Set eggs 3/5. Looking for others to hatch with!

[wholewheatchicken]

Well it sounds like everyone is starting to get pips and cheeps!! I have 1 very small pip and sounds like 2 are cheeping in there!! WWC, looks like things are progressing in your incubator!! NICE!! I can't wait to see the pictures of all of your babies!! But I must admit... I'm very jealous of your broodies!! I don't have a single hen that is even THINKING about going broody!! AND I think I kept 3 roosters out of my last hatch!!

1 is an EE roo, so that isn't so bad but I wanted some hens for my laying pen!! Dang it!! LOL!!

It's sad because I have so many girls and they are all sitting in the barn. You wouldn't believe how rarely I see everyone because it seems like they sit, raise babies, get up and get out for about a month or so and then sit again. All the girls are friends and when they happen to not be sitting at the same time it's like a party for a long lost friend. I have two girls that have been sitting head to head for three weeks now...and they are egg stealers! It worked out great Sunday though because the one hen got up to stretch her legs, the first time in three weeks that I've seen her walk, and my DH didn't realize she came out of the barn and for some reason he decided to close the barn doors. Poor Buttercup was locked out and going nuts in the yard. Yetta had taken her eggs and kept them warm while she was gone. He locked another broody out at the same time, but I gave her an egg that was pipping from the other hens to try and ensure she will be a momma. She's my toolbox girl and has been sitting about six weeks trying to get a baby!

 

[mohillbilly]

Here is a picture of my biggest pipper. I can see a little blood on the membrane so I'm really glad now I have the baby monitor to hear it so I know it is okay. If not, that would have really scared me. I can't get a picture of the other pip because that egg is directly behind this egg and on the backside, which is against the wall.

you should cut the bottoms out of your egg cartons so they can breath better

 

[dixie&trixie]

Ok question here-

I set 10 eggs under my brooding cochin on 3/5. 6 BCM eggs and 4 EE eggs. I have never hatched anything myself before so I'm totally new at this. I've been silently watching this thread and reading everyones posts. Most everyone is using an incubator and I'm not so hope I'm not asking a stupid question.

Today is supposed to be my hatch date but I havent heard a peep, seen a wiggle...nothing. I tried to candle them on several occassions but the EE eggs were impossible to see into and the BCM eggs were pretty difficult but one had a definate black round blob moving around that I think was the eye. Was my moving them around harmful? I did pick them up every 3-5 days to candle could this cause them to not develop? Also the BCM egg that I saw the blob in got lost in the straw one day and by the time I found it it was pretty cold. Could this have killed it? Halted the development? Ive put the broody mama in the garage where its nice and quite and warmer and Ive been going out every few hours today to check on the eggs but NOTHING......any ideas, thoughts, suggestions, answers?

 

[wholewheatchicken]

MY FIRST BABY IS BORN!!!!!! HE IS BEAUTIFUL....HE IS HUGE!!!!!!!!! BABY #2 IS HURRYING IT UP. I got pictures, but right now I'm so excited I needed a bowl of cereal.....missed dinner tonight and I'm starving. I wonder if any others will pip tomorrow. This baby is so loud. I can't believe it. It's making me a nervous wreck and the dogs too!!!! It snuck in on me as it was just kind of pipping and I went to the barn to make sure my broodies were doing okay and spent time feeding and watering them and when I came back in I started downstairs to check the incubator before I went to sleep and I heard this hysterical screaming coming from the baby monitor and I ran down the stairs and this little one was popping out of its shell.
Oh, it's so cute. I've been downstairs watching it and it keeps chirping to the other chick still in its shell that's trying to be born. Every time the light bulb comes on it runs over and lays down underneath it and tries to go to sleep. It is so cute. Did I tell you guys it is so cute!!!!! I don't think I will be able to sell it. It's too cute!!!!!

 

[wholewheatchicken]

Ok question here-

I set 10 eggs under my brooding cochin on 3/5. 6 BCM eggs and 4 EE eggs. I have never hatched anything myself before so I'm totally new at this. I've been silently watching this thread and reading everyones posts. Most everyone is using an incubator and I'm not so hope I'm not asking a stupid question.

Today is supposed to be my hatch date but I havent heard a peep, seen a wiggle...nothing. I tried to candle them on several occassions but the EE eggs were impossible to see into and the BCM eggs were pretty difficult but one had a definate black round blob moving around that I think was the eye. Was my moving them around harmful? I did pick them up every 3-5 days to candle could this cause them to not develop? Also the BCM egg that I saw the blob in got lost in the straw one day and by the time I found it it was pretty cold. Could this have killed it? Halted the development? Ive put the broody mama in the garage where its nice and quite and warmer and Ive been going out every few hours today to check on the eggs but NOTHING......any ideas, thoughts, suggestions, answers?

