Hands on hatching and help

[casportpony]

Amy and everyone, this person could use some comforting:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1094032/please-help-i-might-have-accidently-killed-my-first-batch

-Kathy

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Amy and everyone, this person could use some comforting:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1094032/please-help-i-might-have-accidently-killed-my-first-batch

-Kathy

Checked it out!!! Poor girl. I think she'll be just fine though!

 

[casportpony]

Amy and everyone, this person could use some comforting:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1094032/please-help-i-might-have-accidently-killed-my-first-batch


-Kathy

Checked it out!!! Poor girl. I think she'll be just fine though!

Thanks! One of my favorite quotes is "it's not dead until it's warm and dead", lol.

-Kathy

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thanks! One of my favorite quotes is "it's not dead until it's warm and dead", lol.

-Kathy

LOL

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Thanks. How long do they usually take to dry so I can put him in my brooder? He has flopped over and laid down right beneath the heater in the hot spot that is running 102 degrees. I wanna get him out asap so he doesn't cook in there.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thanks. How long do they usually take to dry so I can put him in my brooder? He has flopped over and laid down right beneath the heater in the hot spot that is running 102 degrees. I wanna get him out asap so he doesn't cook in there.

Depends on your humidity as to how quick they dry. He won't cook in there though...lol He's loving the warmth. I keep the area under my light in the brooder 100/101 the first couple days, and most of them are right under in enjoying the warmth.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I did a collage for the first 5 days of incubation.....lol

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Depends on your humidity as to how quick they dry. He won't cook in there though...lol He's loving the warmth. I keep the area under my light in the brooder 100/101 the first couple days, and most of them are right under in enjoying the warmth.

That's good then. He is dabbling around on the screen trying to get to the water underneath. Too cute. Maybe I will leave him in there for today and take him out this evening then. I need him to get those other ducklings up and going, lol.

 

[pipAchick]

Sooooo, my father gave me his flashlight cause it has better batteries (apparently) so I was able to get a glimpse of the green eggs and their air cells. Surprised to see the air cells aren't bad and I believe 5/6 are developing. I also pulled a couple of the Spitz to try pics again and I got a couple good ones. This would be my official candle for day 5 of incubation.

Speed reading to catch up but wow-amazing pics!

 

[RubyNala97]

I just want to say that I love this thread!!

Day 25 (lock down ), I had 2 eggs going in my wee homemade incubator. Lost #1 last week. #2 looks great as of few hours ago.
Nervous ducky momma wish I could take the week off. Candled last time little bit ago. Very full, good veins, little movement seeb. Very hopefully. Eeeeee can't wait. ♡♡♡

Good luck!!

Transfer complete!  No casualties!

Pulled a lot of eggs - a total of 18 - obvious clears, blood rings, and a couple of quitters. Kept one that I'm just not sure of yet.  So I have 8 active, moving, viable eggs (Day 12) and one that I kept in case for a total of 9 eggs in the Brinsea.  

Good job, Blooie!!

Well Ruby, I just cracked the 2 eggs that were clear on the bottom third of the egg when I candled.  2 Beautiful blue swedish looking chicks that looked fully formed but were extremely tiny.  Neither one moved or kicked or anything once cracked so I am sure they had already died by the time I removed them.  All the veins were gone on the shell during candling and once I opened them up the remaining veins inside were black.  Quitters I guess.

On a happy note though, I briefly fiddled with the hatcher and added the one remaining viable duckling that was due to enter lockdown (she had not pipped the shell yet but I could see her lil beak fluttering around in the air sack-- Hopefully she turns out okay cos she was pipping on the short side of the slant in the air sack).  With the help of my wife (who is 7 months pregnant and grumbling about me getting the baby nursery ready instead of playing with ducklings), we managed to quickly add the last good egg to the other 3 in my hatcher...... and we candled the 2 eggs already inside the hatcher that I was previously worried about, only to find full development and movement in both!!! 

I am still a lil worried about our first pipper though.  He has definitely made progress today by making the crack much bigger and chirping several times when I played him peeping duckling videos from youtube, but he still hasn't made a hole all the way through the shell so I can see his cute lil beak chattering about.  He just finished day 26 about 5 hours ago so he is still probably ahead of schedule.  I feel like a nervous soccer momma duck, lol.

