June Hatch A Long

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Mine go into lockdown tomorrow- the humidity has been high the entire time my incubator did not give you an option to adjust it. In another thread I started I said day 17 and I’m freaking out and an awesome member explained to me that the level of the water would never affect the humidity that it comes from the surface area. I don’t think I ever learned that in school and I have 2 masters degrees! Anyway I got myself so worried about shrink wrapping now that I learned the eggs could do that, I made myself sick! I think 4 of my 6 eggs are doing ok and 2 are different but are for sure bigger than they were last week so I guess we will see. This group is very helpful. These are the 2 questionable eggs. The bottom pic is of one of the good ones to show the air cel- someone had asked if they were good and I think so.

Incubating eggs can be tough and stressful! It’s sounds like you are getting the hang of it. Best of luck with your hatch!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

There's a June July one, not sure about July specifically

I think I joined that one but haven’t getting alerts... need to check it out. I may have just mentioned my few guinea eggs still in my bator, but my big July hatch is a huge number, at least 100 eggs, under a communal nest of four guinea hens in our coop! I haven’t done this before with guinea hen’s themselves incubating and have no idea how this whole keet hatch will work out!!

Re: June/July hatch, I’ve been trying to help someone out whose been hatching duck eggs. These are by his drake that he lost to a predator so he’s very concerned about these eggs. He’s also new to incubation so his methods were unconventional, and I think he may need help with the hatching. I’m going to suggest that he join the June/July hatchalong if that’s the next one. Might I also suggest to him a few people who could be directly contacted for duckling assistance, like @CluckNDoodle and @Miss Lydia ? Or anyone else?

 

[jolenesdad]

@Mixed flock enthusiast casportpony and WVduckchick are the ones for duck hatching emergencies. And @LilyD has lots of duck experience.

More updates later. 10 hatched... 4 total assists and maybe 5 left to assist. Lots of other good external pips.

These bottom hatchers are weird. I can’t find areas where the membrane is attached to them. It’s tight but I don’t really know what I’m looking at. I think some are maybe just too big. Strange that it’s just these eggs.

Here’s the egg I’ve got question on. I mistook a foot for a beak internal pip. Waaaaaaaah. So.... I thought it had been 48+ hours since internal pip, so I did a safety hole and then chipped away to get the membrane visible. Lots of veining.

But unfortunately, he hasn’t pipped. I think he is also upside down. Do I wait around for him to try and pip on the bottom? I mean there’s nothing else to do, right?

I’m floored I am saving all these eggs. I owe it all to you guys. Am I doing this right? I open a small part of the air cell, check for veins, if they’re gone, chip away the shell trying to let them get out on their own but most of them I have to do most of it.

Here’s some more interesting photos. OH AND A CHOCOLATE RUNNER IN MY HANDS AFTER HELPING THIS SWEET BABY!!!!! (I mean I think that’s what it is.)

No veins ready to go!

Here’s that egg, bottom side where the chicks head is. This is the bruised area when exposed and with coconut oil.

Here’s how the bruises look when candled.

And the best photo....

Also, fluid shell HATCHED in a carton with a TON of disgusting fluid in the bottom of the shell.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

@Mixed flock enthusiast casportpony and WVduckchick are the ones for duck hatching emergencies. And @LilyD has lots of duck experience.

More updates later. 10 hatched... 4 total assists and maybe 5 left to assist. Lots of other good external pips.

These bottom hatchers are weird. I can’t find areas where the membrane is attached to them. It’s tight but I don’t really know what I’m looking at. I think some are maybe just too big. Strange that it’s just these eggs.

Here’s the egg I’ve got question on. I mistook a foot for a beak internal pip. Waaaaaaaah. So.... I thought it had been 48+ hours since internal pip, so I did a safety hole and then chipped away to get the membrane visible. Lots of veining.

But unfortunately, he hasn’t pipped. I think he is also upside down. Do I wait around for him to try and pip on the bottom? I mean there’s nothing else to do, right?

View attachment 1824328

I’m floored I am saving all these eggs. I owe it all to you guys. Am I doing this right? I open a small part of the air cell, check for veins, if they’re gone, chip away the shell trying to let them get out on their own but most of them I have to do most of it.

Here’s some more interesting photos. OH AND A CHOCOLATE RUNNER IN MY HANDS AFTER HELPING THIS SWEET BABY!!!!! (I mean I think that’s what it is.)

No veins ready to go!
View attachment 1824325

Here’s that egg, bottom side where the chicks head is. This is the bruised area when exposed and with coconut oil.
View attachment 1824326

Here’s how the bruises look when candled.
View attachment 1824327


And the best photo....
View attachment 1824329

Also, fluid shell HATCHED in a carton with a TON of disgusting fluid in the bottom of the shell.

Wow! You look like a real assisting pro there, and your baby is adorable!!! Congratulations!!!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I think I joined that one but haven’t getting alerts... need to check it out. I may have just mentioned my few guinea eggs still in my bator, but my big July hatch is a huge number, at least 100 eggs, under a communal nest of four guinea hens in our coop! I haven’t done this before with guinea hen’s themselves incubating and have no idea how this whole keet hatch will work out!!

Re: June/July hatch, I’ve been trying to help someone out whose been hatching duck eggs. These are by his drake that he lost to a predator so he’s very concerned about these eggs. He’s also new to incubation so his methods were unconventional, and I think he may need help with the hatching. I’m going to suggest that he join the June/July hatchalong if that’s the next one. Might I also suggest to him a few people who could be directly contacted for duckling assistance, like @CluckNDoodle and @Miss Lydia ? Or anyone else?

