Tis Time for a March 2020 Hatch-a-long!

[igorsMistress]

I don't know why but I want to make them tiny little scarves they're so dang cute

Lol my mom said the same thing!

 

[FortCluck]

Lol my mom said the same thing!

It would be such a funny winter photo shoot to put little mini scarves on them laughing as I write this

 

[Phillyndilly]

I have two silkies!!! Question is what temp should the brooder be?

 

[gmjarvi]

I have two silkies!!! Question is what temp should the brooder be?

Good job, babies! I use a heating plate in my brooder.

 

[Gringa]

My very last hatch under a broody hen last year went terribly wrong and it was the last straw for me to stop all hatching until last month when I finally pulled the incubators out again. I hope your next hatch goes amazingly well and then you can take a break feeling better about all of it!

What went wrong with your broody?

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Oh my gosh guys. I decided to candle the remaining eggs. So many DIS. So so many. Ugh. I hate shipped eggs. Most of them were malpositioned. 1 was my second wrong end pipper. I decided to help it, but it was gone. Another was pipped, but must have gotten rolled because the pip was underneath it and seemed like it suffocated. Ugh. Another is a malposition that’s hanging on by a thread. I think it’s going to pass. There are still blood vessels on the membrane so I’m leaving it. 4 were DIS malpositions without internal pips. One was internally pipped and then seemed to turn the wrong way after it internally pipped and died. And then there is my lone happy story. It was pipped but I hadn’t seen it because it was rolled underneath the egg. It had started to zip and got stuck. I finished the zip and it pushed out a couple mins later. So that’s it. My Gypsy Hen hatch is over. 25 eggs in, 11 chicks out. 3 of which are BBS Ameraucanas. One of which is blue and I’m sure it’ll be a rooster.

My condolences on this hatch. It wasn't as you hoped but 11 babies is excellent! I hope for 50% hatch rate on shipped eggs. This hatch was pretty close to that for you. I understand it wasn't what you wanted but for a second hatch (I think?) You're doing amazing!!! Still it's hard not to beat yourself up thinking you should have done something different. Best advice I've read on here was "hatching isn't for the faint of heart". Never more true than dealing with DIS.

My first hatch on shipped eggs, second hatch ever, I got 3/36 barnyard mixes. All roosters!

 

[FortCluck]

I made holes in 4 duckling eggs just to peak if they're alive. They are! We have 13 so far and 2 are drying.

 

[FortCluck]

4 are DIS I'm not doing egg-topsies I've seen enough death these past few weeks

 

[CluckNDoodle]

What went wrong with your broody?

Well I had a ton of broody hens last year so I really shouldn't complain but it is what convinced me it was time to take a break from hatching. I lost count of how many broody hens I allowed to raise chicks last year because a couple of them went broody twice but it was somewhere between 6-8 broody hens. I tried several methods and most went well. I had broody hens that raised chicks in a broody pen that was next to the main run for a few days before I allowed them to integrate, I had co-brooding hens (adorable!), I had hens that hatched and raised their chicks in the main coop with the rest of the flock, and I also gave newly hatched chicks to broody hens. All of it went great until my last broody hen of the year.

I can't be 100% sure what happened when I wasn't watching. I gave the hen 1 egg to hatch. When I found the chick hatched it had been seriously wounded, I think it was by another hen in the flock but the broody didn't protect the chick properly either way so I ended up bringing the chick inside (and I eventually rehomed the hen with someone that didn't want hens for brooding). It was touch and go for a while and I wasn't sure it was even going to survive at first...it was floppy and seemingly lifeless for a while. Once it started to come around I then I started caring for the slipped tendon. I was unsuccessful in repairing the tendon. The chick survived and you could say he even thrived with one functioning leg, we named him Peg Leg Pete, he's with a special needs boy now that absolutely adores him. You could even say everything happens for a reason and it was a happy ending but it was at least a month of ups and downs for me caring for him and teaching him how to chicken, then integrating with the flock.

 

[FortCluck]

I only got a 60% hatch rate on the ducklings including clears, quitters, and DIS... I feel like it's a good number since they're not my eggs.