Oh InnBetween, I am so sorry. I just dont know why some hatches are good and others not. Mine was under 50% this hatch I just did. It was so sad. So I understand how sad it is. {{HUGS}}
Time to check back in and see what's in your bator
Sorry about your hatch InnBetween my last one was just a disaster :(
I'm collecting eggs right now and will be cranking up the old bater soon. This time i know what went wrong on the first and it should be a whole lot better.
Yesterday I got 17 eggs out of 17 Serama hens, and I just finished setting 47 of their eggs in the bator. Along with those, I put in 4 BLRW eggs from my own hens which I hatched last spring. They are my favorites - beautiful and friendly!
must be nice,lol i have not gotten any eggs yet this year from my serama girls but i lost alot of seramas to preditors so that doesn't help unfortuneately. i will be rebuilding them this year but i can't wait it will be loads of fun to see what hatches and what we can get in to add to them as well.
my first hatch this year started today i got 2 mixed babies so far. got to check again see how many more there is. come on little babies hatch!!! i'll see if i can take pics too.
here is the first 2 babies out they r adorable!!
Whenever you are ready for a road trip Silkie - come up to Maine and get eggs! I am trying to keep it to one bator this spring, and try setting the rest under broodies. Problem is - no broodies yet, I need some of your silkie girls....Scott
lol, that might be like an 8 hour trip one way. if u'd be willing to ship that would be great! i don't think me and my 5 kid's in a car for 16 hours would go over to well,rotfl. i'd not be saine by the time i got home.
i would LOVE to have some of ur stock scott, i enjoy seeing all the pics of them and they r very beautiful. if u'd be willing to trade also i can let u know soon as all my girls r back to laying what all breeds i got available. some r laying now but with winter still here i'd rather wait till spring to do anything.
mumblerumblefumble....problem with free ranging is you don't find the broodies 'til they're done....mumblerumblefumblemumble....
i'm up to a few babies now i got like 4 or 5 babies in the hatcher now,lol. i'll take more pics soon as i get a brooder set up and they r all fluffed to move. most of the eggs were trashed in shipping i didn't think anything would make it to hatch, i'm glad i gave it a try the babies r adorable!!!
really cute silkie! glad you have some babies. It always reminds us spring is just a moment away!
here is the other babies added got 5 total woops one is not in the pic it was added later,lol and don't think the rest of the eggs r gonna make it. they was early so 2 more mabe will but the other eggs r all duds. yes, spring is just around the bend babies every where here,lol.
This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 6:04 PM
I have a incubator hatching question. Does anyone else have to help the babies out of the eggs sometimes? For some reason the babies are having a really hard time getting out. I am afraid I am going to do something that will hurt them, but I don't want them to die in the eggs like the Brabanters did.I have the humidity up to about 65-70 %, I don't know how to get it higher unless I put hot water in the bottom of the bator.
Inbetween, I would have to say up the humidity up a bit. I have helped a chick out but usually did make it in the end. Some people say to put in a new sponge to help raise the humidity level. Sorry I could not be of more help, I am only on my 3rd incubation and am still learning.
I would like to add sometimes it's not the Humidity but weak genetics the chick is not strong enough to hatch.
Most cases but "not all" if removed from the egg they don't do very well and have problems.
This can also lead to weak genetics in a line if you breed these weak chicks.
Another point too much humidity during incubation can cause chicks to become to big to get out of the shell.
All of these above are my opinions and experience in what i have learned it is not meant to reflect on anyone else's experience or how they handle their hatch's
wow thanks Harmony, I did learn something there. I will remember that about to high of humidity. Mine is at about 60 percent at day 5 in the incubator. Is that to high?
If the membrane inside the egg is stuck to the chick, or if it feels like it is hardening against the chick, then it's probably a humidity problem. However, if the membrane is soft and pliable and not stuck to the chick, it is unlikely to be a humidity problem. It's more likely to be genetic, as Harmony suggested, or some other reason. I tend to help if, after 48 hours, there is no progress on a pip. Sometimes they make it, sometimes they don't. I have found that generally, a pip that isn't zipping after 48 hours is not going to make it out without help. That's just my opinion and experience from waiting for pips to zip.
One time I forgot to fill the water reservoir and I had several chicks that I could see were completely stuck because the membrane had hardened against them and they couldn't move. I had to help them. I got a bowl of warm water and rubbed on the areas that were stuck with warm water on my finger, to help move the membrane. They were all fine after that. You do have to be really gentle with the membrane removal if it is stuck to them.
thanks for the advice. I tried to keep the humidity up to about 65-70 % while inubating and then the chart says to bring it up to 90% at hatch. I just don't know how to get it that high! I will try the clean sponge thing and see if it helps.
that is way to high!! it should be for first 18 days- 35-45% and last 3 days 65-75%
I agree 100% with Silkie
That may have been my problem too then --too high at the outset...
There is great reference material out there which tends to confirm the correct humidity levels being 40-55% the first 18 days and 60-70% the last three. If the humidity level is too high during incubation, the air cell inside the egg will not increase in size as development of the embryo goes on. That being said, too low a humidity level creates an air sac that is too large. I believe it is something like 12% that the total weight of an egg is supposed to decrease which is a result of both evaporation and egg content that the embryo converts into body mass.
