The 6th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[chickiebaby1]

so when should I order eggs to be sure they are fresh enough, but still get here on time. I have some that I am watching, I just wasn't sure when to order. I don't want to get them too soon.

 

[ozexpat]

so when should I order eggs to be sure they are fresh enough, but still get here on time. I have some that I am watching, I just wasn't sure when to order. I don't want to get them too soon.

i would order ASAP to ensure eggs are reserved but I would specity you want all eggs collected , Sun Monday and tuesday, then shipped wednesday 3/11

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I collected eggs in the cold also and placed them in my Little Giant incubator. Mine went into lockdown today. I had overfilled my Little Giant incubator thinking that maybe half of the eggs would survive and develop.

I ended up with an incubator full of my backyard mix eggs developing and going into lockdown. They survived the cold and developed. Now let's see if they hatch. That's the true test.

Congratulations on your incubation so far. And good luck on your hatch.

Thank you and you too! I actually woke up to my first pip this morning. ..a day early

 

[Math]

Thank you. No pips and no peeping here yet. Just waiting. Maybe something after church.

 

[birdman55]

Ok, I've got to get me one of these.

both of the units are up and running with stuff in them already and the hatcher already has a batch of egg that are in lockdown...i believe this will bring me lots of birds for sure...they only thing i dont like is you really cant watch them hatch.....like the coolerbator i have you can see everything...well see how it goes

 

[Happy Chooks]

Well, I've acquired some goose eggs and I was wondering if there is anything special about incubating them, or anything to look out for?
Any suggestions would be helpful.

We decided to start collecting from some of our chickens today. We've got one egg sitting waiting to be put in the 'bator. Whoot-whoot!

And such a pretty egg!

Yes!!! I have a broody hen, and hatching eggs are ordered!!

Lol I am just asking people around me that ive wanted eggs from to finish the amount i need plus i ordered a few east indie ducks from someone on here also do i put East Indies in on the day we put calls in or normal ducks??

It's a bantam duck, so yes, set the same time as Call Ducks. 26 days to hatch.

 

[karenerwin]

I have 1 Black Penedesenca egg in the brooder that has opened a hole in it's shell that is about the size of a dime. However, in 24+ hours it has not zipped or made any other progress. It is day 22. It is alive, I can hear it chirping & see it's beak moving out of the whole a little bit. Do I intervene or just continue to wait? Temps are steady at 100 degrees and humidity is fluctuating between 60% & 70%, mostly staying around 60%.
Thanks for any advice

 

[jbkirk]

I have 1 Black Penedesenca egg in the brooder that has opened a hole in it's shell that is about the size of a dime. However, in 24+ hours it has not zipped or made any other progress. It is day 22. It is alive, I can hear it chirping & see it's beak moving out of the whole a little bit. Do I intervene or just continue to wait? Temps are steady at 100 degrees and humidity is fluctuating between 60% & 70%, mostly staying around 60%.
Thanks for any advice

One reason that it is not advancing might be that it has not fully absorbed the yolk yet.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I have 1 Black Penedesenca egg in the brooder that has opened a hole in it's shell that is about the size of a dime. However, in 24+ hours it has not zipped or made any other progress. It is day 22. It is alive, I can hear it chirping & see it's beak moving out of the whole a little bit.  Do I intervene or just continue to wait?  Temps are steady at 100 degrees and humidity is fluctuating between 60% & 70%, mostly staying around 60%.
Thanks for any advice

Can you see the membrane? If so, what color is it?

 

[blackgoat]

I have 1 Black Penedesenca egg in the brooder that has opened a hole in it's shell that is about the size of a dime. However, in 24+ hours it has not zipped or made any other progress. It is day 22. It is alive, I can hear it chirping & see it's beak moving out of the whole a little bit. Do I intervene or just continue to wait? Temps are steady at 100 degrees and humidity is fluctuating between 60% & 70%, mostly staying around 60%.
Thanks for any advice

Make sure the membrane hasn't dried, you can rub some distilled water on it if it dries out. You may want to wait a bit longer just in case the yolk hasn't been absorbed, just make sure the membrane is wet enough and isn't sticking the chick in the shell so it can't turn. If you do intervene, so it ever-so-slowly, peel a teeny bit of shell (tweezers work well for this) , wet the membrane with distilled water (or I've heard people have used bacitracin? Neosporin? I think) put it back in the incubator and wait. Do this in many stages. After a bit a help, the chick may be able to get out on it's own.

I helped a chick out on my first hatch, and that gave me too much confidence, so I helped another one out on my second hatch, which also went fine, but on the third one, which had started zipping, then stopped for about 24 hours, the yolk hadn't been absorbed. I tried putting it back in when I discovered this, but I'd taken off too much shell at that point, and it was scrambling to get out, and broke the yolk. I felt terrible. It's not always "yes do this" or "no, never do that" .

sidenote:This may not always be the case for malpositioned chicks, but the two I did help out ended up having problems (one had leg issues and the other was always about the half the size of it's hatchmates), and both died after a short time.

There is a great article about assisted hatching: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

I admit, I did not follow the instructions, and went too fast.