November Hatch-A-Long (2014)

[Kaylish]

Too late. I've been checking on the little guy frequently. He hasn't cheeped since dinner time and he was barely gasping anymore. I entered the egg at 1:40 to find a dry membrane and a teeny tiny pip into the air cell. I made him a breathing hole and wrapped him in a damp cloth. I guess I'm definitely committed to interfering now, for better or worse. I couldn't live with another dead chick while I stand by and do nothing. After 33 eggs worth of failure I'm at least going to try.

How's the little one doing?

We have two external pips this morning and lots more chattering away thinking about it! This hatch will be my biggest yet!

Yea!

 

[losttexan]

OK - I need advice from the forum. I have had broodies before successfully, and I guess they simply spoiled me with how good and trouble-free they were. This broody is a black cochin, and it is her first time. The eggs have been set for three days. She is in a separate dog carrier with hay bedding, and gets off at least once a day (usually AM) to eat/drink/poop. She seems careful around her eggs and tends to them, but is not aggressive towards me or other chickens. Therein lies the problem. At various times, other chickens will wander into the carrier and lay additional eggs. If she is not there, they will lay them among the others. If she is there, they will plop down right next to her and lay. Funny thing - before this carrier was occupied, they had absolutle no ineterst in laying in it. Every night, I check and remove the new eggs. Last night, when I withdrew my hand, it was sticky and covered with yolk. I have long suspected I have at least one egg-eater in my flock (but that is another story). There was no egg on the cochin, so I don't think she is the culprit, but one of the setting eggs was eaten (I'm down to eleven). I cleaned out the soiled bedding, and reset eggs and momma, but I noticed that 4-5 of the eggs have a good amount of yolk on them. This is all long-winded background to the question: what to do about the yolk? I don't want to wash/clean them, as I don't want to remove the bloom, but yolk is great food for any opportunistic bacteria that come along, and I don't think being coated in growing bateria culture will be good for the developing chicks either. I know eggs are not soap bubbles, and can tolerate a good deal of the filth that occurs in nature/around animals, but I want to give these chicks a good shot. I know someone has likely encountered this same situation. All suggestions are welcome.


BTW, broody is now enclosed with a wire cage that restricts other chickens from getting in the carrier. She has room to go out, food, and water, but cannot go too far. I will probably take her out by hand for dirt baths/exercise, but she is in solitary.

 

[Iko127]

Hi everyone!!! Hope all hatches are doing great! Tomorrow will be lockdown for me

Hoping my 4 CCL eggs will all hatch

. I just candled my 12 eggs I bought at a local auction and all 12 are bouncing chickies!! I also have 1 egg that I took a chance and put it in the bator that belonged to a barred rock pullet that had just started laying, I believe it was like her 3rd egg. I know you shouldn't hatch them but couldn't resist since I sold the flock and she was one of my favorites along with a very nice Rooster. It was bouncing so only time will tell if it can hatch and survive ok. Good Luck to all and will update soon!!

 

[rachelpotter]

I broke down and candled... day 10 for the shipped eggs.

I'm definitely down to 2 Serama ( one quitter/kinda bloodring), 2 Isbars (same thing), I can only see into one OE but think all three are ok, A DIFFERENT BCM had movement so hopefully the 5 I have set may do ok.. still can't see ANYTHING in two of them for sure.

Still waiting on pips from the two in lockdown.



Antiquity, Update?!?!??!

 

[mrsfluff100]

YAY I'm not the only one hatching chicks in november! I currently just put 4 button quail eggs in the incubator. and they are on day two so i get to candle them in two more days to see them grow!

 

[Antiquity]

How's the little one doing?

Little peeper is still doing great. I set my computer to go off every hour last night. I'd wake up and go check his "membrane bandage" that I made. (Wet toilet paper laid flat over the exposed membrane, wrapped with cling wrap and then wrapped in a wet washcloth.) At first I picked off just enough shell so that I could see him. He's in the shell upside down, but the air cell was so wonky that he managed to pip into it from halfway down the side of the egg.

Once it appeared his veins had receded a bit, I picked off a little more of the shell. After three shell picking sessions in eight hours he's mostly out of the shell, but he has a small amount of un-absorbed yolk and one giant blood vessel left behind him. That sucker is huge. Much larger than any vein I had to wait for over night.

Anyway, little peeper is mostly sleeping. Sometimes chirping at me, with one of his little feet wrapped around the edge of his shell. He looks like he's holding a security blanket. He's very obviously premature, but with the decreasing sound and movement last night, no way in heck I was taking a chance.

Here's some pictures of the little peeper. In the second one he's cheeping at me for uncovering him.

 

[Kaylish]

Little peeper is still doing great. I set my computer to go off every hour last night. I'd wake up and go check his "membrane bandage" that I made. (Wet toilet paper laid flat over the exposed membrane, wrapped with cling wrap and then wrapped in a wet washcloth.) At first I picked off just enough shell so that I could see him. He's in the shell upside down, but the air cell was so wonky that he managed to pip into it from halfway down the side of the egg.

Once it appeared his veins had receded a bit, I picked off a little more of the shell. After three shell picking sessions in eight hours he's mostly out of the shell, but he has a small amount of un-absorbed yolk and one giant blood vessel left behind him. That sucker is huge. Much larger than any vein I had to wait for over night.

Anyway, little peeper is mostly sleeping. Sometimes chirping at me, with one of his little feet wrapped around the edge of his shell. He looks like he's holding a security blanket. He's very obviously premature, but with the decreasing sound and movement last night, no way in heck I was taking a chance.

Here's some pictures of the little peeper. In the second one he's cheeping at me for uncovering him.

That's great news! I hope she makes it.

 

[Dcat]

Good luck you guys! Keep us updated please. My only concern at the moment is still being able to keep the humidity up. Ill add another bowl of water and fill it up, just need to add another tube so I can keep it filled also. That fan really makes you go through a lot of water!

 

[Antiquity]

Good luck you guys! Keep us updated please. My only concern at the moment is still being able to keep the humidity up. Ill add another bowl of water and fill it up, just need to add another tube so I can keep it filled also. That fan really makes you go through a lot of water!

Once I entered that egg this morning I jacked the humidity way up. I placed two wet washcloths in, draped over the back of the tank. I placed the lower end of the washcloths into a bowl of hot water that I've been slowly refilling all night. The washcloths worked as a wick to constantly draw water from the bowl and into the air. After not being able to pass 50% humidity, I jacked it all the way up to 75% last night. Something similar might work for you.

 

[rachelpotter]

One thing that occurred to me last night (about 2 am actually...) is that we should be careful with any bowls of water that the chicks could accidentally get access too. I put two long plastic sandwhich tuppaware bowls in the styro bator for lock down with sponges in them... I got this sudden fear that the baby would hatch out while I was gone, find her way to the bowl and drown.


I am fixing it so that cannot happen... but just wanted to express my concern so that in case someone had a similar set up we could avert a horrible accident!