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

[Mahonri]

Two days to first candle....

... just sayin'.....

 

[kathyinmo]

I am amazed at how 1 week after the fact, folks are still wanting to join because they hadn't heard about the Easter Hatch a long.

Has the new format made us all that much more "invisible"?

What do you think is the reason?

I was wondering the same thing.

 

[kfchickenlady]

ok so far, all 4 of my micro hatch doing well after candling! 4 of my buff and white silkies.

 

[NotAFarm]

We have

days until hatch day!! Congratulations to the contest winners so far! Don't forget to check the contest page for newly opened contests! In case you missed it, the total eggs set for the Hatchalong is 11,187! That is a whole lotta eggs! Great job BYCers!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

My first entry for the cutest baby picture contest ....

 

[thechickonthehill]

My first entry for the cutest baby picture contest ....

Haha, like mama, like baby. Very sweet photo!

 

[buckabucka]

Quote:

I said this too, and then I went upstairs and candled. Now that I've confirmed what I already knew (many developing, shipped eggs maybe half), I will leave them alone until just before lockdown. By then, it either looks really dark inside, or I know it has quit. AKMichelle, are you entering your dog in the cutest baby contest?

 

[thechickonthehill]

Two days to first candle....

... just sayin'.....

Me too, can't hardly wait! I never candle until day 10 so I can be fairly certain of what I'm seeing.

 

[NotAFarm]

I need reassurance. Like a lot. I was candling yesterday to show a cousin and her little boy a developing hatching egg. And I showed them one. Then I went to grab another. And it was STUCK TO THE EGG TURNER!!!!!!!! My heart dropped. I didn't try to budge it for fear of breaking. I had it out just the other day. (I was looking to see if I could see into my darkest egg). Ahhhhhh what could this mean? What do I do? Someone please help.

I'm sorry I can't help..

...old incubator without auto turners here....I hand turn mine three times a day so never had an egg stuck in a turner before

....maybe someone else will see this and have an idea for you!


Michelle, Love your pups more everytime I see pics!!

dsqard,

on the incubator entry!

kv, Glad you figured out the temp problems were due to curious kids.....sorry about the Hovabator problems.

Mahonri, Glad the burns are healing! I love the Wizard of Oz, will have to watch it again one of these days......

Chores, church and then garden and yard work are on the schedule for the day. I love being outside and am so glad we are having such beautiful weather that allows "spring cleaning" to be done this early. We are moving the woodpile and therefore fixing a fence in the chicken yard. They are not happy with all the noise and the disruption but love scratching around the newly bared ground where the wood was! I hope I get some time to take a few pics of the chickens!!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I had a chick hatch last week with problems. It was slightly small, hatched during the night, very wet and covered with membrane. When I found it in the morning, it's chin was dried to it's chest, it's left wing was dried to it's cheek and it's entire right side was dried to the floor of the incubator. After much working at it, I dampened it enough to get it off the floor, let it rest, then worked on washing the hard shell of membrane from it's body. The whole chick felt crispy. It couldn't stand and it's right leg was just wrong, but it was chirping lustily. I knew it would never be other than a pet, since it had issues, but I decided to try and save it.

Well, little Penelope finally took her first step today at 9 days old. I'm not quite sure what's wrong with it, but it folded completely to the inside behind her bottom, so that both legs crossed like a plus sign. I kept them tape hobbled with a pipe cleaner brace between them for the first 5 days, but that didn't seem to help. Her toes also curled on the good foot, but that corrected after taping for one day.

She got her name because I needed a pirate name (peg leg), so she was named for Penelope Cruz from the Johnny Depp movie. I'm pretty sure it's a pullet, she has absolutely no comb development.

For the past nine days, I've held her up to food and water many times per day. She started eating food at 2-3 days. I started her on nestling food (from my finches). It's super finely ground. I would hold her over a papertowel and sprinkle pinches of food a few grains at a time to get her attention, kind of like a hen pecking the ground to teach her chicks to eat. Once she figured it out, she really started shoveling it down. She particularily likes the thistle seed in the mix and will pick them out. It took her 5-6 days to figure out drinking. Up until then every drop she drank was from me pushing her beak into the water. Actually, all this time I've been giving her Pedialyte for the electrolytes. The first time she dipped her beak by herself, I was thrilled.

I've had to keep her on rubbermaid shelf liner or towels so she could get a grip with her toes. I've been exercising her legs and toes all this time (good thing it was my week off work). Yesterday for the very first time, she pulled herself up onto her feet by herself for the first time. Up until then, she totally got around by scooting around on her chest, just pushing with her good foot. I really wondered what I would do with a pet chicken that couldn't stand up.

Today, she actually took her first step!!!!!! She has always been able to move her leg, just couldn't draw it under herself. She only managed to take a couple of steps before falling back down, but I consider this amazing progress.

Keep your fingers crossed for Penelope.

Deb

I will! I had a similar type issue with my Hoppy. I had to feed and water her multiple times per day for about 10 days. Then she was ok on her own. She got chicken physical therapy (for meal worms). She ended up needing about 2 weeks total before she was well enough to go in with the rest of the chicks. I ended up using soft wrap that only stick to itself (like vetwrap or coban) to make her a cast and force her to stretch out the leg and stand. I felt like such a jerk, but it worked. Had to put her in a box so she had something to lean on and would stay warm under the light. The black stuff on her foot is bruises/blood. She didn't ship well.



She survived, and can walk just fine now. She does have some scarring on her leg but it hasn't affected her, yet, and she'll be 2 in less than a month. She is a bit "odd" because of being in a brooder by herself for 2 weeks and only having me around. She cares not for other chickens, but only for me. She follows me around like a dog and is constantly looking for me, even when I'm in the house. You should see her face when she gets a glimpse of me in the windows.

These are the words that have inspired my submission to the incubator contest. I call it "Rogue Bator"




*Disclaimer: Absolutely no hatching eggs were harmed in the making of these pictures.

I LOVE IT. Maybe you should enter it in the egg art contest, too?

Did you try the trick I told you about?

I didn't need to. I bought 400 lbs of dehydrated cow poop. He helped spread it and then tilled it in. I did try to put up the fence by myself yesterday. He came out when I was trying to get the fence strung on the last fencepost... takes a quick look at it and goes "you know that V shaped thing on the post? Yeah it's supposed to be underground. And then we had to pull most of my fence up and re do it. He should have heard my bangs and curses long before he did.

Me too, can't hardly wait! I never candle until day 10 so I can be fairly certain of what I'm seeing.

Me too! I also eggtopsy all day 10 eggs that I pull... If I'm unsure they get a / mark from a marker and go back in the bator for the pre-lockdown candle. All the others that I'm sure of go in a ziploc bag and then I smash them open gently once the bag is sealed. I was wrong, once. I felt bad.