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

[WVduckchick]

Thanks for reminding me, I forgot about the breakdowns. I will try to get them tomorrow.
My phone is blowing up for Silkies again. Must be the weather. One guy saw my Ameraucanas and said he wants 20 chicks in February

Nice!

I'll try to remind you about the breakdowns again too...

 

[RubyNala97]

No, I read about at least 2 instances within the last couple of weeks where people have thrown away eggs, only to get in the trash can and find a living chick! Well, one was a duck. And yes, I am thankful for the ones that hatched! I have thought about that... But if it can't make it out on its own, it would be harder to cull once its out.

I know. It's a no win situation. The one downside to hatching and owning animals.

Another free kindle chicken book! http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Chickens-Beginners-Sustainable-sustainability-ebook/dp/B00LCLQVSG

I can't get them, it says I have to have a kindle-prime membership for $9.99 a month. Do you have that?

Thanks for reminding me, I forgot about the breakdowns. I will try to get them tomorrow. My phone is blowing up for Silkies again. Must be the weather. One guy saw my Ameraucanas and said he wants 20 chicks in February

That's awesome!! What better reason to hatch!

 

[FridayYet]

I know. I just expected it to expire while I was at work today.

That is so sad. Sorry you had to go through it even though you know the chick wouldn't have been healthy anyways.

Doesn't help how the heart feels.

 

[rossfam06]

Stopped at home before coming to check on my girls at camp, and guess what? The chick in the bator is still alive! The bator is turned off, but its still alive. Now I'm wondering if it might have hatched if I had just left it turned on. I'm blaming my hubby.

Don't blame him....if you had to do it on your own you could do it.

I know. I just expected it to expire while I was at work today.

I'm glad it didnt....it means it wants to live!!!!!

I know it doesn't help, but the last two I helped out late I had to cull later for leg issues. Wish I would have let them break out or not. I would give them time, but I won't help anymore unless my bator is running too dry or something.

See...i have helped out so many chicks. All but one have survived and the one that died was due to a sickness. So...I have to disagree with you. It does however take them a little longer to stand but not toe issues or leg issues and I am redder than red.

 

[FridayYet]

I always wonder if you perpetuate weakness if you help too much. Will the offspring of the chicks you save lay eggs that have trouble hatching?

Just food for thought, I haven't raised enough to know.

But breeding from the strongest just seems to make more sense to me.

 

[kwhites634]

We the only night owls, AGAIN?

 

[FridayYet]

Well I'm on Mountain Time so it's only 7:30 here.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, I agree, breed from the strongest. But... this is where my opinion differs from main stream. By basing the definition of "strongest" on hatching performance, we're only looking at a very small sliver of the pie. And, I'm in no way saying that folks who let the chick who needs help out of the shell die are NOT looking at the whole pie. I know that most of the folks who are hatching eggs are also culling within their flock, so they are constantly looking to see who stays to play in the gene pool an other year, and who goes. So much criteria to look at, even for the back yard breeder with a barn yard mix.

So, hatching performance is a small, but important piece. The question that I continue to ask is this: By letting the chick die in the incubator, are we truly culling our flocks for future hatching strength? Common sense says yes. Now, look a bit further, and ask, "Why is this particular chick having difficulty getting out of the shell?" I'm left questioning my skill at providing artificial incubation that matches the needs of the chick all the way from embryo to hatchling. At best, it's an artificial means. We all know that a "good" Mama Broody does it best. Even a Mama broody who's never seen a chick before, never incubated an egg before is capable of hatching eggs in far less than ideal circumstances. If Mama got a parade for successful hatches, she'd be getting one with every clutch she sets, I imagine! So, I have an inferior incubator, I make mistakes, errors in judgement, temps and humidity are not always perfect. For that matter, we most likely still don't know what perfect is. Then, look at the eggs: genetic flaws... hopefully, those are the ones that die no matter what we do. Then, there's nutrition. I tried an experiment where I had my flock on supplemental vitamins in addition to high protein. I figured that would improve my hatch rate, right? WRONG! Worst hatch ever! Chicks did great right up to lock down. Then, I had the highest percentage of DIS ever. IMO, these chicks had too much of a good thing going. They grew too big to be able to position for a good hatch. So, I'll continue to be of the opinion that a chick that is the result of an assisted hatch, CAN grow out to be an important contributor to the gene pool. It's no fault of the hen who laid the egg, or of the chick if he's too big for the container he was given to grow in. It's no fault of the hen or the chick if the temp or humidity is off, and he ends up being glued, or delayed. Just as human babies sometimes need to be delivered by cesarean deliveries, and they sometimes need to spend time in NICU, that does not mean that they are genetically inferior. We've all heard of the NICU baby who goes on to be a foot ball star, or is smarter than all of her class mates!

So, I'll remain red. I'm early in my hatching career. I may shift to the blue side in the future, and I absolutely understand and respect the "Don't interfere. If the chick is not strong enough to hatch, I won't assist, and I won't have to cull a little fluff ball later when he has problems." I truly respect that! But, I'll continue to assist as needed. I'm thankful that all of the chicks that I've assisted have gone on to grow well. 24 hours later, I can't tell which chick was assisted, and which one was not.

 

[kwhites634]

Well I'm on Mountain Time so it's only 7:30 here.

I hope y'all are high & dry enuf that the heat & humidity doesn't bother you the way it does here. Cooled off a mite today, but i's been pretty brutal here. Birds have a tarp over the run, which is under a large Maple, and they were still milling around with wings spread & mouths open yesterday, til I emptied the full ice maker into their water bowl yesterday.

 

[WVduckchick]

That's a good thought Friday. I don't really know...

This will be more popular with the ladies, not so much with the guys, but I kept thinking about what Ruby said, so when I got home, I opened him up more. And more. Ok, he's out of the egg. Still breathing. I mean, if I have to cull him eventually, then so be it. But everything looks fine except a little opening where the sac gets drawn in. Feet, wings, legs and all. One eye isn't quite as open, but it was the one on the side of his head that was still inside the egg. So he is now in a bowl, under a light, warming up, and drying out. He took a couple of sips of water too. So we will see...

And Ross, you are right. I actually should thank hubby because I'm not worrying that I will have to ask him to do it. I'm doing this on my own, so it is what it is.