"Springing in the Chicks" 2016 April Hatch-a-Long Hosted by Mike & Sally

[chickendreams24]

I had a terrible hatch like that last year and it was because my temp was 98-99 I had chicks hatching a week late. Half of them  were DIS and I had to assist the others. Maybe your thermo is incorrect?

Thank you. Yes I thought of that before but they were both calibrated before the beginning of the hatch. The back up hygrometer was also calibrated before the hatch. So unless it randomly decided to uncalibrate itself it should have been accurate. I'm just not sure what caused it. Last hatch I had some eggs on the edge of the turner that never got rotated in and they were like this but this whole last hatch we were rotating the lid to heat all areas evenly. I'm not sure what to make of it. I wish I had answers.

 

[karenerwin]

Ugh it's been quite the weekend. The mystery hatch concluded this morning. My thermometer registered a 102* temp sometime in the night and all of the last 3 chicks(in eggs) were dis this morning. We didn't pull them out last night because they weren't yet ready. I guess they weren't meant to be but it still sucks and I still feel like I failed. Today is day 14 for some eggs and day 7 for others and because I'm a glutton for punishment I added more eggs to fill the turner today but because I couldn't decide on just 12 I added some extras too.

I still don't understand what caused their being so late. Some of the eggs were dated 3/23 I haven't set eggs that were more than ten days old before... But who knows with the fever. I also don't understand how they were so goopy when I incubated dry. That was my worst hatch ever and a complete disaster. Nearly every chick was malposotioned on top of it, and only one ever pipped, and it was in the wrong place and both an internal and external. I did eggtopsy most of the eggs and very few had absorbed their yolk sac. I also found a couple that I think had peritonitis. Their yolks seemed greenish-gray, does that sound like eyp?

I know how you feel. None of the 15 eggs I had hatched either. I know there were a couple days mid incubation that the incubator got to 102-103 because the outside temps were 80 - 88 degrees. when I got home from work I took the lid off to cool the temps back down, plus we had a lot of rain & the humidity on my dry incubation was around 30% to 40% a lot of the time.
I've never had none hatch before. I'm feeling very discouraged.

Good luck on your next try!

 

[weegarden]

I know how you feel. None of the 15 eggs I had hatched either. I know there were a couple days mid incubation that the incubator got to 102-103 because the outside temps were 80 - 88 degrees. when I got home from work I took the lid off to cool the temps back down, plus we had a lot of rain & the humidity on my dry incubation was around 30% to 40% a lot of the time.
I've never had none hatch before. I'm feeling very discouraged.

Good luck on your next try!

Sorry you guys. I hope your next hatch is a good one! It is so frustrating to wait all that time, and then lose them all.

 

[TJordan]

Tomorrow is last candle and LOCKDOWN !!!!

 

[chickendreams24]

Thank you all for your kind words really. It means a lot knowing that you all understand. This is only my second hatch that was a bust and my first was a very poorly packaged set(well two sets) of shipped eggs that the seller ignored my requests for being packed a certain way.

These eggs were our own and although we're having a few fertility problems currently due to our girls molting and not submitting to the roo I am sorely disappointed to have lost over 96 eggs. Really the number is probably closer to 120 after the eggs I added from the fridge, but many of those were old and not one did anything. I did my grieving for the losses and right now I feel well drained for one. The whole weekend was ups and downs while waiting for the eggs we thought were dead and had opened air cells to absorb their yolks and blood. It seemed like every time they got close to being ready they died. The chicks were beautiful and though a few were small and a couple had seemingly small legs proportionally they were all fully formed and most were very active in their eggs.

I'm not a fool I know there will almost always be losses. I understand and have come to terms with that. I don't like it but I know there isn't always anything I can do. I just feel like I could have done more. The whole hatch was buried in a mass grave today, something I hope we don't have to do again. After the eggtopsies I couldn't bring myself to throw out or compost the chicks, imagining the horror I would feel if we spread compost on the garden and found a chick skeleton. That's the part of hatching I think we all hate most probably is looking in those eggs we've been waiting on and finding out our waiting has been in vain and they have died.
I'm grateful to know people who understand the feelings when the hatch goes horribly wrong but I wish none of us had to. along with world peace.

Sorry for the rant. Just needed to vent. I would ever so much rather have those chicks running around the brooder(in the side room) I know we all would.

I spoke to several of the people from the WI thread and discovered that most of them incubate at 40-45% humidity. They're more North of me but how is it that I can run my humidity at 26%-30% and have big sticky wet gooey chicks?

After cleaning the bottom of the bator with alcohol and wash/rinsing well and drying it, I placed the turner and all the staggered eggs back inside, including the huge egg on the side.

This afternoon another egg in the turner was pushed into the large egg and basically shattered one side of it. I pulled it out and opened it... Ugh. I'm sure eggs get more rotten but it was on its way. The insides were so far gone nothing was discernable except icky gross slightly off yolk colored goo that had started to smell. Thankfully I can see no grossness in the bator but it smells badly. Should I be worried about the smell? Again the egg didn't leak or ooze and it did not explode. Do I need to re-clean the bator?

