Hands on hatching and help

[Ravynscroft]

Good luck!!

Yeah, we're getting bad wind too... :/

 

[reyecat]

Thank you @RavynFallen

I will do that... he's in the little 'bator now having some "me time" hoping he will stretch out. there's one more to go... there were 4 shrink wrapped... :/ 2 were fine with a little help zipping, then him and one more I'm slowly working on... we thought it was humid enough but I guess not.

we have had many successful chicks out of this same 'bator, but these 4... well, I dunno what happened, can't always do everything right I guess.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Thank you @RavynFallen



I will do that... he's in the little 'bator now having some "me time"  hoping he will stretch out.   there's one more to go... there were 4 shrink wrapped... :/   2 were fine with a little help zipping, then him and one more I'm slowly working on...  we thought it was humid enough but I guess not. 


we have had many successful chicks out of this same 'bator, but these 4... well, I dunno what happened,   can't always do everything right I guess. 

Things happen, unfortunately... best to use a shallow bowl in the sink so you can warm it if needed, and a wet paper towel to rub up the neck to the head if needed... good luck and hang in there!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Gloss and color can make a huge difference in water loss. That's why I recommend to newbies to set eggs from the same breed the first few times. Like all Ameraucana or all Leghorn. That way you are monitoring eggs of similar porosity as you learn to incubate. Mixed hatched can be hard, because some will lose more and some way less under the same conditions.

There will still be variation, but it's often less dramatic.

I've never had a problem with my mixed hatches, they have all seemed to even out, until this hatch. There is such a difference between Ruby's silkie's eggs and my standard, that in the future I will always do my silkie hatches separate from my others. They really do need a higher humidity than I normally run at.

Gah... sorry for all the typos... I can't seem to type anymore...

Join the club...ok, it may just be a club of me, but hey, you're not alone.

so, I hope someone's around.

I had to take the shell off one little one cause the membrane was too dry and it couldn't zip... and was drying out in there... the shell came off quite easily and no blood or anything but now the chick seems stuck in this little ball. will that eventually sort itself out? I know it's cause he couldn't stretch and use his neck muscles but I didn't know what else to do.

What Ravyn said. If the chick is ok to begin with, it should stretch itself out and become active when ready.

Hey! So I got a hen sitting on 12 eggs. She did this last year, only sitting on three, but only one hatched. I went out and saw an egg in the nest with a little hole in it, so I assume the chick pecked the hole, then died. I really don't want it to happen again (the more chicks the better) but how can you prevent it? I read something about not turning the eggs after they start hatching.... Anyway, any advice is helpful. I've read the "Chickens for dummies" book like, a hundred times and it's a big help.

How can you keep a chick from dying under a broody hen?

Unless you can pinpoint the why...it's hard to know what you can do.

 

[RubyNala97]

I've been sick in bed all day. I'm trying to catch up but it's hard because I keep falling behind! This is how far I've got so far....

Its been up and down between 60-70%, which I'm ok with.  It was only like 50%, so I added another small piece of sponge and got it up a little more.  The temp started fluctuating (I know that's normal when messing with the humidity), but kinda scared me when the Spot Check hit 103.9.  But I pulled one out this morning and candled and still had movement.  Hope they are all ok.  I hate experimenting when I have customers wanting these!   Just makes me ill. 

I also checked the 6 lav orp eggs that are now on day 8 and looks like only 3/6 are developing.     No idea why their fertility has dropped off!
On the bright side, all 4 mutt eggs look good!   

My fertility had been 100% but then I had a few clears last batch. I guess it could be weather related? I don't know for sure but there's enough boys out there to get the job done, maybe that's the problem. I still need to get rid of one boy, then my ratio will be good.

Question to anyone who ships eggs.. How much do you folks "clean" them? I know there's a coating you don't want to scratch off(or have been told) but wondered if someone has experience with that?

I never have had to clean shipped eggs before. The only eggs that I had that were really gross were local peafowl eggs. I dampened a paper towel and just got the gross stuff off.

Im so sad, i went to ck on pipping and zipping RD. & the membrane was split a tiny bit and the shell was off all arond zipping area, but i noticed it was not moving, so i listened to it w/my stethoscope, no sound so i gently pulled the shell off and it ws dead.
why did it die? it has only been a couple of hours since it started to pip, zip and die.. its not like it was many many hours???
I dont know why the membrane is so thick and rubbery looking?
any suggestions?

The chick definitely had oxygen and it hasn't been long, so I'm sure there was something deeper/internal going on. How did the navel look?

Ok helpful ones, just had a chick that pipped the pointy end and hatch, part of the yolk sac has not absorbed. It is in a glass in the incubator on a warm wet paper towel. Any thing else I need to do?

