September 2015 Hatch-A-long!!

[bbgranch]

Congrats! Are you using the Web browser to get on BYC? There's no mountain box on top of your reply? I need pics of the lonely guinea. So is that probably all you'll be getting?

I was using my ipad app. sometimes i can get to a screen to add the pic and sometimes not. Hmmm..So now i'm on the computer and here is the little one from yesterday. Still living this morning.

BUT...tragedy this morning in the coop. After letting the guineas and chickens out, I checked the eggs in the coop. Ants everywhere. One keet had hatched and died. One trying to hatch, but had ants inside the shell! I took out that one and put in my brooder but I don't know if it will survive to finish hatching due to the ants. Terrible to see. Other eggs had pipped, so i took those and made a make shift hatcher under a dish in the brooder with a sponge. Heard lots of cheeping. Don't know if that will work, but my incubator is full with my chicken eggs. And i have more eggs that look good and some are cheeping but no pips. Now I need help in setting up a make shift incubator for those. Currently they are under a heat lamp in a bucket, but need to get some humidity going. So much for my experiment to let them hatch naturally. Once I saw that little fuzzy baby, I knew I couldn't just let it die. Guinea hens are not good mothers. Any advice on a make your own incubator?

 

[Purpletie3]

BUT...tragedy this morning in the coop. After letting the guineas and chickens out, I checked the eggs in the coop. Ants everywhere. One keet had hatched and died. One trying to hatch, but had ants inside the shell! I took out that one and put in my brooder but I don't know if it will survive to finish hatching due to the ants. Terrible to see. Other eggs had pipped, so i took those and made a make shift hatcher under a dish in the brooder with a sponge. Heard lots of cheeping. Don't know if that will work, but my incubator is full with my chicken eggs. And i have more eggs that look good and some are cheeping but no pips. Now I need help in setting up a make shift incubator for those. Currently they are under a heat lamp in a bucket, but need to get some humidity going. So much for my experiment to let them hatch naturally. Once I saw that little fuzzy baby, I knew I couldn't just let it die. Guinea hens are not good mothers. Any advice on a make your own incubator?

I am sorry about your poor eggs and the ants over running them...
i am not sure how to make a makeshift brooder into a hatcher. I think the problem will be with the humidity but you have to try...who knows. I would def wrap them in a wet towel to keep the humidity in....kinda like we wrap the egg that we assist in a wet paper towel during an assisted hatch.

I have to believe you can keep the heat over 96 with a heat lamp. Do you have a humidifier you can run next to these eggs to try and humidify the room?

Best of luck with this.

(And if worst comes to worst there is a quirky thread on here about boob hatching)

 

[generaldsherman]

I was using my ipad app. sometimes i can get to a screen to add the pic and sometimes not. Hmmm..So now i'm on the computer and here is the little one from yesterday. Still living this morning.

BUT...tragedy this morning in the coop. After letting the guineas and chickens out, I checked the eggs in the coop. Ants everywhere. One keet had hatched and died. One trying to hatch, but had ants inside the shell! I took out that one and put in my brooder but I don't know if it will survive to finish hatching due to the ants. Terrible to see. Other eggs had pipped, so i took those and made a make shift hatcher under a dish in the brooder with a sponge. Heard lots of cheeping. Don't know if that will work, but my incubator is full with my chicken eggs. And i have more eggs that look good and some are cheeping but no pips. Now I need help in setting up a make shift incubator for those. Currently they are under a heat lamp in a bucket, but need to get some humidity going. So much for my experiment to let them hatch naturally. Once I saw that little fuzzy baby, I knew I couldn't just let it die. Guinea hens are not good mothers. Any advice on a make your own incubator?

I've heard of people using those foam coolers from the grocery store. Search for it in the forums, you'll find someone who has done it I'm sure.

My aunt also complained about her guineas being bad mothers and leaving the nest 2-3 days before hatching.

 

[WVduckchick]

I was using my ipad app. sometimes i can get to a screen to add the pic and sometimes not. Hmmm..So now i'm on the computer and here is the little one from yesterday. Still living this morning.

BUT...tragedy this morning in the coop. After letting the guineas and chickens out, I checked the eggs in the coop. Ants everywhere. One keet had hatched and died. One trying to hatch, but had ants inside the shell! I took out that one and put in my brooder but I don't know if it will survive to finish hatching due to the ants. Terrible to see. Other eggs had pipped, so i took those and made a make shift hatcher under a dish in the brooder with a sponge. Heard lots of cheeping. Don't know if that will work, but my incubator is full with my chicken eggs. And i have more eggs that look good and some are cheeping but no pips. Now I need help in setting up a make shift incubator for those. Currently they are under a heat lamp in a bucket, but need to get some humidity going. So much for my experiment to let them hatch naturally. Once I saw that little fuzzy baby, I knew I couldn't just let it die. Guinea hens are not good mothers. Any advice on a make your own incubator?

You can also add some saran wrap over whatever you put them in, poke/cut some holes/slits in it for ventilation, but it will help keep the humidity in!

Good luck!!

 

[bbgranch]

Here is Antbite. Poor thing has had a difficult morning. Didn't quite get all the yolk in but maybe will be okay. Also has some membrane stuck. Maybe that will dry off? And while I was typing this another one hatched! Seems okay. These are some tough birdies!

