The 5th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[MontanaDolphin]

Ok, so I'm supposed to lock down this morning. I candled and traced air cells...BUT...only a handful of the eggs have "drawn down"...do I still transfer them to the hatcher? Or do I wait for draw down?

 

[chicken pickin]

Ok, so I'm supposed to lock down this morning. I candled and traced air cells...BUT...only a handful of the eggs have "drawn down"...do I still transfer them to the hatcher? Or do I wait for draw down?

do you have a pic of the drawn air cell line?

 

[MontanaDolphin]

do you have a pic of the drawn air cell line?

First pic is the non-draw down, second is one that has dipped.

 

[chicken pickin]

Both of those eggs air cells look fine to me for lockdown.

 

[Pozees]

Good and very bad news in this hatch.

#1 is healthy and fluffy still in the bator awaiting the brooder transfer

#2 is healthy and drying off although dragging the umbical cord around... don't really know what to do with that

#3 now named Matilda Cooper stopped breathing in the middle of hatching not sure why but she sisnt make it. She is going to be hurried somewhere nice on the property in the morning. R.I.P.

#4 is out and drying also

#5 is procrastinating in the egg still

And 3 eggs still no pips. Is it safe after the rest are hatched and in the brooder to candle them for movement/internal pips? Or should I just let them be?

Yes, go ahead and candle, some are just slow to hatch and some die right around day 18. If the latter is the case, may as well shut down and clean the hatcher. #2 will lose the cord pretty quickly, if not you can trim with clean, sharp scissors when moving to brooder if it's dry.

You guys are always so chatty!

So its Wednesday morning in the USA and 6 PM in the Phils

HAL eggs went into lockdown.

We have had big storms rroll through with the RH not below 90% for 14 days - 7 of which the dehumidifier was non operational.

We will hatch chicks - I am just not sure how many.

Our roof took damage and here is our pristine beach

I cannot even fathom 90% RH. Looking forward to your totals, I'm curious to know how many hatch despite humidity fluctuations. Next thing I'm going to track is freshness of eggs based on size of air cell at set - my own I always know how fresh they are as I date every egg collected, shipped eggs I determine based on air cell size.

Both of those eggs air cells look fine to me for lockdown.

I agree.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Both of those eggs air cells look fine to me for lockdown.

Ok, I'm just worried because that first air cell is just a circle around the top...nothing dips down lower. Lemme get a better pic.

 

[ozexpat]

Yes, go ahead and candle, some are just slow to hatch and some die right around day 18. If the latter is the case, may as well shut down and clean the hatcher. #2 will lose the cord pretty quickly, if not you can trim with clean, sharp scissors when moving to brooder if it's dry.
I cannot even fathom 90% RH. Looking forward to your totals, I'm curious to know how many hatch despite humidity fluctuations. Next thing I'm going to track is freshness of eggs based on size of air cell at set - my own I always know how fresh they are as I date every egg collected, shipped eggs I determine based on air cell size.

I agree.

Prior to running the dehumidifier I was getting a reduction in hatch rates of about 50% accross the board - Local eggs were 45% Shipped eggs 20% Even broodies could only get a 60% hatch rate.

With dehumidifier the rates double - well except the broody LOL

Egg freshness is probably the biggest impact on shipped egg hatchability. Small air cells are hard to damage.

I will repost my mini-research questions every few hours over the next few days.

 

[chicken pickin]

Ok, I'm just worried because that first air cell is just a circle around the top...nothing dips down lower. Lemme get a better pic.

It should hatch just fine. I just had a Cream Legbar chick hatch out a few days ago and the aircell of her egg was closer to the second to bottom line you have drawn on yours. I didn't think the chick would hatch from that egg but low and behold she is here.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Since we are on a roll for Thank You's............

A HUGE Thank You to Sally and Mike for helping me with this Hatch-a-long. I truly could not do it without them! Not to mention the fun of making Sally think she had a Stalker!

A round of applause and thank you to Ron for his time in putting the Daily Digest together every day. It's not easy to keep up with this thread!

Thank You to everyone that donated a prize - all of the contests could not happen without you!

And lastly, thank you to everyone that joins us for this crazy hatch! It is wonderful to have so much hatching experience here! And for those new to hatching, I hope you get all the help you need!

Thank you so much Happy Chooks! and your very welcome for accepting the terror of having a stalker!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

TO SALLY AND HAPPY CHOOKS AND EVERYONE ELSE THAT DID SUCH A GREAT JOB ON THIS HAL!!!

I can't wrap my arms around you enough to show how grateful I am to all of the help, fun, and games. All I can say is WOW! You all put a lot into this. Sally, Ron, Happy Chooks, Mickey, Gardingmama...Nifty Chicken for keeping this nice big BYC going. You and others that I probably am not even aware of! Thank you!!

how cool is that!!

My last chick that hatched is still attached to its egg by the umbilical... will it just detach on its own or do i need to do something. I know with cats and dogs and such you cut and clamp but i dont know with chickens

pictures can help us help you better