hatching shipped BCM eggs, PIC heavy. HATCHING started 9/25!!!!

[shelleyd2008]

I just realized that I recognize one of your sellers. julie3810 is The Farmer's Wife on here, though she hasn't been around much at all the past few months. I've gotten lakenvelders eggs from her, she is a very nice person to deal with!

Congrats on the babies, keep 'em coming!

I'm looking at my first possible 100% hatch from my guinea's eggs, I've had a hard time hatching them this year! Something got my only remaining hen, so I'm really hoping there are a lot of girls in this group

I don't know anyone else that has a 'flock' of buff dundottes, so id I don't have any more, I won't either

 

[6littlechickies]

egg 12 has finally hatched! also egg 30 is now pipped and 19 is zipping away!!!

 

[6littlechickies]

we just tossed egg #6 as it looked to be weeping, had no movement in candling and seemed to smell funny. I opened the one side of the bator just a bit and pulled it out.

If any experts are watching out there, I could use a little advice....the humidity is rising with all these babies now. It's at 85%!!!!

I have both of the plugs out but I'm not sure if I should try to lift the lid a little to lower it a bit?! I don't want to shrink wrap em but I don't want to drown then either!?

Poor little things that have hatched haven't even really fluffed out yet. i'm not sure what I should do. any suggestions? there are still 4 left to pip, 2 are pipped and the other 4 have hatched.

 

[Happy Chooks]

 

[6littlechickies]

this will probably be the last post tonight. we plan to go to the swap tomorrow and will need to leave around 7 to get there before 11am. still can't believe I'm driving over 3 hours for my chickens!

LOL. this is for my DH too who is really, REALLY hoping to get a breeding pair of peas and red golden pheasants. don't think well find the pheasants but I know there will be peas and I've talked with deerman about a pair. whatever we find that he likes I'll be buying him for an early bday present. sshhh!!! I've been toying with him about it all week but I secretly can't wait to buy him a pair!!

no new hatches or pips yet. egg 19 is zipped over 1/2 around but seems to be taking a little rest now.

with the humidity at 85% we decided to quickly yank the hatched shells and then banded the one chick from julie3810, egg 31, because it was trying to jump the Barrier to get to the others. we grabbed chick, shut the bator, banded and put 'her'
in with the other hatched ones. all the other hatched ones are from revolutionmama so far. by the time we finished humidity was at 69% and has been slowly rising back up. we did that probably at least an hour ago and it's now 77%.

just to recap eggs 2, 3, 12, 13 and 31 have hatched, egg 19 is zipping and egg 30 has pipped. nada from eggs 7, 8, 24, and 29.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I don't think 85% humidity this late in the game would drown them. You can point a fan in the general direction of the incubator, that would increase air flow and suck some of the humidity out of it.

 

[Kismet]

I've just read through this whole thread - it's like a soap opera. I am anxiously waiting for more news.

But I also have picked up some tips for my next hatch. I am going to try the divider idea. I hatched four groups this summer and now they are mixed up as growing chicks. I need to leg band, too. Thank you for sharing your method of keeping track. I am also one for records, hoping each time to improve my hatches. I hatched some marans - they are so hard to see through. I also found that they took longer than my lighter brown eggs to hatch.

 

[6littlechickies]

Well, we are home after a VERY long day of driving! However we did find several things we HAD to bring home, including a breeding trio of red golden pheasants for DH and yet another incubator for me (brings my total up to 4 now)!!!

Anyway, back to the BCM's...no new hatches since last night. 19 is still trying to zip out...not sure if I should intervene at this point. we just got home a little bit ago and hubby and I have not had a minute to discuss it yet. Also, egg #30 has started to zip around, but hasn't gotten very far. I can see its beak poke in and out so it still must be working.

I have the brooder setup for the ones that have hatched and if we do end up helping egg 19 I'll move them over. They are all fluffed out and humidity is still 76% so I might just move them later. If I do I will take more pics and add them here. If not tonight, I'll probably do it tomorrow as I have another lockdown for the surprise chicken eggs this upcoming Tuesday. lol. I need the bator!

 

[6littlechickies]

OK, we could not stand it anymore!

we ended up helping both egg 19 and 30.

Turned out 19 was pretty stuck as was 30. We might have jumped the gun a bit with 30 as there is still a bit of yolk but it was quite stuck and came out within a few seconds of breaking at the shell. I did I quick candle of the remaining 4 unhatched eggs and saw no movement in any of them so I think our hatch is complete. I did put them back in just in case but not expecting anything.

I took some pics of our assist of egg 19, I missed 30 as I was candling eggs then. Again, quality is so-so, using the camera phone. The regular camera takes just amazing pics but is in the van and I'm just too tired to go grab it tonight. Maybe in the morning I'll get it and take some better pics.

here is 19, just as DH was putting it back in the bator.

and then here is 30, after he put it back.

We are going to give them both a little while and see what happens.

Both of these are feather footed too! Of the other 5 that hatched, only ONE has feathering on the legs. I need to research but I thought that was either there or not from birth?! Every one of the sellers I bought from said feather footed but 3 of the 4 from revolutionmama are clean legged?!?!

next post: some pics of the little fuzzies in their temporary brooder (we are running out of brooder space and are getting creative!).

 

[6littlechickies]

Here are the fuzz-butts!!!

this is all five of the fluffed out ones, eggs numbered 2,3,12,13 and 31.

here are a couple others of individual ones as we put the green (revoultionmama) bands on. We already put the band on julie3318's egg (purple) last night.

in this pic you can see the one chick that does have feathered legs. This one plus the one from julie are the only two with feathered legs in there now. Please ignore the background...kids were asking for hot chocolate at the same time I was taking these pics....the box is in the background. You can see the feathering on the left leg in this pic.