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

[TJChickens]

i tried this but it didnt work. he just lay there and didnt even try to move. he is so small. i dont think he is going to make it. all the others are fine, including the other chick with crooked toes. he gets around just as well as the chicks with good feet. i think he will heal fine, but im worried about the little guy.

Even if the chick with crooked toes gets around fine now, it usually gets worse as they get older until their feet are really clubbed and it can mess up their tendons too. Really easy to treat at this young age and doesn't take long. I highly recommend fixing the toes. When you say the other little guy just lays there, do you mean because of the hobbles? For now, instead of the hobbles, You might try bolstering his body in such a way that his legs are under him with supports all around him and a lid of water in front of him. If he's too active for that, you can try making little hills and folds in the towel or non skid stuff. Hard to explain...like an accordian. So that anytime he settles, he will be between hills/folds....After a couple days of eating and growing, you can try the hobbles again. It does take a little while for them to get used to. I usually make them too loose and tighten them up gradually.
Good luck with them

 

[polishsilkie81]

Whoooohooooo!!!!

Thank you I'm so excited I thought after the power outage all was a loss even if I get one I'll be happy but can't count my chicks before they hatch hahaha

no sleep for me will be at starring at my incubator all night now

 

[Whoops]

Well, my pipped eggs aren't doing anything and I am fighting the urge to mess with them. I have run out of materials to make dog collars to distract myself. I think I will go to bed, lie there, frozen, holding my breath in anticipation of any cheeping or noise from the eggs.

 

[TJChickens]

Shoot I did what she did and put corn starch on mine too tonight. Should I go buy Betadine tomorrow for it?

The sooner the better for trying not to let bacteria in...Even antibiotic ointment or Vetricyn...you probably have something around that would work fine.

 

[MaineiacJay]

Even if the chick with crooked toes gets around fine now, it usually gets worse as they get older until their feet are really clubbed and it can mess up their tendons too. Really easy to treat at this young age and doesn't take long. I highly recommend fixing the toes. When you say the other little guy just lays there, do you mean because of the hobbles? For now, instead of the hobbles, You might try bolstering his body in such a way that his legs are under him with supports all around him and a lid of water in front of him. If he's too active for that, you can try making little hills and folds in the towel or non skid stuff. Hard to explain...like an accordian. So that anytime he settles, he will be between hills/folds....After a couple days of eating and growing, you can try the hobbles again. It does take a little while for them to get used to. I usually make them too loose and tighten them up gradually.
Good luck with them

with both chicks, i made splints from tape to straighten the feet. the big chick is fine with them and he walks 100% better with the splints than without. i did the same thing with the little guy and it seemed to help him at first, but then he started getting gradually weaker and then his legs started going in different directions which is my problem now, so i used more tape to bind them in the right position (but still loose enough he can walk). but at this point, he seems so weak that he doesnt even try to walk or stand and just lays there. ill try your suggestion. he isnt active at all anymore, so maybe if i used a cup or something that could work. ill see what i can do. thank you for your suggestion! this is my first hatch so this stuff is all new to me. SO thankful for the internet!

this is the little guy with his splints. he got around fine, but then i came home and he was sprawled out =( he is just so small...

 

[tnspursfan09]

So tired that I posted this on tofh thread by mistake. I've had two die after pipping, four or five pip in the last hour and this little guy.

 

[TJChickens]

with both chicks, i made splints from tape to straighten the feet. the big chick is fine with them and he walks 100% better with the splints than without. i did the same thing with the little guy and it seemed to help him at first, but then he started getting gradually weaker and then his legs started going in different directions which is my problem now, so i used more tape to bind them in the right position (but still loose enough he can walk). but at this point, he seems so weak that he doesnt even try to walk or stand and just lays there. ill try your suggestion. he isnt active at all anymore, so maybe if i used a cup or something that could work. ill see what i can do. thank you for your suggestion! this is my first hatch so this stuff is all new to me. SO thankful for the internet!

I didn't realize at first that you had already taped their feet. I just now found your original post

You know, we just try whatever we can that seems to make sense until we hit on things that seem to work! Maybe you can put a little Grogel or boiled egg yolk in front of him for more of a boost...maybe some sugar water....
Good luck with them!

