September Hatch-A-Long

[lauraschicks]

I had 7 eggs I put under a bantam hen. some were from a fridge, some were straight from a hen. The hen I used got off the nest for LONG lunches which caused a delay in hatch. I have moved chicks to incubator. So even though day 21 was monday this is what I have so far.The above chick hatched monday, the below chick hatched today day 22, and 2 more are in air cell. I will not help until Thursday which may be day 24 but only if there are no veins when I shine light through egg
.
That being said, I have hatched out many a chick in the past. both Incubator and hen. my rule of thumb has been, (so I do not expect too much or rush a hatch) If I see the chick in air cell meaning the triangle of a pointy beak, then the next day will be a pip of outer shell. Just a pip. when that pip is made, they are not ready to hatch they are just trying to get air to breathe and rest. (the first breath of air helps to absorb the yoke.) the egg is still full of blood and veins.. it may be 12-24 hrs later that the even make the hole bigger, once all the veins and yoke are absorbed it will continue to hatch.. For me anyway internal pip means 2 days to hatch.

I may have replied to soon. Is the top one your legbar and the bottom your isbar? I thought you said the blue one was both or either. What else are you hatching? All Legbars and Isbars? Ive really enjoyed my Legbars, and the one Isbar that I have is still fairly young and not real defined as a personality yet other than I think its female or male and it looks like my Blue American Bresse chicks with a crested headdress.

 

[lauraschicks]

Well, folks, my chickens reached hatching day... And I find I'm having increasing difficulty balancing humidity in my brinsea mini advance. I may just have to break down and get a hydrometer from the pet store. The first hatch I had too high of humidity because of constant rain but this one I shrink wrapped the chicks even though I filled the water pots full on day 18. Only one hatched out, pipped the wrong way, and he's all alone in his tiny little brooder. He likes to hide somewhere dark and soft and warm so I took a red solo cup and lined it with scrap rabbit fur on the top and paper towels partially shredded at the bottom. He loves to run and hide in his little cup. It's where he sleeps at night, and I think it makes him feel a wee bit less lonely. (No idea if it's actually a boy or not.)

I think if I get a real hydrometer I will have a lot more success. I won't hatch out any more until I know what my humidity levels are like.

Im sorry for your losses. I had just one of 24 guineas hatch (4 days early I might add) and he/she (named Gwennie the Lonely Guinea either way) seemed so lonely. Luckily I had 2 ducklings hatch days later and she found some new friends.




And yes, if anybody is wondering, ducklings are indeed filthy little creatures. If it wasn't for the darned cute tail wagging, and the way they follow Gwennie around like she's their mother, I might have to give them away. But they ARE unfortunately cute and full of personality. They are of course named Daisy and Daffy (Donald passed away before he could fully break out of his shell). More than likely Daisy and Gwennie will both be males and develop a complex over their 'A Boy Named Sue' situations.
Would love to see a picture of your little one and his cup.

 

[lauraschicks]

@kada6305
I wish I could help about the beak, but I've been spared that defect as of yet. I do have a Silkie named Skips because of her crooked foot. Unfortunately I didn't own her at birth so I couldn't try to fix her foot for her. She gets along well though. Hopefully someone will have a suggestion about the beak since I think that's a more serious problem,

 

[kada6305]

Thank you. Obviously I wont be able to breed her as it is a genetic issue from what I;ve read. Maybe that why I only got 2/8 eggs to lock down. these are e-bay eggs though so who knows. I read about using rubber band but not sure baout how to do that...When s/he peeps it goes back into place so maybe the membrane is just pushing it that way? I dont know. I've never dealt with any defects yet.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had 2 cross bills. one a lady gave me as a chick and both got worse. I had too many roosters. even though this one was nice, I didn't want to breed him so I put him down. The other is a silky. she cannot eat when her bill is long. I clip the ends off with dogtoenail clippers. and dab a bit of flour on the end for bleeding. I don't go real deep into bill. Trouble with her is she cannot groom herself so unlike my other birds she gets buggy so I give her baths.

 

[kada6305]

Yeah I was thinking about if s/he could groom herself. I won't know how bad it is until she hatches and gets a bit older. It's hard to tell when s/he's still in the shell. Whenever s/he peep its straightens itself out so maybe its something I could fix?

 

[gimmie birdies]

no.

 

[redhen689]

I have never had a bird with a cross beak so I can't help you there, although, if I were you, I'd probably wait and see what happens. Some animals can adapt, some can't.


I moved my solitary chick to the brooder today. I knew it needed a friend, so I went out and bought 2 RIR chicks.
When I first introduced them, my little chick was scared, but now they are getting along just fine.The RIR's are probably about 10 days old, so they are bigger than my 2 day old, but my little one will catch up eventually. Maybe I'll post some photos one of these days.

 

[BuffsAndReds]

I have RIR hen that has a crossed beak. It's not really bad. She can eats fine and free ranges. She grooms her self too.

 

[kada6305]

Well he piped a little early looks like he still have some veins on the membrane. But I'll have a better idea of whats going on with his beak once its hatched and out of the shell. I will of course be giving it a chance of life, just not using it for breeding. I uually let my chickens free range and breed at will but I may just have to give this guy a pen on his own with some laying hens if its a male.