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Gorgeous photos! and I am sorry you had to learn the hard way to never rely on the thermo/hygro that comes with a bator : (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!
I would be so scared with a cat and a chick but I see pics all the time!
What do you think - lay them down, stand them up, do the hokey pokey and spin them all around???
