November Hatch-A-Long (2014)

[Iko127]

I expected mine this past Thursday evening (I set at 4pm) and had my first pips Tuesday and most of my hatches Wednesday and finished up Thursday by noon. I don't count the day you set eggs as day one, I was taught you don't count day one until 24 hours. Slightly higher than average temps can cause an earlier hatch and breed of chicken (such as bantams) can also be earlier. All 13 of mine are healthy and energetic. Anyhow, 21 days is just an average.
I don't think it does any good to tell ourselves we are going to be patient! lol I told myself this time I was only going to candle days 7/10/14/18....

ya right!! lol But I used the excuse 'I am doing a dry incubation this time and I have to keep a closer eye on the air cells'.....lol I've only done 2 hatches and my eggs came from my sister's hens. This second hatch yielded 13 out of the 16 that went into lockdown. By day 10 I had 2 blood rings and one quitter (plus my clears) so if you figure I had 19 fertile eggs counting the blood rings 13/19 live hatches aren't bad.

Congrats on the great hatch!!!

 

[Antiquity]

@Antiquity any more yet???? I'm waiting!!! lol

I opened two eggs last night. Around 5 or 6 this morning I had to crash on the couch for a bit. Woke up at 10 am with one of those eggs out on it's own. Finished off the other. Up to three chicks from this batch with one pip overnight. However... the cat also jumped on the tank last night and knocked the light in a little lower. It was quite hot when I checked it. I'm about to take a closer look at the last of the eggs and see if there's any sign of life remaining.

Ok everyone, I need some mental reassurance this morning!! I still had nothing in my eggs but needed to add some wet sponge this morning after are cold night and heater being on, so I impatiently candled!!!! I did it very quickly but the first 2 eggs nothing then I got to my 3rd egg and I heard it peep!!!!! I quickly put it back and got the 4th egg and I believe it is internally piped also or was working at it. I wet the sponges and all are back. Please tell me again, as long as I have no external pip I didn't just shrink wrap them right????? By the way not sure what I just did with the writing but guess I changed it....LOL

No external, no problem.

(also: I told you so)

The last chick is out and walking around with the others. Woot! I have a couple of very happy girls and no one mentioned the wad of toilet paper in the incubator I used to wrap the last one. The A &D ointment did the trick. I warmed it up and thinned it out with my fingers before I put it on the membrane. 5 healthy happy chicks. Happy sigh.

Great news, Dcat. I am so happy for you. See? No harm done. You even got away with it, pesky kids and all.

Is it too late for me to join this hatchalong? Today is my day 7. I started them on Nov 2. Their due date is Nov 22.
So far 7 out of the 16 has what looks like the red ring of death. Same results as before I moved yesterday. So I am counting the move as a success!

I vote this one is in, all in favor say aye. "AYE!" it's official, AHenry is now a member of the November Hatch a long. Welcome Ahenry!

Good Morning everyone!

Congrats on the hatchs!

@Dcat

so sorry about the loss of your dog - it's so hard to lose a part of the family

I am ecstatic this morning - woke to a pip from one of my Cream Legbar crosses. And my 7 month old Cochin has been broody since Monday, I moved her into a broody-box in the coop last night and this morning she is still sitting tight while the rest of the flock is out for some free range time. If she gets back in the box after her break today then she's getting some eggs tonight

Yay for the pip AND the broody, wow. Good luck with that.

Ok, I have my first pip!!!!! YAY! Now I'm banned from getting in the bator for a while I will update when she/he hatches!!

Yay Iko! I told you it would work.

If I smile any bigger the top of my head might come off, so tone it down a bit ladies.

 

[Antiquity]

Good news with my hatch. Tons a cheeping going on. Got up 2 hours ago (4 a.m. here) and one chick had hatched from an australop eggs. Black with one white wing tip. The chick that pipped at the wrong end had made no progress at all. I decided to go back to bed and get up later. Just checked the eggs and I have 4 chicks now...the wrong end one zipped and was all the out of the egg. She seems very tired but is doing OK. They are running all over the incubator and moving the other eggs around. Is this a problem for the eggs that are still in progress?

All for of the chicks look the same. Even my EEs are black with white wing tips. Not sure how I'll ever be able to tell them apart. None of my marans eggs have pipped at all. Getting a bit nervous about them.

For some reason your post messed up and it wouldn't let me quite you properly with the others, so you get a special reply all to yourself.

