Musings of a twenty-something hobby hatcher: Whole Foods Fertile Chicken Eggs / Rock Island -- UPDAT

[chicksurreal]

Any babies yet?

X2

Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[MisfitMarie]

YES!

WE HAVE BABIES HATCHING!

​

It's been a rough road for those eggs. Unfortunately, I lost over a dozen within the last week of incubation due to unknown causes. They were incubated alongside a couple dozen local eggs which are doing great, so I am not sure what caused the massive die-off...

I ended up putting FIVE eggs into lockdown.
I went ahead and threw some questionable eggs in there as well...just in case.
​

I have three external pips, lots of soft peeping coming from the incubator. Sadly, one was almost completely hatched this morning but mysteriously died while I was away at work. The little guy was halfway out, yolk sac absorbed and veins fully receded, so that was terribly unfortunate. I'm not sure what happened to it. =(

But I have three little miracles fighting their way to freedom as I type. This has been quite an adventure for me, and I will be sure to follow up with plenty of pics of their development.

I have been practicing vent sexing over the past few months (I've only been about 75 percent accurate with the chicks I've been hatching for friends and family). Along with a feather comparison, I will be taking my best at a female to keep for myself.

Her name will be... Reno.

 

[chicksurreal]

YES!

WE HAVE BABIES HATCHING!

​

It's been a rough road for those eggs. Unfortunately, I lost over a dozen within the last week of incubation due to unknown causes. They were incubated alongside a couple dozen local eggs which are doing great, so I am not sure what caused the massive die-off...

I ended up putting FIVE eggs into lockdown.
I went ahead and threw some questionable eggs in there as well...just in case.
​

I have three external pips, lots of soft peeping coming from the incubator. Sadly, one was almost completely hatched this morning but mysteriously died while I was away at work. The little guy was halfway out, yolk sac absorbed and veins fully receded, so that was terribly unfortunate. I'm not sure what happened to it. =(

But I have three little miracles fighting their way to freedom as I type. This has been quite an adventure for me, and I will be sure to follow up with plenty of pics of their development.

I have been practicing vent sexing over the past few months (I've only been about 75 percent accurate with the chicks I've been hatching for friends and family). Along with a feather comparison, I will be taking my best at a female to keep for myself.

Her name will be... Reno.

Sorry for the losses. :-(

So glad that some made it through! We have a broody that started out with 11 eggs had a loss of four to a snake and two have hatched successfully so far, waiting to see if the remaining five will hatch. It's really sad when they start to hatch and die in the process.

 

[MisfitMarie]

Yeah, the losses are rough... I hate seeing a fully formed chick just quit on me like that.

BUT... I am still so surprised that I actually have grocery store eggs hatching in my incubator right now. I just have to remind myself that it's a miracle some have even come this far.

You lost four to A SNAKE!?

That is terrifying! I hate snakes! What kind of snakes are there in your area?

Good luck with your hatch! You'll have to keep me updated!

 

[MisfitMarie]

I just went downstairs to take dinner out of the oven, and I was hocked to see a baby chick fully hatched and running around the incubator, peeping! I checked on the incubator about 40 minutes ago, and all I could see were external pips. That was the quickest hatch that I have ever been able to witness... craziness! Pip to full unzip.... BAM!




Completely yellow baby chick! Currently acting as a cheerleader. Its cuddled up next to an egg that is peeping back... cute to watch.



The hatched chick is encouraging the pipped eggs. "Just keep pecking, " the baby is saying. "You can do it! You can do it! Let's go! It's hatch time!"

 

[ChookRanger]

YES!

WE HAVE BABIES HATCHING!

​

It's been a rough road for those eggs. Unfortunately, I lost over a dozen within the last week of incubation due to unknown causes. They were incubated alongside a couple dozen local eggs which are doing great, so I am not sure what caused the massive die-off...

I ended up putting FIVE eggs into lockdown.
I went ahead and threw some questionable eggs in there as well...just in case.
​

I have three external pips, lots of soft peeping coming from the incubator. Sadly, one was almost completely hatched this morning but mysteriously died while I was away at work. The little guy was halfway out, yolk sac absorbed and veins fully receded, so that was terribly unfortunate. I'm not sure what happened to it. =(

But I have three little miracles fighting their way to freedom as I type. This has been quite an adventure for me, and I will be sure to follow up with plenty of pics of their development.

I have been practicing vent sexing over the past few months (I've only been about 75 percent accurate with the chicks I've been hatching for friends and family). Along with a feather comparison, I will be taking my best at a female to keep for myself.

Her name will be... Reno.

It's amazing that you got any as far as you did. I think Reno is an excellent name for such a lucky chick. I want to see some little fluff ball pictures soon.

 

[ChookRanger]

I just went downstairs to take dinner out of the oven, and I was hocked to see a baby chick fully hatched and running around the incubator, peeping! I checked on the incubator about 40 minutes ago, and all I could see were external pips. That was the quickest hatch that I have ever been able to witness... craziness! Pip to full unzip.... BAM!




Completely yellow baby chick! Currently acting as a cheerleader. Its cuddled up next to an egg that is peeping back... cute to watch.



The hatched chick is encouraging the pipped eggs. "Just keep pecking, " the baby is saying. "You can do it! You can do it! Let's go! It's hatch time!"

Wow! that was quick! Hopefully the other babies will be as fast.

 

[chicksurreal]

Yeah, the losses are rough... I hate seeing a fully formed chick just quit on me like that.

BUT... I am still so surprised that I actually have grocery store eggs hatching in my incubator right now. I just have to remind myself that it's a miracle some have even come this far.

You lost four to A SNAKE!?

That is terrifying! I hate snakes! What kind of snakes are there in your area?

Good luck with your hatch! You'll have to keep me updated!

It was a four foot bullsnake. The darn thing ate three eggs on day 5 and we took it far away (not far enough), then it came back about ten days later and got into a scuffle with our broody and another egg broke, it wasn't fertile, so it wasn't actually a loss.

She kicked that snake's butt out of her nest, though. By the time I had gotten back there with a shovel, it was slithering away. It was striking at her and trying to get to her eggs and she was flogging and pecking at it until it just gave up. I was afraid it was a rattlesnake for a minute, but it wasn't. Just a hungry bullsnake. It got to go for a very long ride in the pickup after that.

 

[chicksurreal]

I just went downstairs to take dinner out of the oven, and I was hocked to see a baby chick fully hatched and running around the incubator, peeping! I checked on the incubator about 40 minutes ago, and all I could see were external pips. That was the quickest hatch that I have ever been able to witness... craziness! Pip to full unzip.... BAM!




Completely yellow baby chick! Currently acting as a cheerleader. Its cuddled up next to an egg that is peeping back... cute to watch.



The hatched chick is encouraging the pipped eggs. "Just keep pecking, " the baby is saying. "You can do it! You can do it! Let's go! It's hatch time!"

So cute!!!

 

[drumstick diva]

too cute

and AWWW inspiring