I hope we get chicks because so far this has royally sucked

[MuskokaChick]

3 out of 8 eggs in the bator not fertilized...ok easy to deal with

1 out of the 5 left, broken by me, fully formed chick..very upsetting...ok..move on

1 of the 4 left, stopped developing...still in the bator because I don't know if I am wrong

13 eggs under the hens, come home today with one out in the yard half eaten

I counted the eggs under the hens to see if they ate anymore...nope, but another one had a peck mark and blood, removed...half formed chick..still alive...

First time hatching in a bator and under hens...I am kind of feeling like "WHERE THE JOY IN THIS????"

*sigh*

just needed to vent.

 

[DancingHen]

So sorry your hatching has been less than fun. I hatched for the first time this year, and it was pretty stressful. But once the chicks that DID hatch were dry and fuzzy and healthy I immediately forgot all the drama and wanted to do it again!

Hope things improve and you get some little chickies for all your effoert.

 

[scatteredeggs]

i hear you.
hey happy canada day!

there's light a t the end of the tunnel.
initial attempt was 59 quail eggs. 9 hatched, one died when it fell to the bottom of the styrofoam incubator which was was flooded due to poor design to cope with humidity.
when i eggtopsied - there were 2 pipped eggs, a whole bunch of developed embryos that maybe dried out, and another whole bunch of unfertile eggs.
i'm getting 100+ eggs again next week. i tweaked the incubator to fix all the initial design defects that i noted.
i hope hatch rate will better next time.

 

[Denninmi]

Oh, sorry, it can be tough. Not a good way to spend your holiday.

I will tell you one thing -- if you do this enough, it does get easier emotionally. There will still be problems, but enough will make it, and those are the ones you will concentrate on and feel proud and happy about.

One thing I have observed from the wild ducks that try to nest in my yard most years -- I think it's a myth that things are perfect in natural incubation in the wild, and that these problems only crop up in our artificial incubators or in our barnyards. Every year, wild ducks nest in my yard, and most years, there are problems -- predators kill the hen or take the eggs or the newly hatched ducklings. Most years, a number of eggs in each nest don't hatch, when I've "eggtopsied" them, they were either quitters or infertile. And, more than once, I've found deformed, crippled, or dead ducklings. So, it happens to the best of them, not just to us.

Hang in there, it will get better.

 

[MuskokaChick]

Thanks for the words of encouragement...I sure need them.

and yes, Happy Canada Day.

I just find it really disturbing to see the poor chick exposed and still moving...I hope it get easier with time...and I really hope for some fuzzy butts to help put these experience out of mind.

Day 17...tick tock