First time hatching.

[gimmie birdies]

My rooster who is the black chick in the center just became fertile. I have been putting random eggs in incubator, because I have not had any luck...



now I have a few that looks like this. on day 2. I will candle again I don't know which hens he had mated with at this point...

 

[ataylor995]

I was at a feed store once, and 2 chicks had their legs stuck at the back of the cage, and there was not water for the chicks. One chick was dead the other was just stuck. I chewed out the feed store and made them give me the baby with the messed up leg. I gave him egg yoke when I got home, and he still went in with the other chicks I had eventually his leg did get better on it's own.

Just a regular egg yolk from an egg from the grocery store? And do you think he will be okay if I put him in the pen with the others? Or should I keep him separated for a bit?

 

[gimmie birdies]

try all together, if that doesn't work

sometimes I might put them in the brooder in a little basket then that can sorta see each other and visit. and if the one gets better they can go together.

I would hand feed the yolk mixed with a bit of water out of a cup, dip the beak. 4 sips, 4 x a day. don't put a cup of yolk in pen though.

 

[alawrence82]

I'm new to all this. And I'm awaiting my first incubated egg to hatch. Already has a crack. But this lockdown I've just learned about, ya I haven't done that at all. I've opened mine every day, multiple times a day. I candle them like every three days or so. I've got a wide variety of eggs in there from Dec 2-dec 21. Any advice. Did I just ruin my 30 eggs? Please help me! I'm scared to death now...

 

[gimmie birdies]

More eggs get ruined by there being too much moister in incubator in my opinion. Just leave'm be till they hatch (fully out of the shell on their own, not just one pip), you should be fine.

 

[gimmie birdies]

here are the eggs in my incubator, and looks like I will get a BCM egg to put in too

 

[gpop1]

Okay, so one of my babies has a broken leg and I have no idea what to do now. As of now, I have it out of the pen and in my lap. I read that you're supposed to touch them or they won't survive if you separate them from the others. However, I don't know what to do from here. Any suggestions?

post a picture of the chick and what the leg looks like. The leg may be broken or splayed (smooth surface causes splayed legs which may be fixed using shot cup therapy to help strengthen the muscle but that doesn't always work). If the chick was dropped then a splint may work but its hard to do and may cause problems later. The true fact is you may need to call a friend and have the chick euthanized as its the kindest thing you can do. I know this sounds cruel but the chick will soon gain weight which will make the leg worse and its inhumane to keep a chicken that can not be a chicken.

If the leg is behind the chick (splayed) make sure you put something in the hatcher that the chicks can get a grip on. Most people use draw liner or you may end up with more In the same condition.

 

[gpop1]

I believe the trip to 113 degrees on last Monday was what killed most of my non hatching dozen. 3 sank in the water float test, one wasn't fertile, the other 2 chicks ran out of air from my low temps and excessive humidity. the other 9 have airspace and my guess is would have hatched if not for the temp spike, of the 6 that did hatch, that is about how many would not have been too close to the lightbulb and wouldn't have gotten hot enough. I lost 1, which leaves me with 5. I am getting another dozen eggs for my new bigger incubator but I need a thermostat that I can plug a light fixture into I think. Does anyone have suggestions?

look at reptile heat controllers as they are plug and play (no wiring just plug one end into socket then plug the light into the controller)

113 was defiantly bad as 115 is about the limit that nothing survives for more than a few minutes. Reading your older posts you have done everything wrong and you have learnt from your mistakes. To see you talking about air space, temperature controllers, bigger incubator, temp spikes I can see that you are learning fast and dealing with the problems as you face them, Congrats on the ones that made it and I know that your hatch rates will soon be as high as the pro's.

p.s all the ones that didn't make it were probably cockerels any way. (that's what I tell myself).

