Those that hatched in March, a few questions ??

[Brickman House]

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[esthermgr]

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- 12 set, 11 fertile and went into lockdown, 10 live hatches
- all were local from within an hour's drive
- incubator
- don't know yet - I'm guessing three roos and six hens (one chick died at 2 days old)
- about 36 hrs. from first pip to last hatch
- no- I took them out in batches about every 9-12 hours

 

[Minniechickmama]

I think I read somewhere that if they die at that point that it is a humidity issue. Have you ever broken them open to look after you know they are not going to hatch? Some people do and find that they are alive and just aren't pipping for some reason. I did check the one I knew made it to the end but didn't hatch and it had a lot of slime in with it, more than it should have, but the yolk had been absorbed.
It is just nature's way, I guess. We aren't meant to understand it all.

 

[Daidohead]

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I agree that humidity is one cause ( too high or too low ), and I know that a percentage just wern't meant to hatch for genetic flaw reasons.

I am interested in the chicks that develop normally yet fail to hatch. I am thinking that suffocation is one reason that is frequently overlooked. If a chick is triggered to pip because of an excess of CO2 buildup in the egg it seems possible to me that the oxygen supply that sustained them for the first 20 or so days of growth has been used up and /or is shutting down. The amount of air available in the air sac is minimal at best for a chick useing it's lungs to breathe and when that runs out it would seem to be nessesary for the chick to have achieved a new air supply or it would suffocate in it's shell within minutes.

I have a whopping 1 hatch of 7 eggs under my belt so I am still very new to all of this. In my flock I have an EE that lays concrete eggs. The shell is so tough that I have to crack them over the back of a knife blade otherwise they completly shatter on impact. These same eggs have a membrane so thick and tough you could use it to repair radial tires. 2 of my 7 eggs were from this hen ( who is my favorite )and had I not helped tear the membrane where the chick had knocked shell loose I wonder if the chicks would have ever poked through it, and had they not been able to get fresh air would they have died ? The membrane was damp, not dry, 70% + humidity, and all of my chicks hatched good and damp, not dripping wet.

I also agree that nature has it's way and it should be respected. We have been messing with natures way for a few tousand years when it comes to chickens and I feel that we, as those that changed things have the obligation to tie up whatever loose ends we can, whenever we can. I see otherwise healthy chicks not hatching a loose end. If nothing else it gives me someting to think about..

Can ya tell I been up all night ? sorry about the ramble.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Ramble on, I don't mind. You have a lot going on.

I had some Dark Cornish hens that were laying hard as rock shells too. I like that though. The three chicks I hatched from them made it out really easy.
I am getting anxious for this week's hatch.

 

[Daidohead]

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You are very kind, Thank you. I locked down 13 eggs Sun. evening, I am looking forward to having a few more hens running around here. I set 20 eggs, 8 BO and 12 Barnevelders. The BO's were shipped from N.C. and the Barnevelders were local. 5 of the BO's didn't make it to lockdown, lost 2 of the Barnevelders. Hatch time is getting close

 

[sben451]

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Ok we set 12 eggs... And the next day we put 6 under my sisters broody NHR. And kept 6 for us to do in my sisters incubator. We did the dry incubation method. It was us against the hen!

and she won! We hatched 4 of our 6 and all six of hers hatched a full 24 hours before ours! Hers where on the 21st day. My sister checked her in the morning and she had 4 fuzzy chicks and 2 eggs by 1 pm all the chicks had hatched under the hen. Ours took forever in the bator and I'd say at least 12-18 hours from 1st to last hatch. We gave all the baby's to the hen cause she was such a good mama. We lost one at about 2 days. But the 9 left are about 2 weeks. Looks like 4 boys and 5 girls.
We did leave all of the chicks in the incubator till hatching was done. And they where shipped from gabbard hatching eggs.

My eggs were from Gabbard Farms, too. She did a great packing job on the eggs.

 

[onehorse]

1. How many eggs set ? how many at lockdown ? how many hatched ? 42/33/30

2. How many were shipped eggs ? how many were local eggs ? 21/21

3. Broody Hen or incubator ? Incubator

4. How many of the chicks that hatched were male ? female ? ( I know it may be a bit early to tell, a best guess is fine ) Don't know, sold 20 as day olds.

