Mahonri's 3rd Annual, BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[BBAcres]

Idk if your still looking for pic for the calendar. But could this be something for flag day??

 

[buckabucka]

Refraining from a final count until I see if this last hatcher survives. It hatched late, and then collapsed. It is still wet in the incubator, and I can see that it is breathing, but the chick is quiet and otherwise not moving around much. I did find it in a different place tonight when I checked on it. I am mentally prepared for it to be dead in the morning, but was encouraged to read about someone who had a chick hatch and not move for a full 12 hours, and then recover.
If it makes it, I will have Basque #6!

 

[1muttsfan]

Bbacres, I love that second picture especially

 

[featherz]

Refraining from a final count until I see if this last hatcher survives. It hatched late, and then collapsed. It is still wet in the incubator, and I can see that it is breathing, but the chick is quiet and otherwise not moving around much. I did find it in a different place tonight when I checked on it. I am mentally prepared for it to be dead in the morning, but was encouraged to read about someone who had a chick hatch and not move for a full 12 hours, and then recover.
If it makes it, I will have Basque #6!

a lot of my late hatchers did that. they passed out for most of the day. All of a sudden they perked up and started running around!

 

[ChestnutRidge]

So Sorry for your sick chicks. As I read about a sick chick here and there I can't help thinking about the good outcomes. For this hatchalong 267 people set thousands of eggs. Thousands hatched. Even with bad outcomes, I like doing hatching better than getting shipped chicks. I had a shipment with more than half of them dead. The replacement shipment had even more dead. Today when I opened up the last egg and saw the dead chick I was sad but realized that it did not even pip internally. It died late, but at least it did not freeze for days in a box sitting in a distribution center. It did not make it to me as one of the live ones, to then die two days later because it's organs were damaged.

Guys that was a lot of work trying to get them to live.

Sorry

for the rant. I am not against shipping chicks in general. I just think some Hatcheries(or one it particular) don't ship properly.

I completely agree. Even with all of the heartache, I have only ever hatched my own chicks. I would rather deal with the - let's face it - extra, if not extravagant, expense of having eggs shipped to me instead of chicks because I wouldn't want to be shipped.

I do find it tempting (Greenfire...

) but my husband is so against it that I'll stick to hatching.

Help?? What should I do for the leg??

I have one that is the same and I haven't seen any improvement yet to be perfectly honest. I am still trying, though. I am making sure he gets water, feeding baby parrot food, and leaving him strapped into a cup or into a little non-movable-"walker" contraption like one found on this page, which has a lot of information to look over. When I had him under the ecoglow without a cup, he just cries and gets trampled.

My hatch was over last yesterday afternoon. The last egg was a late quitter with no internal pip. Hatched 11 out of 15 shipped eggs. Hatched 11 of 12 that went to lockdown. I knew one was a goner then, so really 12. I left the quitter in just to be sure.

They are fantastic. I love mine, too. Congratulations!!!

My hatch is over. Ending up with 14 chicks

10 EO's out of 25 eggs
1 Araucana out of 12 eggs
2 B/B/S Orps out of 14 eggs
1 BC Marans from 13 eggs

So happy with the EO rate but, wow, the others really sucked. Having to get shipped eggs can be so depressing. But I do have some incredible chicks!!!!

Congratulations on your EOs!!!

Well I have 19 out of 24 that hatched so far with one zipping and one pipped still. I am not home but that's what hubby said. I have been in the Pediatric floor of the hospital all weekend with my 9 year old who was accidently shot with a bb gun. It went through his abdomen, then through the stomach and intestine. He had to have surgery around midnight Fri and he is recovering now and doing good. What a weekend!! Should be here a few more days. My poor boy!

That is awful! I am so glad to hear that he is doing well. I wish the best to you, your son, and your family.

Refraining from a final count until I see if this last hatcher survives. It hatched late, and then collapsed. It is still wet in the incubator, and I can see that it is breathing, but the chick is quiet and otherwise not moving around much. I did find it in a different place tonight when I checked on it. I am mentally prepared for it to be dead in the morning, but was encouraged to read about someone who had a chick hatch and not move for a full 12 hours, and then recover.
If it makes it, I will have Basque #6!

I hope he makes it. Congratulations on EO #6!

I think I will end up with 6 as well. The one with leg issues is not improving, and the chick I found sick this morning is not improving either. Luckily, everyone else seems fine and her symptoms do not match any of the typical brooder diseases, so I think we are okay.

After I last posted, I had one more Speckled Sussex hatch for a grand total of 21 chicks out of about 45 eggs, so about 47%. Not too bad. I wish one of the Dutch Bantam eggs had hatched, but I am thrilled to have those I do.

I just posted all of the Speckled Sussex, Sussex/EEs, and a few Marans and Marans mixes for sale on Craigslist, a total of 10 chicks. I will be keeping all of the Basques that survive, 1 blue Blue Birchen Marans, 1 Brown Leghorn, and the Orpington that I can't tell from my Basques.

And I have German New Hampshire eggs arriving tomorrow.

 

[lilstar]

wow!! Its a little Easter miracle over here I'm amazed to see life in my incubator. Or more accurately "styrofoam box with windows, vent holes, and a heat lamp". The LG broke yesterday, spiking to over 120, killed all my ducks (who were zipping and thriving!!) but one. Luckyducky is still in its' shell and moving fine. Being very cute, yawning, preening the down on its wings. Precious. The top is off because I partially assisted (quit when I saw blood)

Anyway. Earlier today I decided to candle the chicken eggs (not due till today, they were set late on Sunday) to see if there were any survivors. First one..movement!! Another one with movement! One that I didn't see movement but still put back just in case. Another with movement! Then the next one I picked up surprised me by having a pip!! I quit candling and put it back and made sure that all the eggs were close to the heatlamp.. since the incubator no longer produces heat at all. Got home from church and there was another pip! And the first pip was expanding a little.. where's the line between a pip thats "getting a little bigger" and a zip?

Anyway, feels like a great metaphor for Easter. Yesterday was death and sadness and thinking the hatch was a total fail. And today we're seeing the miracle of life!

 

[gryeyes]

I think I have a 17th hatching.... 13 of the 16 out of their shells are in the brooder; the two bravest have ventured out from under the EcoGlow to check out the food dish.

 

[Cpntherfan]

i still have 4 pipping and my Easter hatch will be done

 

[CayuseRanch]

Wow, came down with a bad case of the flu that knocked me out and had 300 posts to catch up on. I know I have 15 chick. 4 of them are the purple from wolftracks, the rest I will need to figure out. At 2 today I saw one chick under my broody. Got home at 6:30 to loud chirping in the middle of the coop. She's now inside under a lamp.

I do have a question. I figured my hatch was done with no new pips in 24 hours and thought I would check. The silver Phoenix had movement when candled but had not internally pipped. That was over 12 hours ago still mo pop or peeping. Any thoughts?

 

[anniesmom]

Mine are finished hatching.

I ended up with 4 Isbars out of 7 shipped eggs, 17 Swedish Flower Hens out of 20 non-shipped eggs and 12 EEs (Swedish Flower x Ameraucana) out of 15 non-shipped eggs.