September Hatch-A-Long!

[AandAranch]

Gonzo, little chick that hatched yesterday, died in my hand this morning.  I was expecting it.  What I wasn't expecting was to find one of my healthy Langshans dead this morning in the brooder.  I have no idea what happened.  Largest chick in there.  9 days old.  I have to go to work.  I don't want to come home to more dead.

I am so, so sorry to hear that. It is just the most upsetting thing. I just now lost one. Which makes my hatch complete. Final count: 13 out of 19 from start to finish (they are button quail eggs so I didnt throw any out since they are so hard to see through.) 1 was a dud, two were early quitters, and three were fully developed. The first of the developed ones had almost zipped but died bc it couldn't get through the membrane. The second internally pipped but died before externally pipping. And the third died just now while my husband and I tried helping it out. It's siblings have been out for awhile but I could still hear it tapping and tapping but it could just not pip so DH and I opened it up and it looked like it was shrink wrapped in the membrane. I think it bled out when we tried to loosen the membrane a bit. I am just so upset right now but I have to remember that this is a good learning experience for my future endeavors in incubating. I will never, ever get used to it though. I feel for everyone here who have lost any sweet little chicks. Hopefully next time around the experience will be better.

 

[jackslolita]

sorry to hear everyone has lost someone

i lost a few guys- a lot last time-- the whole batch actually... but im trying to think of it this way.

they were loved and cared for, before birth, as well as a mother hen would do, and we did all we could.

they made it farther than some eggs. also, we had a part in trying to make them better instead of leaving them `òut in the cold``. we did what was best, and they gave it their best try too.

we may have losts but we are not failures.

 

[chickydee64]

Quick question..... I cant believe these chicks are even alive but I can hear someone chirping from inside the egg no holes yet dont know who of the 8 is doing it day 21 is tomorrow. How long do I wait? I know there is nothing I can do but hpw long does this usually take its almost 7 pm est and I heard the first noises at around 2:30-3:00. Thanks in advance for the advice! Fingers crossed!!!

Couldn't see that anyone answered But I am tired and might have missed it.
It can be 24 to 36 hours before the chick decides to hatch.
I know....seems like forever................I have also had some that just seem to pop out.........

To soon to worry Good luck

 

[DeannaA]

I am so, so sorry to hear that. It is just the most upsetting thing. I just now lost one. Which makes my hatch complete. Final count: 13 out of 19 from start to finish (they are button quail eggs so I didnt throw any out since they are so hard to see through.) 1 was a dud, two were early quitters, and three were fully developed. The first of the developed ones had almost zipped but died bc it couldn't get through the membrane. The second internally pipped but died before externally pipping. And the third died just now while my husband and I tried helping it out. It's siblings have been out for awhile but I could still hear it tapping and tapping but it could just not pip so DH and I opened it up and it looked like it was shrink wrapped in the membrane. I think it bled out when we tried to loosen the membrane a bit. I am just so upset right now but I have to remember that this is a good learning experience for my future endeavors in incubating. I will never, ever get used to it though. I feel for everyone here who have lost any sweet little chicks. Hopefully next time around the experience will be better.

Everytime I lose one or I don't have a single eggs hatch from a batch, I think I have to stop. It is too sad. Then one hatches and it is so amazing that I order more eggs because I know I can't go a week without seeing it again. I can't wait until I can hatch an egg from one of my chickens.

 

[jackslolita]

Couldn't see that anyone answered But I am tired and might have missed it.
It can be 24 to 36 hours before the chick decides to hatch.
I know....seems like forever................I have also had some that just seem to pop out.........

To soon to worry Good luck

my first pipped at 1 am ( 2 of them)
then another at 4 am (another 2)
the other ones were late. they zipped after some had already hatched

at 5 pm that day 2 zipped- that took about 15 minutes each
at 6 pm another came
at 9 pm another 2
at 11 pm the final one - this one had the largest pip hole. he didnt even unzip his egg but he just popped out of the membrane. his egg was hardly cracked. surprisingly there seems to be nothing wrong with him

 

[AandAranch]

...

Everytime I lose one or I don't have a single eggs hatch from a batch, I think I have to stop.  It is too sad.  Then one hatches and it is so amazing that I order more eggs because I know I can't go a week without seeing it again. I can't wait until I can hatch an egg from one of my chickens.
quote

I know the feeling. Although I get completely devastated when I lose a chick I am so addicted to incubating and hatching. I think the after experiencing the bad parts I feel that the benifits out weigh the cons. My first hatch consisted of nothing but my own chicken's eggs (plus one of my button quail's.) I find it very satisfying hatching from my own flock. I have yet to try my luck at shipped eggs. Hopefully someday soon. And I hope you get to hatch some from your own flock soon.

 

[Cagwin512]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and currently on day 2 of my first batch of eggs. They are suppose to be pure breed wheaten americaunas I bought from a farm already fertilized. We have a dozen in the incubator, and would be glad if I successfully make even 1 chicken!
We have 5 females currently, supposedly americaunas also, but were bought at a local feed store and pretty sure they are not, even though I've only found blue eggs. So far they are around 22 weeks old and only 1 laying, so I bought some eggs to try out.
It's all so new, and ALOT of work to make sure the temp and humidity is correct all day and night long. Due to hatch the 26th!
Any tips? I have the little giant still air incubator.

 

[DeannaA]

Quote:
Hello. My name is Deanna. I am a chick-a-holic. Here is the story of my addiction.

One day I decided I wanted one chick to have as a house chicken. But had to buy 6 minimum. Since I had to build a coop for 6, I built it big enough for more, just in case. I went to buy 2 more chicks, ended up with 8 more. While researching how to care for chickens, I found this thread (June actually). It was so addicting. I read about people building their own incubators. So I had to see if I could do it. It holds 18 eggs. During the 3 weeks they were incubating, I kept up with this thread and read about all of the different kinds of chickens. I thought I would pick the one best kind, order a dozen for the incubator after the first ones hatched but the eggs took too long and I had to quickly buy another incubator for the eggs that came in the mail. Now I had all of this extra room in there, it held 5 dozen. Ordered more eggs but the store incubator didn't work so well. I built a better larger one. It was so easy, I built another. And so goes my spiral down into the depths of uncontrollable hatching. Chicks taking over my house. Soon I will be sleeping on the porch. It's all so terri.... Another chick hatched! Got to go!

 

[KuroKitsune]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and currently on day 2 of my first batch of eggs. They are suppose to be pure breed wheaten americaunas I bought from a farm already fertilized. We have a dozen in the incubator, and would be glad if I successfully make even 1 chicken!
We have 5 females currently, supposedly americaunas also, but were bought at a local feed store and pretty sure they are not, even though I've only found blue eggs. So far they are around 22 weeks old and only 1 laying, so I bought some eggs to try out.
It's all so new, and ALOT of work to make sure the temp and humidity is correct all day and night long. Due to hatch the 26th!
Any tips? I have the little giant still air incubator.

i have a little giant still air as well and one thing you should do if you haven't is remove one of the red plugs so there is a bit of air flow...this will be very important when its hatch time for your eggs so the chicks have enough oxygen and not stale air. i may require more work to keep the humidity where it needs to be but i find its needed with the little giant bator..as theres not good airflow otherwise

 

[doodleluver]

O.M.G got our first pip ever!!! Although I hope its ok, its sort of on the side? Not directly on the top. I can hear her peeping still and moving. Its a Brahma!!! I could not be happier.... Now to see what color it is! !