5. How long from first pip to last chick hatched ? 2 days

6. Last but not least, Did you leave all of the chicks in the incubator until all had hatched ? No, removed what was dry enough every 12 hours.

Our hen did lousy, but she was a first timer and I didn't realized that she was collecting everyone and their brother's eggs daily. She wound up trying to sit on 2 - 3 dozen eggs and couldn't, she actually was able to hatch out 3 chicks out of all that mess. Lessons learned.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I locked down yesterday for a hatch to start any minute, today is Day 19. I have the mix listed on my tagline: EEs, Polish, Salmon/Salmon Blue Faverolles, Lemon Blue Cochins and Golden Cuckoo Marans. I think there are 26 out of 45 that made it. It was supposed to be for my 2nd grade daughter's class, but the administration turned down our request to do it in the class. It really made me angry. They have tightened down so much about what can and can't come into the school that it is like they won't let kids learn anything but what is in a book. I have often thought about homeschooling but would probably go crazy being with my kids 24/7 all year long

I am going to start another hatch next week with BLRW, Buckeyes, BBS Orps, Buff Orps, Mille Fleur and Laveneder D'Uccles and BBS Ameraucanas. This will have to be my last hatch this year, it will put me over 100 birds easily if I even get half of them to hatch. I figure if I can't get out and golf, chickens are the next best thing.
Well, hang in there, I am sure that you will get things worked out. Sometimes things happen better when the time is just right.

 

[thechickonthehill]

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I didn't mean to pop in then run, I am a caregiver to my Mom who is literally dying in my living room. It gets a little hectic around here at times.

There really is no reason for my post other than I wanted to get an overall picture of the successes and failures BYC folks had in a 1 month period.

After further thought.....

I think what is bothering me are the number of chicks that get to day 21 and yet fail to hatch. I was thinking that if I had real numbers and circumstances that I could better understand why so many fail at that point.

I HEAR YA! I am so frustrated!

My March hatch:

32 eggs set
22 at lockdown
7 hatched
all were shipped eggs
homemade incubator
1st pipped on day 20
last hatched on day 22
opened incubator several times to remove chicks

April hatch:

38 eggs set
23 at lockdown
5 hatched
All were shipped eggs.
Hatched in incubator.
1st pipped on day 19
Last hatched on day 22.
Removed first to hatch after 12 hours.
Had to help next 3 - partially unzipped but stuck in shells
Upped humidity from 65 to 70% (was attempting dry incubation method)
Had to help last chick - partially zipped but liquid began to bubble out and I was afraid it would drown. I removed top half of shell and replaced in incubator. Chick was bloated and lethargic, weak. ICU for 3 days but good now.

What I am going to change for my next hatch:

#1 - I WILL STAY OUT OF THE INCUBATOR AT LOCKDOWN! I had several pip internally and several fully formed that did not hatch both times. I think my opening the incubator during lockdown has killed many that might have hatched.

#2 - Get better equipment. I have ordered a Brinsea Spot Check thermometer and a GQF hygrometer. I am sure my Accurite was off by more than I thought it was (I did calibrate) as the hatch started on day 19. I also think the humidity was not reading correctly (calibrated that before beginning incubation too). I kept daily records of temp and humidity and it stayed nearly perfect the entire time according to the equipment I used so I am thinking the equipment must be reading inaccurately.

#3 - Turn by hand. I do not have an auto turner in my homemade incubator but I have a manual turner. I think it may not tilt far enough and also that it may be too rough (it bumps the bottom every time I tilt it no matter how careful I am). I work at home so I can turn by hand and I can't fit an auto turner in my cooler type incubator.

I am going to do a hatch to test my theory about my problems using some of my own eggs. I am not opening the incubator during lockdown NO MATTER WHAT! If a chick dies, it dies. I may have been opening the incubator to save one and killing 4 or 5. I am putting eggs in Friday and I will post my results. I WILL FIGURE THIS INCUBATING THING OUT!

On the plus side - my DH told me to start researching "real" incubators and he will go and buy me a new one! He's my hero!

It was his idea for me to do this test hatch - I was ready to just quit altogether but he looked at my records and discussed my hatches with me, made suggestions and encouraged me not to give up. Sometimes an outside perspective can really help and his support and feedback has changed me from tearfully discouraged to decidedly determined!