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

[bantam brood 17]

Oh, yes, I took off work again today. I'm so glad I did!!

Congrats on your hatch

Hope the rest wake up and get a move on fingers crossed

 

[WVduckchick]

Congrats on your hatch

Hope the rest wake up and get a move on fingers crossed

Thanks!

 

[scflock]

Oh, yes, I took off work again today. I'm so glad I did!!

Thank goodness for FMLA

 

[rossfam06]

You beat me to it...lol

No!! The NPIP tester that come to my house about 2 weeks ago tested my birds for AI which means I will have my cert for NPIP & AI clean birds. So it does help!!!!!

 

[scflock]

I see a few of the guys from the BCM thread dropping in and out. Anyone that wants to critique my bird feel free. I know he's off from posting in the other thread. I've had couple of people ask me about their birds, and I can offer a little, but not much. I wanted them to see what you guys are looking for. No one is going to hurt my feelings

 

[RubyNala97]

Chicken tv is getting exciting this morning. After no progression for about 28 hours, and no way I was going to open the lid, I decided my straw was my friend. I used it to flake the pieces off the first pipper. Wetted the membrane with a q-tip stuck in the straw. And decided that was as much as I could do. It finally started doing the rest. Its still working at this moment, but I believe its gonna make it. I decided I better type and get my hands out because pip #4 just became the #1 out! Yeah!! The one I helped is in the front - half-zipped. Its sooooo tiny!!

Yay!! You've got a baby!! How's blob doing? And what about the wrong end pipper?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I tend to thwart convention. In my forced air home made incubator, I aim for 100 degrees. My thermometers are calibrated to 100 degrees. I use a medical thermometer to calibrate, so am fairly certain that 100* is accurate. My hatches are good percentage 22/23/26 at last hatch with one stinker, one clear one mid and one late dead in shell. And at least 75% of my chicks hatch on day 21 with an occasional one before, and a few after. Never curled toes, hernias or unabsorbed yolks, or any other issues that might be associated with temp issues. The reason that I go a bit high is that IMO, if the temp fluctuates a degree up or down, 100 is a good starting point. But if I start at 99.5, and go low, I get down into what is IMO an unsafe low. Just my opinion. This has worked well for me.

I'd rather see mine at 100-100.5 rather than under 99.5.

I can't believe this but all 14 of my shipped barred EE eggs are viable and looking great at day 11. Shipped with no stickers about "this side up" and no "fragile" stickers. I know some of the extra eggs were 7 days or older. I'm shocked. And they were stacked in a box every which way but loose. Not big end up.

That's great!

I have drained the cyst 3 times now and the liquid is clear. It keeps coming back, so I have just left it for about a week this time. It doesn't seem to bother it. I am hoping whatever is causing it will grow out. The little chick is really friendly. We call her or him bubbles. I will take a picture of it tomorrow. I am wondering if it has something to do with the ear. Regarding vaccines I have only seen huge dose quantities at tsc.I haven't vaccinated any of mine. I should ask on the local fb page and see if any vaccinate in this area.

Still having a problem with that cyst?? Poor guy.

I've got a chick! Yay! For some reason I can't upload a pic right now but I'll try again later, my son is so chuffed he could see the chick before school

Congrats!

Awww I'm sorry to hear you had a rough hatch. Forgetting those fans must mean you are definitely working too hard! I hope you get to slow down soon

I'm still waiting for the first one to make it out. 5 pips right now. (3 cochin, 2 polish) the oldest is over 24 hours. Its still trying but keeps pushing through the same big mess of a hole on top of the egg. Just won't zip. Polish also has a big hole on top but wont zip. The floor pipper may have quit. I'm not positive yet. The 4th pip is a good pump knot, perfectly placed around 5 hours ago, and a new one about an hour ago. Sooooo....I.....watch......and.....wait.....
Yeah!! Congrats!! Looking forward to a pic!!

You are showing way too much blue girlfriend!! lol

I have ordered a spot check digital thermometer so I can check the accuracy of the bator thermo.


I totally understand and agree. The first hatches were the morning of Day 20. Unfortunately I didn't notice any issues with them when I went to bed the night of Day 22, and 11 were dead when I woke up. The other 5 that died in the brooder died, I believe, as a result of the stress I put them through (as you say).


Well, early on the morning of Day 20 I noticed my first pip, so I added water and got the humidity up to 77% quickly. That first pip hatched, and so did another 13. However, I kept my vent open, which I feel was a mistake. However, the humidity was good on Day 21 and on 22 it was ~65%. At that point I had 12 eggs left to hatch, and none had pips. When I woke on Day 23, the humidity was ~55%. Next hatch I definitely will leave the vent plug in and take chicks out as they dry. My Hovabator does recover well and quickly.


I use neither of those, but I can certainly see the reason for using them in the first few days. However, the reality in my case was that the chicks who died in the brooder did not drink or feed that I could see. I kept placing them standing on the food, and dipping their beaks in the water, but the ones who died didn't seem to catch on to what I was doing. Several were too weak to even stand well, and I often found them pushed up under things (like the water dish) or being stood on by other chicks. I will definitely get some for the next hatch.


I did have the vent opened...so it looks like I misunderstood your point about not opening the bator...open vent is good, opening the top is bad? I cleaned the bator using a pet-friendly spray, then rinsed it well, and let it sit out on the deck for 5-6 hours to dry. I couldn't smell any of the cleanser when I brought it back in. My water comes from my well, and there's never been any sort of issue with it that I could tell.


They are my project breed, a cross between a BCM roo, and red sex-link hens. I was told the roo is from prize-winning lines. The hens are from the local hatchery as "special dual-purpose" birds.

Thanks Amy for taking the time to pick through my setting so thoroughly.

