Diary & Notes ~ Air Cell Detatched SHIPPED Chicken Eggs for incubation and hatching

[familypendragon]

Crazy broodiness going on. My dog scared the poop (literally) out of one of my broodys and I thought she wouldn't want to sit back on her eggs. So moved them all to the other broody. Well she decided to put on her big girl pants and get back to business today so I took a couple eggs back from the other. When doing this I noticed one of the eggs looked like it was dented and cracked (She only had 20 under her so there was bound to be a casualty). I candled and it was moving all over. So I sealed it up with yellow birthday candle wax as that was what I had on hand. Gave it to the hen and now I wait to see what happens. Best chances would be putting it in the bator but I really don't have the time to mess with the bator right now so hoping broody is gentle. She is the meanest of all my girls so I won't be checking on the egg. I like my fingers too much.

Oh my goodness! I have yet to experience a broody - other than my cat who wants to sit on the incubator day and night.

 

[familypendragon]

Your going to get a lot of opinions. You will have to do what you think best and then cross your fingers.

Yeah, I know I just don't have enough info right now to form a valid opinion of my own. So maybe a few days of input will give me that?

 

[wescottwomen]

Was wondering how many of you have outdoor brooders and can you post pics I'm thinking I'd like to have a bigger brooder

 

[sumi]

I don't hear much about the Brinsea incubator on this site. I just self gifted myself with a Brinsea 20 Eco Octagon-manual turn incubator. Anyone have any feedback on it? I bought it for its ability to hold a temp., it is easily cleaned, and when I work 12 hour shifts my DH can turn the whole machine from the outside---he is not willing to touch the eggs. Afraid his big hands will break something. Would love to hear advice, tips or successful hatches with this model. Lynn

Excellent choice

I bought myself the same model Brinsea with a turner last year and I love it. It's user friendly, holds temp and humidity very well and is easy to clean afterwards. The only complaint I have is the water wells overflow and leak when you fill them up, especially when tilting the unit. So when I lock down I remove the egg tray and spread a clean cloth underneath, just dipping it into the wells, then replace the egg tray. I keep that cloth damp during lockdown and the humidity is perfect.

Some more reviews here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/brinsea-octagon-20-eco-auto-turn-egg-incubator

Discussion thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/579490/the-brinsea-octagon-20-eco-thread-hatches-etc-pics

 

[elliechooks]

I have a home made incubator and a brinsea octagon 10. I love the brinsea, this is the first time I have used it but the water lasts ages! My home made one I have to top up the water twice a day to maintain humidity - absolute nightmare at hatching time to get higher humidity. The brinsea I have half-filled one well and it has held for 3 days now. As mentioned above, if you fill the wells the water will spill when you turn it!

 

[Roxannemc]

I have a home made incubator and a brinsea octagon 10. I love the brinsea, this is the first time I have used it but the water lasts ages! My home made one I have to top up the water twice a day to maintain humidity - absolute nightmare at hatching time to get higher humidity. The brinsea I have half-filled one well and it has held for 3 days now. As mentioned above, if you fill the wells the water will spill when you turn it!

I have heard the Brinsea is really the best Great hatches!
Can you use very wet terry wash rags sort of opened instead of just water in the wells.? might be easier and less mess
Remember its the amount of SURFACE water NOT the DEPTH that brings the humidity up. Good Luck!

 

[Roxannemc]

Sumi and those experienced... question
Would you try HARD special treatment to save a chicken that was assisted when born and has always been way too small?
Its now about 3 months old Last few days its been cool out 55 at night and this pullet seems to be going down
Been fine til now.
Not eating or hanging with her male hatch mates like she does..Getting picked on by the roos..... hiding away .i have her alone in a coop with water and food don't think shes eating though
I have felt as she always was so small eventually shed go down.

Had another same breed do this Just don't know if its worth trying to do anything else and what else if so ?

She was laying down this morning I thought she was dead but swoshed her toward me from the end of the tractor coop with a broom and surprisingly she got up and stood but sickly like.

 

[Roxannemc]

Oh my goodness! I have yet to experience a broody - other than my cat who wants to sit on the incubator day and night.

funny a broody cat!!

 

[Roxannemc]

Hi, ya'll! I've been lurking here on the thread, occasionally posting, but trying not to do too much, because it was such a hassle getting back to the page I was on, reading! Anyways, I wanted to show my latest hatch (after trying for 3 pretty much unsuccessful ones... 1st one, got a late start because the eggs arrived before the incubator did... a friend sent me 30 RIR eggs a lot sooner than I expected, and the incubator was delayed for over a week from the time it shipped, due to FedEx stopping shipments due to the Boston Marathon Bombing... so, that one was pretty much done for (and turns out, the Genesis 1588 Hovabator, I discovered, was not calibrated correctly... it was 3-1/2 degrees low); the next one, I got 1 egg to hatch, but it took 25 days, and the chick was so weak, it only lasted 6 days, and was a failure-to-thrive because it was all alone; 3rd hatch, I figured out the problem with the incubator, temp/humidity-wise, bumped it up the 3-1/2 degrees (per someone else on another thread, and finding out that there are at least 3 other people experiencing the same problem with the same incubator), and successfully hatched a turkey. I would have had 6 more, had I not doubted the thermometer/hygrometer I had placed on the floor of the incubator with the eggs!

