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

[Sally Sunshine]

I like to push off lockdown not start it sooner, again it depends on those air cells. each hatch is different because climate is always changing here.

I prefer to look at lockdown items separately... and not "lockdown, OMG stop turning, up humidity and dont open the bator"

I mark air cells and put into hatcher day 16-17 and stop turning
day 18 I reduce temps to 99
day 19 I reduce temps to 98.5 I start to candle morning and evening, a few eggs here and there
day 20 I reduce temps to 98
I am always watching my eggs at the end and only really up humidity when I see draw down and or internals, it all is about those air cells

 

[Sally Sunshine]

oh I forgot!

I think its dead

and nothing new to report, still two in the cabinet, I dont have faith in any but the three with internals, I made a tiny hole in the top of each of the three internal pips since its over 24 for the one and the others were soon thereafter. now I wait and watch the others

trouble with these silky is being created and so limited that the inbreeding is causing genetics issues and the chicks simply cant make it. I still think that blood spots I see and the veining looking weird is telling me they are dying, but time will tell. only thing we can do is get the strong to survive and try to breed them to better health and perhaps some reading time to figure how to breed back and bring some strength and health back into them.

 

[foxvalleyfarm]

I like to push off lockdown not start it sooner, again it depends on those air cells. each hatch is different because climate is always changing here.

I prefer to look at lockdown items separately... and not "lockdown, OMG stop turning, up humidity and dont open the bator" 

I mark air cells and put into hatcher day 16-17 and stop turning
day 18 I reduce temps to 99
day 19 I reduce temps to 98.5  I start to candle morning and evening, a few eggs here and there
day 20 I reduce temps to 98 
I am always watching my eggs at the end and only really up humidity when I see draw down and or internals, it all is about those air cells

I'm very hands on so my eggs get messed with even as the baby is hatching but I like what you do. Im going to wait to move them to the hatcher until I see the draw down and the push up in the back.

 

[subhanalah]

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Awwww your dog doesnt bother with them I hope!

 

[subhanalah]

Awwww  your dog doesnt bother with them I hope! 

lol, Lacey doesn't have a hunter bone left in her body. Even if she did, she doesn't have any teeth lol. They jump on her and it scares her so she runs away. She was our first child lol.

We'll leave her out in the yard with the chooks and tell her to stay and watch the chickens. She just sits there and looks at you like "what am I supposed to do out here". She's the ultimate companion animal, not that great at guarding/deterring lol

 

[PhoredaBurds]

So I made it to page 58. Great thread! Thank you!!! Day 20 for 25 spitzhauben eggs (small side of LF). Little dry 1st couple days: 25%-45%. Steady temps at 99 with mostly 35-45% until day 18, then 65-75%. 4 have hatched several others w external pips. It is so hard not to intervene!
How long after an external pip & no further movement do you wait before helping? & humidity spikes w each chick hatching: is that a problem? Do I open to vent when humidity spikes to 80%? The ones that have hatched r running all over the bator knocking the other eggs around. Do I remove them? Ugh. Feeling so insecure about what to do/not do...
Any suggestions?

 

[foxvalleyfarm]

@Sally Sunshine any updates?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote:

So I made it to page 58. Great thread! Thank you!!! Day 20 for 25 spitzhauben eggs (small side of LF). Little dry 1st couple days: 25%-45%. Steady temps at 99 with mostly 35-45% until day 18, then 65-75%. 4 have hatched several others w external pips. It is so hard not to intervene!
How long after an external pip & no further movement do you wait before helping? & humidity spikes w each chick hatching: is that a problem? Do I open to vent when humidity spikes to 80%? The ones that have hatched r running all over the bator knocking the other eggs around. Do I remove them? Ugh. Feeling so insecure about what to do/not do...
Any suggestions?

Hello!

Oh my reading this entire thread! ha ha ha I put incubation stuff in the hatching 101 article, link in signature below.

its normal to go up if chicks are hatching, you can open the lid for a second to expel some of it not an issue.

You will have to be the judge, the assist article in my signature has some time frames and some info you can run to should you need it. There are so many variables for us to say when to help. typically if they external pip they can hatch if you have good humidity, sometimes its not the case, you will have to judge. but read the assist article and understand whats in it, if you ever assist and there is any blood at all STOP they are not needing assistance.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

A ducky has hatched on its own, it had goop hanging which was normal but it also had a blob of that yellow gel like substance in the bator.

I candled the two that had internals, last night I created tiny holes in the top of their shells because I didnt want them to suffocate and went off the timing of the first internal pip, one ducky was dead in shell, a pretty black one pipped and veins look like they were receding well but it was dead as if it didnt have the effort to get out. The other remaining internal pipped egg, I did investigate, still not ready but alive.

one other egg in the bator uninternally pipped is still moving, the others look dead to me, two in the cabinet one looks dead the other I saw little movement but it hastnt drawn down.

Big bummer, I have done everything I could for these eggs, the ducks are huge for that size of egg, even with the weight loss achieved it still wasnt enough.

I need to research this breed and see if we can breed back to something else to help its genetics, as I am fairly sure its just that.

Any other suggestions to getting weight loss in the next batch up to about 15-16% anyone? shout out! I am upping heat a bit in the cabinet, but not enough I will kill everything. spot checking it often.


I am rambling and I am sad for these babies, I am going to try even harder with the next batch, and if the same happens again I think we are pretty much sure its all genetics.

Pictures later, I dont want to mess with the bator at all for these guys, I did well with sitting on my hands knowing ducks take days to hatch. so bummed <going to cry a river now>