I dyed my eggs tonight! - UPDATED!! They're Hatching!! *GRAPHIC PIC*

[dancingbear]

Poor hatches happen for all kinds of reasons. There's no way anybody reading this thread can know just what factors affected the hatch rate, other than the dye. She could have had temp spikes, or temps too low, humidity problems, or other things we are unaware of. The dye is just the one thing you are aware of.

If done correctly, injecting dye is not at all like holding their heads under water. For one thing, the whole chick at that stage is still completely surrounded by fluid. For another thing, the dye is injected into the fluid at the small end of the eggs which isn't even where the the chicks head will be later when it begins to breathe air.

I've never heard of dying chicks by adding food color to the hens feed before collecting the eggs. If that works, I wonder why commercial hatcheries (that sell colored chicks) do it by injection, instead. I'll have to look that up, it's an interesting idea. Just ordinary food coloring?

 

[Lach Cnoc Farm]

Hello again everyone,
My internet has been all sorts of screwed up the last couple days so i haven't been able to get on to check anything. I'm amazed at all the posts that popped onto this thread since I've been gone.

I would like everyone on here and that's followed this thread that i meant in no way to offend anyone or cause any problems. Like i said in the beginning, this was purely an experiment for me, to test hatch rate and possibly use later for ID purposes...much like dancing bear explained, eventually banding their leg after they're old enough. It was in no way for entertainment...dying chicks really is not very entertaining to me.

I plan on doing a breeding project next year and this process would come in very handy for me. I've never heard of and also never saw anything online about dying through feed (like countrybum mentioned). I think i will try this later on, the whole process of injecting the eggs can be a pain in the butt, not to mention nerve wracking.

ALSO, I had a lot of problems with incubation this time around. We had a week or so of 70-80 degree weather and it caused constant spikes on a daily basis, i am really surprised that i had ANY hatch at all. I was candling like a maniac for 2 weeks during and after all that.

I talked to my vet on friday about the problems i had with the 2 chicks i lost. He also said the swollen neck could have been caused by the chick being positioned oddly in the egg and not being able to peck but a tiny spot over and over again. The first chick(bluie) most likely died because of a spike i had from my fat cat hitting the temperature switch during hatch..it went up to almost 140 degrees.

I have also had HORRID humidity issues this last week..I wanted to just pull my hair out!! This is definitely my most problematic hatch ever.

I understand everyone's personal opinions on the dying of chick embryos, but i think the chances of the dye procedure causing the deaths is highly unlikely. If it was going to harm then it would have happened long before they even pipped. I of course candled the night i dyed them and the embryos were nowhere near where the needles were inserted.

But anyway!! back to the babies.
I haven't had anymore pipps but am expecting them today sometime..It's the 2 purple eggs that i haven't been able to see into since i dyed them, i will be very surprised if they hatch, just because i haven't been able to tell what was going on in them.

The ducks should be pipping in the next week or so, there is still good movement and veining in them.

I will post new pictures and info for everyone as soon as i see some more action with the remaining eggs. I am also expecting other, un-dyed eggs to hatch. i will post those pictures in the pics section though.

If there is anymore disputes over this thread in the future, i would just prefer it be closed. I will just post pictures of the chicks on my user page later on. There is absolutely no need for arguing with eachother over something that is LEGAL & I CHOSE TO DO WITH MY OWN EGGS.

-Raynie

 

[roosty]

Quote:
Interesting...have never heard of that....

 

[dkluzier]

RE: the double yolker that you had. I read that they will not hatch because the chicks have no way of turning in the shell to get to the air pocket, pip, etc. If they are alive within the shell near day 21 could you attempt to aide them in hatching somehow? Thanks.

 

[dave_Cash69]

thats awesome. more pics pleaseeee!!

 

[too much fun]

It is interesting what you are doing here Raynie, and there are a lot of us that are watching to see how this turns out as well. I have heard how it is done, but have never tried it my self or talked to anyone that has. Please keep us informed, this thread has not only kept us entertained, but has been educational as well. Good luck with the rest of your hatch

 

[IggiMom]

Ok, let's see if I understand this. You mix the dye in the food for the chickens that are going to LAY the eggs.

And you give the food to ALL the chickens that you want to have colored chicks, just changing every several days as you said?

You do not have to separate the hens into, you know, hens that get red food, hens that get blue food, so forth?

Gosh, really? You are not putting me on?

This just seems amazing to me. I am past the age of having children, but wonder if I ate a whole bunch of beets if I could have had a pink baby--well come to think of it they were pretty much pink but you see what I mean.

Please tell me if I understood you correctly.

 

[Lach Cnoc Farm]

I had a surprise un-dyed chick hatch out this morning

He's still hanging out in the incubator drying off.

All the bantams this hatch are just pip, zippin' little speed demons! This guy hatched early but is doing just fine. It's blue again..must be from my black frizzle hen??I am getting a LOT of blues from these eggs.


RE: the double yolker...I may have just seen it wrong when i candled, it looks different now..we'll see though. I have heard of people hatching them but usually one or both of them dies before or after hatching. most the time there just isn't enough room for both to grow.

Iggimom, I am also interested in this food dying thing. it sounds like it would work. But i think some people would like to know if the dye lasts as long as the procedure i used..?

 

[hoppy]

I know with canaries, they feed them color food to make the feathering red. it will last until the feather molts. so with canaries, you have to feed it to them once every 2 weeks to keep them red. (and yes there are some that are naturally red)
here is more of what I found as it applies to canaries, should apply to most birds.
it's called canthaxanthin
There are three main chemicals used in color feeding Red Factor Color Bred Canaries:Canthaxanthin, Beta-Carotene, and other orange carotenoids. Canthaxanthin is the most powerful color promoting substance. Some breeders use Canthaxanthin as the sole chemical for color feeding. This is not the best course to take. Birds fed only Canthaxanthin will develop a dull brick shade of red. The proper ratio is to give the birds half Canthaxanthin and half Beta-Carotene. This way the birds will develop bright, fire engine red feathers. These concentrates should be constantly available in the water. The proper amount to give is one teaspoon of the blend to one-half gallon of water. About one weeks worth of water can be mixed up at a time. Refrigerate the unused portion. Canthaxanthin and Beta-Carotene can also be fed in the nestling food. Mix one teaspoon of the mix of Canthaxanthin and Beta-Carotene with one kilo of dry ingredients.

 

[Ellie_NY_chick]

None of this is directed personally at you Lách Cnoc Farm, because I know you did this for your own experiment. I'm a little surprised that there isn't more dissent on the practice here though. Actually, it makes me sad, and now so many seem to want to try this. I don't think it's respectful at all towards the animal.

The reason selling dyed chicks (and bunnies or any other animal) in some states is illegal is not because the practice is dangerous, but because people buy these as toys for their kids and don't take the care of the animal seriously (I KNOW THIS IS NOT THE CASE HERE). The vast majority end up dead or abandoned once they're no longer "cute".

This should really be discouraged, not encouraged. Aren't the little buggers cute enough the way God made them?

And Lách Cnoc Farm, be very careful if you mix them in with your other birds until the dye is gone. The rate that they get attacked by chickens that aren't dyed is very high.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I really felt this need to be said, and I hope I said it in a way that everyone feels was respectful and if they respond will do the same.