Hands on hatching and help

[PD-Riverman]

I Need Help. I accidentally cracked an Egg in the incubator, they only have a few days left before hatch. What should I do. I candled to see if it was still alive, there is still heavy Veining, and there was movement, No Leaks so it did not pop the membrane but what do I do to keep bacteria and Microorganisms out of the egg?!? I'm gonna put some petroleum jelly over the crack for now.

I talked to a guy Saturday that hatches high dollar peachick eggs----he said a little Vaseline and a bandade----hatches them all the time like that.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I have the big round one in one coop and my home made one in the other. I really want to make some of the PVC feeders though.

If you are talking about the 3 or 4" pipe with elbo's on the bottom----Do some research/people reviews----I know several that has made them and they quit using them because the chickens were dumping the complete feeder on the ground. One guy said he still uses his but only pours enough feed for 1 day----kinda defeats the purpose!!

 

[PD-Riverman]

I thought you were one of the main helpers on the broody hen thread! Sorry. Well I would love some advice or insight. I have all purebred silkies and most of them are first time moms...and terrible moms. They are good sitters but that's about it. I tried seperating them and that worked better but integration was hard. So this month I let them hatch in the coop. The first week they stay in the coop with the babies. I put chick feeders and waterers in the coop and give them finch seed mix with starter grit and scrambled eggs daily. That went good. The chicks were eating, drinking and scratching around. But after the first week the moms take the chicks down the ramp into the run. That's where trouble starts. The moms have been ignoring the babies after they make that move around 1 week post hatch. I find the chicks crying and the moms are off doing there own thing, ignoring the crying chicks. The chicks basically fend for themselves. So far out of two batches with 2 different moms I have gone out to check and have found a total of 3 dead chicks. I had one good mom. She protected her babies, she fed them and always had them right next to her. That was the one mom I had seperated for about 3 weeks. Is this normal for first time moms? With the last batch I ended up taking the 2 remaining chicks inside after I found the dead one yesterday. These are small batches too. The biggest batch was 5 chicks. Is there anything I can do or not do to help them be better moms? Does it take a couple batches for them to get the hang of it? I'm really over these bad moms and hearing crying chicks and finding them dead! I don't even want to let another one sit!
(thanks for letting me vent)!

I do answer and offer a lot of info on the broody hen thread. I know we are on the wrong thread but I will give you a quick reply. I do not use a silkie for a hatching hen a lot, maybe a dozen in the last year. I usually let the other hens or the incubator hatch their eggs. The ones I do use are for sure Moved to the private hatching pens and I never have a problem with them. The broody silkie stays with them till they do not need her anymore----then I usually sale the chicks or most of them. I never----with No chicks allow them with the Flock---older chickens(Just My Way--I do not like the pecking and killing that happens with a lot of them). I feel if you will move the broody silkies to a private pen---like I do---you will see a lot better results. Make sure if you do that you use 1/2" hardware cloth of the pens----to keep the chicks in and the snakes/rats out. Good Luck!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

X2 that's also what I did. The chick hatched successfully.

So did mine and didn't need to be assisted either, which shocked me.

Is there anything I can do for this little guy. The bubble looks like a yolk with blood vessels and is growing.

If it is yolk, I'd put a damp paper towel in the bottom of a mug and place the chick in it and either put it back in the bator or under a brooder light. The mug will confine it in hopes that it won't rupture the yolk sac and give it time to absorb. If it ruptures, the chick's probability of survival drops significavtly.

If you are talking about the 3 or 4" pipe with elbo's on the bottom----Do some research/people reviews----I know several that has made them and they quit using them because the chickens were dumping the complete feeder on the ground. One guy said he still uses his but only pours enough feed for 1 day----kinda defeats the purpose!!

Really? The couple I talked to last year loved theirs but they had another piece, I want to say like a Y inside. I haven't looked into the plans yet, though I have a couple pinned on Pintrest

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I do answer and offer a lot of info on the broody hen thread. I know we are on the wrong thread but I will give you a quick reply. I do not use a silkie for a hatching hen a lot, maybe a dozen in the last year. I usually let the other hens or the incubator hatch their eggs. The ones I do use are for sure Moved to the private hatching pens and I never have a problem with them. The broody silkie stays with them till they do not need her anymore----then I usually sale the chicks or most of them. I never----with No chicks allow them with the Flock---older chickens(Just My Way--I do not like the pecking and killing that happens with a lot of them). I feel if you will move the broody silkies to a private pen---like I do---you will see a lot better results. Make sure if you do that you use 1/2" hardware cloth of the pens----to keep the chicks in and the snakes/rats out. Good Luck!

I think if we can get OT and discuss (human) labor and deliver here that actually talking chicken here is not on the "wrong thread".....lol

 

[2crazyflockers]

This one has drawn down. The blue and black lines are from day 7 and day 14 Which unit do you have? I think only the "Advance" models have the hygrometer and a place to hook the pump, but not positive about that. You can scroll through your menu (press + and - at the same time) and arrow through. See if you see an RH% option.

After the draw down how long before internal pip or is that after?

 

[PD-Riverman]

Really? The couple I talked to last year loved theirs but they had another piece, I want to say like a Y inside. I haven't looked into the plans yet, though I have a couple pinned on Pintrest

Well build/try one and see if you like it. The one guy that still uses his but pours a daily feed amount in them----make about 50---he took pics and posted them----feed everywhere. He was not happy.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

I think if we can get OT and discuss (human) labor and deliver here that actually talking chicken here is not on the "wrong thread".....lol

Lol agreed..

 

[2crazyflockers]

After the draw down how long before internal pip or is that after?

found the answer a page later sorry about that!!

 

[jenniferlamar70]

found the answer a page later sorry about that!!

What was the answer lol