Just wait. Most of the time, not all the time, but more so then not my wrong end pippers zip fine on their own.

Hi guys.
I tried looking up pics or examples of a good air cell verses detached one, but it's almost confusing me more? I don't see a blood ring, and there's def viening. My humidity has been consistent. I don't remember other hatched eggs looking like this before?

I'm not sure where the air cell is in this pic. Is it in the pointy end? I can see the veins though, so that's a plus!

Question- Does making a safe hole delay the hatching egg??
I'm asking because I have a shipped duck egg on day 27. Inner pip not external pip. There are large veins and the duckling is alive. BUT there is also some free fluid in the air cell. It looks like clear yellow fluid.
Do I need to make a safe hole?? And what is the fluid?? Any ideas??

Could not get the fluid to show up in a pic. The ducklings head is on the right.
Thanks Linda

Amy answered exactly what I was going to say!

Hi all. Caesargirl, I wish I could help you. I'm definitely not an expert and get sticky and hard and gooey all mixed together, so can't really help.

It is day 20 on my 2nd hatch attempt. Last time, I set 42, ended with 34 fertile, had pretty high humidity throughout and ended up with 2 in great shape, and 1 that I helped with a rock hard membrane. He did survive and is now my fav chick, but it was a longgggg, scary event!

This time, I have kept humidity fairly low, only adding a bit of water when it hit about 25, but we've had rain throughout the first couple of weeks which really helped to keep humidity between 35-50. I candled along the way and even bought a digital scale and weighed and recorded everything. I feel like I'm pretty close to on track. On lockdown I upped humidity (with tubing into a sponge) and it has been slowly climbing from 55 to about 68 in the last 2 days. It's getting ready to rain again.

I am truly a nervous wreck right now. My daughter is visiting and she is so excited to participate in a hatch. I am even More afraid now that her expectations are high and it might be a bad hatch again.

Two questions:
First is that I am using my first shipped eggs. They were wrapped extremely well. No cracks, chips, anything. Out of 14, 12 have made it to day 18 on my last candle. They are BLR Wyandottes. I also have blue/black/splash Copper Marans, and 2 blue EEs setting.    What scares me is that so many say that shipped eggs make it to lockdown and never hatch. I guess that I just don't understand why that would be on shipped vs unshipped. Yes, a few of the air cells are a little wonky, but they all seemed to do very well up to this point. So should I expect that only maybe 2 or 3 of the shipped to hatch? Or none?

Second, it is DAY 20!!!! And absolutely nothing has happened. In fact, it's actually day 20.5.     Last hatch, 1 pipped and hatched on day 19 and one pipped and hatched on day 20. The third difficult hatch pipped on 20 and worked for 36 hours trying to zip until I helped him.
Is this completely unusual? 

And does everyone else feel so much pressure or fear when hatch time rolls around? And does everyone feel such a sense of responsibility to almost Make the chicks live?

Ok, so what incubator are you using? I believe that a big reason that shipped eggs make it to lockdown and then die is because of improper or insufficient turning during days 1-8. How were your air cells upon arrival and how did you treat the eggs the first week? So far you're doing excellent! I've had a shipped batch that all hatched once they made it to lockdown so it's possible!

I keep trying to think that in nature, so many eggs don't hatch for whatever reason because they aren't "meant to." But I can't get over the feeling that if I am going to try to incubate, that I should do it right (and that's such a variable!), that if the hatch fails, then I am 100% responsible.
Could you please, for probably the 30 millionth time, explain the results of a too high humidity hatch and a too low humidity hatch? My humidity was extremely high last time and my struggler could barely make it out of a gray concrete membrane. So what should I be on the lookout for this time? I have all of my "assisting" tools ready, but need to be mentally prepared. Also, I'm seeing that many of you candle them if they are not hatching for whatever reason. Should I just give it time and if nothing happens by day 22, candle then? I'm just not having a good feeling and am second guessing a low humidity incubation.
And I so agree about early quitters.

If you have no pips and you have adequate humidity that recovers easily go ahead and candle!! I candle whenever I feel like it until I see lots of internal pips, then I lay low and let them do their thing.

I hatch at 75% + it often goes up to between 80-90 after they start, though not for long. I don't know how different it is for ducks, I do chicks. I will say, if you have a pipper with a decent amount of membrane exposed, if it is exposed for an extended amount of time, even with high humidity and a hands off approach, it can still turn bownish and start to get leathery, especially in a forced air incubator. I've seen it happen.

