January Hatch Buddies?

[chicken-owner-31]

Oh no, Mountain. So sorry to hear it.

But glad that someone is helping you get some chickens. You will have better luck with the bio-bators! I'm beginning to think I wasn't meant to hatch any out myself. I've only got one that has any hope...if it doesn't make it, I will be crushed.

 

[vebyrd36]

I run a still air bator, I keep my humidity between 40-45% for first 17 days then 75% day 18 to 22. My temp is 101 -102 top of the egg. This is important cuz the temp in the egg will then be at 100. This has worked for me. My first hatch was okay with 12 fuzzy butts out of 15. My second hatch was 25 out of 26. Now I have 12 out of 15 eggs to hat h on the 22. I candle twice day ten and 18.

 

[Whiskey Bay]

Quote:
What day is it for them? I had a couple left unhatched so I candled to see if I could see anything,which I could.I could see a little pecking movement towards the airsack.I figured ok I'll give him a lil more time.Well I went back a few hours later and he had not pipped.Candled again and no movement.I decided to pip it myself and found he had died in the shell...

If I would have pipped him myself when I started to he might have made it...

 

[CallyB57]

I have 2 little silkie eggs in a little giant still air incubator - we had an ice storm here and the utilities went out right after dark day before yesterday, on the day before the first little egg was suppose to show signs of a pip. I ran and got a flashlight and ran to the incubator and it had dropped almost in a matter of a couple of minutes from 99.5 to 92 F. I gently got the eggs and put them in my shirt and covered carefully with several layers of washrags on top of my shirt where the eggs were. They stayed there for about 30 minutes until the utilities popped back on, but I think those eggs must have been in the low 80's by the time I got them back in the incubator. Do you think my babies are dead in the eggshell? That was on Sunday night, the first baby was supposed to pip on Monday and the 2nd baby was supposed to pip on Tuesday. As of today I have not seen or heard anything, but I left for work at 6:00 this morning, and my x-husband does not fool with the incubator or listen for a new baby, so if I don't hear anything this evening when I get home, how much longer should I wait before I start crying? Thank you.

 

[CallyB57]

Quote:
Do you think it was spiked the whole time you were at your Granny's house? I thought if it spiked but not for long..maybe less than an hour, that they could stand a spike. Last time I tried to hatch eggs, I had 8 in the incubator and there was a bad bad bad 110 degree spike (I have a problem with spikes because the temp fluctuates several degrees up and down in the area I have my incubator, but the rest of my house if freezing cold, so it has to stay where it is) - out of 8 eggs, only 1 hatched and the baby is kind of retarded - it has a stiff little leg and hops around on one leg, but it's okay - the chick is adorable and already has all its feathers and has a good appetite. The thing is - that spike up to 110 degrees could not have been over 5-7 minutes long because I had just walked out of the room to stir something on the stove and put some clothes in the dryer, then went right back to check on the incubator. When it gets close to time for the babies to come, I get up 7 or 8 times at night to make sure the temp is right...and yes, my eyes look like 2 burnt holes in a blanket, but everybody at work knows what I'm up to, so they know I'm not on drugs. (except for caffeine). Other spikes have been up to 102 and then that drop when my utilities went out. I don't really have a lot of hope now - it's difficult, hatching babies and it's so devastating when they don't hatch. It's about to kill me - I am on an emotional roller coaster and I beat myself up daily if anything goes wrong with the incubator. It's okay to cry - just go outside or play like you are crying over something else. Better luck next time.

 

[Lifesong Farm]

II go into lock down on the 15th. So far the eggs look good. Even the ones out of the fridge. I am impatiently waiting. Ant then I will have to do it all over again 10 days later! At least I only own 10 of those eggs or my husband and mother would kill me.

I am converting my mom to the darkside thou.I keep catching her holding our lone chick.

 

[mountainwhisper]

CallyB57 I have no idea how long the temp spiked. I was only gone a few hours. When I left the temp was 99.5 and when I got home it was 120.3.... which is far beyond any safe temp. I hadn't had any spikes like that before. I wish that I had just covered the bator with a quilt and turned it off until I got home. They could have survived a low temp. But I had no way of knowing that this kind of fluke would happen. We had a sudden drop in temps outside that day so that may have had something to do with it. I've read if the room temp drops it can affect the sensor on the incubator. Now I have an empty brooder

.... I'm going to take it down today I think. I go to pick up the adult chickens on monday. I'm so happy to have found two local breeders to buy from. I'm getting frizzle chochin bantams and Silkies. I will try again with blue or green eggs when they go broody. DH says not to dwell on it because seeing my gran was more important than the eggs, and he says I should be proud that if the spike hadn't happened I would have had 11/22 hatch. That is way up from my first attempt with a 30% hatch rate. Those three chicks all died within 4 days of hatching. I'm trying to focus on the positive, but it's hard when my 6yr old keeps asking "Why didn't you turn the light off the eggbator when we left, aren't you supposed to turn the lights off when you leave?", which is a huge over simplication of it all but still I wish I had thought to just turn it off that day.

 

[chicken-owner-31]

Don't beat yourself up! It could have happened to anybody. (((HUGS)))

 

[chicken-owner-31]

And you will love the cochins and silkies! I've actually found that my cochins are more personable than the silkies.....I figured it would be the other way around.

 

[chicken-owner-31]

Cally, do not give up hope! They may be a bit delayed, but hopefully they will be fine.