it dip the tip of the beak into the food-the chick will taste it and hopefully eat it.

I also got a little bucket-it was a heart shaped basket that had the sides open for good air flow and put some shavings in it for cushion-pine shavings, placed the chick in it, made sure it was in the heat of the heat lamp. I did that so she could rest and not be trampled on by the others. I also made sure-checked every hour-that I placed a few drops of water from their waterer into the tip of the plastic spoon and let her drink from that. I did this routine for about 2-3 days and now you can't even tell she was weak. Her walking problems have cured themselves. I would make sure that (IMO) I would put about a cap full of pedialyte or the packets from tsc in the water after the chicks hatched and were placed in the brooder. The chicks are very tired and might need a little help. IMO-I would check on the chicks in the brooder every 30 minutes/1 hr just to make sure they are doing ok.

Chicks can survive 3 days without food/water so they may not drink/eat right away but I would put the food/water in their anyways. If one seems weak then get an eye dropper-clean, plastic spoon and hold them let them eat/drink from that. I make wet mash for the newborns and always have it on hand....if anything is left then throw it out and start fresh everyday. I taught all of my flock how to drink from a water bottle..hold the chick-steady its head and gently press the ball with your finger letting the water run down my finger to the chick..they will smell it or may get some on its beak and drink, do this a few time a day and presto! If one gets then they all will....this is much cleaner and safer than regular chick waterers..if you are doing old school waterers make sure the water isn't to deep or they might drown-put marbles in the tray so they have to drink in between them...

I hope that this will help someone-I am a newbie and only have hatched once...but that is what I did and I saved at least two of the chicks, they're (sometimes) like caring for a newborn...just keep a close eye on them and hopefully all will be fine....if you don't have any electrolytes or pedialyte-just put about 2 pinches of regular sugar in their water...

 

[chickydee64]

Thanks guys! They are cute little flueffers

Does anyone know if I can feather sex these breeds?

- RIR hen X BR roo (not sex linked, can I feather sex?)
- Cochin
- Orpington

I am just curious I did look at wing tips and none are the same length so far, they all have two different length feathers. So now i'm wondering if that even matters with these breeds at this age! (between 24-30hrs old)

HI, I think you can type the breed and sexing in search and find some information.
I know with the Orps.it is pretty easy when they are a bit older.......

 

[LauraNJ]

Most eggs looked good when they went into lockdown last night.

Hopefully, Wednesday I have chicks hatching! Everyone is very excited, I am still trying to be conservative and keep repeating the goal of a 50% hatch rate. We will see.

The sussex eggs which are a week behind are not as promising. Out of the 8 eggs, 2 were broken on arrival, 2 were clear, 2 more stayed clear and possbily 2 are ok. THe 2 that are developing I am not that hopeful for, something seems off to me, can't quite figure it out but I'll candle again in a few days and see how they look. The post office was rough, rough on the box. They could have been packaged better though.

 

[annabell254]

Still no more pips

a few more hours from now will begin day 23..... got antsy and picked two eggs to open and followed the directions very carefully.... one had a preexisting crack that I tried to fix .... it was bad... all liquid inside... dont know how I missed that at candling... must not be very good at it.... the other has a live chick moving under the membrane, and I could hear it peeping once I got some shell off but there are still blood vessels so I left all membranes intact and covered with a moist paper towel... still have 12 eggs with nothing going on and there are 4 from my own flock!!! how can I get more shipped eggs to hatch than fresh eggs???? Why would they be taking so long to hatch my bator is a brinsea advanced and temp is always stable at 99.5-99.6.. not touching it again today.... still have a silkie chick in there to help motivate the others... I wish there was a way to tell if I still had live chicks OTHER than removing shell

So far here is what I set and what has hatched: 7 chicks out of 26 eggs... 6 alive with help and one dead without help


So it seems ALL of my developing chicks 'so far' have been TOO LARGE to zip!!!!! does this mean my humidity was to high or to low during incubation????
AND WHY are they taking so LONG! I though with correct temps they should hatch at 21 days?!?

