June Hatch-A-Long

[gander007]

Just candled the 'leaking' egg... it was one with a question mark on it (wasn't sure at lockdown candling). I tossed it, it was only 'full' looking on ~1/2 of the egg (lengthwise, not top to bottom), the other side of the egg was clear. Definitely not filled with a mature chick. Thanks for the advice!

I'm a little worried that I've opened the incubator so many times today. It's only been tilting the lid up for a quick few seconds at a time, but I'm worried that I'm making it harder for the other eggs to eventually hatch. I think part of the reason #4 had such a hard time getting out was that the membrane got too dry/rubbery. I did put a warm, wet dish cloth in there this last time to help with the humidity. Anything else I can/should do for the other eggs?

This can cause shrink wrapping in the long run and if you due such a thing the room should be a couple degrees hotter then the incubator and no drafts from any fans or coolers ......

Just some advice I learned along the way ..... And keep the humidity up ......

 

[Kim Z]

The view under my brooder this morning! One sizzle, two royal purple keets, one slate keet and one keet in the blue family but I'm not quite sure which. Two porcelains are still fluffing in the incubator and still waiting on seven guinea and one blue laced wyandotte mix.

Happy day!

 

[emorems0]

Had a 5th egg pip through the shell late last night (around midnight or so), but no movement or peeping that I noticed and not really much change this morning. I'm worried we shrink wrapped the rest of the eggs by opening the incubator too much yesterday helping with #4. I posted a question out in the Incubating and Hatching Eggs forum. But basically, it's day 22 and I was hoping for some late hatchers, wondering if there is anything I can do to help them at this point. Humidity is 80% outside right now, so I think that if I took the incubator outside to open the lid & add extra wet cloths under each egg (or whatever would help), that it couldn't make things worse... I'm just not sure if it would help either.

 

[Kelsykin]

And we have hatch......

10 new babies in the brooder.





One egg I think is a no go. Feels too light.

The score this hatch is 6 eggs purchased, 12 eggs arrive, 12 eggs set. 11 to lock down. 10 hatched. 83% hatch rate is great. My husband sees it as a s 166% hatch rate since I paid for 6 eggs and got 10 to hatch.

 

[gander007]

Well this morning I got up to 8 new hatches plus one that got shrink wrapped and the last one is peeping I tool 6 out as the other two were just not dry yet ....



I had to take 10 egg's away from momma and put them in the
incubator as she started hatching last Saturday and by Monday
she had 13 chicks and the rest are just finishing up today ....

Wow a 24 week old pullet and 23 chicks I just had to share ...

Okay so I had to intervene as momma only has two hands

gander007

 

[Kelsykin]

Well this morning I got up to 8 new hatches plus one that got shrink wrapped and the last one is peeping I tool 6 out as the other two were just not dry yet ....



I had to take 10 egg's away from momma and put them in the
incubator as she started hatching last Saturday and by Monday
she had 13 chicks and the rest are just finishing up today ....

Wow a 24 week old pullet and 23 chicks I just had to share ...

Okay so I had to intervene as momma only has two hands

gander007

Got to help Mama out.

 

[Cynthia12]

Had a 5th egg pip through the shell late last night (around midnight or so), but no movement or peeping that I noticed and not really much change this morning. I'm worried we shrink wrapped the rest of the eggs by opening the incubator too much yesterday helping with #4. I posted a question out in the Incubating and Hatching Eggs forum. But basically, it's day 22 and I was hoping for some late hatchers, wondering if there is anything I can do to help them at this point. Humidity is 80% outside right now, so I think that if I took the incubator outside to open the lid & add extra wet cloths under each egg (or whatever would help), that it couldn't make things worse... I'm just not sure if it would help either.

At this point, I am one..personally, to help. Pretty easy when it's been this far along and they are pipped. Pip the hole larger. Let the beak hang out for a while, when no blood, or not much, I remove more. Keep working at it, until the head is out. Let it rest like this for a while. You should be able to peek in there and see how muck yolk, if any, and if any blood vessel are on the shell. Like I said, I let them hang out until it's all absorbed. Just did this with a black NN yesterday...up and walking about just fine today. It had pipped the day before, nothing for 24 hrs..so I went in..everything had been absorbed! That baby would not have made it if I hadn't helped. My way.

 

[gander007]

Quote:

Oh ya as it is so much easer with her raising them then me doing all the work and see seems to produce much healthier chicks then I do and much, much less culling the part I dislike the most ....

 

[emorems0]

At this point, I am one..personally, to help. Pretty easy when it's been this far along and they are pipped. Pip the hole larger. Let the beak hang out for a while, when no blood, or not much, I remove more. Keep working at it, until the head is out. Let it rest like this for a while. You should be able to peek in there and see how muck yolk, if any, and if any blood vessel are on the shell. Like I said, I let them hang out until it's all absorbed. Just did this with a black NN yesterday...up and walking about just fine today. It had pipped the day before, nothing for 24 hrs..so I went in..everything had been absorbed! That baby would not have made it if I hadn't helped. My way.

I noticed a little after I posted that there was actually a little blood on the membrane where it pipped, so I was thinking it just needed more time and planned to leave the incubator sealed for at least a few more hours, watching and waiting. Then DH opened it up and cracked around the shell a little to 'help it'. At that point, the membrane was looking at little dried out and the chick was actually peeping and acting alive and I was afraid it was going to get stuck. I decided I needed to intervene at least to correct what DH had done, lol. I took the egg outside where the humidity was 80% today, kept the egg wrapped in a wet paper towel (not over the spot where the chick pipped), and carefully chipped away the shell around where the chick would zip. I nicked the membrane and one point and there was a little blood, so I decided that the chick just needed more time and DH shouldn't have messed with it in the first place. I left it on the wet paper towel and ripped a little strip to put over the membrane to keep it from drying out, then I put the egg back in the incubator and hoped for the best.

Took my 6yo to see a musical this afternoon and came home to 3 newly hatched chicks in the incubator (including #5, above)! Still a few more eggs in the incubator, including my 6yo's 'favorite' egg (a single yokohama that we got from a friend)... but most of the rest were question mark eggs that I wasn't sure of at lockdown candling. I am thrilled with our hatch, considering it was our first time and we had so many difficulties with temp and humidity.

 

[Cynthia12]

emor..darling photos! Congratulations!