When I move my chicks to the brooder I dip the beak (when I remember) in the water. (I really don't think it's neccessary, but I do it anyway...lol) and let them go. Some of them don't show any interest for a while. Some do. Usually once they are fluffed and moving well they make their way to the starter crumbles and will peck and eventually make their way to the water too.

I keep my vents open for the whole incubation. When they start hatching they need those open to keep fresh air coming in the bator. If you talk to those hands off people that like to scare the beejeezus out of new hatchers, they would say that opening the bator during hatch is death to the chicks. No. No no no no and again no!! If you have adequate humidity to begin with and you make sure you are timely and the bator recupes the humidity once you close it, it's improbable that it will effect anything. Even with a lower humidity, opening the incubator holds a low risk. Membranes do NOT just up and shrinkwrap in 30 seconds. If anything, opening the incubator during hatch is more likely to cause any exposed membranes to dry and become "sticky" causing them to glue the chicks in. There is a BIG difference between the membrane fully drying and shrinking around the chick than spots of the membrane drying causing them to stick to the chick. You said you did not open the bator at all and you had chicks not make it out. If you had opened the bator for 30 seconds all those hands off self righteous ones would immediately blame the opening of the bator for the reason why. What would be their excuse now that you did it the way they said? I believe that when someone doesn't know the explaination for a death and find out the hatcher opened the bator they automatically use that as an excuse and the fear is put into people. We don't always have the answer to why they die, but the need for an answer makes us place the blame on the wrong reason. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. So, in answer to your question in my opinion, yes, the vents need to be open and no, if you are taking the right preautions opening the bator is not a bad thing either. I'm not saying everone should open as much as me (I really am bad...lol) but neither should they be scared to death to open if they need to, or if they want to remove their chicks.

I would love to see you try the low humidity method from day one, using the air cells for guidance, and moving the chicks to the brooder as you feel comfortable doing and seeing what the results are. Not to make light of the deaths of chicks, but you can't do much worse than what's happening now. I would definitely use the spot check and do a salt check on the hygrometer.

Here's another question that likely has as many answers as how to incubate...how do you teach hatchling chicks to eat and drink? Mine are pecking at the wood chips right freaky beside the food dish...and to them, the food dish doesn't exist. And I have yet to see them drink from the water bowl. I have stood them on the food, spread some food where they are pecking, put food on clear surfaces...even when they do peck at the food, they immediately peck at wood chips again...sigh.

They will peck at the bedding from day one to the day they go to chick heaven. (In your case we need to extend that time beyond what it is now.) Chicks peck, that's just what they do. That's why you want to make sure that you are using a course pine bedding and not the fine sawdust type bedding. If you are really concerned you can lay papertowel or rubber shelf liner atop the bedding the first couple of days. (I don't, but many do.) Usually you just dip their beak when you first put them in and eventually they will get it and they will start to eat when they are ready.

Don't blame it on that. I got two outbursts in 2 weeks

I didn't really mean that to sound like "The time of the month" but more as a once in a period of time...lol And you did not. There was only the one. And it wasn't an outburst. Forgetting the red highlights in the hair? I just said I wasn't interacting any more for then. And I admitted I may have been a little oversensative right then.

Just shut up and hug me and move on before I smack you!!

Chicken tv is getting exciting this morning.
After no progression for about 28 hours, and no way I was going to open the lid, I decided my straw was my friend. I used it to flake the pieces off the first pipper. Wetted the membrane with a q-tip stuck in the straw. And decided that was as much as I could do.



It finally started doing the rest. Its still working at this moment, but I believe its gonna make it. I decided I better type and get my hands out because pip #4 just became the #1 out! Yeah!!



The one I helped is in the front - half-zipped.

Its sooooo tiny!!

Finally!!!!! Congrats!!

Congrats on your hatch

Hope the rest wake up and get a move on fingers crossed

xs 2

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank goodness for FMLA

No!! The NPIP tester that come to my house about 2 weeks ago tested my birds for AI which means I will have my cert for NPIP & AI clean birds. So it does help!!!!!

Yes, thats always a good thing and helps when selling. But I also had the same thought that once you invite them in they are like bad relatives that keep coming back and complicating things. If you're not on their list the chances of them imposing their authority over your flock is low. I see it as a big pro/con argument that can go back and forth with good arguements for both.

I see a few of the guys from the BCM thread dropping in and out. Anyone that wants to critique my bird feel free. I know he's off from posting in the other thread. I've had couple of people ask me about their birds, and I can offer a little, but not much. I wanted them to see what you guys are looking for. No one is going to hurt my feelings

Did that hurt?? No??? Let me try again.....

 

[scflock]

Yes, thats always a good thing and helps when selling. But I also had the same thought that once you invite them in they are like bad relatives that keep coming back and complicating things. If you're not on their list the chances of them imposing their authority over your flock is low. I see it as a big pro/con argument that can go back and forth with good arguements for both.

Did that hurt?? No??? Let me try again.....

All right, Campbell... you called down the thunder, well now you've got it! You see that? It says United States Marshal! Take a good look at him, Amy... 'cause that's how you're gonna end up! The Cowboys are finished, you understand? I see a red sash, I kill the man wearin' it! So run, you cur... RUN! Tell all the other curs the law's comin'! You tell 'em I'M coming... and h**l's coming with me, you hear?... H**l's coming with me!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

All right, Campbell... you called down the thunder, well now you've got it! You see that? It says United States Marshal! Take a good look at him, Amy... 'cause that's how you're gonna end up! The Cowboys are finished, you understand? I see a red sash, I kill the man wearin' it! So run, you cur... RUN! Tell all the other curs the law's comin'! You tell 'em I'M coming... and h**l's coming with me, you hear?... H**l's coming with me!

Apparently I too missed that movie...or didn't retain what I watched....lol