MAY 2016 "Land of the Free Because of the brave!" Hatch-a-Long Hosted by, Mike & Sally

[Puddin Fluff]

I had a total of four hatch. The fifth egg turned out to be an early quitter. Mom brought the kids off the nest late this morning, and has been teaching them the important things, like where to find the food and water. I love watching a broody with her babies.

How fun!

 

[mlm Mike]

Well, I'm happy with the chicks I managed to hatch... and yet I'm totally bummed at the same time. The last two batches yielded an average of 22% hatch rate. 13 chicks out of 60 eggs, with a price tag of $165, figures to $12.69 per chick. These chicks need to be killer birds when they grow up...

Sorry to hear that Joey. I hope you have some really great chicks.

And hopefully a nice roo for each pen and plenty of hens.

Quote: Great News!

Hey all update on my hatch-es lol

Okay well it's been a crazy week following a crazy emotional week last week too.

Ugh okay so the run down is as follows(Forgive me if there are repeats as I have forgotten what I've mentioned and haven't mentioned.)

Last week after discovering the week before, maybe longer I don't remember, that the fan wasn't working properly in our styrobator DH2B installed a spare computer fan from our coolerbator build while we collected eggs fertilized by our lf slw rooster, Twitch, that was taken by a predator.

We gathered and gathered and on the 20th put the oldest eggs then 10 days old into the styrobator with 27 other eggs that were staggered, having been set the 3rd and the 6th.

Some of you may remember the week before this last miraculously we hatched out three chicks from eggs devastated by our broken fan with temps being unsteady and reaching up to 113 and also getting low. None of the eggs lost enough moisture I don't think. Well two of the chicks hatched out okay and one hatched with wry neck(they were all late). We began treatment on the little wry necked chick and on its slthird day of life it began to show improvement. But that evening it died mysteriously seeming to have aspirated hours after being syringe fed. Upright with its neck straight and with no explanation for what caused it. It was in a padded container in the incubator for its safety. There was a fourth egg in the incubator that was nearly ready when it too died that night almost free from its egg. The other two chicks are healthy and thriving.

A week ago today, a teacher brought me the chicks that she hatched with her class from our eggs. They got 14 chicks out of 18 eggs
3 slw
3 EE
4 slw/black 50% English orp mixes
4 slw/buff orp mixes

Our eggs that were set on the 3rd hatched this week, I haven't looked through to see what all is what yet but 24 eggs went into lockdown 22 hatched and 2 were dead in shell. However we had to put down two chicks from this last week.

One hatched during the night and somehow managed to climb into our computer fan before I got up. The incubator was a gory mess and I was devastated, the silkie mix, shouldn't have been able to get into it. The wounds though seemed superficial and the chick seemed strong but we nearly 24 hours later found her seemingly comatose. We believe there may have been unknown internal damage. She had cuts on her head and neck, her left wing and her right foot. Her top beak was also damaged, and her right foot also had cuts. Our fan isn't run very fast being a 9 volt cord but she obviously was just too tender. Many of the injuries were just scrapes and pulled down. It was truly heartbreaking and we made the tough decision to humanely put her down. I had researched it when we first found her but we(my mother is a nurse and rushed over to help) decided given her original fight to give her a chance, of course we wouldn't have had we known something internal was involved. We decided to go with the vinegar and baking soda method and DH2B kicked the both of us out and gave her peace. This having been our first instant of having to do this, plainly, it sucked. I'm grateful DH2B did it though I know it was distasteful for him to do it. It was fast and peaceful.

We quickly wiped up the worst of the blood in the incubator and watched many more chicks hatch. That night we found there were two dead in shells and three more chicks just pipped. We went to bed.

I woke at 6 to a horrific scene. The incubator was once again covered in blood but much worse than the previous morning and there were two chicks out. I just about had a heart attack, had another little one gotten into the now completely covered and blocked off fan?! I pick up the chick nearest to the fan and looked it over. It looked really good if it's belly wasn't 100% sealed I couldn't imagine all that blood coming from that chick. The other chick still seemed to be sitting in the egg it hatched from and was soaking. I moved the first chick to the brooder(humidity was up to 70% with two wet chicks in there and barely fell when I grabbed it) and came back to check to see if the second was still attached to its egg. When I got back to pick the baby up there it was a yolk sac hanging out as the chick dragged it acrossed the bator. The yolk sac was clearly ruptured and then I know that the brownish red blood that coated the incubator had come from this chick. Judging by its egg shell it had ruptured the yolk before coming out of the egg. I couldn't believe this baby was alive. I placed it and it's yolk in warm wet paper towels in a container in the incubator to see if it could absorb the yolk. It didnt and at lunch time we took another look, the three of us together, we decided to cut the yolk free and try to save the chick. Only when we got all the lights on and readied all the equipment did we see hiding under the umbilical were intestines sticking out and the navel had closed cutting off circulation. The chick was not well and we made the hard choice again. That little baby also went quickly and peacefully.

