Hands on hatching and help

[Laurel Meadows]

Yup! That's the day mine are due too! So funny and we didn't even plan that. Lol.
I would think it's a bad idea only because when they hatch they flop all over the place. And then I'm positive one would think it's a bed and lay down right over it. It will be spilled and messy in no time. I had one this hatch that was set on sleeping right on top of my hygrometer. It could have picked anywhere but it had to be there! Could you section it off so they didn't have access?
This might be obvious but how is that duck still alive and moving with the egg open?
No, not really. As soon as I would dose off they would start scratching on me, almost like a kitten kneading its paws. Plus I had a nursing baby (human) sleeping on the other side of me!
Oh, you know what I bought after the chicks in bed fiasco? Those instant hand warmers! It's like $1 for 2. And they get hot! Up to 107 degrees. Good to have for keeping animals warm if power goes out!
Does not bother me! It's part of the process. It might help if you can take pics of the egg with the air cell off, so you can see the membrane and then more of the chick and egg once the chick is out of the egg.

X2
How long after hatch did you wait to open the eggs? And are you talking about the inner membrane or outter membrane?

I was kicking myself for not having those hand warmers! Best thing I could think of and find in the dark was the rice lol. But yes, next time I'm at tsc / rural king I'm getting hand warmers!

I've hatched out quite a few more porous eggs without a problem. Don't feel bad!

Good luck!!!

I'm pretty sure that we are over-cautious and crazy. Heck, I'm one one the biggest meddlers, but I still keep humidity up for precaution, but I honestly honestly believe that for so long people have warned against this and that  and most of it is BS. I've seen people have chicks hatch early that hadn't gone to lockdown and had no problem hatching in 30% and I don't care what anyone says, I do not believe that you can shrink wrap a chick in 60 seconds, dry out some goo and stick em, sure, but shrink wrap??? That's a long process. I literally cringe every time a newbie asks if they will really kill their chicks just from opening the bator or one is scared to add water because they have to open the bator. Older, stricter hatchers have scared up and coming hatchers so bad that they can't even enjoy the hatch because they are scared they are going to cause certain doom.

I was so worried when I was first learning and reading all that alarmist stuff. (Im still fairly new at this but have 7 successful hatches and several staggered ones under my belt since thanksgiving.) On my first hatch I did everything "by the book" on my shipped eggs and all I did was worry myself for nothing! I wanted to candle earlier than day 7 but was afraid I would harm the embryos. I panicked because my humidity dropped to 55% in lockdown. I kept those hatchlings cramped up in the brinsea mini because I was afraid I would shrink wrap the others with pips. I lost one who I suspected was malpositioned but I was too scared to open the bator for "risk" to the other eggs...and the whole don't help a hatchling you'll have weak genetics in your flock! The whole thing was just stressful.

My second round in December I decided to just forget about "by the book"and try things in a more relaxed way. I had a great hatch and learned so much! Since then, I
1. Candle whenever I darn well want to
2. Know that in my bators, I can hatch with no issues as low as 50% humidity. I shoot for 65-70% but if it drops in the middle of the night it's ok!
3. Know I can open the incubator to add water and/or take chicks out without harming eggs
4. Will assist a chick in trouble if the chick has absorbed blood and yolk

My next goal is to start doing eggtopsies so I can learn more about what went wrong and how I can improve my methods.

I really appreciate the information being shared here. It's super helpful!

 

[bluejean55girl]

I was kicking myself for not having those hand warmers! Best thing I could think of and find in the dark was the rice lol. But yes, next time I'm at tsc / rural king I'm getting hand warmers!
I was so worried when I was first learning and reading all that alarmist stuff. (Im still fairly new at this but have 7 successful hatches and several staggered ones under my belt since thanksgiving.) On my first hatch I did everything "by the book" on my shipped eggs and all I did was worry myself for nothing! I wanted to candle earlier than day 7 but was afraid I would harm the embryos. I panicked because my humidity dropped to 55% in lockdown. I kept those hatchlings cramped up in the brinsea mini because I was afraid I would shrink wrap the others with pips. I lost one who I suspected was malpositioned but I was too scared to open the bator for "risk" to the other eggs...and the whole don't help a hatchling you'll have weak genetics in your flock! The whole thing was just stressful.

