Second Hatch is done?

[MammasBabies]

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So the first hatch is barely 4 weeks old and the Second Hatch arrived between 9:00p.m. on Wednesday and all but the Marans have hatched. (It is Friday morning.) We have 15 new babies to love.

My friend and co-owner showed up yesterday and spent the day with us. We decided that she would take the first 9 home with her to give new ones room. By end of evening that number was edging toward half of the newborns as well! Decided that she would get first 9 home and settled and come back Saturday for some of the newborns. She wants to enjoy them while they are puff balls too. Guess i cannot blame her! The girls are all a bit sad at seeing all the first ones leave. I am too. So easy to get attached to the little dears.

We lost some during the hatch....so I have a question for those more experienced....how do you keep the humidity up in incubator when you have to keep opening it to remove new hatchlings? Sure we lost 3 to that problem....they just didn't have the energy to get through their shells and membrane in time. I "helped" two tiny silkies and nursed them for 12 hours with pedialite and hot pads and attention and they are with other 13 chicks this morning. One of the silkies was dead already in shell, and one of the Chanticleurs only managed a small hole and died while we waited for it to hatch. Other Chantecleur I tried to help, but it died soon after I freed it.

. I figured it had as good a chance with my help as without it. At least I saved two of the silkies. Have heard that Marans take longer so am leaving them alone, but am not hearing any cheeps from the incubator.

On the bright side, all 7 of the SilkieAmericaunas hatched! They are SO SOFT! Cute little things too. I need more room in my chicken house.....I am only liscenced for 9 chickens..... argh.

My friend told me we are supposed to get half a dozen more silky eggs still and is now talking about getting some South American birds (on purpose this time) to give her some breeding stock to go with the little hen and roo we hatched the 1st hatch. How do I get involved in this I ask my sleep deprived self? Then I look at those adorable little chicks and know the answer! My DH says I am the ultimate MOM.

 

[sumi]

You sound like a good chicken mom! Congrats on your hatch. It's fun, hey? I loved my incubator hatches, even made a video of one of the babies getting out of the egg.
I don't know if humidity is the problem, I didn't up the humidity in our incubator for the hatch and they had no problem.
When I get worried about a chick taking too long to start hatching I usually hold the egg against my ear and tap it gently with my fingernail. It's too cute hearing the answering peeps.
DO go to the "Incubating & Hatching Eggs" section on this forum and read the sticky on top of the page. I found the info and advice there enormously helpful when I had to help chicks. I did some seriously stupid things in the past with my hatching chicks and I wish I've read that thread earlier!
Enjoy your babies!

 

[MammasBabies]

Finally did an eggtopsy on Maran eggs: All just yokes....don't think they were even fertilized. But we did get a good hatch from all the other types.