February 2023 hatch-a-long

Pics
Progress update, and the final step for getting my chicks off to a great start --- I moved them from the plastic tote with heat lamp, into a much bigger brooder cage with a 12x24 heat plate. The temperature regulator arrived yesterday, so I was able to get this hotter-than-hot heater plate to behave and stay at 125-degrees. The day-old chicks seem to love it! I have it set with one end higher than the other, and they're mostly huddled in the center of it or exploring around the perimeter.
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I'm so sorry for what you're going through. Still, it IS very common to lose a few, or several, in each batch. I've read that the average hatch rate in small hobby-type incubators is between 50-70%. If your last 6 eggs never hatch, plus one DIS and one quitter, out of 27 total - 19 chicks surviving - makes your hatch rate at 70%. That's pretty darn GREAT whether you're a newbie or veteran!!!!!! Be proud of yourself!

This is the first time since I started two years ago that I've got everything to hatch. My most recent batch before this one, in a friend's incubator, a Miller Mfg Little Giant still-air with no turner (I did them by hand) - of 36 fertile eggs I set to incubate, I only had 26 hatch successfully. Lost three more shortly later to unknown causes.

It happens. It's typical. It's why chickens lay so many eggs to brood over, then only some or 'most' of them make it. Mother Nature plans extra eggs so that the species can still survive in spite of losses.

By the way, larger eggs take longer to hatch.

I'd still poke safety holes in those last 6 eggs, if you're brave enough (under plastic!). If not, then leave them be for another day.

An eggtopsy involves opening the egg to see what happened. I've done it with eggs I was sure would not hatch (day 24, no pips). I have a little brooder coop with a window that pivots up, so I could hold the egg behind the plexiglass and see through while I probed the egg open, just in case it exploded. (Had that happen ONCE, never again! :eek: :sick :tongue) I wore old clothes, long sleeves, latex gloves, face mask, goggles, and used an Xacto knife and a pair of tweezers. I was able to identify a couple of quitters about Day 16-18, one who had his head between legs instead of under its wing, and one who pipped on the wrong end and maybe drowned in its own fluid.
Thank you. I will keep that in mind. I will wait for the larger eggs but I have 3 big ones and 3 smaller ones in there but I don't know about the hatch rate for those 6. I do NOT want one to explode on me. What would happen if something exploded on me----------->:sick So yeah, I'll take that advice to mind. How do you poke safety holes in an egg, like what do you use, where do you poke, what to look out for, etc. Thank you for all your help! ☺️
 
I have a mystery that I can't seem to solve. I weighed my 6 local eggs on Day 1 using an Accuteck postal scale. Today (day 17) four of those eggs seem on track with weight loss. But, two of the eggs have issues.... one weighs more than Day 1 weight while another weighs the same as Day 1. The air cells seem to be growing to the correct size. I'm stumped. Thoughts? Is my scale off or does this mean those two chicks are possibly dead. I can't see anything other than air cell, dark area and some veins. Those shells are all green, blue and dark brown... so hard to see inside!
 
mama isnt laying on her eggs and since i heard switiching from mother to incubator/brooder isn't smart, they're in my shirt until i find a better idea. One just pipped while in my shirt just 10 mins ago, the other one we heard chirping 2 hours ago and isnt now.
An incubator would be better than in your shirt.
 
I have a mystery that I can't seem to solve. I weighed my 6 local eggs on Day 1 using an Accuteck postal scale. Today (day 17) four of those eggs seem on track with weight loss. But, two of the eggs have issues.... one weighs more than Day 1 weight while another weighs the same as Day 1. The air cells seem to be growing to the correct size. I'm stumped. Thoughts? Is my scale off or does this mean those two chicks are possibly dead. I can't see anything other than air cell, dark area and some veins. Those shells are all green, blue and dark brown... so hard to see inside!
It's possible something interfered with the readings either with this weighing, or when you weighed them the first time. I wouldn't worry much about it since the air cells are growing and you can still see veins. I had two in my last batch that didn't lose weight, and two others that did but the air cell never changed. They were fine.
 

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