FEB HATCH-ALONG THREAD ...COME JOIN US.... EVERYONE!

[Roxannemc]

I just want to cry!! I thought yesterday I had one egg with a funky shaped air cell (u shaped) but I recandled tonight and took more time and out of 7 eggs in the bator one has a somewhat normal air cell!! So, in my disappointment I ran outside to candle the same shipped eggs under my broody hen and out of the 6 under her maybe 2 have decent air cells!! A couple of her eggs have air cells so big that I'm not even sure there is a viable chick in there and if so, not sure how!!

So disappointing!! Has anyone had a successful shipped egg hatch with crazy air cells??

Id put them in and see.Cantr hurt and ithink some ppl have . had them hatch.As long as they inner pip into it should be ok .Mine are so dark ibarel yan see most of the air cells so icould have too.Also some chicks will look "U" shaped at a certain point in developing .

 

[PugBug]

BAW HAHAHA

not really funny but i tell you since i have been hatching at least one a month now for number of months i think i gave myself an ulcer!!
Every lockdown my stomach acts up now and takes days too get better... It is for REAL stress... Does seem silly but true!

This morning my darling daughter

told me that the bump on my chin is as big as a chick! Ha! And she's nearly right!
And I know what you mean about your stomach, mine has been doing the same thing!

And joy to the world- my call ducks eggs just arrived- DH just came in the door with them! Ok does anyway have advise on hatching them, I know NOTHING about duck eggs...

 

[Roxannemc]

I got my eggs delivered today and am very excited but I have another Q, I ordered 6 and she sent 10 so that is great but 1 has a crack in it. I covered it with melted wax like I read in a post but would you all bother trying to incubate it or just get rid of it. I started thinking that I would not want to risk a deformity in the chick or have go bad and possibly ruin anther egg. Any thoughts?

Good job.!
Someone last time put black electical tape on a hole....I was skeptical about it hatching with that but it did!!!
She put it on pretty early too! Not a crack a nice size hole
So See how it does.

 

[TMNfarm]

Dorry about your eggs ....HUMM that is odd why do you think they got that far and stopped? to the end and couldnt pip at all?
Were they shrink wrapped or ? Were they all the same hatch...i mean same persons eggs? Silkies? THAT Sucks!!!

.
Waht were they crossedwith ? Wasit silkie x arcauna? I heard they have a fatal gene often die before hatch

The weird thing is that most of them were normal. The inner membrane was moist and see through. A couple of them seemed shrink wrapped. That inner membrane was white and dry... Looked a lot like the outer membrane. I can't figure out why eggs in the same bator can have such differences! One of them had it's head in the wrong position. It would have pipped the wrong end of the egg if it had pipped, but a couple were in the right position, just couldn't do it. One of them had internally pipped, then died. One, I thought was dead, since it looked just like the past few I had opened, so I wasn't as careful as I should have been, and I bumped the chick and it moved!!! I had to pip the membrane for that one, then I wrapped it up and put it back...

I can't remember in my sleep deprived, stressed-out state what the silkies are crossed with... I got them from ColdUpNorth, and hers hatched a couple days ago just fine...

I wish I knew if I was doing something wrong... This is my second incubator hatch, the first being the NYD hatch, and I had this same thing happen... My oldest DS opened the bator briefly on Sunday when there were 2 hatched and 5 pipped. One of the hatched chicks had gotten itself stuck between one of the baskets and the wall. I would have told him to leave it, but he did it without asking me... But all of the pipped eggs hatched on their own after that, so it doesn't seem like that caused a problem... I did open the bator last night when I had 8 chicks causing mass chaos with all of the eggs in there. The one had pipped and was trying to zip, but none of the others had externally pipped yet. I had to help the zipped chick out this morning. She hadn't zipped any further and was sticky, but otherwise fine. I assume this was becasue I opened the bator when it was partially zipped... But none of the others ever pipped after that. None of the eggs I opened this morning externally pipped and only one of them had internally pipped.

My bator temp was 99-101 with a brief spike to 103 during the second week. When I candled a few days later, everyone was still doing fine. My humidity was around 35-40 for the first 18 days, then at lockdown, I brought it up to 55. Temp during lockdown ran about 97-98... I am using a still air hovabator.

I bought a genesis and just set 7 EE in there today, but these were shipped to me during a terrible cold snap, so I'm worried that they may have frozen... I guess i'll see how they do when I candle in 4-5 days...

 

[chocolateeggs]

I haven't been posting much, but I am very excited that I am on day 11 and have 25 out of 36 fertile and growing which is far better than my last hatch! Buff Orps and BCMs on the way!

