She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[Ravynscroft]

I will check. But I still think it is neurological. The head twitching concerns me. She is worn out tonight. I gave her another couple of drops of the vitamins and water via syringe. She is struggling.

Are you dripping it on her beak and she drinks voluntarily, or are you opening her beak and squirting it in?

 

[meganhundley]

From top is usually best, but I wouldn't candle til at least day 7, maybe even 10... but that's just my opinion...

K, I can't remember where I heard day 4 or 5 but I'll wait til day 7 instead. I hope I can keeps my hands out of there til then, lol. I can see right now when it comes time for them to start hatching I'm going to be an extreme meddler, lol

 

[AmyPaperlady]

All done!

Trimmed and ready for blanching.

6 pints of seedless blackberry jam, 8 pints of beans, and 2 quart-sized freezer bags of beans.

The chickens got lots of blackberry seeds today, and will get the bean trimmings and the few extra blanched beans tomorrow.

So... you have my addy to send those to, right???

*Eyes Ravyn's eggs*

 

[chicapee]

Are you dripping it on her beak and she drinks voluntarily, or are you opening her beak and squirting it in?

Dripping it on her beak and she drinks it for the moment, if she makes it through the night I can foresee opening her beak and dripping. She is really exhausted. After each step she does a few twirls and takes her an age to get any where. She does 3 twirls between sips of water at the fountain. Then trying to keep her head still long enough to drink is a challenge too.

 

[Ravynscroft]

K, I can't remember where I heard day 4 or 5 but I'll wait til day 7 instead. I hope I can keeps my hands out of there til then, lol. I can see right now when it comes time for them to start hatching I'm going to be an extreme meddler, lol

You *can* see some veining as early as day 4-5, but by day 7-10 development is much clearer... at 4-5 you could pull a good egg thinking it looks clear but it's just not visible to you yet... and shipped eggs are tricky to hatch and I've found that the less handling/candling done, the better the success...

 

[Ravynscroft]

*Eyes Ravyn's eggs*

*Ravyn does do swaps* j/s

Dripping it on her beak and she drinks it for the moment, if she makes it through the night I can foresee opening her beak and dripping. She is really exhausted. After each step she does a few twirls and takes her an age to get any where. She does 3 twirls between sips of water at the fountain. Then trying to keep her head still long enough to drink is a challenge too.

If you open her beak to squirt in, *I think* it needs to go to the left side (have to check that), but don't squirt it into the open hole in back of throat... that is their trachea/windpipe, they will drown very easily...
Going to check something...

 

[chicapee]

*Ravyn does do swaps* j/s
If you open her beak to squirt in, *I think* it needs to go to the left side (have to check that), but don't squirt it into the open hole in back of throat... that is their trachea/windpipe, they will drown very easily...
Going to check something...

Ok. Thank you.

 

[meganhundley]

You *can* see some veining as early as day 4-5, but by day 7-10 development is much clearer... at 4-5 you could pull a good egg thinking it looks clear but it's just not visible to you yet... and shipped eggs are tricky to hatch and I've found that the less handling/candling done, the better the success...

K, I'll definitely handle them as little as possible, I'll probably wait til day 10 instead of 7. I'll tell my husband to smack my hand if I reach for the incubator lid, lol. I've heard shipped eggs are a nightmare and most times only 50% or fewer hatch so I guess if I get 4 or 5 out of 12 I'm doing good since this is my first hatch ever. I'm just glad I still have 12 to put in. I've heard so many horror stories about how the post office completely destroyed half their eggs and boxes and cartons looked they got kicked through the uprights or looks like someone stomped on them. Thankfully mine didn't have to go too far and the shipping box didnt look too bad, 1 corner was slightly messed up but that's it, so I'm hoping trauma was kept to a bare minimum. I guess I'll find out how lucky I am on day 21!

 

[Ravynscroft]

Ok. Thank you.

This is not my pic, I borrowed it... was posted by casportpony originally and she is awesome with ICU type care for birds...

This isn't a chick but easier to see, lol... I think you can either go to the left or right, but see that big round hole in center? Trachea...

Due to your background, you may find tubing easier if it comes to that... she has some great tips on this thread, plus other links if you need them...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding

 

[WVduckchick]

I love peppermint essential oil. It can be used for soooo many things. It will keep your house pest and insect free. Bugs and mice hate it. I don't know about y'all but I live basically in the middle of a corn feild and mice run rampant around here. My house was infested with mice and also ants, and I couldn't ever get rid of them, especially mice in winter, they just move right in and take over and don't pay rent! But a couple drops of peppermint essential oil in all the drawers and backs of the cabinets, along window sills, anywhere a mouse or ant can find a way in and i haven't had a problem since. You can actually watch the ants run away, I swear I can hear them screaming, lol. It's good for muscle and joint aches and pains also but it has to be diluted to use topically.

I did get some peppermint oil last fall because mice invaded my hunting stand, and I hate mice even more than I hate mosquitoes! It had no effect on them at all! Except maybe for attracting more! But I think I may have diluted it too much. I'll have to find it and try it again.

K, I can't remember where I heard day 4 or 5 but I'll wait til day 7 instead. I hope I can keeps my hands out of there til then, lol. I can see right now when it comes time for them to start hatching I'm going to be an extreme meddler, lol

I know shipped eggs are much different, and difficult, so I'm sure minimal handling is probably the best advice, but I candle often, and have found no ill effects. I have never done shipped eggs though. Amy actually experimented with candling several eggs every day and I'm pretty sure they all hatched, but she can chime in too.
I do agree that you can think an egg is clear early on, and find development later, that's why I would never remove one until at least day 8-10 (unless it stinks or something). But I candle whenever I want to!
My eggs, my way. Your eggs, your way.