I have been doing a smell check when we turned it BC it was hard to candle. I haven't smelled anything off until now. I'm so glad that I was able get it out before it got to the point of exploding, but it was too far gone to tell if it was even a double yolk. I did see a couple somethings that looked like possible embryos but if so they were quite early. No evidence of veining was discernable. It was a mess a smelly smelly mess. Lol


Good luck to us all on our next hatches, may the make up for as bad as these were.

I know how you feel.  None of the 15 eggs I had hatched either.  I know there were a couple days mid incubation that the incubator got to 102-103 because the outside temps were 80 - 88 degrees.  when I got home from work I took the lid off to cool the temps back down, plus we had a lot of rain & the humidity on my dry incubation was around 30% to 40% a lot of the time.
I've never had none hatch before.  I'm feeling very discouraged.

Good luck on your next try!

Sorry you guys. I hope your next hatch is a good one! It is so frustrating to wait all that time, and then lose them all.

 

[Sueg4332]

Here is a basket o boys, all different colors of cockerels for cream legbar. There are more down patterns, but these are just a good example of the variety they can come in. These are from my flock.

 

[mlm Mike]

Messages will be sent to the winners and prize donators soon.​

​

Springing in the Chicks​

2016 April Hatch-a-Long ​

Hosted by Mike & Sally​

“Chick Mug Shots”​

Contest WINNERS!!!​

THANK YOU TO ALL Members who​

HAVE DONATED these PRIZES!!​

YOU MAKE THESE CONTESTS POSSIBLE!

​

​

1st Place​

@campingshaws ​

​

Prize​

6 Olive Egger Hatching eggs (LegbarXCuckoo Marans)​

& 6 Sapphire Super Layer Hatching Eggs​

(White Sapphire. 250 pale blue/light grey eggs per year)​

Donated by, @Sally Sunshine

​

​

2nd Place​

@harrellkd ​

​

Prize​

Iridescent Lime Carnival Glass “Hen on Nest”​

5 ⅛” x 2 ½” x 5”​

Donated by, @Sally Sunshine ​

​

​

​

THANK YOU TO ALL Members who​

HAVE DONATED these PRIZES!!YOU MAKE THESE CONTESTS POSSIBLE!​

 

[mlm Mike]

Messages will be sent to the Winners and Prize donators soon!​

​

Springing in the Chicks​

2016 April Hatch-a-Long ​

Hosted by Mike & Sally​

“Fowl Drawing/Painting”​

Contest WINNERS!!!​

THANK YOU TO ALL Members who​

HAVE DONATED these PRIZES!!​

YOU MAKE THESE CONTESTS POSSIBLE!

​

​

1st Place​

@Pipe Dreaming ​

​

Prize​

​

$50.00​

Michaels Gift Card​

Donated by, @kwhites634 ​

​

http://www.michaels.com​

2nd Place​

@mlbuttercup ​

​

Prize​

Royal & Langnickel® Deluxe Sketching Art Set,a couple of sketch pads & xtra colored pencils as well. The box is all ready to ship to the winner!! too!​

Item# 10147318​

​

Donated by, @Jessimom ​

This wonderful sketching set is ideal for the beginner, student or practicing artist. The amount and assortment of art supplies in this comprehensive 58-piece collection is outstanding! It features a wide variety of pencils, pastels and charcoals fitted into a convenient wooden storage box that has a handle for ease of use when traveling. It also features a large array of sketching tools and an assortment of accessories that all artists need to start experimenting or to refine their sketching talent. This is the perfect gift for an artist or serious art student.
http://www.michaels.com/10147318.html#start=15
Contents:​

• 12 graphite pencils​
• 6 compressed graphite sticks​
• 6 compressed charcoal sticks​
• 12 compressed color sticks​
• 4 pastel pencils​
• 4 vine charcoal​
• 3 charcoal pencils​
• 3 blending stumps​
• 1 sketching pad (5” x 7”)​
• 1 mannequin​
• 1 ruler (6")​
• 1 sanding block​
• 1 sharpener​
• 1 white eraser​
• 1 kneaded eraser​
• 1 wooden storage box with hinged lid and handle​

​

3rd Place​

@dragonbird ​

​

Prize​

A Beautiful hand turned corn cob Pen​

donated by @Pensmaster​

​

​

THANK YOU TO ALL Members who​

HAVE DONATED these PRIZES!!YOU MAKE THESE CONTESTS POSSIBLE!​

 

[mlm Mike]

Messages will be sent to the Winners and Prize Donators Soon!​

​

Springing in the Chicks​

2016 April Hatch-a-Long ​

Hosted by Mike & Sally​

“Selfies with Fowl”​

Contest WINNERS!!!​

THANK YOU TO ALL Members who​

HAVE DONATED these PRIZES!!​

YOU MAKE THESE CONTESTS POSSIBLE!​

​

​

1st Place​

@shahtir101 ​

​

Prize​

12+ Silkie Hatching Eggs!​

Donated by, @Jessimom

​

2nd Place​

@Scovy Momma ​

​

Prize​

Chicken Shaped Silver Tone Wire Egg Collecting Basket​

11.4" x 7.1" x 9.8" (eggs NOT included)


​

Donated by, @Sally Sunshine ​

​

THANK YOU TO ALL Members who​

HAVE DONATED these PRIZES!!YOU MAKE THESE CONTESTS POSSIBLE!​

 

[Bantambird]

my Cream Legbars are A and B lines, bought from Ewecrazy farms.