My second round in December I decided to just forget about "by the book"and try things in a more relaxed way. I had a great hatch and learned so much! Since then, I
1. Candle whenever I darn well want to
2. Know that in my bators, I can hatch with no issues as low as 50% humidity. I shoot for 65-70% but if it drops in the middle of the night it's ok!
3. Know I can open the incubator to add water and/or take chicks out without harming eggs
4. Will assist a chick in trouble if the chick has absorbed blood and yolk

My next goal is to start doing eggtopsies so I can learn more about what went wrong and how I can improve my methods.

I really appreciate the information being shared here. It's super helpful!

@Blooie

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Does anyone know of a good peeping video or audio that I can play from my computer to motivate my ducks to pip??? I'd like to see if I can get some movement from them or pips from the other two in the bator.

 

[RubyNala97]

Ruby, I'm sorry, I didn't see your question. The ones that are in the FI are in the auto turner, which I liked a lot because with the horrible air cells they were moved slowly and regularly - I'm doing the ones in the Brinsea by going from one flat side to upright to the other flat side. I feel more comfortable doing the turning as each incubator was designed to do because I still have wobbly air cells, even though the chicks are obviously active in the eggs.....I'd hate to keep jostling the air cells if I can turn the eggs without doing that.

Ok, I was just wondering if they would go from being hand turned to being in an auto turner but it's the other way around, so that's perfect!

Thanks for that video on calibrating thermometers Ruby. Will a regular old meat thermometer that is properly calibrated give an accurate reading in the incubator??? I don't know if it has to have contact with a liquid or solid to read correctly. All my thermometers that I've used are incubator thermometers that don't go below 90 degrees so I can't even calibrate them to know how accurate they are. I've bought about a dozen thermometers so far and am just going off the ones that have remained most consistent and read the same as other ones I believe are accurate. I havn't actually calibrated any of them because none of them are calibrateable.

Yes, the thermos in the brinsea's can't be calibrated that way! Drives me nuts. This is the glass one that I bought and surprisingly it's been 100% accurate. You can get one and calibrate it and then check it against the ones that don't go low enough to calibrate. http://www.amazon.com/Cooper-Atkins...perature/dp/B00DYC7DQ0/ref=zg_bs_393283011_29

Just remember, that some fluctuations will happen when the heater kicks on and off. Average temp is the key! (Of course, you don't want tooo hot or cool for tooo long) Also, I realized as I was checking several of my thermometers, at room temp they were all reading the same. Inside the incubator, they read different, but they are also different heights! (different sizes, some stand up, some lay down) So top-o-the-egg-height, is where they need to be checked. Gotta figure out where the sensor is on some of them.

Yes, my temps are much higher at the top then the bottom. And like you said, average it's what you're shooting for!

>> Duh, Diane, DUH DUH DUH!!! The stoopid thermometers are in the incubator. The incubator has a stoopid auto turn cradle. You poked the probe of the digital up through an empty egg holder space and very cleverly taped it in place so the tip always stayed at the top level of the eggs. [COLOR=0000FF]The probe is going with the cradle - toward the center, away from the center, rinse, repeat!! Aurghhhh!! [/COLOR] Oh my word!! I need a margarita and about an hour in the corner!

What happened?? After a few hatches this will all be a memory and all this experience will make you a pro hatcher!

Does anyone know of a good peeping video or audio that I can play from my computer to motivate my ducks to pip??? I'd like to see if I can get some movement from them or pips from the other two in the bator.

Yes, let me find it...(I think it will work for ducks)...

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Ugh, I checked 2 of the 3 eggs due to go into the hatchery tonight and found what I believe are 2 quitters. Now I wonder about the other two eggs that I put into the hatcher last night with the one that pipped. I had just been candling those eggs from the top while they sat in the auto turner and I could still see veins in all of them. But upon looking at them from the bottom today, the bottom third of both eggs was empty and clear. Those should definitely be full right??? Looks like yet some more casualties from being stuck in that cruddy FI incubator during the first ten days of incubation...... The 3rd egg though was full and at the bottom of the air sack it looked like a little bump was poking up so I think that lil guy is trying to start pipping.

