Thank you all so much! This board has been a true life saver. I did lose a chick (the first one) that was upside down. It cracked the egg but never got a hole. After almost a whole day with no progress I tried to intervene but it died. It seems oversized. I mean after it was gone, I removed the shell to try and see what went wrong. It was turned away from the air hole and it was HUGE! Probably 1/3 to 50% bigger than the two peeps I have running around the bator now. It was crammed in so tight that as I removed shell its body was practically spilling out all sides.
Four more eggs pipped last night. Two of them have hatched and I got one hatch on video. It was breathtaking. As a Christian, I am astounded at the intricate balance of life. These chicks have been an incredibly heart warming experience.
It began as a homeschool project. Now my hubby (the most wonderfully indulgent man on earth) has offered to build a coop so I can keep these and raise more, lol.
I had two others that have gone 24 hours without progress from the initial pip. I broke down just now and zipped the shells and put them back. The one peeped a few times, but the other was singing away the whole time. I think they are having humidity probs. I didn't know when I started to have a hatcher so they hatched in the bator and the two were not drying so I turned the humidity down a bit. Now the membranes on the other two were very dry. Since I couldn't stop the two babies from climbing in the water pan and standing on each other's heads (I swear they're trying to drown one another, lol) I finally just moved them to the brooder so they could dry. Now I have the humidity up to 75 in the bator again so hopefully these last two moisten up and join their siblings.
Thanks again for the wealth of knowledge here. This board made those little peeps possible!
Four more eggs pipped last night. Two of them have hatched and I got one hatch on video. It was breathtaking. As a Christian, I am astounded at the intricate balance of life. These chicks have been an incredibly heart warming experience.
It began as a homeschool project. Now my hubby (the most wonderfully indulgent man on earth) has offered to build a coop so I can keep these and raise more, lol.
I had two others that have gone 24 hours without progress from the initial pip. I broke down just now and zipped the shells and put them back. The one peeped a few times, but the other was singing away the whole time. I think they are having humidity probs. I didn't know when I started to have a hatcher so they hatched in the bator and the two were not drying so I turned the humidity down a bit. Now the membranes on the other two were very dry. Since I couldn't stop the two babies from climbing in the water pan and standing on each other's heads (I swear they're trying to drown one another, lol) I finally just moved them to the brooder so they could dry. Now I have the humidity up to 75 in the bator again so hopefully these last two moisten up and join their siblings.
Thanks again for the wealth of knowledge here. This board made those little peeps possible!