Swedish Flower Hen Thread

[OldChurchEggery1]

wlhtx, that sounds exciting! I've never candled for internal pips to know the interval between that and external pipping, but I imagine it wouldn't be a long one. Sometimes mine have taken up to 24 hours from pipping externally to completely hatching, so my guess would be that the internal to external pip interval would be significantly less, like maybe 6-12 hours? Just a guess so if I'm off I'll have to plead my ignorance.

My SFH eggs are on day 16 right now and due to hatch at some point late Sunday. There are 18 that have made it to this point and seeing as I've taken off work Monday next week, my daughter and I will probably get to see some SFH popcorn popping!

 

[dbarjacres]

Bulldogma thanks so much for the offer. I may take you up on that in a couple months. My heart is not in hatching right now and we are going on a trip in 4 weeks. The chick that did hatch on day 21 after pipping early on 20. Finally took its first steps yesterday. It looks and acts like a newborn vs 3 days old, he layer curled in one spot in the incubator for 2 days. I'm feeding him with some watery gruel from a small syringe.

 

[ki4got]

So, yesterday was Day 19 for me and per several comments I've read on here, I waited until yesterday to put them on lockdown. (Though I have a Reptipro incubator, so "lockdown" is a relative term for me since my bator doesn't have vents and still has to be periodically opened for air exchange.) Anyways, I took a quick peek at a few of them to check air cells, etc. and found that several had already internally pipped. Because of this, I didn't look at all 33 because I was afraid I'd mess up any others that had already internally pipped. About how quickly after internal pips are you guys seeing external pips? A day?

Today's Day 20 and I'll be home late. DH is on watch duty! (Though I'm still thinking tomorrow will be the big day.)

internal pip is usually on day 19 external pip on 20 and hatch on 21. USUALLY,. there are exceptions and those who follow their own schedules LOL

 

[ki4got]

wlhtx, that sounds exciting! I've never candled for internal pips to know the interval between that and external pipping, but I imagine it wouldn't be a long one. Sometimes mine have taken up to 24 hours from pipping externally to completely hatching, so my guess would be that the internal to external pip interval would be significantly less, like maybe 6-12 hours? Just a guess so if I'm off I'll have to plead my ignorance.

My SFH eggs are on day 16 right now and due to hatch at some point late Sunday. There are 18 that have made it to this point and seeing as I've taken off work Monday next week, my daughter and I will probably get to see some SFH popcorn popping!

internal pip, they are still utilizing the network of blood vessels to get O2 but at the same time learning to use their lungs... usually about 24 hours or so before the lungs have kicked in and the blood vessels start retracting. it's lack of oxygen that causes the reflex that makes the initial pip.

 

[TRUE5]

I didn't think to do a follow up on some advice about hatching. I asked the best way to hatch SFH eggs and the majority of you suggested the dry hatch. Well, out of the 8 that went into lockdown I had 8 hatch! That was with the dry method. They are now about 1 1/2 weeks old but getting so big already! Thank you all for the great advice! I appreciate it!

 

[wlhtx]

internal pip is usually on day 19 external pip on 20 and hatch on 21.  USUALLY,. there are exceptions and those who follow their own schedules LOL

Fantastic! Thank you ma'am!

 

[OHfarmerswife]

Hatch update!
10 hatched add of last night, with 1 zipped.
Decided to go to bed & leave it alone!
This am chick was still not hatched & not moving as much. Chick was stuck to the membrane, decided after reading links suggested by members here to assist the hatch.
Vessels had dried, thank goodness.
Finally she was out. Left get on the incy for a few hours.
She has been moved to the brooder with the other babies, but her feathers are stiff!

I still have 4 eggs yet to hatch, but no pipps!
Today is day 22.
Any suggestions?

 

[HaplessRunner]

Hatch update!
10 hatched add of last night, with 1 zipped.
Decided to go to bed & leave it alone!
This am chick was still not hatched & not moving as much. Chick was stuck to the membrane, decided after reading links suggested by members here to assist the hatch.
Vessels had dried, thank goodness.
Finally she was out. Left get on the incy for a few hours.
She has been moved to the brooder with the other babies, but her feathers are stiff!

I still have 4 eggs yet to hatch, but no pipps!
Today is day 22.
Any suggestions?

You are doing good! I would candle the remaining eggs to see if there has been an internal pip. You can also tap on the egg and listen to see hear any cheeping. Between these two you will have a good idea where you stand. Hopefully the other four will come along. Even if the others do not hatch, you have already had a great hatch for shipped eggs. Eleven out of fifteen is darned good!

 

[OHfarmerswife]

You are doing good!  I would candle the remaining eggs to see if there has been an internal pip.  You can also tap on the egg and listen to see hear any cheeping.  Between these two you will have a good idea where you stand.  Hopefully the other four will come along.  Even if the others do not hatch, you have already had a great hatch for shipped eggs.  Eleven out of fifteen is darned good!

Thanks for the kind words...but I started with 24 eggs.....only 15 made it to lock down.

I have more SFH & CCL coming tomorrow....am definitely doing a dry hatch!

 

[HaplessRunner]

Thanks for the kind words...but I started with 24 eggs.....only 15 made it to lock down.

I have more SFH & CCL coming tomorrow....am definitely doing a dry hatch!

Ah... but I think you still have to account accordingly. If an egg is clear through Day 7 -10 time frame, then it was not fertile. So infertile eggs do not count against hatching percentages. Ya jes caint hech an enfutearl aig!!!

If the egg began to develop, resulted in a blood ring, or otherwise, that would count against your percentage, even though it was no fault of yours. Shipping can be very hard on eggs and to get 11/24 for shipped eggs is still doing pretty good. I have had shipped eggs that resulted in 2/20, 1/8, 5/9, 1/12, 0/14, etc., hatches. My results were very disheartening but were in line with what many others experience with shipped eggs.