 

[Purpletie3]

Here is Antbite. Poor thing has had a difficult morning. Didn't quite get all the yolk in but maybe will be okay. Also has some membrane stuck. Maybe that will dry off? And while I was typing this another one hatched! Seems okay. These are some tough birdies!

Fantastic news!!! If the yolk membrane line is still attached and not obviously open but he is dragging it around you can gently clip it with sterile scissors. If it dries to him it may be there forever. i am so happy they hatched!

 

[CuckooChook]

I've had to help a few that had bits of membrane stuck to them. It came off as they fluffed up. I've only wiped a chick down once, when it had been super sticky and couldn't fluff at all. They're so cute!

I've been trying to decide if I like web or mobile for this forum and I can't decide. Though I keep losing my multi-quotes, the phone app does not play nice on my phone.

Sorry for those with losses. I don't deal well when tragedy strikes us either. I found out that the chicks and younger juvi birds that died was caused by mites! Yuck! I love my vet, she was more than happy to look out for my flock

So we started doing the list of things recommended as treatment and will through the weekend and then certain things we have to repeat weekly until we no longer see bugs, or evidence thereof. Lots of work but my babies are worth any amount of sweat and tears.

I love the chick pics! I am excited to get some Isbar and Silkie babies in a few (to three) weeks. I got my Splash Silkie eggs and got them set this morning. I'm probably going to take both my farm innovators bators to use for hatching that batch. I'm just hoping after all is said and done they all fit at lockdown lol. Fridge bator is going 'okay'. Temps have been low since I set the 7 doz the other night. They've been 'just' about spot on for about 18 hours now though and since they were just set I don't think it's going to be a huge issue. Since they were all shipped eggs, I'm not turning as they settle from shipping and only once (in a smooth upright rotation in the carton) a day for a week, then I'll go to 2x for a week, and 3x a day after that until lockdown. I need to figure out turners because I'd feel safer in the knowledge that the temp would stay more regulated since its a mini fridge and I'm sure the heat just pumps out when the door is open. I almost wonder if I tried something like those plastic flaps you see beind the refrigerated section at the stores, of that would work to help hold heat in then I could just reach in through the flaps. Hmmm. Just kind of 'typing' aloud here but I will likely do the flaps because that would be great even with turners in case I need to be in the fridge for any amount of time.
I haven't candled a thing since the last time. I normally just do it before lockdown but I've got limited space lately. I'm going to be good and not candle for a bit though. I have the two yard eggs due to hatch. We've heard both chirp and I've seen one rock but other than that- not much action from this pair!

Someone was talking about Blue Isbar eggs, I have some in-bator, I'll get a shot of. They're my favorite in egg color so far!

 

[Cynthia12]

What? I just had the worst hatch in yrs. ONE baby..out of 5 that went into lock down.

I've not had this bad experience with this gal that I got the eggs from, ever..before. The vaults on these babies heads were soo high. I knew something was up, when no pips by late last night. I stayed up to watch. Finally I candled. Three were already gone, one internally pipped, and one barely moving. I hurried an opened the one barely moving. Holy Cow huge vault! And, it was flattened a fourth of the way. It just couldn't turn. All the yolk was absorbed, most of the blood, but didn't make it. Have to think that smashed head just wasn't right. :/ Well, I wanted a black silkie, I got my black silkie, one baby. It's vault is high too. The very egg that I worried about, because it was the most narrow of them all. I thought, if it has a high vault, it may not make it. It did.

Glad .. got my one baby. Will post photos later.

 

[Maikan]

What? I just had the worst hatch in yrs. ONE baby..out of 5 that went into lock down.

I've not had this bad experience with this gal that I got the eggs from, ever..before. The vaults on these babies heads were soo high. I knew something was up, when no pips by late last night. I stayed up to watch. Finally I candled. Three were already gone, one internally pipped, and one barely moving. I hurried an opened the one barely moving. Holy Cow huge vault! And, it was flattened a fourth of the way. It just couldn't turn. All the yolk was absorbed, most of the blood, but didn't make it. Have to think that smashed head just wasn't right. :/ Well, I wanted a black silkie, I got my black silkie, one baby. It's vault is high too. The very egg that I worried about, because it was the most narrow of them all. I thought, if it has a high vault, it may not make it. It did.

Glad .. got my one baby. Will post photos later.

So sorry to hear about your hatch, I hope that the surviving one is doing well and things get sorted out growth wise with it etc.

 

[Purpletie3]

What? I just had the worst hatch in yrs. ONE baby..out of 5 that went into lock down.

I've not had this bad experience with this gal that I got the eggs from, ever..before. The vaults on these babies heads were soo high. I knew something was up, when no pips by late last night. I stayed up to watch. Finally I candled. Three were already gone, one internally pipped, and one barely moving. I hurried an opened the one barely moving. Holy Cow huge vault! And, it was flattened a fourth of the way. It just couldn't turn. All the yolk was absorbed, most of the blood, but didn't make it. Have to think that smashed head just wasn't right. :/ Well, I wanted a black silkie, I got my black silkie, one baby. It's vault is high too. The very egg that I worried about, because it was the most narrow of them all. I thought, if it has a high vault, it may not make it. It did.

Glad .. got my one baby. Will post photos later.

You should let her know about the eggs. Did you pick them up yourself? I am happy your black silkie made it out okay!