Hatch-a-long! ~ Anyone setting 8JAN-15JAN??

[ceocka]

Thanks everyone! I candled the next batch and they all look good so far! Keeping fingers crossed! 7 more days and hopefully I will hear some chirping!

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

YAYYYY!!!!!!! One out, one zipping and two pips!!

 

[cbnovick]

Congrats!! Looking forward to seeing the chicks!!

 

[chicken pickin]

Congrats!! Looking forward to seeing the chicks!!

X2

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Holy smokes! Little 'I am taking my time chick just zipped half the shell in about 15 minutes!!!

 

[ChixAddict]

Holy smokes! Little 'I am taking my time chick just zipped half the shell in about 15 minutes!!!

I was amazed, too, at how quickly they can zip out. I swear one got out in about 5 minutes. I was working in my office and my husband told me one had just pipped. I went in 5 minutes later to see and it had already zipped and popped!! Then again, some took hours. Ended up with 22 still going strong.

Then my DH brought in some eggs from a broody nest....She had been setting for 4 weeks, and had already hatched out 7 chicks. She was starting to show some physical distress from setting so long, so we had to bust up the broody party. He brought the eggs in for me to candle and I saw one had pipped....so into the just-cleaned hatching bator it went....along with 3 other well-developed unpipped eggs. The one that had pipped hadn't done anything all day yesterday, but it was peeping like crazy. I could see its beak poking through, but it was as if it couldn't move enough to zip. I did the unthinkable and helped it. Turned out the chick was so huge, there was literally no room for it to move. It's little neck even had a bit of a kink from being so tightly wrapped.

The little guy/girl lay there all night, quiet as a mouse. I was sure it would die. It would kick its little legs, so I knew it wasn't paralyzed. It just didn't have the strength to get up. This morning...a happy little peep, peep, peep. ...and it was sitting up, but its legs were splayed. Dang...poor little guy (and kicking my butt again). Tried the bandaid thing....he kicked them off both times. Saw something in the Storey book about splay leg possibly being from having too much space in the hatcher/brooder. So I put a few things in the bin with him so he could brace himself on them. Amazingly, in just a few hours, the splayed legs are already correcting. He's able to stand and walk...not quite normal yet, but getting there. He's in a small plastic binny inside a larger clear plastic container (with heat lamp overhead from other hatchlings) and he sees himself in the plastic, so he's constantly peeping trying to get to that other chick! It looks like he/she is going to turn out okay. So I guess that's another first-timer lesson...when just a few chicks are hatching, constrain the space they have to hatch in so they can brace on something to stand and get their legs under them.

This first hatch has really been a learning experience. Next hatch is next Friday/Saturday with a batorful of EE's....and a few odds and ends.


He/she laid so still for so long that I thought it was going to die (and was kicking my own butt for helping it out.) When I got up this morning, it was in its little hatch bin (small plastic bin with paper towel in the bottom, sitting up peeping like crazy.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Some minor drama over here. One of the chicks still has it's yoke sac hanging out. It is now in a tupperware container in the incubator with a damp paper towel. I took these two out while I was at it...

 

[choptank330]

Cute chicks!!!!

 

[Life is Good!]

Keep the photos coming please!

Lockdown today at noon...deep breathing...only 2 more days?!

Sons are still singing/chanting the Star Wars chicken version, "bok, bok, bok, bok-be-bok, bok-be-bok"....so funny if the chicks respond to this environmental 'training'! It's a science project in the making!

I am concerned about humidity control. The Brinsea model I have does not have a guage on it, so I'm concerned all is well. We'll have to see what happens. First time is always the hardest in terms of learning curve. Thanks for the post on the water float test. I remembered that test, but hadn't gone to find the link. Thanks for posting it!

 

[ceocka]

Some minor drama over here. One of the chicks still has it's yoke sac hanging out. It is now in a tupperware container in the incubator with a damp paper towel. I took these two out while I was at it...

What cute babies!