Incubating eggs from Happy Chooks *They're Here! with pics!*

[Happy Chooks]

They might zip faster if you peel your face away from the glass.

ETA: (I speak from experience here

)

 

[dsqard]

Quote:

Watched pot?
Good luck on your hatch!

 

[aukuma]

One died in the shell!! I saw that there were 3 that pipped in the skinny end. The one from yesterday was on the wrong end. After it was over 24 hours I helped it out. Then I thought I'd check the others for chirping or movement of any kind and one wasnt moving. I opened this one and it was indeed dead and had died very recently (like an hour or so before)

. Soooo, at this point we have 4 out drying off, 2 with pips, 1 waiting for a pip and 1 loss (my fault).


I'm guessing the fact that there were so many pips on the wrong end was my fault, I stopped turning them on the 18th day and I never turned end over end, just rolled them side to side, not sure how that would make them pip at the wrong end.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'm so sorry you lost one. I hate it when they pip then die in the shell, I lost an Orp that way. Are your vents open on the bator? Kathy posted on a thread that dying in the shell after pipping can be from lack of oxygen. I don't think it is your fault in how you turned the eggs.

But on a happier note: Congrats on the 4 babies! And may the other 3 hatch soon for you! Can you tell their colors yet? Any with feathered shanks?

 

[aukuma]

Only one is dry and fluffy enough to look at. It does not have fluffy feet. It is light black or blue with yellow tips on its wings and under its chin. The second looks to be the same. The other two are still wet.

There are some vents open, tiny pinhole ones. I took the two that were drying out, hoping that helps with the CO2. I'm happy with the results so far! At this point we are at 80% for a pip and hopefully a 70% hatch. I think that is great for shipped eggs! I was expecting like 30% hatch.

 

[aukuma]

We have 5 babies. Another one died while it was drying off not sure what happened there. The 5 in the brooder seem to be doing well. 2 are now fluffy enough to guess at a color. One blue and one black. None with feathered feet though.

I have one egg left in the bator, hoping it will pip through the night tonight. I'll leave it for a couple days just to be sure.

We are at a 80% fertility rate (counting only the 10 I incubated), 50% survival rate, and a 90% pip rate (of the fertilized eggs) as of this evening. Hoping that last one hatches to bring that survival rate up to 60% and 100% pips. I'm happy with those odds for shipped eggs from one side of the country to the other! I'll also take responsibility for those two loses, that brings up the %'s.

Thank you so much Happy Chooks for the chance to hatch these babies.


I'll post pics tomorrow once they are all fluffy

 

[aukuma]

Incubator two with pips!

One hatched!!!

The blue one, he/she is the puffiest

A fuzzy butt..

And we have 4 exactly like this one, black.

They are all eating and wondering around between naps, seem very healthy. We have one egg left in the bator, its chirping but hasn't pipped yet.

 

[aukuma]

We're done!! Total of 6 live babies out of 8 hatched. Two blue and four blacks.

Edited to add this: ONE OF THE BLUES HAS FEATHERS ON ITS FEET!!!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Adorable!

What breed are they?

 

[aukuma]

They are a mix, olive eggers from here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=404521 And yes, they are adorable! I'm very happy with the hatch!