Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

Sorry to hear this.
I didn’t know the embryo’s in hatching eggs could still be alive after a 9 hours abandonment. Did you read somewhere where the still were okay and hatched after such a break?

If you can candle a few eggs and mark them, and candle these eggs again in few days time, you should see the difference.
Good luck!

I believe that until day 14 of incubation, the embryo behaves like a cold-blooded animal, so while the long chilling will slow development, it may not be fatal. After day 14, it's developing into a warm-blooded animal, and henceforth such a long spell of cooling would probably be very damaging. Anyway, I shall just let her continue. We will all find out the consequence in about 2 weeks' time, and all learn from it.

 

[MrsNorthie]

Spoke too soon. This morning I found that Fez spent the night in the wrong box; eggs cold. None were added, so she was not chased off by a late or early layer. So I assume another hen just gave her enough agro to drive her off the eggs at roost time. I lifted her out for breakfast, and then waited to confirm she went back to the right box, then shut everyone else out for the day. Hopefully the eggs are robust enough to cope with a 9 hour natural power cut at day 8.

I am not sure how reliable this is... but I read that the eggs can be fine up to 10 hours..

"Yes they will still hatch. Hatching eggs can be left for up to 10 hours and they will still usually hatch."

https://www.irishfowl.com/talk/topic-24724.html?c=8

Fluff will barely leave, her nest. We are going to move her to the broody suite, in the night, once it is ready, moving her nest material with her, on top of her chunk of earth.

Fingers Crossed for Fez!

 

[Perris]

there are a lot of factors involved besides the time left to cool, e.g. developmental stage of embryos, ambient temperature, even nest material (how heat retentive it is etc.), so I am not going to second guess it, rather, just let nature take its course. If Fez's hatch fails, there are several other would-be broodies here who are very keen to have a go

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 80s mostly sunny.

Have a great day!

 

[Molpet]

The bantams are so small, I just don't see it being worth the time and energy to clean them.

People raise quail for meat. They are small, I think smaller than a bantam.

Sorry to hear this.
I didn’t know the embryo’s in hatching eggs could still be alive after a 9 hours abandonment. Did you read somewhere where the still were okay and hatched after such a break?

If you can candle a few eggs and mark them, and candle these eggs again in few days time, you should see the difference.
Good luck!

I have had them hatch when this happened and the eggs were stone cold in the morning

 

[BDutch]

I am not sure how reliable this is... but I read that the eggs can be fine up to 10 hours..

"Yes they will still hatch. Hatching eggs can be left for up to 10 hours and they will still usually hatch."

https://www.irishfowl.com/talk/topic-24724.html?c=8

Fluff will barely leave, her nest. We are going to move her to the broody suite, in the night, once it is ready, moving her nest material with her, on top of her chunk of earth.

Fingers Crossed for Fez!

I did have a few cold /bit cold eggs in the beginning of the hatch period. That why I bought a small incubator to switch eggs if the broody eggs would have died.

But they did seem to be alive at 5 days whfn I candled.

Later in the proces at 12-13 days I found a rather cold egg again. But it hadn’t been cold for very long. Max 3 hours. I wrote cold on the egg.

Yesterday the broodies tossed out one egg that I had marked with a ? twice. Probably this egg was not fertilised. Today on day 16 the egg with the mark cold was tossed out. This egg had a small foetus inside who obviously died.

 

[Perris]

I have had them hatch when this happened and the eggs were stone cold in the morning

do you recall the details? in particular, how far along they were in development?

 

[fluffycrow]

I seriously hope that the embryos didn't mind that little hault in brooding too much, Perris. I've heard of power outages being way longer, so I am hopeful that at least some of the embryos remain viable

 

[Molpet]

do you recall the details? in particular, how far along they were in development?

I think one time it was about a week and another hen about 2 weeks. I think they hatched a day late.

 

[Shadrach]

One and a half hours this morning and one and a half this afternoon.
It's been raining not hard but on and off most of the day, just enough to turn the day dreary. It's got chilly with it 7C with wind.
We all got out both times despite the light drizzle.
The chicks have been pairing up, like with like. Very interesting to watch. They all get on together but resting and foraging is becoming a pair activity.
I'm still undecided on their sex. Two are males I'm pretty sure.

This is the vegetable section of my plot. There's stuff in the bottom half that hasn't got above ground yet. i planted late but they should be fine, The seasons seem to have shifted a month and the weather hasn't been that great for growing.

This is my herb plot. The fruit bush jungle sort of divides the plot in two now.

This is the friut bush jungle running down the middle of the plot. There's a wild patch above the herb section which the chickens like.