JUNE HATCH-A-LONG come join in

[buffbeauty]

I feel ya on the hen losses. I lost one last week as well, down to one hen right now. Sorry it has to happen to anyone.

On a good note congrats all. Those are the cutest names for your goslings!! Love it!!

 

[chickenmeadow]

abooth: So sorry! Opal was beautiful. Hope you have some chicks left.

 

[chickenmeadow]

Have really enjoyed hearing about the hatches lately from incubators & broody hens, even some goslings. Congrats to all! Happy hatching everyone!

 

[Kedreeva]

Well, Day 22 is starting (or the last part of Day 21, depending on how you look at it) and I've had 1 hatch (buff bearded polish) and there are 4 pips in the incubator now. I'm afraid for the last one, as I haven't been able to catch it rocking or wiggling since yesterday morning.

One of the pipped eggs was giving me the death face with its beak (like when a bird gets over stressed, they open their beaks a certain way and breathe a certain way, big, heavy gasps like they're going to keel over any second.... seen it too often with rescue birds) so I pulled it out and chipped away a little bit of shell to see what I could see... There's lots of membrane in there and I'm not 100% sure it's all egg shell membrane.

I'm worried for it but I can hear it screaming every 15 minutes or so, and the screams are not getting weaker, so I'm letting it sit in the bator for a while longer.

 

[PandoraTaylor]

I candled the 14 eggs due for lockdown tonight.....so far they all seem to be developing right on schedule......They will move to the Brower (hatcher) later this evening, as I have not gotten the Humidity to stabilize yet, finally got the temp close.....

I have cut out an egg flat for them to hatch in, so there should be less stress and mess to clean up, I also have another hatch that goes into lockdown on the 25th to hatch the 28th .....
so I want to make clean up a breeze, as I won't time between hatches to do much but pull the cartons and replace with the next ones.
.

 

[Kedreeva]

There's still 1 more chick in the incubator, but I think it will be a bit before it hatches and I'm letting it be because the veins under the shell were still bright red and thick. The other 4 hatched out just fine over the course of the day. Since I have a staggered hatch and no hatcher set up, the chicks have to come out of the incubator immediately so they don't get their heads crushed accidentally (and it seems like the first thing they try to do if I leave them in there is to shove their heads under the turning racks *sigh*). Of course I know taking them out so fast is not ideal, but the brooder box I have set up with an under-box heater and it dries the chicks off in usually less than half an hour (although they end up really fluffy on the bottom and still drying on the top >.>) The first chick I personally sit with (1:15am, *WHY*, CHICK!), but the rest of them get company:

The silver polish was the last to hatch today, and he was a little bloody in the navel when I took him out. I poked some neosporin in the area and set him on the warm side of the brooder. He started squeaking, and all the previously born chicks hobbled over from the cool side of the brooder and piled on top of him like "Don't be sad! We will keep you warm and company!" It was soooo cute. (also they all sleep like they are dead, it scares the crap out of me every time I check on them)

This is about 45 minutes later, fluffy on the bottom and still drying on top. They WERE all sleeping but I was too noisy putting the camera in and I woke them up.

And last but not least, here is the first born cuddling up with the only companion I could find for him till others hatched.

They are all doing great; I showed the first born how to eat and he showed the others really fast. I keep going up and finding them passed out with their faces in the feeder. I see them wake up and start chowing just to fall asleep in the middle again and think man, must be nice. Eat, sleep, eat, sleep, poo.... don't even have to move.

 

[clothdiaperingmom]

Those chicks are so darn cute!!!! Congratulations!!!

 

[chichi56788]

Adorable chicks! One of my silkies zipped a bit but now just pips at one spot. I think it will be awhile. My poor other silkie chick is sitting in the brooder all alone.

 

[chickenmeadow]

Kedreeva: Congrats on your adorable chicks. Love the head fluff.

PandoraTaylor & Kedreeva: Good luck with you staggered hatches.

chichi56788: Good, you've got 1 hatched, congrats! Go pips, go!

 

[buffbeauty]

Kedreeva those are too cute! I had to giggle out loud at the chickie companion you got!!