Michigan Hatchers! What'cha got cookin?

[RTFchickens]

Well, I didn't have the heart to cull it, so I gave the chick to a friend of mine who is doing the dirty work.
I have no problem butchering a rooster for eating, but a poor chick? I can't do it.

 

[RTFchickens]

I was reading up on this intestines outside of abdomen thing, and I guess its from elevated incubator temps mid way through incubation.
Today is day 21, and no sign of life from the other 8 eggs. First I candled them, then I did egg autopsys. 7 others had the exact same thing, the intestine outside, and died probably yesterday or Monday. They were quite far along in development. I'm not sure why my incubator temp went up. It did get up to about 80 degrees in my house with incubator on, but will that affect the inside temp that much? It was when I was in Washington DC for a week, and hubby was egg sitting...

 

[Candy442]

I cull them if they look like that.

Yeah. Unfortunately I agree.



Up to 2 olive eggers and the first Marans just hatched as well. Hoping to wake up to a few more chicks in the morning. Hoping is the key since nothing else is pipped.

I hope I don't have to see that in any of my hatches...what happened did the body not seal up completely?

 

[RTFchickens]

I hope I don't have to see that in any of my hatches...what happened did the body not seal up completely?

Yes, that's exactly what happened. The intestine were outside of the body, and its abdomen had a whole in it that was not sealed up. From what I read here and on the Internet elsewhere its fatal, and if left to live it just suffers before it eventually dies. I feel terrible after reading its due to the incubator temp. I feel guilty for leaving now.

 

[gladahmae]

There's no way you could have known until they hatched, so please don't feel like it's your fault. I would check your thermostat (and wafer if that's the type of thermostat you use) and make sure that the sun doesn't shine on the incubator at any point....maybe curtains were accidentally left open or something.





Still sitting at 3 chicks and no new pips still. I know my first 3 were EARLY but gosh, why would everything else be so far behind??

 

[naglady]

So sorry about your chick, you did the right thing, its never easy.. but best for the chick.

 

[Candy442]

Yes, that's exactly what happened. The intestine were outside of the body, and its abdomen had a whole in it that was not sealed up. From what I read here and on the Internet elsewhere its fatal, and if left to live it just suffers before it eventually dies. I feel terrible after reading its due to the incubator temp. I feel guilty for leaving now.

so sorry RTF...not anyone's fault. It seems incubators have a mind of their own. I can look in on them all day long and see a steady temp, leave it overnight so I can sleep and in the AM mine is 2 degrees cooler! I heard cooler is better than too hot, we run ours at 99-100 (don't have .5 increments on the digital inside the bator.

Thank you for sharing what you found out about higher temps and what can happen as a result.

 

[naglady]

@glad did the rest of your eggs hatch.

 

[Chickens R Us]

Lol
I love the Tidy Cat litter pale as a nest box.
I use litter boxes with lids here as nest boxes.

I have lids on my other nest boxes but I took it off this one because a chick got out but couldn't get back in. I will put it back on when the chicks get a little bigger because it helps keep the shavings in.

 

[gladahmae]

@glad did the rest of your eggs hatch.

As of 10pm last night I had 3 OE out and a 4th pipped, just the one BCM out, but another was 'rocking. I haven't gotten down there to check the incubator yet this morning....too busy shivering since it's a whopping 41 here this morning and we left a few windows open over night. That and

. Had to sit through a t-ball game last night and then help keep book/organize kids/run the batting order/keep the peace in the dugout for a coach-pitch baseball game. Only one more week. One more week and we won't be at the ball fields 5 days a week. I love it, but it's getting exhausting.