July Hatch-a-Long

[Trinitydraco]

UGH! This hatch has been so stressful! I just had to do another emergency assist due to all the stuff that went wrong in my hatch. I only have 2 left to hatch but one of them was the really badly cracked egg that I couldn't get to fully seal back up and wouldn't you know it got shrink-wrapped! I had to oh so carefully chip the shell away so I could moisturize it and then tore a tiny hole near the beak. At least now it can take it's time getting out of the egg. But it was still nerve wracking because I had to chip away a lot more shell than I would have liked to get moisturize the whole thing. I basically had to take the top off the egg! I won't be surprised if the same thing happens to the other egg due to all the in and out of the incubator dealing with the fallout from the disasters. Also, the last chick that hatched still isn't walking and now I can't remember how long it took the others to get to their feet. It has only been out a couple of hours and it had not sealed up it's tummy when it hatched so I am hoping it just needs more time. I have to say that after this hatch I can handle anything that comes up in my hatches in the future!

 

[happyfrenchman]

I had 8 eggs due to hatch this morning.... I came out and was greeted with two chicks and one working..... I removed the two chicks and put them in my brooder...

This is my chance to try out some of the techniques in the excellent... https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/

So far this morning, I have put safety holes in the four that were not showing any pipping..... (I used a wood screw which worked well.) I assisted the one chick a bit to make sure he was progressing, and I slightly enlarged the small pip from the one..... I have never done these safety holes before and I am very interested to see what happens.

 

[Trinitydraco]

I think I am going to loose one It was shrink wrapped due to all the craziness and I was putting water on an exposed part of the membrane and the chick started to freak out and tore the membrane and there is a lot of blood. I feel so sad for it but it wasn't doing well to begin with.

 

[AUChickenGal]

I have an external pip! #4 has taken the lead!

It’s on the wrong end, though, opposite the air cell. I know some of you have had the same thing recently; must be some sort of epidemic. How worried should I be?

 

[AUChickenGal]

AND #s 7 & 8 are chirping! I'm so excited! I have no idea how I'm going to keep myself busy/distracted over the next 24-28 hours, so I apologize in advance for the many, many posts coming your way.

 

[dancechick915]

I have an external pip! #4 has taken the lead!

View attachment 1468194

It’s on the wrong end, though, opposite the air cell. I know some of you have had the same thing recently; must be some sort of epidemic. How worried should I be?

All 4 of mine were on the wrong end and all 4 hatched! Just the one needed a little bit of assistance after 26 hours because it zipped through the shell and not the membrane and was kicking to get out. It just needed a little bit of membrane pulled back and it got out on its own after that .

 

[AUChickenGal]

All 4 of mine were on the wrong end and all 4 hatched!

Thanks! That's very reassuring.

 

[MichelleBelle]

I'm on Day 21 for incubator babies. I had a few early chicks that hatched early but were perfectly healthy, followed by 3 chicks that hatched before development was complete. 1 of those was only just a bit too soon, the yolk sac wasn't entirely absorbed, but has recovered quite nicely and seems just fine now. The next two were obviously WAY too early to hatch, and unfortunately their abdominal cavities hadn't properly closed yet, nor yolk sac absorbed. They didn't make it.
I've got 13 remaining eggs in the incubator, with one externally pipped. Hope we're done with premature hatchers! Check out my beautiful BBS (black, blue, or splash) Ameraucana babies.

 

[AUChickenGal]

Check out my beautiful BBS (black, blue, or splash) Ameraucana babies.

Those fluffy cheeks! Can't wait to finally see mine!

 

[AUChickenGal]

Two external pips now (#s 4 & 7)!

#8 is still chirping away, and #1 has started rocking like crazy. It’s a good thing tomorrow is Sunday, because I won’t be getting much sleep tonight!