 

[Gypsi]

look at reptile heat controllers as they are plug and play (no wiring just plug one end into socket then plug the light into the controller)

113 was defiantly bad as 115 is about the limit that nothing survives for more than a few minutes. Reading your older posts you have done everything wrong and you have learnt from your mistakes. To see you talking about air space, temperature controllers, bigger incubator, temp spikes I can see that you are learning fast and dealing with the problems as you face them, Congrats on the ones that made it and I know that your hatch rates will soon be as high as the pro's.

p.s all the ones that didn't make it were probably cockerels any way. (that's what I tell myself).

Where would I find a reptile heat controller? well duhh I guess I do have a search engine but unfortunately so far I have purchased 2 thermostats, the 2nd one being a water heater thermostat that someone else set at the lowest setting and it worked. Pretty sure both it and the honeywell need to go back (separate power source with house thermostats). Based on house temp and how I am having to turn a light bulb off or on right now I would say a temporary measure would be a plug in timer that I could just flick the button on to turn a light on and off every 15 minutes. Probably leave the 11 watt on 24/7, and the 15 off and on. The new cooler is 2x to 3x the size of the old one and is ventilated, got my humidity down around 30% for now. Hoping this dozen will hatch. In the meantime my 5 baby chicks are putting real feathers on the tips of their wings and eating well. I have hay (i know bad bad) in a hardware cloth big brooder in the middle of my kitchen table, draped with towels except top and center where the heat lamp is OUTSIDE the tall brooder (it is about 24 inches.) Have a big water bottle mounted over a bowl of gravel so drips are in the right place and I change the water in the bowl daily. Have a low box up under the light with an old dishtowel in it if they want to snuggle down in, and the dishtowel is black so spilled food from the chick feeder shows up and they will eat it. I am so proud of them learning to use the water bottle so quickly. Photos when I am awake. and the reptile heat controller is "not sold in stores". Online ordering is also best done when I am awake. The only thermostat I could pick up locally with a likelihood of working, what do you think? I have it here but probably wiring should wait until I am awake too. Hate to burn my house down

http://www.acehardware.com/product/...52.2631246.1260882&view=all&parentPage=family

 

[gpop1]

Where would I find a reptile heat controller? well duhh I guess I do have a search engine but unfortunately so far I have purchased 2 thermostats, the 2nd one being a water heater thermostat that someone else set at the lowest setting and it worked. Pretty sure both it and the honeywell need to go back (separate power source with house thermostats). Based on house temp and how I am having to turn a light bulb off or on right now I would say a temporary measure would be a plug in timer that I could just flick the button on to turn a light on and off every 15 minutes. Probably leave the 11 watt on 24/7, and the 15 off and on. The new cooler is 2x to 3x the size of the old one and is ventilated, got my humidity down around 30% for now. Hoping this dozen will hatch. In the meantime my 5 baby chicks are putting real feathers on the tips of their wings and eating well. I have hay (i know bad bad) in a hardware cloth big brooder in the middle of my kitchen table, draped with towels except top and center where the heat lamp is OUTSIDE the tall brooder (it is about 24 inches.) Have a big water bottle mounted over a bowl of gravel so drips are in the right place and I change the water in the bowl daily. Have a low box up under the light with an old dishtowel in it if they want to snuggle down in, and the dishtowel is black so spilled food from the chick feeder shows up and they will eat it. I am so proud of them learning to use the water bottle so quickly. Photos when I am awake. and the reptile heat controller is "not sold in stores". Online ordering is also best done when I am awake. The only thermostat I could pick up locally with a likelihood of working, what do you think? I have it here but probably wiring should wait until I am awake too. Hate to burn my house down

http://www.acehardware.com/product/...52.2631246.1260882&view=all&parentPage=family

it depends on your budget and if you are comfortable shopping online. If you want something now and do not like online shopping then petsmart and other pet stores sell the reptile temp controllers. If you don't mind using online stores then there are lots of options.

For brooding do a search on this site for mama heating pad as a safe way to brood (it works great but you still need a light or they wont leave to eat). Personally I use a desk lamp inside a 20 gallon fish tank with wood chips when im brooding less than a dozen chicks you just have to keep the tank clean so they don't get popie toes (piece of mesh as a cover to keep the cat out).