Here is an awesome link that should help: http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/hatch.htm#cond
At Humidity that high it could of very well caused the chicks to be too big to hatch out of the shell.
thanks so much for the advice. I have some more in the other incubator that I just put in , I will decrease the humidity right now! Looks like I will have to help all of these little guys out. So far all the ones I helped out have made it just fine, I will be really careful.
take ur time do it slow in steps, stop if u see blood and put them back in the bator. leave em in for an hour or so and go back and do it again, take in small baby steps. after u got the top of the membrain uncovered and off so it doesn't bleed. try leaveing the peeps in the bottom of the shell to do the rest of the work themselves it will make em stronger if they finish hatching on their own if they can do it. if u need help just yell.
Thanks Silkie, I have a BC Marans! It pipped out last night and I used your advice and went slowly and helped it out. I seems fine this morning! 1 down 2 dozen to go!!
I don't agree with the above advice as it could encourage a newbie who are already nervous about hatching to open an egg.
Newbies are already sensitive to the hatching process and a peeping egg only makes a already nervous situation worse. Some tend to think the hatching process is quick and it is far from that and it can take hours for and egg to hatch normally. I would never encourage anyone to open and or pick at and egg with blood in it as this shows the egg is not ready to hatch.
As Claire and i both agree on above i have only opened a egg after it has lain for 24 to 48 hours and when it was clear there was NO blood and that it couldn't hatch on it's own. I generally try to never give the advice to open and egg as this can be heartbreaking to have a flip over chick or splayed leg or worse one that just lays till it die's.
It also doesn't help a chick to be stronger by letting it finish coming out of the egg. The chick is left in the egg to remove it's self when it has fully absorbed the egg yolk to avoid ripping it's abdomen. If you really want the results of what it is to open a egg read Frans thread on opening eggs.
I'm too new to give much advice at all.. but Harmony did prove a point that I was wondering about.
I had some that didn't hatch, and I wondered why.. so I opened the egg.. The chicks were WAY too big to ever hatch.. Once they absorbed the yolk sack, it made it worse. I won't get to graphic, but there was no way that chick would have been able to get out, and if it did, it could never survive..
So thank you for the input everyone! This is a really good thread!
Thank you Harmony for that piece of info about the chick getting too big.. Now I know what I did wrong.
Thank You so much ZZ glad to be of help♥.
I'm so sorry for your loss i know how bad it hurts thats why i want others to know peeling out isn't always the best thing to do.
I kinda read it both ways, Y'all. Having waited 24-48 hours and decided intervention was the ONLY positive thing to do...DO IT SLOWLY -Don't let yourself get excited and rush!!
I didn't realize you had disagreed?! lol. Was I under my rock for the HOT stuff?!
we'll just have to agree to disagree because it is a personal decision weather to assist hatches if it is needed and noone can make that choice for anyone else except u urself when in the situation. u disagree(we always have on this issue) and i respect that but i have a right to give my own advice/thoughts/experiences ect. and the right to believe and think for myself also just as u or anyone else here does.
please don't assume because u r a newbie at something or only been at it a few years that i am too and that i know nothing what i talk of. u know nothing about me in the real world only what u read online i want u to know. u r judgeing me by a short fast written post with little details. if she needed anything in a heartbeat i'd of been there to help her through it anyway i could of with detailed info but she didn't ask for further help because she didn't need it.
that's what friends r for they r here to help us when we need help and ask questions, need advice ect. u can disagree with me all u want but i will not turn my back on a friend in need or any liveing thing that needs help to keep it from dieing. i'd rather give it a chance then just walk away and let it suffer or die and if i'm wrong because i believe in life and giveing all things a chance so be it who r u to judge me for it???
if u have anything else to say to me please pm or email me.
thanks,
silkie
Oh no, here we go again. Unwatching this thread.
This message was edited Feb 20, 2009 7:38 AM
Boy has anybody noticed the nice spring like weather were having just smell that fresh air.
Think i'll take my, i don't what i'm talking about and have no experience self outside and enjoy my day.
All yall have a nice day ^_^ Logout and gone......
This message was edited Feb 20, 2009 9:18 AM
I hope I wasn't a part of anyone getting feathers ruffled..
I only said I was too new cause I know Silkiechick DOES know what she's talking about and Harmony Also has a lot of experience!
This is what makes the world go round.. diversity... we need to appreciate it for what it is.. and take the advice that helps and leave the rest!
So what if I'm new.. I open eggs all the time.. Nothing anyone could have written would have stopped me! So if someone who is learning opens an egg and the chick doesn't survive.. that's a better lesson than anything on here.. believe me! I did and now I KNOW what not to do.. I read ALL the articles all over the net on how to do it.. and it didn't matter, I thought I could be careful enough.. I lost more than one chick.. but now in a very short time, I can recognize the different pips, times to zip, etc.. and I'm no longer getting crippled chicks.
Now, Hens, we're going to ALL look like frizzles in very short order...
didn't look like any feathers were ruffled to me> maybe I am dense.
Oh no ruffled feathers here like ZZ said it's the deversity that makes the world go round ^_^
We have been haveing some great weather here and my hens are really laying i will soon have a bater full of eggs WOO HOO
well, maybe fine now but I had this VISION of all of us with HUGELY fluffed and curling feathers all bokbokbokking. Like when you accidentally make a noise near the hen house and every bird in the place starts up....
LOL!! Oh Grow you have such a vivid imagination hehehehe!!
Oh you just walk away cool off and say heck life's to short to waste time on such things as little disagreements.
Live,Love and be happy!!! oh and Big HUGS too :)
{{{muttermuttermutter...how anyone can say MY feathers are ruffled....muttermuttermutter}}}
Is that a chicken or a tall sheep?