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

[debs_flock]

Jeez!!! You folks are killing me! Ron it's like you knew how many stores I went to this week looking for asparagus and you are just torturing me now!!!

I got a huge bag at Costo. It only took us three meals to eat them all. We're now working on the giant bag of brocolli..............gotta love bulk shopping!



Deb

 

[Sueg4332]

Most of the chicks I helped toward the end of hatch died anyway they were weak or bad legged Mother nature has her way of culling if something wrong. I try to walk away but it is hard. some make it

 

[kvmommy]

Well I opened them up. One was alive but no pip...nicked it in the process and its bleeding. Don't think it would have made it regardless. The rest were dead and fully formed, a few internal pips, all had no yoke. One drowned. One is still alive and since I opened it its chirping its head off. BUT its very veiny still. Can I give it some vitamin water? It definitely wouldn't have made it if I didn't open it. But now that I did I want to help.

 

[BHep]

Well I opened them up. One was alive but no pip...nicked it in the process and its bleeding. Don't think it would have made it regardless. The rest were dead and fully formed, a few internal pips, all had no yoke. One drowned. One is still alive and since I opened it its chirping its head off. BUT its very veiny still. Can I give it some vitamin water? It definitely wouldn't have made it if I didn't open it. But now that I did I want to help.

So sorry.

 

[BHep]

So the egg I opened yesterday died and is bloated.

But I still have one weakly chirping. the one I opened was very very veiny still but the membrane was very dry. I'm afraid to try to open up this last weak chriper. Part of me wants to give it a chance but part of me says...its day 26! If it can't come out on his own, its probably not meant to be. What should I do?

This sounds like you are having a temperature issue in the bator...running to low.

Better luck next time.

 

[ronott1]

Well, believe it or not we had another chick hatch from our hatch-a-long eggs early this morning. Yesterday I was getting ready to clean out the incubator and toss the remaining eggs and found one had pipped. I tapped it and the little fella chirped! So i left them in over night and right after I got up, there he was! He's a cross between my barred rock hens and my red cochin...wonder what he will look like? So that brings my total hatched to 9. Hey! That also means I had a 50% hatch rate...not bad for a first time hatch


However, I have had several hatch with leg issues and I am pretty sure that it must have been caused by something during incubation. I have found lots of things saying it COULD be caused by conditions during incubation, but I cant find anything saying WHAT those conditions may be. I have another batch of eggs to set, and want to try and figure it out before I set them so today is research research research I guess! I also have read up on "dry" hatching and have decided thats what I am going to do for the next round.

Problems associated with incubation problems also include the health of the parents. If yours took more than 21 days the temperature was too low. Most sources say humidity is not as important as temperature. I suspect that ventilation is also very important. Keep the plugs out.
Problems include: Sticky chicks, late quitter, internal pip but dies in shell, egg yolk not absorbed, deformed chicks(yes that means leg, hip, bowel, feet and etc.)

Here is some information on causes:

University of Florida research came up with this list describing possible
causes for poor hatches:

18-21 day failure can be, in order of likelihood, the following:
1. Improper incubator temperature, humidity, turning, ventilation.
2. Improper hatcher temperature, humidity, ventilation.
3. Contamination, especially from molds (aspergillis, etc.).
4. Fumigation too severe or too prolonged.
5. Eggs chilled in transfer, or transferred too late.
6. Broken shell -- pre-set, during incubation, or at transfer.
7. Nutritional deficiencies -- vitamin D, vitamin A, folic acid, or
pantothenic acid, riboflavin, vitamin E, selenium, vitamin K, biotin, thiamin,
vitamin B12, calcium, phosphorus, manganese, or linoleic acid.
8. Embryonic malposition; embryo fails to move into proper hatching
position.
9. Embryological development accident. Failure to change to lung
respiration and all intra-embryonic circulation, and/or to retract the
intestinal loops and yolk sac. These and other changes are critical at this time.
10. Heredity -- lethal genes, chromosome abnormalities.
11. Twinning.
12. Hatcher opened too much during pipping and hatching.
13. Poor shell quality.
14. Breeder diseases.

Pipped. Full-term embryo, dead in shell.
Causes:
1. Low humidity or temperature for a prolonged period.
2. Low humidity during hatching.
3. High temperature during hatching.
4. Nutritional deficiencies.
5. Breeder diseases.
6. Poor ventilation.
7. Inadequate turning during first 12 days.
8. Injury during transfer.
9. Prolonged egg storage.

Shell partially pipped, embryo alive or dead.
Causes:
1. Excessive fumigation during hatching.
2. Eggs set small end up.

 

[kvmommy]

I think I definitely had it way too low. Its my first time using a hovabator. Just when I get the LG to work I decide to get a hovabator for a better hatch and the LG did way better! Well, I gave the one chick vitamin sugar water. I'm hoping it gives him enough energy to suck them vessels in. Then I can help him out. The other one I'm not even going to bother with. He's a goner for sure. This one chick is fighting though. I may have to keep him even though I already chose the ones I want to keep and am selling the rest. If this little fighter survives, he's definitely going to stay with me.

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote:
This is the same thing I had happen this hatch. On the average, only half of the shipped eggs developed. Some of those quit before lockdown. Of my own, I pulled 3 of 36 at lockdown. Even the eggs from my flock had a hard time hatching. I helped some that managed to pip but were gooey and couldn't move to zip. Some made it, others didn't. I kept my temps at 99.5 because I feared that a heat spike would kill them.....instead the lower temp ended many of their lives.

I can't say how much this hurt and how disappointed I am. I already have some turkey eggs in (participating in ChooksChick Cinco de Mayo Turkeython). None were shipped and I am keeping the temps at 100.5-100.9. I will be putting some shipped eggs from Debs-Flock in this week, to "school" the turkeys, and am hoping to have better results this time. Live and learn...........

 

[ronott1]

Quote:
Jeez!!! You folks are killing me! Ron it's like you knew how many stores I went to this week looking for asparagus and you are just torturing me now!!!

I got a huge bag at Costo. It only took us three meals to eat them all. We're now working on the giant bag of brocolli..............gotta love bulk shopping!



Deb
Make big pot of Broccoli Cheddar soup!

Ron

 

[ronott1]

I think I definitely had it way too low. Its my first time using a hovabator. Just when I get the LG to work I decide to get a hovabator for a better hatch and the LG did way better! Well, I gave the one chick vitamin sugar water. I'm hoping it gives him enough energy to suck them vessels in. Then I can help him out. The other one I'm not even going to bother with. He's a goner for sure. This one chick is fighting though. I may have to keep him even though I already chose the ones I want to keep and am selling the rest. If this little fighter survives, he's definitely going to stay with me.

Give the sick ones a bit of plain yogurt and some scrambled egg. If you can get them to peck at it, get some chick grit. I bought a bag from TSC last month. Do not get parrot grit from the pet store. I could not find one without calcium in it.

Ron