Hatch-Along - Setting eggs week of February 8th!! Who's joining me?

[Adam7]

I hear chirping, it's day 21 in a few hours. Should they have pipped by now? I'm wondering about my humidity now. I had it at 75, is that too high. I started worrying over it and raised the lid just a little and took out two of the sponges. It went to 70 quick, am I drowning them?

 

Leave your bator alone! It's a bit high but still fine! Don't open as it can cause shrink wrap.

 

[Adam7]

All but 3 eggs have pips! They are little pips, but they're still pips! Lol! We have a bigger pip with a chickie still working on it. Do chicks sometimes pip to breathe oxygen and wait another day to come out?

Yes! Only start to worry if they pipped more then 24 hours ago. Otherwise let them do their thing!

 

[Crisses]

All but 3 eggs have pips! They are little pips, but they're still pips! Lol! We have a bigger pip with a chickie still working on it. Do chicks sometimes pip to breathe oxygen and wait another day to come out?

Yes, first pip is to breathe better, then they take a long rest or nap before they continue....the one working on it should be out pretty soon.

 

[PoultryGirly]

We're up to 5 chicks now! One egg has a pip!

 

[ddpbk1]

Question for hatching pros: Is 7 out of 10 shipped eggs good? My humidity wouldn't go over 65%. I have two Swedish Flower chicks with crooked toes is that common? not the last ones hatched. Thanks for any thoughts

 

[Crisses]

Question for hatching pros:  Is 7 out of 10 shipped eggs good?  My humidity wouldn't go over 65%.  I have two Swedish Flower chicks with crooked toes is that common? not the last ones hatched.  Thanks for any thoughts

That sounds like a great rate for shipped eggs. As for the toes, I had one baby pullet who walked on the stump of her "wrist"...and I rehabbed her while she was a baby...I laid her in my palm, spread her foot out how it is supposed to be, pumped her leg gently...switched to perching position and made her grip my finger properly then later did same while tilting my hand to make her keep her balance...a few minutes a few times a day for maybe 2 weeksuntil she was walking correctly. She's one of my 3 layers now and you'd never know she had a problem and her name is Peggy short for Pegleg Consider physical therapy like that before they get too old....there are threads on these problems...

 

[Jmurph]

Thank you all for your posts....I set on 2/15 and my hatch date is March 8th....I hate the waiting!!!!!! I love to read all about your hatches...I am hoping I can post similiar positive results next Saturday!

 

[Crisses]

Update: my second batch started pipping late yesterday...3 pipped by bedtime, 1 hatched overnight, the other 2 are zipping and 1 pipped....so of 7 I have at least 4 active eggs, and I think I hear someone pipping inside an egg.

 

[NestingHillsSC]

Update: my second batch started pipping late yesterday...3 pipped by bedtime, 1 hatched overnight, the other 2 are zipping and 1 pipped....so of 7 I have at least 4 active eggs, and I think I hear someone pipping inside an egg.

Nice!!

I'm going to try again Wednesday. Another long month.

 

[r4eboxer]

Just catching up, this thread is moving now ha ha, Out of the 14 eggs I set, 3 were infertile, 11 made it to lock down, I set 5 eggs I had submerged in water for a while while washing eggs for the table, put them in the fridge for 3 weeks, I am testing fertility so I figured it couldn't hurt to put some eggs from the fridge in. the other 6 eggs were pulled from the nest a few days before incubation. Of the 5 fridge eggs, 2 have hatched, 1 is zipping now and the other two are pipped and in the process of beginning the zip. The other 6 eggs 4 have hatched, one is just about to pop out of the egg, 1 is pipped and starting to zip and 1 has not pipped at all. The one that has not pipped is a dark green egg that I could not see inside so it may not even be fertile. All the other dark eggs I couldn't see in had chicks in them. Looks like I am going to have 10 chicks from 11 eggs making it to lock down.

Congrats to all who have fuzzy butts!! and to those who didn't have good hatches, don't get discouraged I had bad chick hatches last year, it does get better.


UPDATE, 10 of 11 eggs in lock down have hatched, I did help the last one a little, it zipped half way and didn't seem to know to finish zipping, it was trying to kick itself out of the egg and the top wouldn't come off, so I pulled the top off and he is now out, we I hope it's a she but anyway... I'm so surprised the fridge/washed eggs hatched. I had them soaking in water for a while when I washed them. I got pulled away and forgot about them, still I've got chicks from them and they are strong. I'm going to open the other egg, I bet its not even fertile, I couldn't see in it the shell is too dark.