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
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
