California - Northern

I just don't want to sell the EE or OE chicks I made but they all look the same. The other 25 are Marans and layer breed crosses. They're all black fluff balls
 
I just don't want to sell the EE or OE chicks I made but they all look the same. The other 25 are Marans and layer breed crosses. They're all black fluff balls
Look for the ones that have beards and or muffs. You can often see that on the little chicks. Also, the crosses often have the wrong leg color and no feathers on the legs.
 
A little more advice needed from my peeps, for my peeps. So far I have 14 chicks hatched with 2 more pipping. The first chick pipped at 11am Saturday but nothing hatched until Sunday morning. I've had several sticky chicks including the one that pipped on Saturday but by Sunday after 4pm, still had not hatched. I had to help 2 and actually can't believe one hatched that I didn't have time to help and hatched overnight......what sticky chicks! The two I helped had what I would call shrink wrapped. The membrane was so formed onto the body that I could hardly wet it to get it off. The one that hatched overnight had so much of the membrane covering his back and stuck to his head that I had a hard time getting it off. I figure that has to be one tough chick. I watched one of the others try to get out, pushing and pushing and then when I was wetting the membrane I saw just how stuck he was! I was careful to stay away from the vein but both had fully absorbed the yoke and ready to hatch.

So here's the puzzling part that makes it hard for me to adjust my hatching practices....all the stuck, sticky chicks are from one of my hatchery brown layers. While they pip this hole and then stare through it my Marans, Polish and green EE eggs are hatching without all the stick 'em. I upped my humidity from 65% to 70% but I'm not sure what to do. I have one of the brown eggs in there now and it's gooey yellow around the pipped hole. I feel like I should just take it out and zip it wet the membrane before he gets too tired but I have a Polish and Green EE eggs in there with a small pip and don't want to mess it. The Brinsea recovers so quickly that it barely changes when you get in there that I think it won't be problem but after 14 chicks hatching, I've opened the incubator several times.....any advice would be greatly appreciated.

edited to add pictures:


 
Last edited:
A little more advice needed from my peeps, for my peeps. So far I have 14 chicks hatched with 2 more pipping. The first chick pipped at 11am Saturday but nothing hatched until Sunday morning. I've had several sticky chicks including the one that pipped on Saturday but by Sunday after 4pm, still had not hatched. I had to help 2 and actually can't believe one hatched that I didn't have time to help and hatched overnight......what sticky chicks! The two I helped had what I would call shrink wrapped. The membrane was so formed onto the body that I could hardly wet it to get it off. The one that hatched overnight had so much of the membrane covering his back and stuck to his head that I had a hard time getting it off. I figure that has to be one tough chick. I watched one of the others try to get out, pushing and pushing and then when I was wetting the membrane I saw just how stuck he was! I was careful to stay away from the vein but both had fully absorbed the yoke and ready to hatch.

So here's the puzzling part that makes it hard for me to adjust my hatching practices....all the stuck, sticky chicks are from one of my hatchery brown layers. While they pip this hole and then stare through it my Marans, Polish and green EE eggs are hatching without all the stick 'em. I upped my humidity from 65% to 70% but I'm not sure what to do. I have one of the brown eggs in there now and it's gooey yellow around the pipped hole. I feel like I should just take it out and zip it wet the membrane before he gets too tired but I have a Polish and Green EE eggs in there with a small pip and don't want to mess it. The Brinsea recovers so quickly that it barely changes when you get in there that I think it won't be problem but after 14 chicks hatching, I've opened the incubator several times.....any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If the Marans are not sticky it is probably not the incubator. Something may be going on with the brown layers health wise. The amber sticky goo happens because they did not absorb the yolk completely. Humidity in the incubator does not cause that.

For the shrink wrap, I wold bump up to 75% at hatch. That does happen because of low humidity at hatch.

It sounds like you are having a great hatch! Good Job!
 
Anyone in the Rocklin, Ca area? I am pretty sure I am the only one awake with new chicks in my entire area... feeling alone in this adventure. We have an oddly large lot in my subdivision which allows me to have chickens... any advice for subdivision chicken keeping??
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom