Hands on hatching and help

[PD-Riverman]

Who does this...

What are we Doing????? Mark the eggs----yep. Put in a plastic tray--Nope? Leave them dirty---yep if hatching. I am Guessing????? LOL

 

[jenniferlamar70]

What are we Doing????? Mark the eggs----yep. Put in a plastic tray--Nope? Leave them dirty---yep if hatching. I am Guessing????? LOL

Hahahaha. I ordered 8 and now with extras I have 14. Incubator holds 12. Hoping I can squeeze them all in there. If not guess a few have to go with the silkie eggs lol. The plastic container is just so they can sit for 24 hours as they are shipped eggs..

 

[PD-Riverman]

Hahahaha. I ordered 8 and now with extras I have 14. Incubator holds 12. Hoping I can squeeze them all in there. If not guess a few have to go with the silkie eggs lol. The plastic container is just so they can sit for 24 hours as they are shipped eggs..

"And Thats The Rest Of The Story!

I have a friend that will stack them in the Styrofoam---he had like 114 decent size bantam egg in it----the reason he does that is a lot of his eggs are unfertile---by the time he candles about mid point---he usually gets down to one layer.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

"And Thats The Rest Of The Story!

I have a friend that will stack them in the Styrofoam---he had like 114  decent size bantam egg in it----the reason he does that is a lot of his eggs are unfertile---by the time he candles about mid point---he usually gets down to one layer.

Yeah that's true. I candled these and a few looked questionable. I have a feeling I'll be tossing some before the time is up.

 

[RubyNala97]

e Boil the water and tear the sheets, we have a broody hen!  Just waiting for dark to fall so we can move her into our thrown together 'broody box'.  She can't be sitting on more than three eggs, but she seems very determined so far.  I had to work tonight and got home to a sobbing daughter because I wasn't here to deal with the broody and she didn't know what to do.  Poor kid.

You can have some of my broodies if you like! Lol.

I think anyone who sells eggs should check a few for a bullseye. It seems wrong to do otherwise. Yes, you could still have some unfertilized, but you should do your best to make sure your "product" is as good as possible by checking for fertilization and packaging properly.

X2

sooooo happy i found this site this is my first hatch of call ducks 2 of them pipped last night and this morning they had already made air holes yeah!! and i have one that is up side down but has made a couple of holes i really want to put a hole in the air sack but i am sitting on my hands lol i think i have one that has quite a couple of days ago not sure tho no smell so waiting any suggestions would be helpful  :/

You want to put a hole in the air sac for the one that pipped upside down (malpositioned)? Just make sure that he can breathe through the pip he made at the wrong side/end. That one might need assistance come hatch time.

Two cute babies! The other Serama has pipped. And the two big siblings (Cornish game/buff Orpington cross) look good too, one has pipped! We are on day 20. This is the first time in a while they've come out without a bit of help but it helps that they're my own eggs so no shipping. It's so lovely watching it just happen as it should!

Oh congrats!! So cute!

My first goose is no longer with me.  he lived for three days the next morning I woke up to check on him and he was gone.  I have NO clue what happened.  GRRRR


So after driving around there was a place up the road that had some gooslings,  YES, I bought TWO a girl and a boy they are Pilgrims. LOL They boy is quiet but MAN the girl Makes up for it.  She doesn't STOP talking at all, last night she was running around and decides to nibble on my hair, she gave me a BATH.  My hair was sooooooo wet it was kind of Grose but cute at the same time. LOL


I have geese slobber in my hair.  LOL guess this will be my new Conditioner. LOL

I'm so sorry that he didn't make it! That's really sad but I saw the pics of the new babies and they are so cute!!

I am far from a pro on call ducks, my first batch is still hatching. We had 12 in the incubator and 12 under my call hen, all but 1 of hers were fully developed and had beaks in the air cell on Monday. I read that they were difficult to hatch so I popped a hole in each air cell and put 4 back under her and 7 in the incubator. The 7 in the incubator hatched yesterday and one hatched this morning. I ended up helping several every step of the way, they just couldn't figure it out lol. I checked my call hen this morning and I found 2 empty shells and one that had died trying to hatch, no live ducklings were found, I looked everywhere. I'm heartbroken for my lonely little call duck. We are going to put the ones that hatched with her in a temporary coop, I no longer feel like they are safe in the current coop.
If you think they might need help hatching I would say go for it. If I hadn't of helped the 7 we brought inside they might not have made it. The ones under my call hen had no help and didn't make it

That's so sad!! At least you put most inside andd is a great job hatching them!