We used a vacuum seal container to put the chicks down(with a smaller dish inside, however we flip flopped it the larger container was used for the vinegar mixture while the chick was dry in the other container aurounded by the mix) and it took maybe 10-20 seconds each time, I wasn't in the room but I spoke to DH2B and neither chick struggled or suffered just laid down and went to sleep.

I'm curious how everyone else culls chicks if needed.

All in all 20/24 into lockdown is pretty good but it was hard having to put those two down and we feel guilty about the fan in spite of having believe it was chick proof it is now double guarded and a third layer is yet to be added.

The three eggs set on the 6th are doing well, due today, and one EE is already out. There is another EE internally pipped and an ISA brown egg externally pipped.

The incubator also has quite a few eggs that we set on the 20th all seem to be doing well. Though many had to be carefully wiped clean of the egg yolk blood turned glue mixture.

We also set 104 eggs in the coolerbator this evening ranging from being layed today to being two weeks old. Most are 10 days or less.

Sorry you had to go through the bloody incubator. I'm glad the school had a good hatch. As far as how I cull chicks, decapitation with poultry shears.

Mike my hatch is done,

Legbar are mostly boys unfortunately, I have four in the bator drying and then I can clean both bators

Sorry you had mostly males.

Well, have my silkie eggs going into lock down this Sunday. Crossing fingers they hatch well. I'm due for a good silkie hatch.

Good Luck!

Well I come out with a hatch of 75 out of 96 eggs.
Here are some photos.

Sizzle chick


Polish/Nsked Neck cross. Fully feathered.


Just some random babies.


Here are some fully feathered ones also. Both parents were Naked Necked, but had big bibs, some all five chicks from that cross turned out without the naked Necks. Boo. Oh well pullets will work if that is what they are to be bred back to NN's.

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing the pics.

Updates:
There were 7 chicks born this week of my staggered eggs.
There are currently 2 brown eggs from one of my hens and 2 EE eggs from my Easter Egger in the incubator due to hatch this holiday weekend.

Of the turkeys due the 26th hatched on the 25th one weak and floppy. I have been playing nurse to the weaker one after reading on BYC about Floppy chick syndrome. Now however I am afraid either it has a respiratory thing or it has aspirated when I dipped its beak or syringe fed it as I am hearing a little weird noise that wasn't there yesterday.

Sorry about the weak poult.

This is Daisy. Our daughter is naming them as they hatch, of course

This is Periwinkle. She is a Lavender Orpington. There is another Lavender Orpington zipping now. The other four aren't pipped yet.

Two Ameracauna mixes were pipped this morning and haven't hatched yet.

No pips on any of the three Russian Orloffs, the big green Ameracauna mix, or the FBCM.

It's getting a bit crazy in there, the unhatched eggs are getting kicked around quite a bit, but it's not recommended to remove chicks if others are pipped, correct? The black one that hatched at noon is very active.

Congratulations!

Day 20 and it's early but nada still. Getting worried! Babies please be ok!

Quote: I'm sorry to hear that.

 

[shahtir101]

So the chick that I thought had wry neck might not. It can hold its head up but when I set it down it just falls on its side. It is alert and is its normal self besides not walking. What can I do?

 

[mlm Mike]

Woo hoo! I am having a great hatch!

I have 4 of my very special silkies (mom is blue best of show, and hasn't laid for two years, because she is older, so I am very happy!)

5 rocks, 3 more black silkies from my black roo and blue/splash mammas, and 2 Ameraucanas! 1 more baby to go and I will be at a 100% hatch, minus two that died in the shells during very early development.

I haven't been on for a bit because I had a huge assignment due for school. I am so glad to have that done!

Congratulations!

Good morning, everyone!

We have six hatched, two pipped, two zipping, five still unpipped. Day 21 ends at noon. We're warming up the brooder and will move the drier chicks later this morning. The relative humidity outside here right now is 89% We have the windows open without the AC on, so humidity loss is unlikely.

Wonderful! Doesn't sound like humidity will be a problem.

Is this a blood ring? Day 6 - lavender Orpington

It looks like it to me.

Today is day 19 for my broody game hen. she is sitting on bantam eggs (duccles, ee's, and games) and 2 nn crosses. when I was feeding everyone this morning I thought I heard her clucking, so I went over and took a look. Sure enough, She's got chicks under her, 2 days early.

my 6 Barnevelder eggs I set 3 weeks ago have hatched. all 6!

Congratulations!