Yes, this has happened to me! If they sit exposed long enough, even in high humidity I've dealt with this a few times.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I've been sick in bed all day. I'm trying to catch up but it's hard because I keep falling behind! This is how far I've got so far....
My fertility had been 100% but then I had a few clears last batch. I guess it could be weather related? I don't know for sure but there's enough boys out there to get the job done, maybe that's the problem. I still need to get rid of one boy, then my ratio will be good.
I never have had to clean shipped eggs before. The only eggs that I had that were really gross were local peafowl eggs. I dampened a paper towel and just got the gross stuff off.
The chick definitely had oxygen and it hasn't been long, so I'm sure there was something deeper/internal going on. How did the navel look?
Just wait. Most of the time, not all the time, but more so then not my wrong end pippers zip fine on their own.

I'm not sure where the air cell is in this pic. Is it in the pointy end? I can see the veins though, so that's a plus!
Amy answered exactly what I was going to say!
Ok, so what incubator are you using? I believe that a big reason that shipped eggs make it to lockdown and then die is because of improper or insufficient turning during days 1-8. How were your air cells upon arrival and how did you treat the eggs the first week? So far you're doing excellent! I've had a shipped batch that all hatched once they made it to lockdown so it's possible!
If you have no pips and you have adequate humidity that recovers easily go ahead and candle!! I candle whenever I feel like it until I see lots of internal pips, then I lay low and let them do their thing.
Yes, this has happened to me! If they sit exposed long enough, even in high humidity I've dealt with this a few times.

You can't be sick. Not allowed!! Hope you feel better!! Was wondering where you were! Your fertility was awesome on the ones you sent me!!! Only one showed no signs at all of developing and that could hae been shipping for all we know!!

 

[BigWeenMachine]

I know I joke a lot about hands on vs hands off, but in all seriousness, I have only had one assist that didn't grow into a healthy strong chicken. I do believe that you need to give them time, and I don't go into an unpipped shell. I am not saying that every chick I've assisted wouldn't make it out w/o help, though I know a couple there is no doubt about that. I start an assist at 24 hours after a pip, even if it's just widening the pip whole and they finish. I don't subscribe to the 'if they have to have help, they aren't worthy' mentality.

I do believe it depends on the reason for assist as to whether they are going to survive. I think if you are assisting a chick at day 24 you have a much higher chance of that chick not making it versus a chick that is stuck or not in a good position to hatch at day 21.

I think that helping gets a bad rep because it is not done at the right time, under the wrong circumstances or without the right knowledge to assist. I believe many people that are against helping because they "always die anyway" are either not helping in the right time frame or are botching the assist, or there is something going on with the chick that can not be seen and yes, would have died either way. I can even understand those that are reluctant to help and then have to cull after, with the attitude that it's easier if they die on their own. I just can't do that. If there's a chance, I have to help. If that means I have to deal with special needs or after death cull, then I will deal with that.

We can't always save them, but in my world I can always try.

I know that there is a big difference between my little raising chickens as a hobby and those that raise for the soul purpose of producing SOP or quality sales and that the business aspect is much harder than the bleeding heart hatcher (why I could never make a business of raising for profit.)

What bothers me is the SOP and breeders belief that everyone should hold the same philosophy of the quality and many condemn the bleeding hearts for not being hardcore. I can accept that people have different standards, I can't accept that hatchers don't allow others to have their own idea of standards and scare the living crap out of new hatchers by warnings of not helping or not experiencing the hatch.

And after seeing all of this process first hand I couldn't agree with you more. I was petrified from so many different angles by so many different things I read about on the web or talked about from people. I was under the presumption that you never help cos they aren't strong enough.

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Just hatched these yesterday... more due this weekend...

Pretty cute. Is that one an ancona?

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Just had duckling number 3 hatch at 56 hours after pip!!! It had a big bunch of goo attached to its stomach but no yellow embryo; that goo has already detached itself and it's tummy looks closed up. It isn't as strong as the last lil duck but she seems fine! I'll give her some sav-a-chick once she dries just to make sure. This is the one that I had helped out last night at 2 in the morning and found the blood vein inside. So relieved it made it. 3 down, one to go. Just pulled the last one out and tapped the shell and it is still kicking. It has been pipped between 24 and 36 hours now so I may have to help it out in the morning if it hasn't already hatched.

Pics coming soon. Baby number 2 is in the brooder playing tag with Archie. This one looks to be a blue duckie so looks like Sghetti is this one's dad!

 

[Ravynscroft]

And after seeing all of this process first hand I couldn't agree with you more.  I was petrified from so many different angles by so many different things I read about on the web or talked about from people.  I was under the presumption that you never help cos they aren't strong enough.

Heh... that wouldn't work with most Call ducks... with their short bills, assisting can be a necessity...

Pretty cute. Is that one an ancona?

Thank you... these are all Calls... the one on the far right looks to be a magpie Call... only survivor of a crushed box of shipped eggs...

Edited cuz I forgot my right from my left...