The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: pikilily on March 09, 2011, 07:01:34 pm
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Had a wee adventure today :)
Drove round trip of 160 miles through driving blizzards to pick up a few chicks from Bamford6 in Aviemore.
A nice cup of tea and a blether with Gary, a wee tour round his birds....then home again. I now have one very happy little Welsummer chick snuggled down in the broody box with her six new light sussex brothers and sisters. ....and to boot i bought three very handsome Black Rock hens. One very chuffed, but cold, person here!!
...It was worth every hair-raising mile.
thanks Bamford :wave: :wave:..(.the wee chick was beside herself with excitement!!!)
Emma T
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Oh you are a brave girl. I saw my sister and brother-in-law off back home to Inverness this afternoon - full of trepidation at the weather forecast. She just phoned to say the road was black most of the way but a LOT of snow around them all the way up. So glad you had a fruitful journey and that baby chick now has company. I take it none of the others hatched then?
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Thanks doganjo, Yes very fruitful, and no none of the other chicks hatched. ....my own fault <hanging head in shame>..
I did check the, now discarded, eggs and most of them were viable.. but had died from my STOOOOOPIDITY !!! >:( >:( >:(
Well we learn more from mistakes dont we. ;)
Agh well, Emma T
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it happens to us all Emma, one way or another.
all the best for your new arrivals :)
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Glad everything has turned out well!
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What do you think you did wrong, as I need lots of advice re hens
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Wow you are brave :o Lovely that you've got loads of company for your wee solo chick, I'd also be interested to know what you think you did wrong just in case I ever get to that point..
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well now,
I did two things wrong.
(I was using an incubator. Mine is a fully manual one, with a probe thermometer, and also an electronic thermo-hydrometer)
I stupidly set the incubator at 35.7 degrees instead of 37.5 degrees and only discovered it on about day 12.
I remember reading that if the temp is too low the chicks take longer to develop so i calculated that they would probably hatch on day 22/23/24 !! and so carried on turning the eggs to day 20 instead of the normal day 18. The chick that hatched did so that night; but the others that had develped must have drowned because they had been turned after they would have broken into the air sack in preparation for hatching.
the weired thing is that the chick that hatched and survived actually hatched early!! so my calculations etc were all wrong. There were eight fully formed chicks out of a batch of 18. So I had drowned seven of them :( :(
some of the other eggs were fertile and had developed to about half way! so the fertility of the eggs was not an issue really, concidering the time of year.
The thing is that we cant imitate or replace nature and always get good results. I do sometimes use an Isa brown who oes broody really easily and is a fabulous mum. She always gets a better hatch rate than me ::) ::)
Well the best lessons are learned from mistakes. ;D
emma T
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Ah - I wondered why you had to stop turning them on day 18 ::) I've got my 1st lot in my ebay purchased Brinsea 10 semi - started with 9 eggs, down to 4 after candling on Sunday & stopped turning on Tuesday, should be hatching tomorrow, no signs of anything yet - thought I would have heard pipping/tapping today ???
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Beewitched.....by no means am I an expert, far from it! ;D
There are a lot of factors involved.... and even more human opinions on how to do what nature does best.... please check info gleaned from my experience with a more expert someone/books !
Thats the beauty of raising your own animals - it so full of surprises. i bet that as I am wiritng this you are gazing with amazement into your incubator... at several gorgeous chicks...
Emma T
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Hiya Emma :wave:
Still nothing to report :( how long should I let them go "overdue" ??? - been at a constant 38.5, as per insturctions & put water in the second holder on Tuesday as instructed - but still not even a noise, let alone a lovely bundle of fluff or 4 :(
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I would perhaps leave them till sunday or even monday before I would say they have failed. Then, if you can stomach it, take them outside and open the eggs to see how far they had developed. That will give you an idea of what may have happened..... Outside, so that if you get a really rotten one you wont stink the house out. Keep them covered and warm.....Open them one by one and check for signs of life. If you do come across a live one sadly it is doomed, but the rest go back in to incubator to hopefully hatch.
someone else may have other advice. Good luck!! :wave: :wave:
HTH
Emma T
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Hiya Emma :wave:
Just got in from the piggies & found little holes in 3 of the 4 & I can hear cheeping ;D ;D ;D
SOOOO excited!!!
Will let you know how we get on :)
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good luck to Beewyched and your eggs! ::D
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YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAy !!! go chickies !!!
Now you need to be patient... here comes the next dilemma -----to, or not to, assist if they seem to be stuck!! yes another topic for debate.
Nature would say 'if they are not strong enough to get out of the shell then they are not strong enough to survive'! Its tough and....................... I have done both ::)
Emma T
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I keep checking on the little cheepies every 1/2hour - no patience me ::)
Never used the incubator method before - always let the hens do their thing, so no idea how long this process usually takes ???
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remember, lifting the lid to check reduces humidity an increases the risk of them drying in the egg. our best hatch rate is when they have been left alone completely.
lets do the pros and cons for assisting..
the ones wev had that pip themselves then seem to dry out, 90% of the time seem to have swollen bottoms then bleed alot. if we leave them, they die. any suggestions?
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Oh dear ???
It's ok, I'm not fiddling - just peeking through the transparent casing ;)
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I have helped a few out before...and seen that, bleeding, if I am not mistaken that is because the umbilicus (for want of a better term) has not shrivelled.
If i help nowadays it is only to clear the chicks head from membranes...ie to prevent drowning or suffocation. I think we need to open this up to more expert folk...will change the title to invite more comments.
Emma T
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remember, lifting the lid to check reduces humidity an increases the risk of them drying in the egg. our best hatch rate is when they have been left alone completely.
lets do the pros and cons for assisting..
the ones wev had that pip themselves then seem to dry out, 90% of the time seem to have swollen bottoms then bleed alot. if we leave them, they die. any suggestions?
I'm only guessing (an educated guess as I've hatched two lots of duck eggs with only about 50% success). I would think you need more water if they are hatching but are dry, perhaps the bottoms are sticking to the shell. I would help them, but be sure of the dates. I helped one of my ducklings out but it was too soon and it was still attached to the yolk sac - it died. Another of mine had pipped and there was a hole about an inch in diameter, it was late so I went to bed and reckoned it would be dry and fluffy when I came through in teh morning - it was dead too.
I agree, don't open the lid too much, the temperature will really drop. Hatching eggs is a very exciting pastime but can also be heartbreaking.
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Haven't opened the incubator since yesterday, when I checked the water level - half full in both reserviors - honest ;D I can see the little holes through the drum.
Just desperate to know how long they're likely to take ;)
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it could be a few hours....its a bit like any animal giving birth...... could be hours...could be minutes....every one is different...sorry!! ;D
ET
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Any news, pics? ???