Nevadans?

[Bloomie]

Update on the chirping egg.

At 8am this morning we saw a pip on the side of the egg.

At 8pm we heard the chick peeping away under the hen and we were able to get a peek at a little chick emerging from the egg.

We're hoping to find a dry fluffy baby in the morning.

We also went to town and bought the best incubator available in Elko.... Little Giant/ Circulated Air Incubator

Almost have it regulated so its ready to go in case we need an artificial broody.

I'm a little intimidated by the durn thang despite the simple directions!
I feels like a dummy

IF the other eggs are somewhere between 15-18 days tomorrow how will I know when to turn them or if I shouldnt be turning them??
"Lockdown" is supposed to be on day 18 right?

I fear I'll really mess them up, so I'm hoping that Ms Broody will continue to set on the other eggs

 

[aubreynoramarie]

aw how exctiting!
wish i could help, but the most i could do it say GOOD LUCK!

 

[Echetino]

I also have no advice, but am excited to follow along. Thanks for posting the progress and good luck!

 

[vegaschick]

Quote:
No prob. I am one of those people who don't trust things too. I check everything...all the time. It's actually so hot out right now that I check all the birds several times a day so I can make sure they are all good. I also have pans of water in the run for all the outside chickens right now so they often just drink from whichever they're closest to at the time. When they only have the auto waterers I watch em like a hawk...I have one older hen that has never quite got the hang of it so I water her seperate anyways. As for the ACV, I actually put only a tiny bit in and quite often don't remember to add it at all. But, thanks for the heads up!

 

[Penturner]

Bloomie, If your hen acts like mine has she will continue to set even though she has a chick for another 24 hours or so. You might get an extra day before you need the incubator. Since all the eggs are so late in development you are actually in really good shape. The hen has done most of the hard work. As far as incubating. Get the temperature in the area of 99.5. If the chicks are to cool they are sapped of energy. Humidity becomes more important at hatch time as well. I like 55% humidity for my Seramas at lock down.
Your biggest concern during hatch is that the eggs get to dry and the chicks get stuck. But don't go overboard with the humidity, that is bad also. I really don't think you have much to worry about though. the chicks will most likely already be int eh process of hatching by the time you need to move them.

Love the photos folks. I gotta move to the country.

 

[Bloomie]

Quote:
At 8 am this morning we found a teeeeenie little yellow and charcoal chick, all dry and fluffed, under Ms Broody.

We gently removed the chick and the hen went right back to setting on the eggs.....so far.

My 9 year old granchickie is keeping a CLOSE eye on the new baby

I had to put a firm TABOO on her hands being inside the brooder tank, she's too good'a substitute Mama.

The chick looks lost in our brooder. We've not had any bantam chicks before. BOY are they small!!!
We have a feather duster that we used in the brooder for the other chicks, and that seems to be fulfilling the comforting feel of "mama's feathers", altho its moved to the edge of the brooder tank now so it must feel warm enough.
We raised the heat lamp a tad.
Also have a mirror in there to simulate company for now

The chick has ate, drank and poo'd. Is the first poo supposed to be dark? Reminds me of newborn baby poo.

If I hadnt dropped the camera in my excitement the other day we'd have pics to share with everyone as well

Next trip to town we'll have to include a new camera.

The incubator has regulated at 99.5.....I dont know how to monitor the humidity tho.
Theres a thermometer but no humidity gauges.
The instructions simply say to add lukewarm water to the moisture rings as needed.....less frequently if the room has good natural humidity.

How the heck am I supposed to monitor the humidity inside the incubator AND inside the durn room?

We're in Northeastern Nevada, the outside humidity is 31% today,

aint gotta clue what it is inside the house.

Should I candle the eggs before moving them to the incubator or would that harm the chick inside ?

Me & the granchickie would enjoy watching an egg go thru all the hatching stages..... would it be unkind to remove an egg, ( or all the eggs ), from under the hen and use the incubator?
or would it be best for the hen & the eggs to leave them all be until nature takes it course?

