First Time hatching eggs, egg sacks too small

[luvmychickenz]

I came home at 3 pm to find a new and very loud chickie hatched! It has Been crazy ever since. He ended up having dried on shells hardened feathers. The humidity needed to be higher. Still trying to regulate for others. He was stumbling over other eggs, getting caught in cheesecloth, caught in temp wires we finally decided to put in brooder. But we cleaned him off with q tip and warm water in bathroom with heater then blow dried him. We got a lot of the congealed stuff off but some of feathers still stuck to him exposing his skin which concerned will cause him to lose body heat.
Anyway, he is making his at around brooder but still not "walking". Should he be walking 3 hours old? He is nonstop peeping, is that normal? I think he wants company. Also, should we keep him warmer then 95? He is dry.
I am truly worse then a mother hen. How do y'all continue to do this and not have a melt down

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I came home at 3 pm to find a new and very loud chickie hatched! It has Been crazy ever since. He ended up having dried on shells hardened feathers. The humidity needed to be higher. Still trying to regulate for others. He was stumbling over other eggs, getting caught in cheesecloth, caught in temp wires we finally decided to put in brooder. But we cleaned him off with q tip and warm water in bathroom with heater then blow dried him. We got a lot of the congealed stuff off but some of feathers still stuck to him exposing his skin which concerned will cause him to lose body heat.
Anyway, he is making his at around brooder but still not "walking". Should he be walking 3 hours old? He is nonstop peeping, is that normal? I think he wants company. Also, should we keep him warmer then 95? He is dry.
I am truly worse then a mother hen. How do y'all continue to do this and not have a melt down

Congratulations!!! Any more pips??? Some chicks take longer to get on their feet than others. 95-100F for the brooder is good (as long as only one end of the brooder is warmed so they can get in and out of the heat as needed.) I actually keep mine close to the 100F because I know they can get in and out of the warmth as needed and I worry about them being cold. (But I also move them generally before they are dry to the brooder.) An only (single) chick can be very loud because he is lonely. (My very first hatch yielded one chick and boy oh boy....) I wouldn't worry about the sticky spots. You can use a cloth and/or a little bowl of water to wash him in as long as you don't get it in his nose, and then dry him off. I imagine it's quite hard to do with a q-tip...lol. But either way he should be ok.

 

[luvmychickenz]

.
Here is our first baby

No external pips yet, but I hear another chick peeping in its egg. I am not sure what one. It is taking everything in me not to start candling eggs to see how things are going with each of the eggs and to see which egg the chirping is coming from.
Little chick is fluffing up. He even ate from my hubby's hand. He won't drink. But I know it isn't necessary yet. We fed him bc he was pecking bits of bedding and attempting to eat. He was so tired, but every time his head let down he would jerk it up and then peep nonstop. Finally I picked him up, cupped him in my hands stroking his head and he fell asleep. After 5 minutes nap time I put him back in brooder and starting piping again. But I nested him in the bedding with it covering much of his body leaving neck and face free and he went to sleep. He has now been sleeping 1/2 hr straight. Thank you for following through and encouraging me. I have such sense relief.

I realize that most of our eggs didn't and the remainder may go on and not make it some due to our error. But am grateful for the one so far. It is because of yours and chicapee's interest and support that this one is here with us. Prayers of thanksgiving go out for you both. @chicapee

 

[luvmychickenz]

thank you so much! Youre so sweet and kind! Cant wait to hear how your hatch comes out you have been uplifting because you show that with mistakes and worries theres still success because we are on top of it making sure its all correct every minute. Also now i know to add an egg carton to raise humidity if need be! Lol! Im in fl and the humidity is bad here also but inside the house has been hard to get just right. So how you know that they have internel pip is if you hear them inside? What if some get stuck when hatching do we put them in a warm bath to help them out? I read something like after 12 hours if they are still stuck to somehow help them but how? So much info for newbies to try and grasp trying to learn from others mistakes but in the end we will inevitably make our own. :/ so you think your humidity was at 80 percent the whole time correct? What did it say it was at? Scary you cant trust any of these things! God bless you and your little peeps. Keep us all updated on how it goes.