Congratulations! I am so glad that it all worked out for you, even your wonky chick. They are sturdy and clever little things, aren't they?

As for the chicks running all over the eggs, I'm having the same problem. Everything I've read says the chicks stay in until they're all hatched, so this must happen all the time, right? That's been my reassurance when an emerging chick gets trampled by another chick sitting on it and trying to crawl into it's now empty shell. They're sturdy.

 

[ChickyChickens]

Well...i am maybe getting a samller incubator now!! But it still takes 92 eggs so that is still quite big!! Im now getting it earlier maybe in three weeks so i cant wait!!

 

[Dcat]

@Antiquity, I know you can go back and read through but, how the heck do you keep with all the posts?? I almost feel like a dunce over here. I spent more time in my laundry room with the door closed to keep the cats out. Now that there is cheeping going on I have to watch for sneaking kitty feet trying to barge in when I open the door. Im keeping myself very busy to keep from picking up peeps and letting my mi d wander. They are now in a brooder box as the Incubator was staying too warm and they were at the window trying to get away. I propped the lid up and they got too cold. Just keeping an eye on the temps and making sure they aren't huddling for warmth.

AHenry, welcome to the hatch a long!!

 

[Antiquity]

@Antiquity, I know you can go back and read through but, how the heck do you keep with all the posts?? I almost feel like a dunce over here. I spent more time in my laundry room with the door closed to keep the cats out. Now that there is cheeping going on I have to watch for sneaking kitty feet trying to barge in when I open the door. Im keeping myself very busy to keep from picking up peeps and letting my mi d wander. They are now in a brooder box as the Incubator was staying too warm and they were at the window trying to get away. I propped the lid up and they got too cold. Just keeping an eye on the temps and making sure they aren't huddling for warmth.

AHenry, welcome to the hatch a long!!

I'm obsessive and this thread is my crutch to keep me busy. When I go to catch up I just hit multi for anyone I want to remember to reply to.

I have five cats, but they're lazy and useless and totally uninterested in chicks. The do come close when I'm at the incubator, but only because their food bowl is also close by and they want me to put more food out. I think the giant back yard versions of these tiny things have them thoroughly cowed when it comes to chickens. Except Spock. He likes laying on the incubator because it's warm. He doesn't give two snits about chickens. Big or little. They're kind of like furniture to him.

 

[Antiquity]

I went and wrote that last post out and then completely forgot half the stuff I wanted to say when I got distracted writing about cats.


If you're wondering how I keep straight what I said to who and who is who, it's another one of those obsessive things. I suffer extreme embarrassment when I mistake one person for another or forget who someone is or their name. I've had a ritual the past several years that allows me to cope with this. I won't go into detail, suffice it to say it's very overwhelming when I meet new people as I spend a lot of time focusing on their name, among other things, so I don't forget it.

Back to the main point... It's time for me to receive some assurance this time. How do you all feel about safety pips? My first hatch resulted in one living egg after lockdown who later pipped internally and then suffocated before morning. I really really want to avoid that by making safety pips at the fat end of any egg I know has pipped internally. Do you think a small breathing hole would interfere with their ability to hatch alone after that? I know I would feel more secure by going in after each and every one of them, but I know that's not good for them and it's very tiring for me as well. Maybe I can get my security by making safety pips. Any input is welcome.

 

[Junibutt]

My Humidty is at 60 percent and it is lockdown. I just can't seem to get it any higher. I even put in a wet cloth. The air is just soo dry this time of year.

You should probably put some soaked sponges/paper towels in the vicinity of the incubator as well. A big warm pot of water frequently refilled can be helpful in keeping humidity better around the incubator so the incubator does not lose humidity faster.

 

[ochochicas]

I'm giddier than a kid at Christmas...one of my Marans/Olive eggers hatched. It seemed to be a difficult hatch since the chick came out the wrong end and hadn't even zipped. He just sort of pushed with his feet and back and broke then end of the egg off. Big strong chick, but when he rolled over he didn't look quite right. It think he might have an open navel. When he's more dry I will pull him out for close inspection and perhaps put some iodine on it. I'll try to get a pic later.

On a better note, two more of the Marans eggs have pipped, so even if the first one doesn't make it I could still end up with OEs from the other eggs.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Congrats to all that have newbies and are in the process of having newbies!!! So exciting!