 

[Roxannemc]

So sorry to hear about your little chickie-doodles! Poor little Sugar Peeps. What a wonderful hubby you have to get her & you new little fluffy butts to help fill the void. Good man!

We unfortunately ended up sending Chickie #1 "Blue" (the one with the really bad tendon issue in the chick highchair) to the big coop in the sky. She just wasn't going to get any better and we couldn't prolong her pain any longer. It would have been cruel. Our other chickie #2 "Georgie", that's also in the chair, is still there... but it's obvious she's depressed. She just lays her head down and lightly chirps the whole time. I feel so bad for her. She just wants out of the chair. If we pet her, rub her back & "flippers" or offer her treats it seems to help perk her up. Her leg issue wasn't anywhere near as bad, so I still have a little hope. I don't think she's hurting at all, aside from the horrible chair, and hopefully she will recover enough & still be able to learn how to walk properly once she's out of it. I don't think I'll be doing the leg/chair thing with future little chickies (hopefully I'd never need to). I'm debating if the chair itself is too cruel for such cutie little puff balls. If it works, great, but I know the odds are quite against it & might just be making her miserable in the mean time. Anyways - our little runt chick is doing really good as well. She's walking, drinking, eating, & pecking at random stuff. Just today I upgraded her bandaid hobble to a thin rubber band that allows more movement & stretching. She picks at it a bit, but is able to keep her bad leg under her still with such little restriction. I'll probably take it off completely in another day or two. She such a little fighter. Her head only comes as high as the other chicks back. Such a tiny peanut.

Good luck with your Isbars! I will keep my fingers crossed for you!

Your one chick .....From experience if you get her out of the chair and just;let her on her own she will just scrabble around on her stomach and ruin her good leg.too

.I had one died just a few days ago 6 or 7 months old I did the same with her Her leg had been crossed across her body underneath but one leg was good.
i tried 20 things and had her in a chair food/ water tapped to it but she could dangle her feet and look around .Then she outgrew it and i couldnt find something else that worked for her and she seemed so peaceful NOT in the chair however her 6 months of life she spend in a box all alone scrabbling around and only joy was food or when i came in held her up in the air to "fly"
She would excercise her wings. at least for a few minutes a few times a day. and get to look at all the other chicks in other cages. She couldnt see them in her box ...Had a mirror for a friend in with her. .She got thinner and thinner but ate well ... finally died .
It was sad.
The leg and foot things happen a lot it seems to me to assisted. A lot of mine had some issue that were assisted.

I guess natures way if they cant get out they shouldnt sometimes.

So if its just her leg...i think i would go ahead with the chair. although ti seems cruel it may be her only chance at a normal life.
.
They say on here when they are not with other chickens they eventually die
Put them with others abnormal the others will peck them badly or kill them.. ..Just bad all around

So Cull them ?or let them live what life they have? Not sure whats right...

 

[gapeach717]

ummm ok, I have my first 15 eggs (getting rest tomorrow)...

now what do I do??? do I need to check them for anything or store them a certain way until time to incubate?

 

[Roxannemc]

The weird thing is that most of them were normal. The inner membrane was moist and see through. A couple of them seemed shrink wrapped. That inner membrane was white and dry... Looked a lot like the outer membrane. I can't figure out why eggs in the same bator can have such differences! One of them had it's head in the wrong position. It would have pipped the wrong end of the egg if it had pipped, but a couple were in the right position, just couldn't do it. One of them had internally pipped, then died. One, I thought was dead, since it looked just like the past few I had opened, so I wasn't as careful as I should have been, and I bumped the chick and it moved!!! I had to pip the membrane for that one, then I wrapped it up and put it back...

I can't remember in my sleep deprived, stressed-out state what the silkies are crossed with... I got them from ColdUpNorth, and hers hatched a couple days ago just fine...

I wish I knew if I was doing something wrong... This is my second incubator hatch, the first being the NYD hatch, and I had this same thing happen... My oldest DS opened the bator briefly on Sunday when there were 2 hatched and 5 pipped. One of the hatched chicks had gotten itself stuck between one of the baskets and the wall. I would have told him to leave it, but he did it without asking me... But all of the pipped eggs hatched on their own after that, so it doesn't seem like that caused a problem... I did open the bator last night when I had 8 chicks causing mass chaos with all of the eggs in there. The one had pipped and was trying to zip, but none of the others had externally pipped yet. I had to help the zipped chick out this morning. She hadn't zipped any further and was sticky, but otherwise fine. I assume this was becasue I opened the bator when it was partially zipped... But none of the others ever pipped after that. None of the eggs I opened this morning externally pipped and only one of them had internally pipped.

