THE MOTHER'S DAY HATCH-A-LONG!!!! The last day to join in and set eggs with us is April 28th.

[karimw]

And the winner of the broody hen contest is..................... MrsMoonCat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Prize is 6+ Serama eggs from crazypetlady!

Congratulations! that's a great picture!

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

I am afraid all of mine are dead.  Saturday we weren't home and it was a really hot day (got up to 93 degrees outside) When we got home the house was really hot and the temp on the incubator said 106... :/   They are due Thursday so I guess we will just wait and see.  I tried to candle but I can't really see much.

Don't give up! I have had a batch spike that high for a couple hours and got 7/10

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

I have a few questions. I have 11 eggs are due to hatch on Mothers Day and 12 eggs due three days later in the same incubator. Lockdown would be Wednesday pm. I have to catch an early flight on Wednesday AM, is it ok to take them out of the egg turner and put them in lockdown on Tuesday night? My mother will be here to hand turn the 12 OE eggs that are not due til three days later, but what do I do about humidity? How high should it be? Should the 12 remaining eggs just stay in lockdown til they hatch? I don't have a second incubator so they have to stay together.


I wish I didn't have to go out of town but I have no choice.

What if you took all of them out of the turner, continued to hand turn those 3 day later eggs for a couple days more while the first batch in lockdown--carefully trying not to open much to keep things as stable as possible....then average the humidity between the two batches---maybe go 55% for the first two days, then 65% the final day for the first batch, then leave everything alone through your first hatch, so the others are not being turned.....I think if you are careful it might work. BUT the chicks from hatch 1 are going to knock the 2nd batch of eggs around and they need to be still so maybe using the upright tilted position in a carton for batch #2....just a guess here. I have had great luck hatching in a carton upright...but never tried having two batches together in one bator through two dates.

 

[MrsMoonCat]

Thank you all for the votes in the broody hen contest. I am glad others thought it was as funny as I did

 

[rebelINny]

Hey all, I have some BCM's hatching today (started yesterday) they were shipped eggs and had great fertility and only threw one clear out of 8 eggs. Well one hatched this morning, another had a nice big hole in it and was doing fine (airways were free) and it died for no apparent reason before hatching. Its getting late for them to be hatching so I candled the others today to see if there were beaks in the air cells. Two were quitters so I tossed them. One I couldn't see a beak in the air cell so I carefully broke open the air cell end making sure I didn't damage the inner membrane. The chick was turned backwards but was still alive. Figured its dead anyway backwards like that so I might as well try to find the beak and open the air for it. It died while I was trying to save it. So there are two left....one is gonna make it I'm sure as its beak is in the air cell is opened and its doing ok. The last one, looks to be turned backwards but is still moving/breathing. Is there ANY way I can safely make a way for it to get air without causing it to bleed to death/harm it???

 

[Cynthia12]

Hey all, I have some BCM's hatching today (started yesterday) they were shipped eggs and had great fertility and only threw one clear out of 8 eggs. Well one hatched this morning, another had a nice big hole in it and was doing fine (airways were free) and it died for no apparent reason before hatching. Its getting late for them to be hatching so I candled the others today to see if there were beaks in the air cells. Two were quitters so I tossed them. One I couldn't see a beak in the air cell so I carefully broke open the air cell end making sure I didn't damage the inner membrane. The chick was turned backwards but was still alive. Figured its dead anyway backwards like that so I might as well try to find the beak and open the air for it. It died while I was trying to save it. So there are two left....one is gonna make it I'm sure as its beak is in the air cell is opened and its doing ok. The last one, looks to be turned backwards but is still moving/breathing. Is there ANY way I can safely make a way for it to get air without causing it to bleed to death/harm it???

When you say backward, do mean it has it's head buried? I have had those, that don't even bring their heads up during the last, and when I break open the egg, they are fully developed, and no blood left to absorb, or yolk, for some reason, they don't rotate...so, when I see that, I help them. Man, you have to be fast..as you found out, you can lose them. I wet the membrane to make sure it is the head, then I pull hard to get that neck up..and out. Then I let them sit for hrs. with their head out..to catch on to the breathing part. I have saved many, but have lost some too. Especially if it was real wet. If you can tell that head is tucked..try pulling that neck out as fast as you can..me personally here..have had good results. When you pull the head up, you have to turn the head around as you pull, in the direction it should be. Then wipe the nasal area, and hurry and put that baby back in the bator. Good luck if you decide to help!

 

[Arielle]

I have a few questions. I have 11 eggs are due to hatch on Mothers Day and 12 eggs due three days later in the same incubator. Lockdown would be Wednesday pm. I have to catch an early flight on Wednesday AM, is it ok to take them out of the egg turner and put them in lockdown on Tuesday night? My mother will be here to hand turn the 12 OE eggs that are not due til three days later, but what do I do about humidity? How high should it be? Should the 12 remaining eggs just stay in lockdown til they hatch? I don't have a second incubator so they have to stay together.

I wish I didn't have to go out of town but I have no choice.

Some studies show that no turning at the end of the incubation period has only a small effect on the hatch rate. It has some but not as bad an effect as not turning during the first week. If the air cells are good and large, lock down all the eggs together.

FYI for another time: Pete55 increases the humidity only after internal pipping. Of course this requires candling! LOL

I am afraid all of mine are dead. Saturday we weren't home and it was a really hot day (got up to 93 degrees outside) When we got home the house was really hot and the temp on the incubator said 106...

They are due Thursday so I guess we will just wait and see. I tried to candle but I can't really see much.

I would take the ' wait and see' approach definitely. It all depends on if the eggs were effected by the high air temp in the incubator. Like how long the temp was that high and if the eggs felt that temp long enough to have an effect. I've had high spikes and still had good hatches. SO you don't know until the big day. Hope all is well despite the high heat!

 

[rebelINny]

Thanks!!! I went ahead and did what you said and thankfully the beak wasn't too hard to find on this one!! There was a tad blood but it stopped when I applied a damp paper towel. Its beak is out and can at least get air. Crossing my fingers it can do the rest when its ready

When you say backward, do mean it has it's head buried? I have had those, that don't even bring their heads up during the last, and when I break open the egg, they are fully developed, and no blood left to absorb, or yolk, for some reason, they don't rotate...so, when I see that, I help them. Man, you have to be fast..as you found out, you can lose them. I wet the membrane to make sure it is the head, then I pull hard to get that neck up..and out. Then I let them sit for hrs. with their head out..to catch on to the breathing part. I have saved many, but have lost some too. Especially if it was real wet. If you can tell that head is tucked..try pulling that neck out as fast as you can..me personally here..have had good results. When you pull the head up, you have to turn the head around as you pull, in the direction it should be. Then wipe the nasal area, and hurry and put that baby back in the bator. Good luck if you decide to help!

 

[what did I do]

And the winner of the broody hen contest is.....................  MrsMoonCat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    The Prize is 6+ Serama eggs from crazypetlady! 

Congratulations . I had to look up to see what a Serama was, beautiful.

 

[AmyLou1782]

OK, I have a question and I am a first timer with hatching. I have a broody that is on 6 eggs and they should start hatching this Friday. I candled last night and everyone is looking good. One of the eggs though has the air cell to the side instead of at the big end of the egg. Will the hen handle it and turn it right? Can that air cell even move to the right place as it is? Can it still successfully hatch out with the air cell over on the side? I imagine it can but it's chances are significantly less but I don't know. Sorry for all the questions but ya'll are just too smart and readily available!!