 

[FrankiesMom]

Wow- Lockdown tonight and in the bator, at least two of my goose eggs are dancing!

Interestingly, the three I put under a broody hen are further along, with two external pips and one internal. WOW! Should have goslings over the next couple of days. Wahoo! First time for goslings. So excited!

I bought them from a local farmer and they will be Toulouse, Embden or a cross of those. Whatever, they're going to be darn cute. Out of 13, I have 6 pre-sold if they hatch and anything over that will be mine, all MINE!

 

[Nursiedeer]

SO... I have always wanted to ask...
How do you know there has been an "Internal pip"?
I always have to wait for external since I have no idea how to tell??

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

Still no more pips

a few more hours from now will begin day 23..... got antsy and picked two eggs to open and followed the directions very carefully.... one had a preexisting crack that I tried to fix .... it was bad... all liquid inside... dont know how I missed that at candling... must not be very good at it.... the other has a live chick moving under the membrane, and I could hear it peeping once I got some shell off but there are still blood vessels so I left all membranes intact and covered with a moist paper towel... still have 12 eggs with nothing going on and there are 4 from my own flock!!! how can I get more shipped eggs to hatch than fresh eggs???? Why would they be taking so long to hatch my bator is a brinsea advanced and temp is always stable at 99.5-99.6.. not touching it again today.... still have a silkie chick in there to help motivate the others... I wish there was a way to tell if I still had live chicks OTHER than removing shell

So far here is what I set and what has hatched: 7 chicks out of 26 eggs... 6 alive with help and one dead without help


So it seems ALL of my developing chicks 'so far' have been TOO LARGE to zip!!!!! does this mean my humidity was to high or to low during incubation????
AND WHY are they taking so LONG! I though with correct temps they should hatch at 21 days?!?

When chicks grow too large to hatch, that can mean your humidity was too high, and not enough water evaporated from the shell. But there could be something else going on. And some breeds are more likely to go past 21 days. I've heard this is common with Marans. My last Marans batch mostly hatched on days 22 and 23. I also use a Brinsea.

At day 23, if there aren't any pips, I usually candle and float test the remaining eggs. Float testing in particular often reveals some surprises when the egg bob around in the water. Just be careful about the water temp, and that there are for certain no external pips. If you found a living chick that hasn't pipped yet, that's a good sign that other eggs might also just be delayed a little.

 

[18Peeps]

Still no more pips

a few more hours from now will begin day 23..... got antsy and picked two eggs to open and followed the directions very carefully.... one had a preexisting crack that I tried to fix .... it was bad... all liquid inside... dont know how I missed that at candling... must not be very good at it.... the other has a live chick moving under the membrane, and I could hear it peeping once I got some shell off but there are still blood vessels so I left all membranes intact and covered with a moist paper towel... still have 12 eggs with nothing going on and there are 4 from my own flock!!! how can I get more shipped eggs to hatch than fresh eggs???? Why would they be taking so long to hatch my bator is a brinsea advanced and temp is always stable at 99.5-99.6.. not touching it again today.... still have a silkie chick in there to help motivate the others... I wish there was a way to tell if I still had live chicks OTHER than removing shell

So far here is what I set and what has hatched: 7 chicks out of 26 eggs... 6 alive with help and one dead without help


So it seems ALL of my developing chicks 'so far' have been TOO LARGE to zip!!!!! does this mean my humidity was to high or to low during incubation????
AND WHY are they taking so LONG! I though with correct temps they should hatch at 21 days?!?

You can tell if they are alive by putting them in water. If they "wiggle" on their own, they are viable. I'm not sure I'm here quick enough to help, but hope so...I'm new to this, but found this little video helpful to me:

I had that happend to me last time too...they were in there backwards. Maybe they were too big to turn around on day 14 because of humidity? And I wondered about incubating different eggs together too because the Amercaunas ALL lost enough weight and hatched fine, but the the Marans all didn't (thicker shells...harder to lose the humidity?)...