Newbie - Hatching, day 20

[NW Chickadee]

oh heck, i didn't pay attention to when you posted. Anything hatch yet? @NW Chickadee

Yes!! Thank you for everything! I've got 2 healthy little babies so far that hatched late last night! Day 22 now and 2 more have pipped! Wow....I watched the entire hatch of both and the only word that comes to mind is AMAZING!

Here's a few pics so far - From Pip, then right after hatch and then a few hours later.

 

[WVduckchick]

Yeah!

Gorgeous chick! What breed?

 

[NW Chickadee]

Yeah!

Gorgeous chick! What breed?

So sorry for th delay in getting back to you. The breed is Buff Orpington. My first time incubating and it was AMAZING! So many emotions involved - it actually surprised me!

I attempted to hatch 5 eggs. 2 weren't fertile, 1 died while hatching (totally a beginners mistake - I'll explain ), and I ended up with 2 precious pullets!

As for the chick that I lost, the egg had an extremely small air sac when I candled for the last time on day 18. I'd read that if you hatch them with the air sac up right and in an egg carton, that can help prevent drowning. So....that's what I did. On day 21 my 2 chicks had pipped & hatched beautifully and I literally awoke out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night, was terrified thinking 'what if the egg/chick in the carton attempted to pip on the wrong end? He wouldn't make it because he'd be pipping into the carton!?!' I couldn't sleep, was in a panic and HAD to check, as we were heading into day 22. So, so sadly, when I gently lifted the egg and looked towards the bottom, I immediately saw an ENTIRE beak that had pushed completely through the egg , along with some feathers that were completely dry! I panicked, listened for life and felt/heard none so I couldn't help but gently open the egg in the event the little punkin was still hanging on. I peeled back the shell and the outer sac (?) and found a perfectly formed chick, yolk sac absorbed and all - he just couldn't push his way through the cardboard egg carton and died trying. It was awful! And still breaks my heart imagining him struggling! Ya live & learn I guess but this now really has me questioning if the hatching in the egg carton is the way to go when dealing with a small air sac. Any thoughts on this?

P.S. Sorry about the novel .

I just love this page!

 

[WVduckchick]

So sorry for th delay in getting back to you. The breed is Buff Orpington. My first time incubating and it was AMAZING! So many emotions involved - it actually surprised me!

I attempted to hatch 5 eggs. 2 weren't fertile, 1 died while hatching (totally a beginners mistake - I'll explain ), and I ended up with 2 precious pullets!

As for the chick that I lost, the egg had an extremely small air sac when I candled for the last time on day 18. I'd read that if you hatch them with the air sac up right and in an egg carton, that can help prevent drowning. So....that's what I did. On day 21 my 2 chicks had pipped & hatched beautifully and I literally awoke out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night, was terrified thinking 'what if the egg/chick in the carton attempted to pip on the wrong end? He wouldn't make it because he'd be pipping into the carton!?!' I couldn't sleep, was in a panic and HAD to check, as we were heading into day 22. So, so sadly, when I gently lifted the egg and looked towards the bottom, I immediately saw an ENTIRE beak that had pushed completely through the egg , along with some feathers that were completely dry! I panicked, listened for life and felt/heard none so I couldn't help but gently open the egg in the event the little punkin was still hanging on. I peeled back the shell and the outer sac (?) and found a perfectly formed chick, yolk sac absorbed and all - he just couldn't push his way through the cardboard egg carton and died trying. It was awful! And still breaks my heart imagining him struggling! Ya live & learn I guess but this now really has me questioning if the hatching in the egg carton is the way to go when dealing with a small air sac. Any thoughts on this?

P.S. Sorry about the novel .

I just love this page!

Oh yes, we love the gamut of emotions we go through while hatching. Its so addictive too! Glad you had a couple to hatch, and sorry about the lost one.
I have never hatched in cartons, but have read the same advice as you found. Personally, I prefer to just prop up the air cell end a little, like with a dry wash cloth, or paper towel. But normally I'll just make a wrinkle/hump in the rubber shelf liner that I use on the bottom of the bator, and angle the egg on it, so that the air cell is slightly elevated. I've only had a couple that I expected would have that problem, so I never felt the need to go the carton route.

In the long run, that's a great lesson for "why" to candle several times throughout incubation. Adjustments can be made along the way.

Congrats again on your little cuties!! Post some pics as they grow! Its such fun to look back at "baby pictures"

 

[NW Chickadee]

Oh yes, we love the gamut of emotions we go through while hatching. Its so addictive too! Glad you had a couple to hatch, and sorry about the lost one.
I have never hatched in cartons, but have read the same advice as you found. Personally, I prefer to just prop up the air cell end a little, like with a dry wash cloth, or paper towel. But normally I'll just make a wrinkle/hump in the rubber shelf liner that I use on the bottom of the bator, and angle the egg on it, so that the air cell is slightly elevated. I've only had a couple that I expected would have that problem, so I never felt the need to go the carton route.

In the long run, that's a great lesson for "why" to candle several times throughout incubation. Adjustments can be made along the way.

Congrats again on your little cuties!! Post some pics as they grow! Its such fun to look back at "baby pictures"

Great advice! I'll be propping them in a way where I can still see the egg entirely. And YES (!), the emotions! Day 19-21 I checked that incubator every 5 mins! I finally read a thread on here that said "Go clean something! Go grocery shopping! Step away from the incubator!" Haha.....so I did and I got so lucky. I got home from the store at about 1pm and my 1st baby hatched at 1:14! I got to watch every second!

Here's some baby pics!

These are of my husband and the chicks 2 days ago (he swore he'd NEVER become attached...Ha!) and them on their first short, very supervised outing in the garden. Our dog tries to gently mother them and herds them back to me/us if they get more than a few feet away. Animals are AMAZING!

 

[WVduckchick]

Thanks for making me smile! adorable!!