Day 18 - lockdown!

[ScottyGill]

Anyway this isn't about me. I'm excited for watching this hatch. My chikkies are adorable!

 

[Erba]

First one was already pipping as I was leaving for work today. Came back home to the dog all excited and two chicks fully hatched...the next one is now pipping.
The bigger chick on the right hatched first, the second is still a bit wet and was making a fuss, until it found it's sibling and now they are napping together...

I am now officially a chick Mom!!!

 

[Erba]

Thank you, I think they are lovely too. I messed up my incubator trying to sterilise it, by steaming it. Warped the bottom, my stupid. So I can't use that for anything but a short time brooder now. I just ordered a different one, where the fan and motor are not integrated into the top. I found it too fiddly getting the top off and back on to add water or check/candle the eggs.

I am definitely going to weigh the eggs next time before they go into the brooder.
And stop reading those incubator instructions! I think someone made half of that crap up, unbelievable...

So now just waiting for incubator number 2, what we won't spend on our chickens...I'm actually glad I broke it! LOL

Here what the new one looks like...

 

[Erba]

Just over a week old now and I'm starting to see their colouring, really cuties!

 

[Nicaragua]

Oooooooh how exciting! You're absolutely right, no interfering from now on so that you keep that humidity nice and high.
Not so sure about the eggs touching each other, my manual said to spread them apart so that the ones against the edge didn't get stuck.
But then again, under a mama hen they are all smooshed up together, so...
Just keep an eye on them, and listen for chirping in the next few days.

 

[chickens really]

Good luck..I Lockdown on day 19 though. Doesn't matter..

 

[Erba]

Good luck! Little advice, make sure that the other eggs remain in the same position after first eggs hatch. Chicks start rallying in there. I always put a small fence in between. An egg with a window I remove on the other side of incubator.

Good to know, the turners have slot ins, and are a perfect fence for football hooligans...lol

 

[Nicaragua]

Congratulations ! They are adorable!

 

[Erba]

Update...none of the other eggs hatched. I am at a loss as to what happened to them.
Looks like one didn't develop at all, thats ok, but two of the others just stopped developing.

I just moved the two heathy chicks (both from big mother 1) into their brooder, so I can sort the incubator out. I think one of her chicks is some sort of mix, it has a lovely auburn fluff, really excited to see what it turns out to be. The other looks like a typical Sussex chick.

What a bummer, but it was my first time and I'm going to put another batch of eggs in soon and try again!! This time with fresher eggs.
I also think the humidity was too high at the beginning, and can someone tell me how many days to wait before regularly turning starts. I think I also got that wrong too.

But these two make the whole thing worth it.

 

[Nicaragua]

They are absolutely lovely, and at least you got two so that they can keep each other company.
We all learn the hard way with first times, but failing is the best lesson you can get