Who is with me?

[taraann81]

I would leave him. You can't pierce the membrane for him, he could possibly bleed out. I tried it once, that chick died. I am all for helping them when they need it (some say let nature takes its course BUT this is ARTIFICIAL incubation, nothing natural about it) I'm hoping he's okay.

 

[riqui1]

That's all I needed to know. Thank you. I am hoping that they also settle down for the night sometime soon! This little black one is amazingly loud for such a little thing...and they are right outside of my bedroom!! lol

I hope you all have a good night. I am going to be ending mine very soon, but I will let you know how things have progressed in the morning.

 

[countrybum]

Riqui, they are adorable. I just love little fuzzy butts. Leave them in the incubator until they are completely dry. As for the gross stuff you saw and the blood, that is from being in the egg backwards. Every time I have a backward baby, I get that.

I am so happy yours made it out. Usually after 2 days, I end up having to help mine. But Congrats to yours. Maybe mine is humidity, because the membrane is usually stuck to them.

See your doing good and keep up the good work. Next time you will have to try 2 separate hatches (due a few days apart) then you can find out how nutty you really are. If you need some practice eggs, I have plenty.

We can surely teach you the proper way to incubate.

 

[walkswithdog]

Hugs

glad they made it out. I felt bad being so busy over the weekend but life tends to happen and I spent all of Saturday finding and picking up and settling in baby nigerian dwarf goats - the goat boys are Dante and Milton. Very cute.

Then on Sunday I about died when I saw an add for a local antique wood incubator and between working on the goat shelter, picking up all the goat supplies, grocery shopping and getting the incubator - the day went by amazingly quickly.

It's six tray - I think that's the potential for 300 eggs

 

[chickie_mama]

I think something is wrong with my subscription notice to this thread. I usually get notified when there's a new post. I didn't realize you guys have been chatty over the week-end or I would have joined right in.

Congrats on the new babies Riqui!!!! They are so cute!!!!

WWD, The antique redwood incubator is an incredible find!!!! 300 eggs???? Something tells me you won't have any problem at all filling it!

CB, Hey Hon!!!!

I'm really excited the girls are laying again.

I am continuing to keep a very close eye on the turkey eggs. The humidity dropped to 24% yesterday afternoon. So... I quickly added some warm water to bring the numbers up. I just can not seem to keep the humidity up in that bator!!!! It's a hova-bator but it has a fan. Any ideas on how to keep the humidity up?

 

[riqui1]

No one should feel bad for not being on when over this weekend! I knew, as soon as stuff started to happen, that it was going to be tough to find someone. I received a response from taraan, which was very helpful. And then I left.

I woke up this morning to find the first yellow fuzzy guy doing SOOOO much better!!

Just as I was told he would. The little black one is...still mouthy and there is now a second little yellow one. You know, the one I was told to leave my hands off of!!

Now, here comes my next question... I have three chicks out of 11 eggs. We know that two of them were shrink wrapped. How long do you let these eggs sit in there to see what can happen? If I know that there was some shrink wrapping, should I try to intervene, so that I may end up with a few more chicks?

Still keeping my hands out...

 

[chickie_mama]

The shrink wrappage question is a good one for CB and WWD. They have helped many that have had stuckage issues. (WWD, I've been waiting to use "stuckage" in a sentence!!!)

I have had my fair share of shrink wrappage, but I haven't helped until they have pipped.

CB and WWD can tell you what to do....

I have my fingers crossed for you!!!!! Good Luck!!!!! Keep us updated.

PS: I am at work today, so I have plenty of time to keep checking back!

 

[walkswithdog]

What day are they actually on? And if others have been shrink wrapped some may not be able to pip for being totally stuck, especially with any humidity drops.

If they're day 21/22 or onward I'd pip the end and check on them. Just make a tiny hole big enough to get light into and see if they're breathing and what the inner membrane looks like. If fine - cover the hole with press n seal, if it's tight on them, dry and without veining you're gonna have to help them out.

 

[riqui1]

Today would be day 22, but I don't understand a few of the things that you mentioned.

What is press and seal? Are you saying to cover the whole with like a Saran Wrap? Should I candle the egg first, to make sure that I am in the air sac, as there were the two that the air sac was on the side?

I am willing to try this as I would rather try and save one or two, but I want to make sure I am doing it right first. Should I give them until later this evening?

 

[walkswithdog]

Candle and if all is well, if it's FINE, then use cling wrap, saran wrap or press n seal, to cover the hole you made.

Normal hatching the chick actually REQUIRES the air restriction of the shell to generate the spasms and reactions that are "hatching". So a peek and a normal chick mean you need to close it back up, some people have used tape.

A peek in the hole and candling that show a problem means you need to get started helping them out, small bits at a time and I always close most, 90%, of the opening I make with press n seal, to keep it humid in there once I'm done with each step of helping.

First steps are find the beak and make a tiny tear to get the stuck little thing some more air. Often just access to more air after being stuck gets some going.

Once you know where the beak is you can CAREFULLY with a damp NOT SOAKED q tip wet some of the membrane you can see. Be super careful about not getting water in the chick's beak - if you can't see the beak never introduce water or damp into the egg.

After that put the chick back to warm, rest and decide if that's enough help. Often it is.

If not every couple/few hours help a little more. Patience. Once they can breathe there is no hurry. Just chip away in a normal zip pattern and nudge any membrane that doesn't bleed back with q tips or tweezers, damp it again, let the chick rest.

Usually the stronger ones hatch themselves within the first few steps of the process. Weaker ones you may need to take all the way. Just go slow.