My bator temp was 99-101 with a brief spike to 103 during the second week. When I candled a few days later, everyone was still doing fine. My humidity was around 35-40 for the first 18 days, then at lockdown, I brought it up to 55. Temp during lockdown ran about 97-98... I am using a still air hovabator.

I bought a genesis and just set 7 EE in there today, but these were shipped to me during a terrible cold snap, so I'm worried that they may have frozen... I guess i'll see how they do when I candle in 4-5 days...

I wonder if it was the temp 97-98? I ask because My last 2 hatches were terrible.
One i had 3 chicks all 3 needed to be assisted.
The next hatch a few days alter one was perfect but died over night..... the other all 3 needed assisting! (these were all shipped eggs but from 2 diff ppl )
Since....
i just found out my Genesis was running low! 96.5 and 97(cant ttust any of them!! )
Bought a new digital therm . tested it with some other therms and think its right not SURE though.....But Had to set the GENesis to 102 to get 99.!!

Now ordered some scientific therms that Brookhaven suggested on this thread

She puts 4 in her bators to make sure! So thats what i am doing now. AND a new cigar hygrometer too

Anyway now i think it was my low temps caused the problems My humidity was 65 the whole lockdown unless its wrong too!

SO Test your new Gen and other for temps at different parts of the bators so you know you are right there.
Anyway I bragged and bragged on my Gen and then it tested too low a few months later.
However it does hold whatever temp you set it to so thats good. .
GOOD LUCK!
Have some coming as well right now...Hope it doesnt get really cold like last week! Evne so the ice cold ...not good might freeze them.

 

[chocolateeggs]

ummm ok, I have my first 15 eggs (getting rest tomorrow)...

now what do I do??? do I need to check them for anything or store them a certain way until time to incubate?

Yes, store them in an egg carton (not Styrofoam) small side down and elevate the carton with a large book or something like it on one side then shift the book to the other side and back 3Xs daily. When are you hatching? If more than a couple of days I would try to store them between 55 and 65 degrees.

 

[Brookhavens]

The weird thing is that most of them were normal. The inner membrane was moist and see through. A couple of them seemed shrink wrapped. That inner membrane was white and dry... Looked a lot like the outer membrane. I can't figure out why eggs in the same bator can have such differences! One of them had it's head in the wrong position. It would have pipped the wrong end of the egg if it had pipped, but a couple were in the right position, just couldn't do it. One of them had internally pipped, then died. One, I thought was dead, since it looked just like the past few I had opened, so I wasn't as careful as I should have been, and I bumped the chick and it moved!!! I had to pip the membrane for that one, then I wrapped it up and put it back...

I can't remember in my sleep deprived, stressed-out state what the silkies are crossed with... I got them from ColdUpNorth, and hers hatched a couple days ago just fine...

I wish I knew if I was doing something wrong... This is my second incubator hatch, the first being the NYD hatch, and I had this same thing happen... My oldest DS opened the bator briefly on Sunday when there were 2 hatched and 5 pipped. One of the hatched chicks had gotten itself stuck between one of the baskets and the wall. I would have told him to leave it, but he did it without asking me... But all of the pipped eggs hatched on their own after that, so it doesn't seem like that caused a problem... I did open the bator last night when I had 8 chicks causing mass chaos with all of the eggs in there. The one had pipped and was trying to zip, but none of the others had externally pipped yet. I had to help the zipped chick out this morning. She hadn't zipped any further and was sticky, but otherwise fine. I assume this was becasue I opened the bator when it was partially zipped... But none of the others ever pipped after that. None of the eggs I opened this morning externally pipped and only one of them had internally pipped.

My bator temp was 99-101 with a brief spike to 103 during the second week. When I candled a few days later, everyone was still doing fine. My humidity was around 35-40 for the first 18 days, then at lockdown, I brought it up to 55. Temp during lockdown ran about 97-98... I am using a still air hovabator.

I bought a genesis and just set 7 EE in there today, but these were shipped to me during a terrible cold snap, so I'm worried that they may have frozen... I guess i'll see how they do when I candle in 4-5 days...

I would bump your humidity up to 60-65% during lockdown. I dry incubate (30's-low 40's) for days 1-18 and then up it to the low- mid 60's for lockdown. As soon as there are a couple of pips I up it to high 60's and then let the hatching chicks raise it even more (70's) I was having the same problem that you were and when I upped the humidity to the 60's I had better results.