I'm going to crack 2 call eggs today too. They had veins and moving embryos but not anymore. The veins are all receded and they're not coming back! Does the breed of duck your hatching take 28 days? You know once you start collecting eggs again and wait to set them all together you're going to see how much easier it is!!

great job keeping everyone warm! Sorry to hear you lost one egg but glad the majority are ok!
I had 4 remaining eggs in the Brinsea during the power outage-I moved them back to the Hova still air yesterday morning. 2 hatched overnight and one is zipping now

I'm considering getting the still air hova, how do you like it?

We are frozen again this morning.  Of course, this is after I re-ran all my water hoses out to the coops and unplugged all the heated waterers.  I'm mad as a wet hen...  lol
My 3-1/2-week olds seem to be handling the cold very well though.  Although, I must say, they must have some Silkie blood in them, because they are too stupid to go upstairs at night, where the brooder plate is.  I've had to move them by hand every night for over a week now! 

Yup, I was all set up for spring too. The last two days have been a pain in the butt! My silkies have no problem going in and out of the coop all day long but once the sun starts going down they all pile up on the floor of the run and I have to go out there and pick each one up and put them to bed. It's so annoying! Why don't they just go to bed?! I could never get an automatic door or they would be left out all night.

Wow that is crazy that the built-in is so far off! I run 4 thermos in my Hova still air and If they're all clustered together they read very close but I have major cooler spots around the perimeter so I try to keep eggs right under the heating element. The center 3" diameter is very hot in mine so I don't put eggs there either.

With the Brinsea, it holds completely steady but it's just so small I don't like hatching in it. I did a test on mine and at the upper built-in glass thermometer it would read 99-100. At mid-egg level about 1 1/2" below the thermo I was 97.8 on 3 separate thermometers! So I dialed mine up to read 102. At egg level I'm now right on 99-100. Have you or @RubyNala97 found this to be happening with your Brinseas too?

Yes, about 1-2 degree variance between top and bottom. On my first hatch in there some liquid had seperated from the thermometer while it was being shipped to me and I accidentally ran 101 the whole hatch. The chicks came early but it was a good hatch. I fixed the thermometer and ran 99.5 this last hatch (my second in the 20) and the hatch dragged out for 3 full days!! Next time I'm going to run 100.5. I also do not like the rails and cradle. Next time I'm laying the eggs flat and hand turning. I have call duck eggs coming next week!! And I'll prob add some of my own eggs, as much as I can fit.

We are frozen too!!!

I'm just the opposite. As long as it doesn't push above 101, I'd rather have it a tad high. right now I have one side showing 100 and the other hitting 101. I tried to rebalance and rotate during turning this morning, but I still have that difference. I am keeping a close eye on it though. I want the 100, but not the 101.

This is the first hatch I have been playing the humidity game too- and I don't like it...lol I actually added water along with my sponges yesterday trying to hold humidity up above 40. At this point it could run 50% and I wouldn't be worried and ya'll know how I feel about humidity above 40 the first 17 days....lol I'd better get some cute little silkie chicks after all this....lol Yesterday morning showed 14/18 developing. I hope they are all still developing. We hit day 6 tonight so either tomorrow night or Thursday morning I'll be doing a complete candle and marking air cells so I will know if they are all still developing. I want to get better batteries for the flashlight too and see if I can at least see the air cells in the greens. I put new batteries in it, but they are the cheapos and I think that is my problem, so I need some duracells!! I can usually at least see the air cells, but not this time.

We are frozen too! And I like to run on the hot side too. With my silkie eggs I run, on an average at least 50%. It goes up to 55% all the time. And the air cells grow great! I swear! I'm all for low humidity incubation and it really makes sense...sometimes I feel so "wrong" for running it so high but I can't argue with the results!! Lol.

OMG!!! Woke up and found significant progress on our pipped duckling.  So I played him a video and he hatched right before my eyes!!!!  So exciting.  Still no pips on the other three though so maybe this lil guy can talk the other ones outta coming out too.  It's only halfway through day 27 so they have plenty of time.

Congrats on your first baby!! I don't get anything done around the house during hatch time! Even though I could my mind is to distracted, all I can think about is what's happening in the incubator! And yes, that baby will definitely encourage the others to come out. It's having a real life YouTube video playing right inside the incubator.