I'm not sure why some threads notify me and others don't but I completely fell through on the Easter hatch-a-long because I didn't get any notifications. I find that when I'm actively commenting more, the notifications stay current as well. Not that I needed an excuse to talk more. lol

I'm always happy to try and help where I can! You can always tag me, and if I don't have the answer, well, I'll be honest and say I don't know, lol. I still have yet to actually get a fertilized duck egg though, lol! I did hatch those goslings which I assume was a very similar hatching experience.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

@Mixed flock enthusiast casportpony and WVduckchick are the ones for duck hatching emergencies. And @LilyD has lots of duck experience.

Thanks! Yeah, I think I mixed up Lydia and Lily in my search!

 

[Bookworm0124]

I'm not sure why some threads notify me and others don't but I completely fell through on the Easter hatch-a-long because I didn't get any notifications. I find that when I'm actively commenting more, the notifications stay current as well. Not that I needed an excuse to talk more. lol

I'm always happy to try and help where I can! You can always tag me, and if I don't have the answer, well, I'll be honest and say I don't know, lol. I still have yet to actually get a fertilized duck egg though, lol! I did hatch those goslings which I assume was a very similar hatching experience.

Agreed. I haven't commented here for a day and got no notifications. Logged in... 40 new messages to go through.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

@Mixed flock enthusiast casportpony and WVduckchick are the ones for duck hatching emergencies. And @LilyD has lots of duck experience.

More updates later. 10 hatched... 4 total assists and maybe 5 left to assist. Lots of other good external pips.

These bottom hatchers are weird. I can’t find areas where the membrane is attached to them. It’s tight but I don’t really know what I’m looking at. I think some are maybe just too big. Strange that it’s just these eggs.

Here’s the egg I’ve got question on. I mistook a foot for a beak internal pip. Waaaaaaaah. So.... I thought it had been 48+ hours since internal pip, so I did a safety hole and then chipped away to get the membrane visible. Lots of veining.

But unfortunately, he hasn’t pipped. I think he is also upside down. Do I wait around for him to try and pip on the bottom? I mean there’s nothing else to do, right?

View attachment 1824328

I’m floored I am saving all these eggs. I owe it all to you guys. Am I doing this right? I open a small part of the air cell, check for veins, if they’re gone, chip away the shell trying to let them get out on their own but most of them I have to do most of it.

Here’s some more interesting photos. OH AND A CHOCOLATE RUNNER IN MY HANDS AFTER HELPING THIS SWEET BABY!!!!! (I mean I think that’s what it is.)

No veins ready to go!
View attachment 1824325

Here’s that egg, bottom side where the chicks head is. This is the bruised area when exposed and with coconut oil.
View attachment 1824326

Here’s how the bruises look when candled.
View attachment 1824327


And the best photo....
View attachment 1824329

Also, fluid shell HATCHED in a carton with a TON of disgusting fluid in the bottom of the shell.

You're doing an amazing job!! The extra fluid can also cause sticky chicks that can't rotate properly to get in position for hatch, this can result in the malpositions as well as pipping through blood vessels because they can't rotate properly to pip in the right spot, but the lack of oxygen still causes them to pip, or try to pip anyway. You're on the ball to save those chicks though! In my opinion, they're harder to save than dry chicks because the mucus can actually cover their nostrils and suffocate them if you don't time it right.
In your case, I think there is a factor that I don't understand that caused the fluid build up from being jostled during shipping maybe? Since you definitely monitored the humidity closely. You have both chicks with lots of fluid, and chicks with dry membranes so it's across the board! Just keep doing what you're doing! You're a natural!

 

[Bookworm0124]

Just checked my shipped eggs. I think I have two more quitters. Opinions? Egg 15 I've had marked down as questionable for a few days. Today is day 17. Egg labeled 13 is one that's good for comparison. This would make 5 no good out of 15 so far.

 

[jolenesdad]

You're doing an amazing job!! The extra fluid can also cause sticky chicks that can't rotate properly to get in position for hatch, this can result in the malpositions as well as pipping through blood vessels because they can't rotate properly to pip in the right spot, but the lack of oxygen still causes them to pip, or try to pip anyway. You're on the ball to save those chicks though! In my opinion, they're harder to save than dry chicks because the mucus can actually cover their nostrils and suffocate them if you don't time it right.
In your case, I think there is a factor that I don't understand that caused the fluid build up from being jostled during shipping maybe? Since you definitely monitored the humidity closely. You have both chicks with lots of fluid, and chicks with dry membranes so it's across the board! Just keep doing what you're doing! You're a natural!

Your confidence in me means so much!!!

Also, I’ll be trying to prepare notes after the hatch based on what I saw before, and then what happened. Shipped vs fresh, fluid vs veining. I am a little disappointed I have t tracked certain things but I’m learning so much for next time. I rushed to start without noting which eggs some were so I hope I have remnants to identify them. I’m excited for the future though I think I’m really going to learn how these things go together. And overall I’m so pleased to learn patience. I keep saying cluckndoodles big line that they e been in there this long a few more minutes or hours isn’t going to kill them.

I’m at a loss with some things though because I’m pretty sure some of these assists are the local eggs too. Ducks are hard. I think I’ve got lots going on.

Potentially a slightly warmer temp than I need, or hot spots in the incubator. Remember I didn’t rotate these eggs.

Then, I’m wondering if there’s any connection to upright vs not turning. And lastly the TOTAL UNKNOWN is the shipped damage. These Metzer farms assorted eggs remember were delivered in a leaking box! :-/

And this is annoying. (Not really) my two worst saddle eggs look to both be hatching. The one I incubated on its side AND the one up and down, so no epiphany there. One of them needed assist. Will be interesting to see which one.