Mission Control...we have LIFTOFF!!! Ooops, I mean LOCKDOWN!

[BoutrosBoutrosGalusGalus]

Getting messy in there!

 

[CALI CHICK]

Good Morning Everyone & WELCOME to some new hatch buddies!

Sorry I had to go to bed about midnight-I was drained!

Hi, Boutros-I used to live in San Jose (Evergreen) before moving up here! What are those dark eggs in your bator?
Nice to hear from you again, ggarratt. Tell your husband "thank you" for keeping us posted. Your baby is so cute and fluffy already....well, your 4 babies that is. How many more to hatch?
wholewheatchicken, how many have hatched now and how many to go?
I didn't wake up until around 4:30 when I noticed the 3rd pip was a bit bigger.

I got to see Baby #3 hatch at 4:55 am!

WHOLEWHEATCHICKEN, I'm calling them Baby 1, Baby 2 and Baby 3 so I guess that answers your question about whether I name them or not-LOL! They look so much alike at first. We can't tell Baby1 or Baby 2 apart anymore, but they are getting so fluffy and cute. They look like black silkies at first but after awhile their feathers become shades of grey!

Oh, I hope the other 7 hatch today!

Here is "Baby 3" just after emerging from her shell:

 

[CALI CHICK]

My son said she must be a good silkie.....he's already counting the toes!!!!!!! All five are there.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, Miss Pretty IS so pretty.

They do look fragile and SO sweet don't they? Your son is a good little man to take "hatch duty" for you! It's awesome to have family get excited along with you.

Even my husband is peeking in the 'bator and saying things like, "They're so cute!" HEHE I love it!

HAPPY HATCHING EVERYONE! Keep up the good work chickies!

 

[wholewheatchicken]

Hi, everyone. Glad to hear things are going so well. I went to bed with Miss Pretty. She was very lonely all by herself so I cuddled her in my hand and turned the heating blanket on and let her snuggle with me. She's all fluffed up and very pretty. She's yellow-ish with gray and light brown tint to the edges of her feathers.
But I am worried. She hasn't seemed to want to use her left leg very well since she was born. I am now wondering if it was the bottom of the incubator - styrofoam. No other chicks have hatched yet for me to see if they can walk on it. It seems to be better since she has rested, but when I put her in the brooder box to see if she is using it, she sees me and starts scooting towards me to get underneath me, like I see the ones do with the hen mommas. How well are any of yours walking? I tried to make a Band-Aid splint, but couldn't get it on by myself. So if that's what I need to do, I will when my husband wakes up....he's an overnight worker!
Love the pictures. Hopefully I will have some more to post soon. Have two pippers and one egg shaker. Snuck the stethoscope in the side of the bator so I could hear what is going on and there is a lot of tapping and peeping.

 

[California_chickie]

Hi fellow hatchers- I know I've been limited on the thread, but I was convinced that I had a bad hatch! However, day 22+1/2 - my first little chick arrived and others are following...so now I can post pictures and not be so afraid to participate! This was my 2nd time 'bating and I got a lot of helpful hints and support from all of you participating in this thread (especially Cali Chick) THANK YOU!

 

[CALI CHICK]

California Chick...she is SO sweet. Is she a splash silkie? How many others do you have? Do you see any other pips?

I just can't wait to pick them up. If this other pip hatches without any sign of new pips I might move them into the brooder. With 70% humidity it's taking awhile for them to dry. BTW-My humidity went up when the first 3 hatched.

How is everyone elses hatch doing? Or, did ya'll go away and do normal Saturday stuff?

 

[CALI CHICK]

wholewheatchicken (May I call you WWC for short...just kidding! I need the typing exercise!) Regarding the "walking"...My chicks were SO wobbly for the longest time. They would take a few steps and fall forward on their faces. Then they would just take a little nap where they dropped. Or, they would topple backwards and chirp and flop around until they righted themselves. They seem to walk with a little more direction (and practice) today, but still very wobbly. I was thinking though, my son didn't walk for a year, so they are doing GOOD-LOL.

Miss Pretty probably needs to get used to using her little legs. Maybe the one leg was tucked underneath her for a long time in the shell? Keep an eye on her and maybe search some threads about 1 bad leg? Hope she's OK.

 

[wholewheatchicken]

Yes!!!! Definitely call me WWC or just Kim. I hope it's okay to post our names on here. Miss Pretty is doing better. I got her up again about 30 minutes ago and my son and I both thought she was "walking", but still wobbly. So relieved. Now that I have spent about eight hours holding her I am soooo attached. She is pretty!!!
I love all the pictures everyone has posted. It is keeping my encouragement up. I think if I was alone going through this for the first time I would be having a major attack, as it is I am experiencing a mild major attack LOL!!! I'm going to go walk dogs and see if I can get my brain together to cook dinner. Maybe by then I will have another baby because it is getting very loud over there. And now I have figured out, the babies love to get in the dark and snuggle like I'm a chicken momma. I wonder what my husband would say if I try to bring every one that hatches to bed with us

 

[CALI CHICK]

Kim, It's 'legal' to use any name your're comfortable with. I like to be called 'Cali' on BYC because I'm a big fan of the Cali on CSI...so on BYC this is my "other life". Of course, Cali Chick really stands for the fact that I live in California and I have chickens!

I totally envy you for getting to hold Miss Pretty! and to cuddle with her even! I want to take these little chicks out so much but I'm just afraid it may have a bad effect on the others that haven't hatched yet. I am SO praying these all hatch. You would think they would have developed at the same rate and hatch closer together. But, I've read that they can hatch as much as 3 days apart? So, someone might have to slap my hands off the 'bator because I want to get those babies out.

 

[ggarratt]

So many beautiful silkie chicks in this hatch!! It seems like its been awfully quiet today. How are things going for everybody???

Well I finally came home... to an incubator full of chicks! I have 7 fluffy little ones in there. With a very active 8th chick that has pipped. I can't see a pip on the 9th egg, but it's in the corner and has been knocked around a bit, so it's hard to say. But if I end up with 8 our of 9 I'll be thrilled!

Here they are! Unfortunately, with that one pipped egg I don't want to open up the incubator yet, so they'll have to be crowded for a little longer...