 

[roostereggs]

I processed for the first time tonite with dh and our neighbor!!!

Our NYE hatch-a-long roos are getting big and there are 7 roos to 7 pullets in the run and it is just too much for the poor pullets. So I pulled the biggest two that I wasn't planning on breeding anyways. The hardest part of it was sitting there in the coop talking to them and making the decision of who and how many to process.

It was easy after watching the neighbor do his...and I am so proud of myself because I really didn't think I could do it! But I did the biggest one myself.

Dh was surprised that I did, but like I said...it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated! Not traumatized, but it will be strange going out in the a.m. and not seeing them there. *sigh*

Easter dinner will be delish!

 

[MaineiacJay]

Thank you. I'm so soft hearted, I can't give up on him. This winter was absolutely brutal and claimed about 7 of my chickens and my two mallards. I had a roo that was seeming very lethargic and so I checked him over and found his ankles swollen and his feet black. They were frost bitten. We nursed him back to health, gave him baby Tylenol for any pain he may have and now we have a rooster with no feet. His name is frosty. He gets around well but I'm sure anyone else would have just put him down but I didn't have the heart to do that. Maybe half the chicks from this hatch are his.

Anyways, the little guy is in a cup near the water now, I also put a different hobble on in case he hops out of that. I'll check on him again in the morning. Crossing my fingers he makes it

Here is the other guy with the splints. He runs around like there is nothing wrong with him at all

 

[SilkieSensation]

Day 2 of Easter 2014 Hatch Madness: I have lost count of how many have hatched...LOL I have about a dozen hatched from the first batch set to hatch 2 days early, none of the Easter batch has popped yet & I have another entire bator full set for the 21st that needs to find space in the hatcher. These chicks in Batch 1 better hurry up. Batch 3 needs the space!!! I am expecting to have 80-100 babies from the 3 batches once all is done.

You can't lose count, we need the total chicks hatched!

I think you made a good call. Keep us posted, I think the bleeding should clot though.

Ditto.

No pips yet I think I have a dead hatch no movement and hatch day is tomorrow pray for the babies and me I don't know what I would do if none hatched

Don't give up! If your temps are low, they will be late.

[COLOR=333333]POTENTIAL WEEPING EGG QUESTION? Hi, everyone! Quick question from a virgin incubatress (me!): We are on day 20 in lockdown with everything looking good in terms of temp and humidity in our Brinsea Octagon 20. One Welsummer egg has a tiny amber colored drop on the outside, but no sign of pipping, and by tiny I mean like the size of a pinhead. When we went into lockdown we were having a very hard time seeing through the eggshells, but none of the ones we left in smelled suspicious, so even if the candling was inconclusive, we left the eggs. Our 21st day becomes complete Saturday night around 8PM. So far, no one is pipping. Advice? Thanks in advance and love seeing everyone's pictures in the 5th BHC Hatch-Along![/COLOR]

I'd take it out. I can candle welsummers with a very very bright light.

Okay here is chick #2 that I had to cornstarch it's umbilical area frantically. It's not dripping and the chick is acting totally fine. Is it okay in the bator or should I put it in something on it's own?

Okay is that a prolapsed vent??? Is that what it is? I see a white dot which isn't that usually a penis or something when you vent sex??

It will be fine where it is, you have a soft bottom in the incubator. Should heal up for you quickly.

[COLOR=800080]Ahhhhh!!!! I just put my ear against the nest box and I heard a chick chirping!!!!![/COLOR] e e [COLOR=800080]I am so excited... I am shaking!![/COLOR]

Yay!

I'm 300 posts behind...ahhh...no way I'm catching up, so sorry if I don't reply to anything directed to me!!! Congrats to everyone who has chicks hatching!! My nose has been stuck to my bator since I got home this morning, with chicks popping out one right after the other. So far 3 of 4 Mille Fleur, 5 of 7 Silkies and/or Silkie/Polish crosses, and 3 of 4 Seramas. All other bantams have pipped, and one Cochin mix as well as an EE has pipped. The Seramas didn't hatch well, AT ALL. The first two came out with HUGE bellies...like a LF egg yolk was in there! I have no idea what is going on...they couldn't even stand without rolling over onto their backs, because their bellies got in the way. The third one to hatch did so too early...when it came out of the shell, its navel was BLEEDING!!! I quickly opened the bator, grabbed the baby, and rushed to my kitchen where I slathered corn starch on it. When I looked at the inside of the shell, there was blood in it! Is this normal? For a chick to hatch when it wasn't ready??? I currently have the chick in a coffee cup in my second incubator. It is just laying on its back, all curled in a ball as if it was still inside the shell.

