Who is setting eggs today - 4/14?

[SIMZ]

Ugh! Try not to mess with that membrane and just get the shell off............although if it's like mine last night it may not even make a difference. Try to keep that membrane damp with warm water while you're working. I'm pulling for him!

My lost cause is out in the "newborn" brooder and doing pretty well. I got all the yucky shell and membrane that was stuck to him. I named him Rocky Balboa.......what else can you call a little chick that fought that hard and didn't give up? I had left him for dead a few times, but he wouldn't quit that distressed peeping in his shell until someone got him out! LOL

 

[Avonshire]

Here is a picture of his progress ...

 

[Rachel96]

I woke up this morning to find two eggs zipping quite nicely and a couple have pipped. I have high hopes for today!

Worm (as Early Bird has been renamed... you know the saying!) wouldn't shut up last night - seriously, I had no idea something so small could be so loud! I've had chicken chicks, quail chicks, and ducklings in the house before and I don't think any of them have managed to be so loud! Anyway, I put Nemo, my 4-week-old Welsummer girl, a runt with a bad wing, in with her to see how it went - they're getting on quite well, after the initial Worm-biting-Nemo incident. Nemo's getting a dose of her own overenergetic-baby treatment and it's quite cute.


Here's Worm and Nemo last night, about seven hours after Worm hatched.

 

[Rachel96]

The inside of my incubator right now:

The two middle ones on the right are quite clearly zipping - the front one is almost all the way around, the one behind only about halfway (I think) but much wider. One has pipped, the one in the top left-hand corner, but there's been no movement or changes in over thirty houes. No others have pipped, but they are rocking, tapping, and cheeping intermittently.

By the way, the wall thing was put in late last night because I didn't want chicks to hatch during the night and move around so I didn't know which egg they came from - some chicks are full siblings and some are half-siblings so I want to know which are related to which when they hatch and grow up as I may end up keeping a rooster if one grows up particularly nice, and I don't want to end up breeding full siblings together.

The humidity's sitting between 70% and 75% and the temperature keeps going a little too high - it beeps at me when it gets over one degree higher than it was set at (37.6 degrees, so it beeps at 38.6), but I'm a little worried about the temperature change nonetheless. The two who have zipped are taking forever and because there's been nothing else happening I'm a little worried.

By the way, I finished the speech and a PowerPoint to go with it. On Thursday I have to speak for 5 minutes... by myself... in French... which isn't my mother language... yay.

 

[SIMZ]

Rachel - congratulations on all the zips! That's a great idea to keep them separated at hatch.

So far nothing on my eggs. The last pipped egg from my first batch died and we just buried the rest of the eggs from that batch. Five chicks made it out of 19 eggs - apparently turning if very important. To be honest, I'm not really looking forward to starting the process again with my beautiful marans eggs.

I'm glad to hear that you finished your speech! You're much more focused than I would have been. Good luck delivering it on Thursday!

 

[SIMZ]

Avonshire - any news with your chick?

 

[Avonshire]

Yes and it is not really good. It can't sit up but I have put it in the brooder and it actually seems to be doing better. It may have pasty butt so I am off to look at that. Its belly is soooo distended and it looks like it has some kind of bump on its belly but like I said--it is chirping like crazy and seems to be doing better after being in the brooder. My other chick is picking on it though.

 

[Avonshire]

OK to give more info--it seems to have a limber neck or something. It can't sit upright. Its legs don't work right. It was looking a little better but now it is back to not being able to support itself. I guess I am going to let its little life run its course. I still have a partially zipped egg in my incubator. Someone has suggested that these issues point to a vitamin deficiency. Is that egg related? Like I should not use eggs from those chickens again or was it my fault in not turning the eggs enough during incubation?

 

[SIMZ]

Avonshire, I don't have enough experience or knowledge to tell you. So sorry! How is your first chick doing? Is that one doing ok?

 

[Avonshire]

The first chick is OK. I think I have found a solution to its curled toes. I am just not sure how to go about fixing it. He is picking on my sick one. I was hoping it would help it but it is doing the opposite!