California - Northern

[Deerling]

The white membrane is good-it is bad when they turn brown--that usually means shrink wrap.

Hopefully most will be ok but some might get stuck and need to be helped out. Follow the guide for assisted hatching.

For the next hatch you will need to decide about adjustments. Not absorbing the egg yolk is caused by too much humidity, too little humidity, temperatures too high or too low.

They were fairly close though! Good Job.

Adjust by 5% next time and see how they hatch.

What were temps and humidity like?

The temps got high a few days before lockdown (101) according to one thermometer, but not the other. I do feel like humidity could have been too high. There are still lots of pips, though. Hopefully we'll get more healthy babies.

 

[ronott1]

Quote: Yes!

The stuck one will probably be ok but you likely will have to help. Get a spray bottle and fill it with water and when you decide to help, spray a couple of mists into the incubator.

Next time I would try 35% for the first 18 days. 70% for the last 3 days is good.

For the sticky ones, I make sure the vent is clear and remove membrane pieces from them. You can dry them off with a blow dryer. I wait a day or two before washing them with baby shampoo.

I bet you children are very excited!

 

[debs_flock]

Quote: Right now they are all running together. I'll have to let you know on the pinfeathers, I need to process a couple of boys soon.

Slate/slate will produce slate, lilac & black, like any other blue to blue breeding. Slate/RP will produce blue palms. And of course there is the chance of RP/RP poults.

I do have an extra breeding pair of slates, if you were interested just jumping in. I also have an extra breeding pair of RP.

Right now my turkeys are all living together in what used to be our garden. The fence was 8-10 feet to keep out the deer. I did clip a wing on each of them because they did fly well when they were lighter. They get herded into a pen with a roof at night. You just walk along behind them and they all head in.

 

[Ali707]

Yes!

The stuck one will probably be ok but you likely will have to help. Get a spray bottle and fill it with water and when you decide to help, spray a couple of mists into the incubator.

Next time I would try 35% for the first 18 days. 70% for the last 3 days is good.

For the sticky ones, I make sure the vent is clear and remove membrane pieces from them. You can dry them off with a blow dryer. I wait a day or two before washing them with baby shampoo.

I bet you children are very excited!

I have a question about the humidity. I have sort of been ignoring it, however, if I let it go completely dry, the humidity drops below 23%. I added about a quarter cup of water last night and that was enough to bring the humidity back up to 40%, BUT I was going for a little dryer than that. The first 3-4 days the humidity was at 55-60% with trough #1 filled. I couldn't get it higher than 50% when I was doing the quail and this time it just started out higher. So I let it dry out completely and watched it to see how low it would go. When it got down to 23, I added a little then it popped back up to 40%.

My question is, is it okay to go up and down with the humidity that way? I did with the quail and most were okay..... Also my temps range from 99.3 overnight to 100.3ish during the day. It is very dependent on room temperature.

Are those fluctuations going to cause problems? I didn't think they would listening to what everyone has said before, but I thought I would ask for an opinion anyway.

 

[ronott1]

Quote: The temperatures are in the safe zone so they should be ok.

That is the way to run the humidity for a dry hatch. It should be a fine hatch. Take notes and adjust for next time based on the condition of the chicks that make it and also the ones that do not make it.

 

[Deerling]

Wow, I don't think I'm cut out for this! If there was anyone near me experience in hatching I would pay you good money to come over and help/calm my nerves. I've got six out, assisted the sticky one. One seems to be flopping all over and not able to stand (it's been hatched for an hour plus). Another looks sticky, also. Took the quitter out while I was putting sticky back in - didn't absorb the yolk, like you said Ron.

Man I've got a killer headache.

 

[ronott1]

Wow, I don't think I'm cut out for this! If there was anyone near me experience in hatching I would pay you good money to come over and help/calm my nerves. I've got six out, assisted the sticky one. One seems to be flopping all over and not able to stand (it's been hatched for an hour plus). Another looks sticky, also. Took the quitter out while I was putting sticky back in - didn't absorb the yolk, like you said Ron.

Man I've got a killer headache.

You are doing great!

Sometimes they just do not thrive and not absorbing the yolk is not thriving for a chick. This is the time for the baby vitamins without iron. Watch out for vent prolapse.

Helping a chick works about 50% of the time. Some will not help them but I do help them; especially when they are expensive hatching eggs.

Now I really want to go home and get my two little black penes out of the incubator.....

 

[MossyoakLane]

Wow, I don't think I'm cut out for this! If there was anyone near me experience in hatching I would pay you good money to come over and help/calm my nerves. I've got six out, assisted the sticky one. One seems to be flopping all over and not able to stand (it's been hatched for an hour plus). Another looks sticky, also. Took the quitter out while I was putting sticky back in - didn't absorb the yolk, like you said Ron. 

Man I've got a killer headache.

I wish I knew something about hatching, I would help out.
Grab a cup of coffee and take a deep breath. It will all work out.

 

[Ali707]

Wow, I don't think I'm cut out for this! If there was anyone near me experience in hatching I would pay you good money to come over and help/calm my nerves. I've got six out, assisted the sticky one. One seems to be flopping all over and not able to stand (it's been hatched for an hour plus). Another looks sticky, also. Took the quitter out while I was putting sticky back in - didn't absorb the yolk, like you said Ron.

Man I've got a killer headache.

You know.... I kind of felt like that when I was watching the quail. The anxiety over what to do and what not to do and when to do it almost made me not want to start this set of chicken eggs. On top of that I was sleep deprived because the ones that did hatch were PEEPING all night!!!! So when I am sleep deprived everything seems insurmountable.....

But give it time, it is like having a baby..... you get amnesia and want to do it again! lol

 

[tommysgirl]

My friend/breeding partner who has 10 acres and all kinds of animals gets her feed from there. She drives the 1 hr. plus about once a month to pick up feed. She likes that they when at all possible source locally for their grain, that it is fresh, and the prices are good. When I went to Santa Rosa to pick up my Bresse trio, we stopped there on our way. It is an actual feed mill. Their prices are excellent and I purchased 80 lb. of layer pellets that they mix there on site, 50 lb of organic layer pellets, 50 lb. of starter feed, 80 lb. of cleaned barley, and 80 lb. of wheat. (The wheat and barley are for fermenting, sprouting, and fodder.) When I picked up the Bresse, I asked the breeder if she had ever used their feed. She told me that she had but was not happy with the way her birds looked while they were on it. She thinks that the ash content is too high. Soon after that, I took the 3 final Langshan cockerels out to the farm. In sitting there and comparing them to the ones that had been out there for a couple months, I could see a big difference in the condition of their feathers. I thought maybe it was just free ranging on that many acres or some rooster jockeying for position or lack of their morning yogurt treat. I messaged the Bresse breeder and told her what I was observing with my Langshans. She told me that poor feather condition was exactly what she saw in her birds when they were eating H & B feed. So, I have been mixing a little of that 80 lb. of feed in with King Feed when I fill the PVC feeders and also fermenting a mixture of it. It is taking me a while to get rid of it but I haven't seen any signs that it is negatively affecting my birds at this reduced amount. I will not be buying it again and I am going to try to talk my friend out of buying it for the farm birds. Definitely, the breeders are going to be getting King Freedom feed. I don't know if they carry King as well as their own. I didn't even think of asking since they are a feed mill.

Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to let me know.