JANUARY 2015 Hatch-A-Long

[Purpletie3]

Just have 2 pips so far, one is working towards zipping. How about you?

Pips are a good sign!!!

I have 2 silkies out and one orpington out. They were the quickest pip to hatch I have ever seen... Under a couple hours! Usually mine are like 12-24 hours!

I have a silkie that pipped a few hours ago and no more action. My other two orpingtons pipped and worked on their hole a little and nothing more. One of the mystery eggs has a tiny pip. They are all in a lull. The orp was out about an hour ago. The humidity spiked in a big way...like to 80 %...So, still hoping for a good hatch here.

I have been spending hours on trying to work with my 3 little crippled silkies from Monday's hatch...I made them splints...they throw them off...it's exhausting. I feel so bad for them. They are beautiful beautiful little birds...

 

[Renee572]

Pips are a good sign!!!  

I have 2 silkies out and one orpington out. They were the quickest pip to hatch I have ever seen... Under a couple hours!  Usually mine are like 12-24 hours!

I have a silkie that pipped a few hours ago and no more action. My other two orpingtons pipped and worked on their hole a little and nothing more. One of the mystery eggs has a tiny pip.  They are all in a lull. The orp was out about an hour ago. The humidity spiked in a big way...like to 80 %...So, still hoping for a good hatch here. 

I have been spending hours on trying to work with my 3 little crippled silkies from Monday's hatch...I made them splints...they throw them off...it's exhausting.  I feel so bad for them. They are beautiful beautiful little birds...

yay for some pips and some hatches! Sorry your efforts on fixing your babies are not working out. Hopefully you'll figure something out that works.

Last night I had 2 chicks with pasty butt... hopefully they will be fine.

Hubby and I were watching an episode of hoarders where the lady had TONS of chickens which wouldn't be bad if she didn't have about 8 in each crate standing on about 6 inches of their feces. They looked horrible. She claimed to care about her chickens but I'm sorry if you cared about them you wouldn't let them live like that. Anyway hubby said jokingly he may have to cut me off so it didn't come to that. But then he said seriously if I asked to hatch more before a chicken died he'd definitely say no. I will definitely be hatching again, it's so much fun but hubby is right we just don't have the space or the means to keep doing it one right after the other.

 

[ChickenLady2014]

Update, I now have 4 external pips, 3 of which pipped in the side of the egg. 1 I cannot tell if it's beak broke thru the membrane or not. It was moving earlier, but is resting or something now. I didn't expect trouble with this hatch, everything went along great. I did have a few that between day 14 & day 18 lost a little more than what I would have liked. Maybe that is what is causing problems, who knows.

 

[Purpletie3]

yay for some pips and some hatches! Sorry your efforts on fixing your babies are not working out. Hopefully you'll figure something out that works.

Last night I had 2 chicks with pasty butt... hopefully they will be fine.

Hubby and I were watching an episode of hoarders where the lady had TONS of chickens which wouldn't be bad if she didn't have about 8 in each crate standing on about 6 inches of their feces. They looked horrible. She claimed to care about her chickens but I'm sorry if you cared about them you wouldn't let them live like that. Anyway hubby said jokingly he may have to cut me off so it didn't come to that. But then he said seriously if I asked to hatch more before a chicken died he'd definitely say no. I will definitely be hatching again, it's so much fun but hubby is right we just don't have the space or the means to keep doing it one right after the other.

Well, luckily on this chat forum there are lots of other places to talk about our growing chickens!

I know...I have to build a couple more brooders for the bigger guys...1 month to 3 months. I want to make another on that fits on the one I just made that is 4 feet long and two feet deep and 4 feet high. Then I have plenty of storage under there too.

I have three for the little babies right now...but, I have heat for 5 if necessary.

I wanted to grow out my flock through the winter so come the nice weather they can all be booted out of my back room and garage and kitchen and dining room table. I pretty much took over the whole house with this project. But, it's ok. I am home most of the time and it's on me! And truly I have fallen in love with the little buggers!

 

[Purpletie3]

Update, I now have 4 external pips, 3 of which pipped in the side of the egg. 1 I cannot tell if it's beak broke thru the membrane or not. It was moving earlier, but is resting or something now. I didn't expect trouble with this hatch, everything went along great. I did have a few that between day 14 & day 18 lost a little more than what I would have liked. Maybe that is what is causing problems, who knows.

Well, tell those little chickies to get a move on!!! I hope they pop out real soon!

Silkies are real difficult for me to hatch..this morning I was convinced I killed every chick again! Since I have had 3 silkie hatches that yielded three chicks...this last time I asked the breeder what her incubator and humidity settings were and followed them. I finally have live silkies!

 

[Purpletie3]

...Day 21 has almost come to a close... I even made a little spreadsheet of pip time, zip time and out. As well as incubator position and rooster...

At this point I have had 3/7 silkies hatch. All my Orpington's hatched (2 Crele and one buff) and a mystery chick/3 that has 4 toes and is huge and fluffy yellow. Looks like a big buff.

Hoping for the rest to hatch as the other 13 mystery eggs are due tomorrow.

I increased the heat on my incubator 1/2 degree. I am not sure if it matters though...although the hatches are pipping on day 21 and hatching on 21/22 isn't that better than pip and hatch on 18,19,20? I would think more time in the egg to develop when the target is 21 anyhow???

 

[Peep_Show]

Sometimes they're a little late. The TJ's hatched on Day 22/23. I had one Welsummer that was still hanging out in the shell on Day 24. Wonky chicks.... Open open open

 

[ChickenLady2014]

Well, tell those little chickies to get a move on!!! I hope they pop out real soon!

Silkies are real difficult for me to hatch..this morning I was convinced I killed every chick again!  Since I have had 3 silkie hatches that yielded three chicks...this last time I asked the breeder what her incubator and humidity settings were and followed them. I finally have live silkies! 

Do you mind sharing with me what your silkie breeder said about heat & humidity. Pretty certain that the second egg to pip out the side sufficated. I could see it directly below the big vent hole most of the day trying to get its beak thru the membrane. It hasn't moved since late this afternoon. This evening I put a pencil down the vent hole & touched the tip of the beak that was visible under the membrane. There was no movement of the beak like earlier. I should have found something thin enough to break a hole in the membrane, but I was afraid it would start bleeding with being pipped in the side of the egg

 

[hausfrau77]

Day 20 for this weeks 7 eggs and already a marans has a pip, I'm going to try hatching upright in an egg carton this time!

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk HD

 

[hausfrau77]

...Day 21 has almost come to a close... I even made a little spreadsheet of pip time, zip time and out. As well as incubator position and rooster...

At this point I have had 3/7 silkies hatch. All my Orpington's hatched (2 Crele and one buff) and a mystery chick/3 that has 4 toes and is huge and fluffy yellow. Looks like a big buff.

Hoping for the rest to hatch as the other 13 mystery eggs are due tomorrow.

I increased the heat on my incubator 1/2 degree. I am not sure if it matters though...although the hatches are pipping on day 21 and hatching on 21/22 isn't that better than pip and hatch on 18,19,20? I would think more time in the egg to develop when the target is 21 anyhow???

I read a few books about hatching and they actually say later is better, just like human preemies I guess they are smaller, slower and have more issues with hatch and survival. I had one last week that was a full 36 hours past everyone else and was a first to pip, just took longer in the shell to finish business ( even though I for sure opened the shell to check and worried for all the hours lol) Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk HD