Day 20 and no pip

[smchickfarm]

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that is great!!!

 

[MuscovyMad]

MuscovyMad - are you hatching just one egg?

I am hatching 6 eggs. I have my chickens on someone elses land and can't keep too many. I went up one day and found an egg that had just been laid an was planning on just having it for lunch. However on the drive home my friend warmed it up in her hands and so i thought that meant it had kick started it's growth again so i felt like i had to incubate it. So we chucked it in the bator. Then over the next week i collected more eggs from her. (The only one laying at the time). And i got 6 more so i put them exactly one week later.

So its not time for that first chick to hatch. It's been through quite an ordeal. I.e it was incubating at my friends house but she couldn't cope with the 3 x daily turning so i took it back to mine which is a half hour drive away. And i didn't want it to cool down so i taped it to my stomach to keep it warm. I candled a few days later and the embryo was floating about so it survived the journey. Then after being in the bator for a few days i had to move the bator up the stairs to hide it from my sister who was visiting to keep it a surprise. And i have had to move the bator 2 x now. But hopefully through all this it will survive.

Today at 5pm was the start of day 21 so we are currently 6 hours in and there is no sign of life. I have the egg sitting in a cardboard ring to keep it from rolling about the place because i was worried about it drowning and i heard that if you keep them in place then they can hatch easier as each peck doesn't result in them flying across the bator but instead all the force goes into the shell therefore not using up as much energy. Also i figured it might make hatching easier as i suspect the shells are quite thick. I am tempted to remove it from the ring to see if it is moving. I don't have a lockdown as i have had to open the bator 3x daily to turn the other eggs.

However at the end of the day there is still 18 hours left of day 21 plus it could hatch later. I'm jus miffed cause i got excited for a day 18 hatch as i heard it was quite common in bantams. So it feels like i have been waiting forever.

At the end of the day if it doesn't make it i have 5 more due in a weeks time. Plus 3 fertile eggs a day so it's not like it is my only shot.

Sorry for hijacking with a life story. It's just answering a question in a long way.

P.s congrats on your hatch. Hope the rest come out soon.

 

[macdoogle]

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It is moving around and chirping quite a bit now. Still waiting for the other 3. good luck with your hatch.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Hey Mac--glad to hear your little one is also active and chirping! Now all we need are the rest of them to hatch. Mine is very lonely by herself. She is so tiny! Its my first time seeing bantam chicks. I have to get a smaller brooder box!!! Keeping my fingers crossed for both of us!!!

 

[dominiquePL]

MuscovyMad - listen, I need to get ready for work (it's 6.30 a.m. here now), I just wanted to share the good news - the first baby is out

I've checked maybe 4-5 hours ago (couldn't sleep) and nothing, not even a slight change but when I looked just before 6.00 it was sitting there, in the spot where his egg had been

So it took long, long hours from the first pip.

I need to run now but I'll respond to you when I come back (only going for few hours). Hang on there

 

[theberlinfam]

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My Silkies are due March 17th....I was wondering how small they would seem. I've only ever raised large fowl. Are they like half the size of a LF chick? Congrats on everyone Fluffy Butts!

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

theberlinfam--the chicks are really tiny! I cant believe how tiny!!! I have to get a smaller box today at work. My chick is doing well but still no pips from the other eggs. This is day 22. Little chick knocked on of the eggs over running around. She sounds so lonely chirping away in the incubator!!!

Anyone know how long I can let the other eggs stay in the incubator before I give up on them?? I am so hoping that maybe something will happen while Im at work today.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Update--I candled the remaining 3 eggs this morning and they were dead. I opened them and 2 probably quit just before lockdown and 1 quit in lockdown. So I have one fiesty baby in a brooder box with a stuffed bear, food and water. While I am sad that this happened, I understand that it does happen for reasons we are privy to. Now I am on a mission to get my little one some friends to be with. I hope everyone else has a happier hatch than mine was. I will try again later.

 

[suebee]

So sorry about that. Maybe you could go to Tractor Supply and get her some siblings!

 

[dominiquePL]

Oh, no

I know how it feels to lose them

Let us know if she likes her new sisters/brothers