Serama Hatch-A-Long!!

[collegegardener]

Just candled again. I'm so unsure when it comes to candling, but I think everything actually looked okay. Today is day 14. @darkbluespace your encouraging words have put me at ease a bit. I certainly hope I still get some babies out of this hatch

 

[darkbluespace]

Well I started with 4 eyelets on Tuesday. I handled a hour ago and it looks like out of 4 eggs only 2 are developing the other 2 apparently are not fertile.

So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the remaining two develop and hatch and survive.

I am glad you have two developing at least! I am hopeful for them!

When you say survive, I imagine you are referring to the talk of Serama chicks dying while they are tiny. I read a lot about that too, the lethal gene, but I really haven't experienced it. All of my birds that survived hatch survived, except a couple accidents, but no one just keeled over. I do a few things like vitamin water at room temp and acidophilus on their food to avoid pasty butt, maybe those things help.

 

[mommaduck2014]

Thanks for the tips!! Now do I leave them in the egg carton? What about turning the eggs?

 

[darkbluespace]

Thanks for the tips!! Now do I leave them in the egg carton? What about turning the eggs?

I leave them in the carton and start gently tilting them to one side, then the other, instead of turning.

 

[mommaduck2014]

Ok do I do this a couple times a day like regular sized chickens?

 

[darkbluespace]

Ok do I do this a couple times a day like regular sized chickens?

Yup, same as the big eggs : )

 

[mommaduck2014]

Ok. Great thanks! What does everyone use for feeders and waterers for their Serama babies? Since they are so tiny at hatching you would think average sized chick feeders and waterers seem problematic if not dangerous. And what do you use as a brooder?

 

[Skink]

I use "quail waterer" bottoms on regular watering stands. For food, I put sifted or ground chick food on to a tupperware lid. That needs to be tended to frequently, but they are small enough to get in to the acces eyelets on chick feeders and will kick out all the food to make an even bigger mess! Found that out the hard way this hatch. Wasted almost all the siftings from a bag of mannapro showbird. Mine are in a 10 gallon tank, but anything will do and you are probably going to prefer something that can have a fitted lid! Serama are great fliers and are eager to jump the brooder ASAP.


How's the lone chick darkbluespace? I hope your other hatch gives them a companion!

I set 7 more eggs friday! Big ones. Most weigh 1.05 ounces. I'm really hoping the wool didn't get pulled over my eyes and they're reall oegb or some nonsense, but I think my original hatches were eggs from A size hens so I might just not know any better, who can say.

 

[darkbluespace]

Same here, I use a quail waterer also, nice to not have to worry about them falling in and put ground up chick food in a jar lid till they graduate to something larger.

I finally took Sparky out of the incubator, I had given him some water and egg yolk in there. In the brooder he was cheeping madly. I had a terrible headache yesterday and spent the evening in bed and he snuggled with me. He would settle down, but he is not easily consoled by me. I seriously hope this egg hatches, it is on day 17. I put him back in the bator last night and he quieted down and fell asleep standing up! I am honestly thinking about keeping him in there till this next egg hatches. I also thought about seeing if my Silkies would like him, they are so gentle I can't imagine they would hurt him... can you tell I'm a little desperate?? I wish I had a little mirror but he has a couple of little finger puppet friends in there.

A lot of the eggs shipped to me recently were larger eggs and I have learned from the past, as my larger frizzle hen lays eggs the size of a Silkie egg, and hatching many tiny eggs that the egg size does not seem to determine the size of the adult bird. I have had smaller birds hatch out of larger eggs and larger birds hatch out of smaller eggs. Seramas are so mysterious!!

 

[darkbluespace]

I put 10 more eggs in last night! I have been getting 2 to 4 every day!

Of the last 6 I put in, 5 were fertile and one of those quit. 4/6 is not too bad, especially because when I first candled I thought 3 were clear. I'm glad I gave them more time. Can't wait to see how this 10 does!