I've had a chick like the one in the cup. It was fine with rest, but it took a day. I've not had the floppy chicks, but it won't hurt them to be on their back.

ok. I need opinions. Leave them in incubator or move to brooder? I don't want to hurt the eggs who are still pipping

If your humidity is high, you can do a fast grab. Have someone else open and close the lid while you grab chicks. Only take out dry chicks and don't do it if anyone is zipping.

1st two out- olive egger and one of the coronation Sussex. One zipped and resting, several pipped and chirping. So very happy! Thanks so much to the three of you leading this HAL and to so many more of you for the vast knowledge.

You are welcome! So many folks here have a wealth of hatching knowledge!

So how long does it normally take them to fluff up? My first one out still isn't 100% dry. And it hatched 5hrs ago.

Depends on the incubator. No fan - it can take a while. Fan - usually pretty quick. If they are sticky, they can look wet, but are dry.

I think my sick chick has sour crop. Her crop is huge and squishy. But no smelly face or tenderness. Would it be Sour crop or could it just be a side effect of being without food and water? She is acting back to normal running around, eating and drinking and pooping normally. Except for that crop

Sour crop usually has a fowl smell with it. If the chick is acting fine, you probably just have a piggy eater.

help!

I agree with Ron, get that chick in a cup. If that yolk sac ruptures, it will not make it. I've had it happen before and the chick bled out.

Well, my second chick hatched - with assistance. It is obvious now why it couldn't do it on its own. It has a severe cross beak, and was badly positioned. I'm surprised it managed to pip into the air sac. It also only has one eye- the head is greatly misshapen. If it didn't have the cross beak, I would see how it managed. But it won't be able to eat, so I'll have my husband euthanize it when he gets home tomorrow. I'm really sad - about this chick, and because I only have 1 healthy chick out of 30 eggs. So my hatch came down to this: 30 eggs set with terrible air cells. Most did not develop. Nine had some development, but quit before day 10. Two went to lock down under a broody. 1 healthy chick. I never want to hatch shipped eggs again.

I'm sorry. Culling a chick is never easy. Don't be discouraged on shipped eggs though. I've had great luck with shipped eggs and some not so great hatches. It all depends on the packing and the post office.

I processed for the first time tonite with dh and our neighbor!!! Our NYE hatch-a-long roos are getting big and there are 7 roos to 7 pullets in the run and it is just too much for the poor pullets. So I pulled the biggest two that I wasn't planning on breeding anyways. The hardest part of it was sitting there in the coop talking to them and making the decision of who and how many to process. It was easy after watching the neighbor do his...and I am so proud of myself because I really didn't think I could do it! But I did the biggest one myself. Dh was surprised that I did, but like I said...it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated! Not traumatized, but it will be strange going out in the a.m. and not seeing them there. *sigh* Easter dinner will be delish!

Thank you. I'm so soft hearted, I can't give up on him. This winter was absolutely brutal and claimed about 7 of my chickens and my two mallards. I had a roo that was seeming very lethargic and so I checked him over and found his ankles swollen and his feet black. They were frost bitten. We nursed him back to health, gave him baby Tylenol for any pain he may have and now we have a rooster with no feet. His name is frosty. He gets around well but I'm sure anyone else would have just put him down but I didn't have the heart to do that. Maybe half the chicks from this hatch are his. Anyways, the little guy is in a cup near the water now, I also put a different hobble on in case he hops out of that. I'll check on him again in the morning. Crossing my fingers he makes it Here is the other guy with the splints. He runs around like there is nothing wrong with him at all

I had a little roo lose both feet & part of both legs this winter. His name is Stumpy. He actually gets around pretty well. I pen him & his companion Scraps (a smooth showgirl/EE bantam cross) on shavings at night & let them out in the yard with the broilers during the day.