Happy Memorial Day!


We had a parade and then I had down time with Mama and the babies. All 8 are doing well. Unfortunately I only got 7 in the pic.

The parade looks fun! Broody with chicks!

I had a total of four hatch. The fifth egg turned out to be an early quitter. Mom brought the kids off the nest late this morning, and has been teaching them the important things, like where to find the food and water. I love watching a broody with her babies.

Another broody hen!

So the chick that I thought had wry neck might not. It can hold its head up but when I set it down it just falls on its side. It is alert and is its normal self besides not walking. What can I do?

Did you start the wry neck treatment at all?

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Sorry to hear that Joey. I hope you have some really great chicks.

And hopefully a nice roo for each pen and plenty of hens.

Thanks, Mike. I had 11 hatch from the first batch. Since there are two families, and most will likely be male (male dominant breed), I figured I should play it safe and order more eggs to be sure I had enough females to get a good selection from in the spring. When the last 30 eggs arrived, the box looked terrible. None of the eggs were broken, but two were cracked from top to bottom. All the others had wonky air cells. I was still hopeful when 10 made it to lockdown. Two hatched, one started zipping and drowned in goo, and the others did nothing. I had one chick from each family, so I though it wasn't a total bust... until I realized that one of the chicks is a rose comb, which will never be used in my breeding program. Most likely will be a cockerel, and the other will probably be a cockerel as well... so I'm planning on the second batch to be a complete and total failure. It was an $85 gamble, and I lost. My older chicks are now 4 weeks old, and I'm starting to see combs and wattles on some of them. From what I can tell so far, I have a pair of pullets from each family... and lots of cockerels. If the females grow up to be decent birds, this may work to my advantage since I'd rather have more males to choose from than females. The down side to that scenario is that cockerels don't lay eggs, so all I can do is sell or slaughter the culls. Any male birds that aren't in the breeding program will not stay. Right now it's a waiting game to see what I end up with. I can always pick up a few started pullets in the fall if I need to.

PS: Now that I'm a card-bearing member of RIRCA, I'm no longer allowed to use the term "roo"...

 

[Chaos18]

Thanks! If I notice it is drying should I qtip wet it down and leave?

Has There been any progress made?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

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[mlm Mike]

Quote:
Really sorry about that second batch, maybe a really great cockerel will come from it. A pair of pullets from each family is good. How many cockerels you thinking of keeping?

I won't even ask about the term "roo"

 

[Sally Sunshine]

So today I go to feed everyone and I fine my smallest chocolate 4 week old (size of a 2 week old) is rolling around to get to food and water! I realize that her legs shoot out in front of her and she can't move. This happened right after I decided it would be a good idea to move her in with the younger chicks because of her size.So I have to splint her legs she is now in a cup hopefully there will be some improvement. I am going to give her some electrolytes because she seems drained.

Thanks for the pictures @Sally Sunshine

I am thinking that it might be wry neck. The chicks legs appear fine but she flops around and can't hold her head up very well. I made a cocoon type thing to support her head and neck and have been giving her little drops of an electrolyte vitamin mix I have and plan on giving her drops of egg yolk. Will this help wry neck?

oh nooo good luck shah let me know how it goes!! read that link at what I did to the wry silkie

my 6 Barnevelder eggs I set 3 weeks ago have hatched. all 6!

CONGRATS!!!!!

Sally Sun Hi Sally

I just wanted to tell you about my brahmas from the April HAL. You were right about the way a few of them are turning out. The light one is a splash and one of the dark chicks is turning out blue. Shows you what I know...haha.

There you are!!! oh LOL Splash are lovely but sometimes their stenciling gets all screwed up. The roost sometimes are multi colored and sometimes not. I would love to see them as they grow for you!! I have a bunch growing out, only kept a black/gld male and the rest are pullets, only one splash and she may go....

Happy Memorial Day!


We had a parade and then I had down time with Mama and the babies. All 8 are doing well. Unfortunately I only got 7 in the pic.

AWesome shots!! I bet it was hot today!!

I had a total of four hatch. The fifth egg turned out to be an early quitter. Mom brought the kids off the nest late this morning, and has been teaching them the important things, like where to find the food and water. I love watching a broody with her babies.

so cute!!!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

So the chick that I thought had wry neck might not. It can hold its head up but when I set it down it just falls on its side. It is alert and is its normal self besides not walking. What can I do?

oh sweets, IDK what to tell you.
poo is good? no moldy feeds or bedding? overheating or underheating?

Quote:
Really sorry about that second batch, maybe a really great cockerel will come from it. A pair of pullets from each family is good. How many cockerels you thinking of keeping?

I won't even ask about the term "roo"
roo? I will ask.... ???????????????????