Just make sure it's paper cartons LOL. I'm not sure what styrofoam will do. The highest my bator's internal humidity regulator ever read was 51 I think.
I am guessing it may have gotten as low as 70 or so but higher than 80 to be at times had lots condensation-thought that was ok as long as reading was ok.
As far as helping them out if membranes be stuck, well that is from the experts. There is an excellent link on BYC that explains in detail. There are pros and cons that go along with it too. I will find link and get back to you.
Thank you so much for your kindness and empathy. Feels good to communicate with a newbie. Just do your research and keep in contact with the expert support on BYC. Keep ahead of the game, the best defense is a great offense.
I am praying for your success and look forward to following your progress.
Blessings

 

[chicapee]

Congratulations on your new chickie.

You will probably have a few more before the night is out. No sleeping tonight.

 

[chicapee]

Hi all! Have been reading and want to follow. Also i have my first hatch soon and i am curious.. what is internal pip and external pip and zip and all of that other language??? lol i have been working on my own styrofoam incubator with fan water bottles rocks pan of water with sponge and 25watt light and i have the temp at 99.5 and humidity 40 percent i have holes up top and holes all around bottom and have that cooler inside a mini nonworking fridge. im going to set them tomorrow if all stays stable. What do i need to know about the pips? If anyone doesnt mind my poking in here

and the best of luck I made a styrobator too, but have only used it as a hatcher and ICU so far. I needed to build it in a hurry as I had a staggered hatch with chickens and turkeys using shipped eggs. I use the bought bator for main hatch. I did put in 2 x 25w bulbs in the diy, just in case it blew. I will be interested in how it works for you.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

.
Here is our first baby

No external pips yet, but I hear another chick peeping in its egg. I am not sure what one. It is taking everything in me not to start candling eggs to see how things are going with each of the eggs and to see which egg the chirping is coming from.
Little chick is fluffing up. He even ate from my hubby's hand. He won't drink. But I know it isn't necessary yet. We fed him bc he was pecking bits of bedding and attempting to eat. He was so tired, but every time his head let down he would jerk it up and then peep nonstop. Finally I picked him up, cupped him in my hands stroking his head and he fell asleep. After 5 minutes nap time I put him back in brooder and starting piping again. But I nested him in the bedding with it covering much of his body leaving neck and face free and he went to sleep. He has now been sleeping 1/2 hr straight. Thank you for following through and encouraging me. I have such sense relief.

I realize that most of our eggs didn't and the remainder may go on and not make it some due to our error. But am grateful for the one so far. It is because of yours and chicapee's interest and support that this one is here with us. Prayers of thanksgiving go out for you both. @chicapee

Sometimes a small mirror and a little stuffed animal will help for lonely chicks. So glad he's out and doing ok. Congrats! Hope he gets some friends soon.

 

[luvmychickenz]

My husband had happened to remember a stuffed chick/duck and put it in there about 1 hr ago. He has been snuggling ever since and quiet and calm.
Our second egg externally pipped and has even rocked egg. Here hip chirping. Still fighting with maintaining humidity as needed.

 

[chicapee]

My husband had happened to remember a stuffed chick/duck and put it in there about 1 hr ago. He has been snuggling ever since and quiet and calm.
Our second egg externally pipped and has even rocked egg. Here hip chirping. Still fighting with maintaining humidity as needed.

awesome.

 

[luvmychickenz]

My heart is broken. Our second chicken to pip died before hatching. He had begun to unzip actively but then slowed up but I know it can take hours. Took nap from around MN until 2am. Woke up and cold tell he was too still. Touched beak a couple of times and was still. We opened egg he was perfectly formed, membrane was moist but not too wet and came off easily. His yolk sack was absorbed and the umbilicus vessels were fine. What could have caused it? Now we have another who had pipped around 7p. He was rocking and rolling in his egg. He opened a couple of spots and you can see him but now he is very still. Now concerned he will die too. Don't know what to do.