pic to follow when mum lets it out again!
So my so-called hard boiled eggs hatched yesterday! Along with the bantam egg (really good veining and saw chick moving all along, named Kenzie before he/she even born). The bantam egg actually pipped Tues evening but made no progress by Thursday. I read a bunch of stuff here about whether to help or not, watched several you-tube videos and decided I was going in! I didn't take any pictures but I'm pretty sure she was slightly shrink-wrapped and too large to turn in the shell. Piece by piece the shell came off and I was super careful to keep her membrane wet (coconut oil and water) until I could see if her yolk had absorbed. No blood whatsoever, as soon as her head popped out of the membrane she wriggled out of the shell. Very small amount of yellowish scrambled looking egg on her behind but did not look like a whole yolk at all. Left her in the incubator and the other 2 had pipped by Thursday evening. One popped out 2 hours later (name is Zippy) and the other one overnight (Funky, has a beard!). These 2 were my "fun and funky" egg assortment from MPC so I have no idea what they are. This morning my baby bantam is dry, fluffed and walking around. This is one new mom that's very happy she helped!
I think so too. I made the mistake of trusting my (outside pre-tested thermometer) which kept showing a lower temp than the incubator. Everyday it was down 0.5 until the difference was as high as 4 whole degrees, so I kept increasing the temp in the incubator. Finally I thought to add a 2nd outside thermometer and that one matched up with the incubator, I was as high as 103!. I immediately dialed it down and threw out the first thermometer. But that's what makes me think my bantam egg was too big to get out of her shell and had to help yesterday. I hope those 4-5 days I kept the temp that high didn't cause all of them to grow too fast because the polish eggs are due next Friday and I can't imaging doing that "surgery" for each one of them (that's what I considered it, cause I'm a nurse and went in with gloves, sterile gauze, sterile tweezer and would've boiled water if I'd had time).
Yay! Congratulations!The first of mine has hatched
Oh and the chick's foot is okay it just looked funny walking on my dress. Yeah little chickee number 1! 17 more to go...
Just candled my Pekin eggs on day 17 and while the pictures stink I THINK they are all on track!