"And Thats The Rest Of The Story!

I have a friend that will stack them in the Styrofoam---he had like 114  decent size bantam egg in it----the reason he does that is a lot of his eggs are unfertile---by the time he candles about mid point---he usually gets down to one layer.

I filled the Eco 20 with 30 silkie eggs, laying flat. Figured I would pull some along the way but nope everyone made it to lockdown. Talk about a crowded hatch!!

 

[RubyNala97]

So my lone silkie egg left over from a broody hatch finally hatched! It was pipped for exactly 40 hours before hatching. The longest pip I've ever had! I checked it here and there and could see the little beak and that it was breathing so I just left it alone. And sure enough it zipped and hatched all on its own. Knew that egg was not ready! It was a good reminder that we give advice to the best of our abilities but it's really hard to know exactly what to do unless we can see it in person.

 

[audy5000g]

For a few months @RubyNala97
  and I have talked about having a thread for Hands on Hatchers to come together and for help for those who want to be more involved or don't want to accept the "Never help a chick" theory.  People have different methods of hatching, and that's ok. When you find something that works for you, you do it. Don't worry about what other's views are, as long as your method is working- that is what is important. This thread is meant for us hands on people.  A place to come together and talk, exchange our "hands on" methods, or seek help in assisting or just to see how our methods really do work for us. We aren't a thread to debate the differences for hands on/hands off, there's a thread for that. We are strictly for people  that want to experience hatching in it's entirety w/out being literally yelled at because you are doing it different or because you are being hands on. OH no you opened your incubator at hatch???  That's ok, here we understand and will help anyone who needs it regardless of wether you did something we wouldn't. One of the greatest and most knowledgeable things is candling, and you shouldn't be afraid to do it.

A little about myself: I use an old LG incubator with fan attatchement, and I have awesome hatches. My last was 100%. I prefer a low humidity incubation method, and a high hatch humidity. I am VERY hands on. I open my incubator frequently during hatch and I have NEVER lost a chick that has pipped or started zipping. I seldom have post hatch mortality and my chicks are very healthy with no leg problems. And I am more than willing to assist my chicks if I feel it is neccessary. Why am I saying this? Because these are the things that a lot of hands off hatchers will swear to you will happen if you are not hands off. I respect a hands off hatchers philospohies and that's great for them. But I hate the fact that some would condem and put down those of us that don't share their philosophy. So if you are looking for a place to share your experiences and excitment in being hands on, without the worry of being scolded or threatened you won't be helped in a time of need, feel free to jump in and inroduce yourselves. Tell us a little about your methods and share pics of your flocks and chicks. 

Wow. Love this!! Thank you so much.

 

[audy5000g]

@Amy LynneOk...so glad someone led me to this thread. Yippie

I'm New to hatching and my son wants to breed chickens for a business. And let's just say we are not off to the best start. All eggs shipped and less then half hatch rate.

We are on our 2nd hatch now and only 3 of over 2 dozen have hatched. 2 with our help. And they don't look good either. Maybe we should have left them alone. Ugh.

Today is day 21 and I am so sad. I have other eggs still in with no pip and I know some were alive at day 18 candle but not much movement.

I removed the healthy chick (Rosecomb). But the two golden sebrights I left in. I put in grow gel but they show no interest. Just hobbled away from it. ...Sigh

Any help would be great.

 

[WVduckchick]

Hey @audy5000g sorry to hear you are having trouble

Give some details on your incubator please, still-air/fan, temps you've been running, humidity, etc.

 

[audy5000g]

Hey @audy5000g sorry to hear you are having trouble .
Give some details on your incubator please, still-air/fan, temps you've been running, humidity, etc.

I have a Hova-bator with turner. Kept at 99 but day 19 took down to 98.

Humidity was 40/50 till lockdown. It was about 72. Now it's 77. I assume cause of wet chicks.

Sigh. I just want to get this down before I waste any more money. @WVduckchick