May Hatch-a-Long!

[Cynthia12]

Well, my hatch is coming to an end on Day 21.

I had 2 hatch Day 19, 22 hatch Day 20, and 5 hatch today. The 30th chick is hatching right now but no other pips. The last pip (30th chick) was 6 hours ago.

21 eggs left with no cheeping or pips. I quickly candled 1 bantam egg -- couldn't see anything -- and 1 Silkie. The Silkie contained a fully formed baby, but didn't cheep when I tapped it or move. It looks like this Marans may be my last chick.

What didn't hatch: 3 Ameraucanas, 8 Marans, 10 bantam mixes and Silkies

This is a great hatch!

 

[Cynthia12]

aghhhhhh

I just came back a bit ago from feeding all of my birds in this downpour today...and saw 3 of my newly hatched baby Mandarins dead on the wet pen floor. The Mama had moved them down to our converted old doghouse (yay freecycle!) and even though it has a ramp going into and out of it , and she and some babies were inside it nice and dry, those 3 must not have been able to get in. There is a 2" high edge to hop over into the main big part, and a 'window' (for the dog) next to the door that is 5" or so off the ground. The ramp goes up and over the 2" high step thru the doorway. I am so mad..

and to top it off, the chick who pipped this am, and hadn't made any progress by this afternoon other than making the pip into a hole, was dead a while ago.

I checked to see if the hole was now becoming a zip, and it's beak was still sticking out of the hole, but not moving. I tapped on the top and it still didn't move. I grabbed it out quickly and saw it was dead. It had wet stuff dripping down the side of the shell and in the bottom of the egg carton it was resting in. Sort of yellowish liquid. I am so bummed! Now I only have 2 chances to hatch a Silver Birchen Maran.

...I am striking out so badly today.

Oh my goodness!

 

[Wishapup]

Can anyone help? The heat lamp suddenly turned off...I was eating supper. It may have been out for 2 hours.

28 chicks, from 1-2 days old, were cold and shivering. I rushed them in a panic to the incubator. It looks like I may lose one or two. I'm so afraid for these chicks.

 

[chickenlisa]

Sugar water? Keep them in there til they warm up and the brooder box is toasty warm again, electrolytes to boost them too?

 

[Wishapup]

Sugar water? Keep them in there til they warm up and the brooder box is toasty warm again, electrolytes to boost them too?

Thanks! I would give it to them, but I shouldn't open the incubator while they're warming. There are also so many that it would be confusion trying to make sure each chick got sugar water. Maybe in an hour?

I really hope they survive! Our heat lamp had a loose connection. Luckily we have a back-up lamp and we're setting that up now, but I'm not bringing them out for a few hours.

The formerly calm incubator is chaos...there's one pipped egg in there with nearly 30 chicks and I can't even see it. What if a chick sleeps on the hatching egg and suffocates it?

There's only 1 chick that specifically is not doing as well as the others. It was getting trampled. I slipped it into a plastic container so it can't get stepped on.

 

[Cynthia12]

What kind of lamp do you have? They will probably be fine if you just put them back into the brooder, they will stay as close as they need to be to the heat source. I've had it happen several times. They start crying very loudly. I get a new bulb, then they are happy. Are these just hatched chicks? Is that why you are putting them back into the bator? I hope all works out well. Once they stop shivering, they should be fine under the heat lamp again. I would put the little one that was trampled into a cup or short glass..with a paper towel in the bottom, for the night to see how he does. Don't put it directly under the heat source. Watch to see where the others are feeling comfortable, and place the cup out in that area. If you have a dropper, or just use the tip of your finger to get a drop on it, then give them all a couple of drops of water.

 

[Wishapup]

What kind of lamp do you have? They will probably be fine if you just put them back into the brooder, they will stay as close as they need to be to the heat source. I've had it happen several times. They start crying very loudly. I get a new bulb, then they are happy. Are these just hatched chicks? Is that why you are putting them back into the bator? I hope all works out well. Once they stop shivering, they should be fine under the heat lamp again. I would put the little one that was trampled into a cup or short glass..with a paper towel in the bottom, for the night to see how he does. Don't put it directly under the heat source. Watch to see where the others are feeling comfortable, and place the cup out in that area. If you have a dropper, or just use the tip of your finger to get a drop on it, then give them all a couple of drops of water.

Thank you, Cynthia! Fortunately they are all okay now and back in the brooder! Totally new secure connection and using our back-up heat lamp, which is working fine. They are eating, drinking, and running all over the place. They look comfortable.

I put them back in the incubator because some of them were becoming hypothermic and I am just finishing a hatch... most of the chicks had hatched the previous day and some in the early morning.

I dipped each beak in warm Stress Aid water and many are drinking on their own. The trampled one is okay, too!

 

[Cynthia12]

Thank you, Cynthia! Fortunately they are all okay now and back in the brooder! Totally new secure connection and using our back-up heat lamp, which is working fine. They are eating, drinking, and running all over the place. They look comfortable.

I put them back in the incubator because some of them were becoming hypothermic and I am just finishing a hatch... most of the chicks had hatched the previous day and some in the early morning.

I dipped each beak in warm Stress Aid water and many are drinking on their own. The trampled one is okay, too!

Yaay! Yes, I'm only a couple of hrs. behind the times here. Glad they are doing well. It's so scary to see little ones go through something like that. Especially the real young ones..they could have a hard time coming back. Glad they did!

 

[missnu01]

Just set 14 of my mixed eggs into lock down today...so in a couple days I'm hoping to see some chicks. I have 2 salmon faverolles hens, one barnyard bantam, and some muttley creature that was sold to me as an easter egger. Presiding over them there is a buff orpington who is the head roo, so most chick's are likely to be his. Then I have a blue copper marans rooster that is next and sees some action. Also have a good looking ee rooster, and the lastly little fella is my salmon faverolle. I know I know 4 hens and 4 roos is a bad ratio but this past winter when I "thinned" my flock so many people showed up wanting all my chickens and I was broke so couldn't turn down the cash, so...I was left with the 4 hens and 4 roos. Out of the chick's I've bought this year I got 6 straight run ees that 4 are roosters...luckily also got 6 red pullets and 5 brown leg horn pullets. I will still have to weed out some roosters....but I just love them so much. So colorful and friendly. But I can't keep collecting them

 

[missnu01]

Last hatch I managed to hatch 18 out of 18 but I did help a bit. I found that the already hatched chicks would follow me if I moved around the incubator so I would use the hatchlings to wiggle the ones that were working on it. Then one just wasn't doing it...so I would pull back a little shell and wrap the egg in a moist paper towel, and even that chick eventually made it out.