Of the 3 in the hatcher already, I don't know about 2 of em cos I didn't candle them before I put them in last night. Earlier today the pip had not advanced since last night. However, I played a duckling video for him and as soon as I shut it off I could hear him peeping away in the hatcher. I shined a light in on him to see his progress and he had already doubled the size of his pip!!! He still hasn't made it all the way through the shell yet though. Is there a time frame I should be looking at to make sure he gets that pip opened up before he runs out of air and suffocates???

 

[RubyNala97]

Ugh, I checked 2 of the 3 eggs due to go into the hatchery tonight and found what I believe are 2 quitters.  Now I wonder about the other two eggs that I put into the hatcher last night with the one that pipped.  I had just been candling those eggs from the top while they sat in the auto turner and I could still see veins in all of them.  But upon looking at them from the bottom today, the bottom third of both eggs was empty and clear.  Those should definitely be full right???  Looks like yet some more casualties from being stuck in that cruddy FI incubator during the first ten days of incubation......  The 3rd egg though was full and at the bottom of the air sack it looked like a little bump was poking up so I think that lil guy is trying to start pipping.

Of the 3 in the hatcher already, I don't know about 2 of em cos I didn't candle them before I put them in last night.  Earlier today the pip had not advanced since last night.  However, I played a duckling video for him and as soon as I shut it off I could hear him peeping away in the hatcher.  I shined a light in on him to see his progress and he had already doubled the size of his pip!!!  He still hasn't made it all the way through the shell yet though.  Is there a time frame I should be looking at to make sure he gets that pip opened up before he runs out of air and suffocates???

First, as long as there is a crack in the shell, even just a small one, he will not suffocate. He is getting oxygen through the tiny crack. I've never hatched ducks (I'm on day 12 of my first batch of call duck eggs) but once they pip, they rest. It takes a long time for them to absorb all the veins and the yolk. Chicks can take up to 24 hours and I believe ducks, especially the ones that take 28 days, can take up to 48 hours from pip to zip. As long as your humidity is good and the membranes are not dry then just give them time.
Secondly, when you check the eggs make sure your candler has fresh batteries and you're in a dark room. Look for movement in those eggs with the empty bottom. I've had a few eggs that have had space at the top, under the air cell and surprisingly in 2 days time they grew and hatched!!

 

[caesargirl]

Power out for 18 hours.... Yup, spring in Maine! Temps down to 7° last night house got into low 40s. Moved the bator next to wood stove.
1 egg. I only lost 1 egg!!!!!!!!
Yup, counting my ducklings before they hatch!!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Power out for 18 hours.... Yup, spring in Maine! Temps down to 7° last night house got into low 40s. Moved the bator next to wood stove.
1 egg. I only lost 1 egg!!!!!!!!
Yup, counting my ducklings before they hatch!!

Sounds promising at least....

 

[WVduckchick]

So believe it or not, my test is going well in the FI. My known thermos were all within a couple degrees of each other at room temp in the bator before I turned it on. I laid them out so the sensors are around the same height. I've got 98 (lowest to the floor), 99.1, 100, and 100.2 on the one that's the tallest. The unit itself is on like 96 and the extra one included in the unit is only reading like 95. I feel for people who buy them and don't get extra thermos. Getting the proper readings on the units would cook the poor chicks.

 

[BigWeenMachine]

First, as long as there is a crack in the shell, even just a small one, he will not suffocate. He is getting oxygen through the tiny crack. I've never hatched ducks (I'm on day 12 of my first batch of call duck eggs) but once they pip, they rest. It takes a long time for them to absorb all the veins and the yolk. Chicks can take up to 24 hours and I believe ducks, especially the ones that take 28 days, can take up to 48 hours from pip to zip. As long as your humidity is good and the membranes are not dry then just give them time.
Secondly, when you check the eggs make sure your candler has fresh batteries and you're in a dark room. Look for movement in those eggs with the empty bottom. I've had a few eggs that have had space at the top, under the air cell and surprisingly in 2 days time they grew and hatched!!

K, I will let him do his thing. I guess I will just add the other 3 eggs to the hatcher and see what happens. Good to know he won't suffocate. I think that lil guy wore himself out pretty good and had to take a nap after I played him that chick video and he pipped the shell a bunch more. Played another video and heard nothing from him so he must be conked out, lol. It's so entertaining (and nerve-wracking) goin through this the first time!!!