MGG's Hatching Thread!

[WallacetheKhakiCampbell]

Yep! It definitely will. As long as there's more than 1, you're all good.

Yes, it helps SO much. I use a wire cage as a brooder and the chicks in it are always way tamer. It's great.

Great! Good to hear that because my last ducks and chickens are not so nice (besides my one broody). and im really hoping for some nice chicks

 

[MarshyRooster]

Good luck on all eggs and hatched chicks, everyone!
I have three eggs in the incbuator, and it looks like we're getting a single chick (AGAIN) but at least the egg is developing! Really hope she hatches, and I really hope all of your chicks and eggs flourish!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Okay you ready. First time hatching I had 12 eggs they came from my father's chickens I had no idea what the heck I was doing so MGG bless her heart. What she had to go through with me I feel so bad. Long long story short out of the 12 eggs I got five beautiful babies. They're 20 days old today and I swear if it wasn't for MGG I don't think I could have done it I was going cuckoo. My dad saw and he was so proud that I hached five eggs because he does not have good luck at all so he gave me 22 and ask me can I do those for me too. I'm like yeah sure I'm an expert now I know what I'm doing . Put the 22 eggs in 7 days candled every single one was good except one that lit up wasn't fertile so I was with 20 14 days candled nine stopped developing looks like early on I have 12 now . All the eggs came from his flock. So the answer is I got five chicks out of 12 from the same flock. And I just lost 9 out of 20 on the 14th day and I have 7 days left and 4 days till lockdown sorry this was so long but that is the whole kit and caboodle.

Hmm, it's a perplexing "caboodle" for sure! (PS am I the only one old enough to actually know what a caboodle is? )

Before I go any further, did you reset the number of days to hatch on your NR360 to 21 when you put the new eggs in? Because it has an automatic shut off 3 days before hatch if you leave it on 0 the turner doesn't turn and eggs not turning properly often results in quitters.

Did anything else go haywire at hatch for the chicks that did develop properly? Early, late, sticky, hernias, anything out of the norm?

 

[Sally PB]

am I the only one old enough to actually know what a caboodle

Nope. Often said with its friend "kit."

 

[Chickenwingwing]

Lol, I just noticed this emoticon slaps the floor. I never watched it long enough past the sideways chuckling stage haha.
Well now I love it even more

 

[Kellyjenny]

Hmm, it's a perplexing "caboodle" for sure! (PS am I the only one old enough to actually know what a caboodle is? )

Before I go any further, did you reset the number of days to hatch on your NR360 to 21 when you put the new eggs in? Because it has an automatic shut off 3 days before hatch if you leave it on 0 the turner doesn't turn and eggs not turning properly often results in quitters.

Did anything else go haywire at hatch for the chicks that did develop properly? Early, late, sticky, hernias, anything out of the norm?

I reset my incubator to 21 and on lockdown I unplug the automatic turner remove the white thingy in there and put cupboard cloth I think that's what it's called. The first hatch that I did I got five babies but one pipped and there was blood coming out of it like a little dry blood I let it stay in for two more days because my eggs hatched on 19 days and that one didn't make it. I know it was fully developed but it was my first hatch and I in my heart I could not open it to see what had happened.

 

[MarshyRooster]

That's so sad... at least it made it that far, though .

 

[Kellyjenny]

I reset my incubator to 21 and on lockdown I unplug the automatic turner remove the white thingy in there and put cupboard cloth I think that's what it's called. The first hatch that I did I got five babies but one pipped and there was blood coming out of it like a little dry blood I let it stay in for two more days because my eggs hatched on 19 days and that one didn't make it. I know it was fully developed but it was my first hatch and I in my heart I could not open it to see what had happened.

This is what it looked like.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

This is what it looked like.

It pipped through a blood vessel. It looks like it hit a big one. Just to ease your mind if you happen to see this in the future, normally when they pip through blood vessels they actually hatch ok. It's only occasionally that it's bad enough that they pass away from it.

Do you know how long your Dad collects eggs or how he stores them?
There are "best practices" for storing hatching eggs. Keeping them in a cool room, pointy end down in a carton or horizontal on a towel, and tilting the carton, or moving the eggs couple times a day is recommended. Some people even keep them in turners but outside of the incubator.

Do you wash the eggs or leave them unwashed? Were any of them poopy?

These things may have nothing to do with what's going on but it can be like trying to be a detective to figure out why early quitters happen, lol. Also, they're not always 100% necessary. They're just found to be best practices for collecting hatching eggs for best hatch rates BUT I did just have a 100% hatch rate with half eggs that were stored properly and set within 2 weeks and the rest were up to a month old, had been washed and stored in the fridge for eating, lol, no tilting, literally the opposite of what "should" be done and they were old! One was even cracked and repaired with nail polish. All of the eggs developed and all hatched.

If you happen to have easy access to hatching eggs from another flock that someone else has already tested their own hatch rate, it might be worth trying to hatch eggs from another flock too and see if your outcome is better.

 

[Kellyjenny]

It pipped through a blood vessel. It looks like it hit a big one. Just to ease your mind if you happen to see this in the future, normally when they pip through blood vessels they actually hatch ok. It's only occasionally that it's bad enough that they pass away from it.

Do you know how long your Dad collects eggs or how he stores them?
There are "best practices" for storing hatching eggs. Keeping them in a cool room, pointy end down in a carton or horizontal on a towel, and tilting the carton, or moving the eggs couple times a day is recommended. Some people even keep them in turners but outside of the incubator.

Do you wash the eggs or leave them unwashed? Were any of them poopy?

These things may have nothing to do with what's going on but it can be like trying to be a detective to figure out why early quitters happen, lol. Also, they're not always 100% necessary. They're just found to be best practices for collecting hatching eggs for best hatch rates BUT I did just have a 100% hatch rate with half eggs that were stored properly and set within 2 weeks and the rest were up to a month old, had been washed and stored in the fridge for eating, lol, no tilting, literally the opposite of what "should" be done and they were old! One was even cracked and repaired with nail polish. All of the eggs developed and all hatched.

If you happen to have easy access to hatching eggs from another flock that someone else has already tested their own hatch rate, it might be worth trying to hatch eggs from another flock too and see if your outcome is better.

We store it in an egg carton point y part down when I went to my dad's to pick them up I took all the icky ones out and he replaced them with not icky ones was I supposed to keep them in the egg carton longer before I incubated them does it matter maybe I put him in too early they didn't settle that part I don't know about