Bantams Hatch Early

[blklangshandude]

Hey guys. I was just checking my incubator today. I made fun of myself and thought, “I don’t know what I really expect to see.” Boy was I wrong. One of the eggs started hatching early. I’m glad I checked so I could take the turner out.

After looking on the internet I found out that bantams hatch one to two days earlier than normal sized chickens. I only have one bantam egg in there and I got the other eggs a few days later. It looks like she is going to be all alone for a few days. I sure am glad I checked so I could take the turner out.

FYI to everybody out there. Bantams can hatch at 19 or 20 days instead of the traditional 21.

 

[blklangshandude]

13 hours after the first pip and this is what I see:

Waiting is a breeze those first 3 weeks. Those last hours are most brutal. This chick is slow slow slow. Your mind is always racing there at the end. Luckily I do hear it chirping. The good news is that there is nothing I can do one way or the other. All I can do is wait.

 

[blklangshandude]

This didn’t turn out good but I learned something from this hatch. Bantams hatch early!

I did something this time around that I never ever do. I helped this chick hatch. After an investigation inside the egg and knowing what went wrong it was the right thing to do. So this was a game changer. I am still a believer in the “never help a chick hatch” mentality. I don’t think this chick is going to live. My egg turner was still moving while she was hatching. The incubator is supposed to be still for three days prior to hatch day but she came earlier than the 21 days I was expecting. Because of that she was all tangled up in the egg. Her head was tucked in under her wing. There was no way she was going to move her head. She was piping at the opposite end of the air sac. I also learned that it is a good idea to make sure eggs are angled so the pointed side is down. She is alive at the moment but it took her hours to hold her head up. She can’t walk without propping herself up on the eggs. I think she settled wrong in the egg. I don’t think her neck or legs will ever function properly even if she does live. Chalk this up to another bad experience with silkies. She has black skin, black feet, and five toes. I’ll keep you posted but I think this baby will die within three days. I have 5 more eggs in the incubator. They are buff orpingtons. I think I put them in the incubator on a Sunday so I expect them to hatch Sunday and I expect much better health.

If this chick does live she will be a very interesting pet.

 

[blklangshandude]

 

[JacinLarkwell]

She can’t walk without propping herself up on the eggs. I think she settled wrong in the egg. I don’t think her neck or legs will ever function properly even if she does live.

How old is it? I've had many a chick, especially the male in my pfp, that acted like they were dumb, deaf, blind and weaker than a wet tissue that just needed a day or so to get used to the fact they weren't in an egg anymore. A few that had crooked necks too until they could calibrate themselves better

 

[raingarden]

Hey guys. I was just checking my incubator today. I made fun of myself and thought, “I don’t know what I really expect to see.” Boy was I wrong. One of the eggs started hatching early. I’m glad I checked so I could take the turner out.

After looking on the internet I found out that bantams hatch one to two days earlier than normal sized chickens. I only have one bantam egg in there and I got the other eggs a few days later. It looks like she is going to be all alone for a few days. I sure am glad I checked so I could take the turner out.

FYI to everybody out there. Bantams can hatch at 19 or 20 days instead of the traditional 21.

Now you tell me. I opened an incubator at day 18 to move a couple of bantam eggs and there was a chick. I don't know how it survived the partitions that move back and forth every two hours.

 

[blklangshandude]

Now you tell me. I opened an incubator at day 18 to move a couple of bantam eggs and there was a chick. I don't know how it survived the partitions that move back and forth every two hours.

Yes. I know the difference between a bantam egg and a chicken egg now.

 

[blklangshandude]

How old is it? I've had many a chick, especially the male in my pfp, that acted like they were dumb, deaf, blind and weaker than a wet tissue that just needed a day or so to get used to the fact they weren't in an egg anymore. A few that had crooked necks too until they could calibrate themselves better

About two hours old when that video was taken. She is 14 hours old right now and still alive.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

About two hours old when that video was taken. She is 14 hours old right now and still alive.

I wouldn't get attached yet, but I certainly wouldn't loose hope. It likely is just on baby brain still. I had one I thought for sure wouldn't make it a few hours last night (had to helpnhatch, which I hate, since it had shrunkwrapped and chilled underneath mama). Still alive a few hours later.

I had another one earlier that hatched and was wrynecked quite badly. A dayor so later and you would never have known

 

[blklangshandude]

I definitely don’t get attached to chickens anymore. She is about 21 hours old now and still alive. She has strong lungs and a healthy chirp. She has a goofy walk that I don’t like all that much. She is uglier than snot but that’s probably because she is a silkie hybrid. She’s got patchy feathers. I say, “she” but I really don’t know. If it is a rooster I’m pretty sure it has no value to me. I doubt he’d be strong enough to mate. I also have a strong bias against silkies because of multiple bad experiences so I kinda wrote her off when I put her in the incubator. I knew the mother was a silkie. The lady had a lot of variety of chickens so there would be no way to guess what the father is. If I would have hatched a few more like her I would have killed her already or just would have let her die in the egg. She is an one of a kind on my farm so I am giving her a chance. That’s the only reason. She adds some diversity.