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

[Cockatrice6420]

R.I.P. Burn Baby...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

how do I open them? Its going to be gross! But I guess no grosser than gutting a deer. Which I hope we will be doing soon!

I candle first check for any signs of life. I also candle at lockdown so I know that all my chicks made it that far, so they should developed. I tap into the air cell to double check viability and then I preceede to remove the shell in the same manner I do for assists until I can remove the chick.

What is the latest date that everyone has hatched successfully? 2 days after? 3 days after?

My very first hatch was compromised by a very "off" thermometer. My very first hatcher was 3 days late. Hatched day 24. BUT he is my "special needs" roo. As he grew his leg issue became apparent, but it was imperceptible as a young chick. I also had one hatch out on day 25, but was very weak and did not survive the first 24 hours.

 

[WVduckchick]

Maybe I need to be more selective about the eggs I put in. I think I am going to hit up a store today for a thermometer for a green house.

I knew my duck were late hatchers, because I had a power outage over 24 hours in the middle of my hatch, but I just went back and figured up, and my first hatchers were on day 29, one on day 30, and one on day 31.

 

[WVduckchick]

I knew my duck were late hatchers, because I had a power outage over 24 hours in the middle of my hatch, but I just went back and figured up, and my first hatchers were on day 29, one on day 30, and one on day 31. 

My bad. I counted day 14 twice, because that was my power outage day, so I reality, the hatches were on day 30, 31 and 32!

 

[meganhundley]

In the mean time, you could try some fermented feed.  You don't even have to make a full sized batch, just any size container will do, only 1/2 full.  If you cover it at all, do so very loosely.  It gasses out!  In the winter, I switch back and forth, depending on how beastly cold it is.  
Yeah... you know they got "tude" when they look you in the eye when you reprimand them.  Jack... that boy's got tude.  But he's for the most part good.  He'll be thundering across the lawn to do the deed on one of the underlings.  All I have to do is take a step in his direction, and say, "Jack, NO!"  He'll stop, give me that "You talking to me?" look, take a peck on the ground and move on to more important things.  Little Man is such a hot ticket that I'm breaking my do not handle rule with him.  I snatch him up for a wattle massage when ever I can catch him.  Trying a little roo experiment to see if handling does make a difference in aggression tendencies.  He is a bit of a pecker.

That's not a reason to be excluded from the ship-a-thon.  But, shipped eggs are harder.

I wish you the best on your deer hunt!

I'd give it 2 more days.  Since you've not had success with hatches, perhaps your temp is off.  

Roscoe does that, lol, I'll repremand him for picking on the hens and he'll just stop and look me right in the eye, just like you said, like are you talking to me? Lol. That's the Nanny roo I was telling y'all about a while back, he'll grab the hens by the back of their heads and pen their heads to the ground while he's standing in front of them. He's also the 1 that loves to sit and just stare at me. He doesn't want to be touched but every now and then he'll get in a trance like state and I can pet his comb for a few seconds or scratch his chest but after a few seconds he realizes what I'm doing and takes a step back. But for the most part he'd rather sit and stare at me than be with the hens lol. He's an odd 1. Roscoe is definitely 1 of my favorites.

 

[RubyNala97]

Personally, I don't worry about what my roo eats.  He eats layer if that's what the flock eats.  He eats Multi-flock or starter if that's what they're currently getting.  But, my chickens are more utilitarian.  I plan to eat them when they are not producing.  I will also be replacing my roo in a couple of years, b/c it'll be time to stir up the gene pool by then.  The one thing I do is ferment my feed, what ever it is.  My flock does great with fermented feed, and lay sooner and better than the flocks of my friends who do not ferment.

Yup, I do the fermented feed too. They love it!

Put some feed in a bucket (no more than 1/2 full)  Add enough water to make it the consistency of cooked oatmeal.  Stir several times/day.  Do not cover it.  It will eventually start bubbling like yeast will when you're making bread.  When it reaches this point, it's ready to feed.  (usually 2 - 4 days).  I keep 2 buckets going.  Never completely empty a bucket, so there will be some culture to start the next batch.  After the first ferment, the successive batches will be ready in about 24 hours.  There are several fermented feed threads if you have further questions.

I thought it had to have a cover? I've been doing mine in a large mason jar with the cap on. Am I doing it wrong?

R.I.P. Burn Baby...

No way! I was hoping he'd come home! So sorry, Ravyn. That's just terrible!!

yea I suck at incubating lol. Maybe February will be better. Not sure if anyone will want to trade with me for the hatch a long now lol

We will all support you to get you a good hatch! I had 32 eggs in 6 weeks and only 3 hatched!! It happens!! But I didn't give up and had my best hatch yet. So please don't give up.

Day 30 just started 30 min ago. I could do an eggtopsy... is an empty stomach better?

I don't think your eggs were full, were they? When you candled, was most of the egg dark? Candle in a dark room and look for red veins, and the outline of the duckling. And the float test is a good idea if they were fully developed at lockdown.

I candled mine again today (from inside the bator without moving them ) and 1 more had quit but all the others looked excellent from what I could tell. I was actually supposed to candle for real again yesterday since it was day 14 but since I had been candling so much over the last week and a half I didn't really see any point in it. But I am going to candle again on Wednesday (day 18 ) and then lockdown... and handcuff myself to a chair til day 21.

Great job! You go girl! I'm proud of you!!

 

[meganhundley]

Yup, I do the fermented feed too. They love it!
I thought it had to have a cover? I've been doing mine in a large mason jar with the cap on. Am I doing it wrong?
No way! I was hoping he'd come home! So sorry, Ravyn. That's just terrible!!
We will all support you to get you a good hatch! I had 32 eggs in 6 weeks and only 3 hatched!! It happens!! But I didn't give up and had my best hatch yet. So please don't give up.
I don't think your eggs were full, were they? When you candled, was most of the egg dark? Candle in a dark room and look for red veins, and the outline of the duckling. And the float test is a good idea if they were fully developed at lockdown.
Great job! You go girl! I'm proud of you!!

Lol, it was hard to not pick them up but atleast I knew they were all still growing except that 1 quitter

 

[RubyNala97]

Lol, it was hard to not pick them up but atleast I knew they were all still growing except that 1 quitter

Exactly! I really wanted my last eggs to hatch after those bad batches. And I had to get my candling fix somehow...so I was happy just to see veins and occasionally movement without touching them.

 

[RubyNala97]

My run is officially winterized. Spoiled silkies!

 

[kwhites634]

My run is officially winterized. Spoiled silkies!

Wanna come do mine?