Whatta kid this experience can make a grown adult

 

[Penturner]

Bloomie, I think on your incubator you just want to fill both rings. There are two rings correct? I am totally going on info I have read with that one though. My incubators are home made.

Wit that I will tell you I get 55% humidity here in Reno with a Miracle whip size jar of water. and a drinking cup (the old tupperware type) in my incubator at the same time. it is not how tall the container is it is the surface area of the water that causes the humidity. anyway if you can come up with a couple of containers that are about that size you should be good. if the viewing window of your incubator starts gathering water your humidity is to high. that is the best I can do for you if you do not have a humidity meter. I'm saying prayers the other eggs hatch quickly. I was not able to give my 5 day old chicks back to the Momma when she was finished hatching. the babies where afraid of her. I will try again in a couple of days when the chicks are roaming around a little more.

Big congrats on the little fuzzy one. And no lonely chicks are not happy chicks. hope you get a friend for it soon.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Bloomie congrats, on the chickie. They are so exciting. I would recommend purchasing a hydrometer - you can get them at a home improvement store or even k-mart in the garden section. The right humidity is important and if off can kill a chick quick. My broodies usually stay on the nest for 3 whole days after the first chick hatches - she is waiting for the other eggs (she hears them moving around) plus waiting for the chicks to become more stable on their feet. I keep water and crumbles within reach of my broodies (making sure the water is not deep enough to drown chicks - I use rocks in the water) and the broody will feed/water the hatched chicks as she waits for the others.


Penturner - your older chicks might never accept the hen as mom because they no longer see her as "mom", humans are now mom and they are happy with each other. Also your hen may not accept the chicks once she is up and about with hers. Some hens are really good with others chicks but some are very nasty and will try to kill the intruder chick. (I have a hen of each type

)

 

[Bloomie]

OMG! Is this lil' chick the cutest thing!!

We checked the broody hen this afternoon and she was still sitting on the eggs.

Taking only 2 eggs at a time we candled to see if we could get a better development reading and OMG there was another head bobbin' around in the air cell of Egg #3 !
I thought I heard a faint peep but didnt hear loud peeping like with the first chick so I doubted myself, but it was moving around & very active. We wanted to watch this one pip so I put it in the incubator but after reading how delicate and IMPORTANT the humidity regulation is I'm afraid we may be jeopardizing this chick, and we're sooooooooooooooooooooooo close!!

The temp dropped fa few degrees....I'm trying to get it back to 99.5
There are 3 moisture rings, one large square in the middle with 2 oblong rings on each side of that.
Each is only about 1/2 to 1 inch deep at the most.........dont hold much water.
There are also 2 ventilation holes, instructions said to open one during development and the second during hatch.
Should I have the second one open while pipping or when the chick has actually broken thru the shell?

OMG! Its too late to change my mind.........the egg has pipped and we're hearing peeps coming out!


Egg #4 was very active and we could see its feet and what I think was its head.....looked alot like Day 18
I was going to ask ya'll if it would harm Egg #4 to be placed back under the hen
BUT
OMG! Its too late.........Egg #3 has pipped and we're hearing peeps coming out!
We're in lockdown right? Cant open the incubator at this point right??

Eggs #1 & #2 looked very close in development, could be lDay 14 or Day 16
They're back under the broody hen.

I think I need a strong cuppa coffee about now!

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
That's right you told me that Flrpl was a boy (well I didn't know his name back then). I was hoping we could get splash or some accepted cross with him (I was then gonna beg to borrow him) but we need a blue or a splash to make blues/splashes. That poor little Lavender guy is only good for making more lavenders and we don't have a lavender girl for him, which we need since the lavender gene is recessive.

The Delawares I was talking about were the ones I got from Green's feed. Your kids aren't nervous but (except for the EE cross) they will still avoid us (unless I have treats).

Bloomie, congrats!!! Sounds like you are doing everything right! From what I've read, too much humidity is a problem more often than not enough humidity. Also that lockdown thing is overrated. I've had great hatches with no lockdown, since I hatched them in the classroom (you try keeping 250 kids from touching the eggs much less from lifting the lid of an incubator).