). Anyways, I learned my lesson, sat on my hands on the 4th hatch... and this is what I got! I had 7 eggs that made it to lockdown (out of 57 shipped eggs... YES, 57!). Considering that I was still working on the bugs of my hatching skills, I think I'm over the hump, because ALL 7 hatched (6 with no assistance, the last 1 I had to assist a bit, because it had pipped externally, but spent a day doing nothing more. It pipped in the air cell, so I opened it up a bit more, checking the inner membrane to make sure that there were no veins, and I could see that the chick was just stuck in there, so I opened up the membrane and carefully removed the rest of the shell around it, checking constantly for any bleeders, etc. I managed to get down far enough to see that it had absorbed all its yolk, but its head was stuck under its wing... disengaged the wing into the opening, and peek-a-boo, I see you! from the chick... so funny to see it peeking at me. It started struggling, as I was able to give it more room to move, and no yolk, so I knew it was okay, but didn't want to have it pull out early when the umbilical cord was still attached to the inner membrane, as it was. So, I left it in the cup of a shell and placed it back into the incubator. It hatched itself, but it was still attached, so I put it (and the shell cup) into a teacup, lined in a paper towel, and let it be. A few hours later, I checked on it, and all is well!... completely detached, and wanting out of the teacup). So, here we are:


The first to hatch... an Ameraucana, at 5 days old today.


Another Ameraucana, this is the one I assisted, and it's 4 days old today.


Third Ameraucana, 4-days old today.


2nd one to hatch, another Ameraucana, 5-days old today.


5th Ameraucana, 4-days old today.


This is one that I have been struggling to get hatched... an English Lemon Barred Cuckoo Orpington, from PapaBrooder here on BYC. It was the only one that survived out of the 24 he sent me, and I know it's because of rough handling by the USPS, the flight here from CA, and extreme heat. All but 1 of his eggs were scrambled, and some of them were actually curdled, upon eggtopsy review. I'm so glad it hatched! I actually have 2 more from another breeder that are showing promise, so this one will not be alone for its breed. It's 4-days old today, and quite the little fluff ball (considering it's an Orpington!).


This one is a mystery egg hatched from a heavy breed assortment from Murray McMurray Hatchery. I'm leaning towards White Rock as the breed, but it's 4-days old today. It was chirping up a storm when I took its picture.




Now here's my cuteness pic... this is Adrienne, my 16-yo Siamese queen. (She's never had kittens, but she is the queen of the house!) That's the 2nd hatched Ameraucana standing next to her. She just looked at it, like "okay, whatever", and turned her head back out to look out the slider. That's her favorite spot, when the sun is shining.

And NOW! TAAA-DAAAA! One of my oldest girls, the ones that got me started on this whole adventure, surprised me with a present today, on my 56th birthday! I was telling my husband a month ago, it was possible that this could happen, and it would be the coolest thing if it did... and lo and behold, the Good Lord deemed it doable!


Our very first egg from my own flock! 34 grams of perfection... the shell was perfect (no porous areas), tiny little air cell, and yolk clearly definable by candling. I'm so proud of whoever laid it (there's 13 hens that could've)! I also got what my step-daughter called "a dinner and a show"... the egg, and the RIR rooster I got as a chick when I got my 15 pullet chicks performing his duties. So, this little beauty just MIGHT be fertile as well. I think it is, but we'll find out in a week, because I couldn't resist putting it in the incubator to see. I'll keep everybody updated as to whether or not King Roo is doing his job sufficiently!

You did everything right and under such bad circumstances you got 7!! SUPER....
Love the light color Ams Were some of the ams parents light color or white? All are really cute Lemon cuckoo ..love one.
And Yes that first egg is VERY exciting isn't it! I whooped and hollered...... and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

 

[sumi]

Sumi and those experienced... question
Would you try HARD special treatment to save a chicken that was assisted when born and has always been way too small?
Its now about 3 months old Last few days its been cool out 55 at night and this pullet seems to be going down
Been fine til now.
Not eating or hanging with her male hatch mates like she does..Getting picked on by the roos..... hiding away .i have her alone in a coop with water and food don't think shes eating though
I have felt as she always was so small eventually shed go down.

Had another same breed do this Just don't know if its worth trying to do anything else and what else if so ?

She was laying down this morning I thought she was dead but swoshed her toward me from the end of the tractor coop with a broom and surprisingly she got up and stood but sickly like.

I don't know if it's going to be much help at this late stage, but I'd give her a mutivit+mineral supplement in her drink water and extra protein to boost her. Also keep her warm at night, at least. It is better to start this treatment with runts as soon as you notice the problem though. Some respond very well and eventually catch up and grow to their full size, others may have an underlying issue that you can't do much about.