mine arent doing anything yet, i am so jealous of ya'll! i quickly peeked at them before lockdown, 7 still moving around and alive, so heres hoping!!! when do they start peeping in the shell? and rocking around usually? i am SO impatient!!!!
I was planning on locking down tonight, but as I was walking past the bator I heard chirping. I put my ear closer and sure enough some were chirping and rocking. I quickly increased the humidity, placed them out of the carton, and now they're in lockdown. After I got them all set, I noticed that one of them had already started pipping. I hope they don't come too early. Day 20/21 is Tuesday. Got my fingers crossed for them....
My very first pip early yesterday afternoon had not advanced while 3 others hatched out fine this morning, so I took out the egg (24 hours after pipping), and chipped around where they would naturally zip, and noticed right where he pipped, his little feathers had dried to the white membrane. So I moistened all around the zip area, and noticed that it was helping to loosen the membrane from the feathers, and so I continued with picking off shell, and moistening real well with nice warm water (all the while holding him in a very warm, very wet washcloth, under the brooder light), and when there was nothing left but very moistened membrane, I used tweezers and tore away ever so gently the membrane around him and he finally slid away free. Yolk sac completely absorbed, and chirping like the dickens. My theory is when he first pipped, nothing happened right away, and there hadn't been enough humidity (not in lockdown at that point), and right where he pipped, his feathers dried to the membrane and any time he tried to zip it hurt him, so he was stuck there.....how sad!!! He is doing great now....
I just won HappyChick's contest for name the Farm, I am getting eggs for a prize. I have never hatched eggs before. Reading all the posts about humidity and all (I am in the desert) I am getting really scared. I could use some help. What do I need? How do I do this? I need to get all set up before I get the eggs,I think very soon.