Some Hatched; Some didn't make it... Our saga...

[JillsChicks]

I've hardly slept and barely eaten for two days... Here's how our hatch went:

Two days ago, one little peep pipped and hatched. "She" was very active and rammed around the incubator peeping, sleeping, peeping again. She knocked into eggs right and left, but I was determined not to open the incubator as I have been instructed. We called her "Prima."

Yesterday we successfully hatched five eggs. Our two blue/green eggs hatched black and white chicks - smaller than the yellow chicks and quicker at getting up and around. We think they are Araucana/Black Australorps. Their names are "General Lee" and "Dottie."

Three little yellow chicks came yesterday too. "Buffy," "Golden" and "No Name" (though my husband suggests 'Buck, Buck..")

Two other eggs pipped but did not make it. One cheeped for over 24 hours, but never chipped its shell around. I tried taking a little shell with tweezers and wetting the membrane with a drop of water, then put him back in the incubator. Later I noticed how wet everything looked in the hole. When I lifted him out to check him a lot of yellow liquid seeped out and I suspected an incomplete absorption of the yolk. Hours later we tried to chip the circle for him and more yellow poured out. When we set the egg down he came out, but with the yolk on the outside of his abdomen and also two loops of intestine. I took photos and will post them if someone wants me to - BUT MY KODAK EASY SHARE SAYS I HAVE NO PICS IN MY CAMERA and WON't TRANSFER FOR ME!!! What's going on? Does anybody know?!

The second egg had gotten knocked around when the chicks were moving about the incubator. It had pipped and turned over and dried out. I left it until today, but got no response when i picked it up and touched the chick, so I opened it up. Another incomplete yolk absorption, but not as bad as the last one... I have kept my humidity at 80%and temps at 99.5... My other chicks did well...

Today two chicks - one black with white wing tips and one yellow came along - "Rocky (or Betty Boop if it's a hen) and "Feathers." Tonite one more egg is rocking - I hope it's a good hatch.

I have learned that chicks do a number rolling unhatched eggs around... Should one have another incubator next door to put the chicks in and leave the other eggs in peace? Also, the chicks kept burning their beaks and heads on the heating elements in my incubator, so I took then out as soon as they we're not sopping wet anymore. Anyone else have this problem?

I found that using a red heat lamp makes for happier chicks - they pecked each other a lot under the regular light bulb. My husband says the place looks like a red light district...

I'm dying to post my pics. Will try to look for my manual. Bye, Ann

 

[silkiechicken]

Since you had unasorbed yolks, I would try upping the incuabtor temp half a degree. You may also try rotating eggs from edges to center. As for the current chicks. I would push in their yolk sacs and intestines and see if you can't get them to stay in. Good luck.

 

[fowlweatherfriends]

Hi, So, on the 2 that had incomplete yolk absorbtion, did they die or make it?

 

[hisbride]

did you find your user's guide?
Under cannot transfer pictures it says in my book that it it because the software is not installed or not installed correctly. I hope you figure it out. Sorry about the chicks that didn't do well.

 

[JillsChicks]

Good Morning -

Funny story - last evening we had to leave home for my son's last Little League baseball game - I couldn't miss it... For the first hour we were there I had this terrible sinking, fainting feeling muck akin to what we moms felt the first time we left our newborn babies with a sitter. I had to walk around to the snack bar and unload on the folks working there who have chickens too. They were so patient to listen to me. I just couldn't believe how nervous I was to leave them.

The heat lamp is working beautifully. The chicks don't peck each other nearly as much as they did with the white bulb. My house was a little chilly this morning, but they were all nestled under the lamp happily without crowding each other or piling up.

Chick with the crooked legs looks nearly normal today! We weighed our chicks and several lost a couple of grams since yesterday. I'm guessing this is normal.

The chicks with the unabsorbed yolks - The live one with the intestines out we culled as I never knew that they could possibly survive. The other one was dead as it had pipped but never hatched. I've read up on taping the sac in and hoping; if I have another I'll try that.

Eight eggs still sitting in the incubator on day 23. My humidity went down to 58% during the night! Yikes. I had left it at 80% at midnight... but by 5:30 a.m. that was the reading. I'm glad no one pipped. I'll also up the temp slightly now.

Thanks for the advice on the camera and chicks. I haven't gotten the camera to work yet. A girlfriend is bringing her manual over today. Ann