Our late hen's brood - an experiment

[TXChookstead]

Halfway there (7 out of 14) this morning, with one more about to zip. Who knew the humidity meter would make such a nice pillow?

Three don't have pips yet...waiting....

 

[TXChookstead]

Temporary brooder for a couple of days until I add them in with a bunch of week-old Cream and Opal Legbars. Two more drying in the brooder and two more eggs pipped....

Do you ever get tired of this? To think that we could have eaten them (in the form of omelets or scrambled eggs)....

 

[TXChookstead]

Well, the last viable egg of the clutch has hatched, making a total of 13 chicks hatched from the original 22 eggs, about a 60% percent success rate. They ranged from a few days to 24 days old when set, and some of the older eggs had been refrigerated at least a week. (Only one didn't pip, but had obviously stopped at about 2 weeks when candled again at the end. I just missed that prior to lockdown)

The hatch started on the evening of day 19 and continued until the early hours of day 22.

The oldest egg that hatched was 17 days old, and it had been refrigerated. Two 16-day-old eggs also hatched, also refrigerated.

I noticed that the 17-day chick and one of the 16s were both smaller than usual, and both had partly unabsorbed yolks. They were some of the later eggs to hatch as well. The last one that hatched (beginning of day 22) was this same 16-day chick, and it pipped at the wrong end. I had to assist, as it was foot-over-head and was not able to push out by itself. (Beak and foot were both sticking out of the enlarged pip hole at the same time, and it was hollering about this awkward and frustrating situation! I wish I had hesitated a bit more -- despite the hollering -- to potentially give it more yolk-absorbing time, but it is hard to know if that would have helped. It obviously believed it was time to come out!)

It is alive but struggling at the moment...weak and not able to stand very well, and a bit curled over on itself. It may also be spraddle-legged, though that's a bit hard to tell yet. It is still in the incubator as I don't want it to get picked on, and also so I can watch it. I have Sav-a-Chick electrolyte powder on hand...would that be a good idea when it is ready? Would Nutri-drench be better? It does seem to be strengthening, thankfully.

I have learned that beyond viability, there are other factors that come into play when incubating older eggs. They may hatch, but the risk of potential problems seems to be higher with the older ones. It's not just a "will it or won't it hatch" situation. That's definitely something I will keep in mind for the future. (It's hard to say how refrigeration affected things, as the non-refrigerated eggs were also the newer ones.)

All in all, despite the 40% that didn't develop or stopped, we are blessed with a lot of beautiful Lila chicks! Now comes the hard part...choosing which to keep and which to find new homes for.

Thanks for reading this far, and for being part of the journey!

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Pics?

 

[TXChookstead]

Here is little Mr. Lonely, hanging out in the incubator after the party went somewhere else, bits of eggshell strewn about like old confetti.

I have attached some elastic to his legs, which is keeping them underneath him. Checked for slipped tendons and that seems to be OK. He has a small, shallow, upturned jar lid inside with weak molasses water in case he starts to get thirsty, and I'll try with some egg yoke and starter feed in the morning.

His brothers and sisters are in the brooder. Hope we can add him in soon. He's letting me know that he's awake by chirping, and working on standing up between snoozes. Fiesty little guy! (I'm assuming fella, because a small comb is already visible. Could be wrong, though!)

BTW, the extender ring available on Etsy through Cordt Creations is terrific! (It's the blue band you see in the photo below.) It arrived partway through the hatch, and we popped it on when it was safe to do so. It adds about 1.5 inches in height to the NR 360. No affiliation, just think they are clever.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Are these purebred Australorp babies?

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

I hatched refridgerated eggs from a hen that died. It was a sudden hawk attack. These were the first 4 eggs she ever laid and had been in the fridge for up to a week. Out of 4 eggs, 1 had been washed, the 3 unwashed developed. 2 of these hatched and had 0 problem and hatched on their own. So I am going to take a guess that age played a huge role in the refridgerated chicks.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

He looks great!

 

[TXChookstead]

The moms are pure Australorp, but the dad has that and something else in him. Stands more like a Langshan, but no foot feathers. We actually suspect he may have a bit of game fowl, but can't be sure. He's a really handsome guy, though. (He's the roo in my profile pic.)

 

[TheOddOneOut]

The moms are pure Australorp, but the dad has that and something else in him. Stands more like a Langshan, but no foot feathers. We actually suspect he may have a bit of game fowl, but can't be sure.

Nice! So the chicks will pretty much turn out as Australorps, lol.