You're not asking a stupid question. I have broodies and am trying to figure out the incubator. It looks like we sat eggs on the same day. It's best not to mess with them under the broody. She will take care of them. Give it time. I have found that day 21 is the day you're shooting for, but I've had them come on day 19 under a broody and come after day 21. Your candling and handling it didn't kill it. The one that got kicked out and became cold might have been affected. She might have kicked it out because there was something wrong with it. Just keep her in the garage and make sure she has food and water. If you get close to the weekend and there are still no babies, there might not be any. I've got five broodies in the barn and am dying to know who has a baby. I know one does not because I saw her get up a few hours ago to get something to eat, but I know I heard cheeping.....just couldn't figure out who it came from under.
Keep us posted. I can answer more broody questions than I can incubator questions and hopefully there are some others on here who have worked with broodies...

 

[onawhimfarm]

Me too!!! My first welsummer hatched sometime in the night!! He is so cute!! I have another one that is pipped, but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere to fast... aghghghghghg!! I'm not a patient person!! LOL!!!

WWC Congrats!! I love babies!!

MY FIRST BABY IS BORN!!!!!! HE IS BEAUTIFUL....HE IS HUGE!!!!!!!!! BABY #2 IS HURRYING IT UP. I got pictures, but right now I'm so excited I needed a bowl of cereal.....missed dinner tonight and I'm starving. I wonder if any others will pip tomorrow. This baby is so loud. I can't believe it. It's making me a nervous wreck and the dogs too!!!! It snuck in on me as it was just kind of pipping and I went to the barn to make sure my broodies were doing okay and spent time feeding and watering them and when I came back in I started downstairs to check the incubator before I went to sleep and I heard this hysterical screaming coming from the baby monitor and I ran down the stairs and this little one was popping out of its shell.
Oh, it's so cute. I've been downstairs watching it and it keeps chirping to the other chick still in its shell that's trying to be born. Every time the light bulb comes on it runs over and lays down underneath it and tries to go to sleep. It is so cute. Did I tell you guys it is so cute!!!!! I don't think I will be able to sell it. It's too cute!!!!!

 

[Peach2u]

I too am waiting on a broody. I had 51 hatched in an incubator and I have 13 under a BO. I sat the eggs in the incubators on the 3rd. The BO got hers on the 5th. Today should be the day! But I will give her 3 more days before I worry about it.

 

[gatorridgechics]

I swear I saw a wiggle this morning. Man I hope I saw a wiggle. I set my eggs at 8pm on 3\6 so I am going on the assumption that not seeing anything yet isn't necessaryily a bad thing.........

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

Yesterday was hatch day, I woke up this morning hoping to hear peeping. But AGAIN, nothing. Getting more and more worried by the second.

 

[wholewheatchicken]

Yesterday was hatch day, I woke up this morning hoping to hear peeping. But AGAIN, nothing. Getting more and more worried by the second.

My incubator did not come with a humidifier, so i haven't been regulating the humidity. I just fill up the water trays whenever they get low. I'm a little worried that the temperature is the problem. I have been doing my best to keep it in a certain range, but I've had no luck. One minute, it is at 103 (I'm hoping this did not hurt them, For the last week the temperature stayed around 102-104, and it didn't hurt them) and then I barely turn it down, and it goes clear down to 94. I'm hoping they're still okay, I think I still see a few pushing at the membrane, but it's a little hard to be sure when I'm candling them as well as I can through the glass of the incubator.

Is it a still air? From my understanding, and if Mohillbilly gets on he has tremendous knowledge, in a still air the temps are supposed to be higher and you have to measure at the top of the egg. That's hard for me to say anything on the humidity. This is my third attempt and on the first batch I kept the H in the upper 20s to 30s range. I can't say much about those guys because I messed it up for many reasons. My second batch the H was in the 20s and they were all shrink wrapped and none even pipped. This time I kept the H in the upper 40s to mid 50s range and it appears to be working. I will say I met this really nice young lady who lives TX and she uses a Hovabator and doesn't measure the H, just keeps the trays filled up, and she has great hatches, and I met another person recently over in KY who said the same thing, just kept the water filled up and doesn't measure and has great hatches. So if you kept the trays filled up, that is probably okay.

I personally know how hard it is if they don't make it. I understand all the emotions that come with that knowledge. If that does happen, my best advice is to do the eggtopsy and learn what happened so you are able to go forward and have a successful hatch next time.

I forgot, what kind of incubator are you using? And, give them some more time just in case they are late. I can't offer any advice on helping them out of the shell because that has not worked for me either..........take a deep breath.......