# Tonight marks the 21st day.



## Chans_Farm (Apr 27, 2014)

I do hope the little guys - at least some of them, do hatch. 

On Day 14, I still wasn't able to candle them. So, I just left them alone. (I do have the UV lamp on, in hopes of killing any bacteria in the air.)

On Day 18, I stopped them from being rotated. 

Tonight at 8pm marks the beginning of the 21st day. It's 6:30am here now, in Cambodia.

I'm just skeptical, I guess. I hope for the best, though.

On a positive note, we had eggs at the farm, under one of the hens. They began hatching. So far, 5 of those little guys have hatched.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Is it really 21 days already? It seems like you just set the eggs. Pulling for you to see some pips soon. 

Did you try at all with something different to candle?


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## Chans_Farm (Apr 27, 2014)

Different types of lights. None worked. I will just order one off eBay, I guess. I don't think I will ever find a candling light here in Cambodia.


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## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

What color are the eggs? We have tried several lights but find a cell phone works best... However some are still impossible it seems! Good luck!!


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## Chans_Farm (Apr 27, 2014)

God, I'm like a nervous father for the first time. 

A couple / few already have "peck" marks where they are trying to make their way out. I wasn't sure what to do. I put some hot water in the bottom of the incubator to bring the humidity up, in hopes of softening up the shells.

I will take a photo and post it, to show you the color of the eggs.


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## Chans_Farm (Apr 27, 2014)

Silkie Eggs, Day 20 (7 hours before Day 21 begins).

Chan said only one egg has peck marks where the chick is trying to come out. However, more of them are moving inside the eggs, maybe two or three.


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## Chans_Farm (Apr 27, 2014)

*Yes! Yes! Yes!*































We have our first







!! (Sorry, I don't have any animated chick emoticons yet. This was the best I could do on short notice.)

Anyway, the first one has successfully hatched! My first chick ever! YES! YES! YES! Now, where did I put those cigars?!

I have no idea when we should try to feed and / or water the little feller.


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## Chans_Farm (Apr 27, 2014)

The little guy.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Congratulations on your first hatch. It is pretty satisfying. 

They should be eating and drinking by day 3. You might have to show them where and what it is. 

Adding water will not soften the shell. The peeps have an egg tooth that helps them cut the shell, where many get in to trouble is with the two membranes. But that doesn't happen all that often either if all things are correct in the incubator.


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## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

ok... first off.. CONGRATS!!!!! The video is precious!! 
second of all.. the baby can live for 3 days on the yolk he just absorbed right before he hatched. 
I haven't hatched all that many times.. just finished our 6th go, but.. I have learned a LOT. Things that were taught to me so I am paying that info forward.
When you see a "pip" or hear any cheeping.. do not open the bator! On Day 18, you lock them down and don't rotate them any longer. I personally put paper towels down under the eggs at this time. Slick things, can hurt the babies legs while they are learning how to stand. Paper towels can get slick but I never have had any yet for any length of time, so it works for me. We only do about 20 at a time though. During that time, you will put their humidity up to 65%. Remember chicks will literally fall asleep while standing up, in a food dish or water dish so make sure they can not get to the water to avoid drowning. They can hop around quite a bit as they dry. Mine always seem to love the top of the thermometer. It's great when you are trying to check it.. lol.. As they hatch, the humidity will go up up up.. from the moisture in the eggs. Leave it. It will keep the membranes soft so their little beak can poke through. When they are left on their side without being rotated, the chick gets to find the air bubble in the egg. You don't want that bubble moving around much as that's the chicks first breath of air.

Now, there are TWO pips.. and internal and external. The first is a clear membrane just around the baby.. their beak gets to that air bubble.. the second is right before the shell with the shell.. that one you can see, the other you can not.. but a lot of times, you can hear it. 

I leave all my eggs in the bator (without opening it) until there are no more pips and all the chicks are dried and fluffed up as well as up and walking around.. pretty much until all the eggs are done hatching since they seem to go like popcorn for me. Some times a little longer like the ones I have in there now. (They are a little weaker than normal chicks due to such a rough hatch. They were hatched night before last and will go under mama today. I DID put food and water in there but the extra heat has def helped them.) The new baby will love the extra heat and they are so tired after hatch. Every now and then, it will cry a little which seems to encourage the others to want to come out and keep it company! 
The problem with opening the bator while there are others pipped.. internal or external.. is they can shrink wrap. That is when the inner membrane literally shrinks around the baby chick and they can suffocate. 
I always say that the chickens live by the motto "Live and Learn" and it is soo true! With each hatch I learn more and more.. Good luck and hope by now you have more pipping through the shell or already hatched!


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## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

Congratulations !! I am so happy for you. !!


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## Chans_Farm (Apr 27, 2014)

Thanks so much, for all the comments. I truly appreciate the input and assistance others give you here, when needed.

I tell ya, I haven't been that nervous since I was a young father. That's the truth! It was a wonderful experience watching a chick break out of the shell and into this world. What a truly remarkable experience it was.

An update here. Only that one chick hatched. Not even a pip in the others, unfortunately.  On a positive note, we had six of them hatch under a hen at the farm. We will bring her and those to the house tomorrow. Hopefully, they will all get along. I hope the hen accepts this little guy, anyway.

I have attached an image of the little thing in my hands. Gosh, they are so small, aren't they? Chan ended up trying a bit of water and food. He took to both by last evening.

*back2simplelife*, you mentioned them falling asleep while standing up. Watching that little guy do that was so funny. Just standing there, and all of a sudden sleepy time.  We have a tiled floor here (most homes do, in Southeast Asia). So, we just put the little guy in a box. He has already learned to get out of it. We didn't fix it up to prevent the little one from getting out, because it will jump back in before bed time by itself.


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## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

Awwww sooo cute!!! Our 5 silkie/cochin/showgirl cross babies hatched Sat so they are about the same age as yours! We have been grafting large fowl chicks to mama this week too! So far so good. But, the new mama now isn't a silkie. I honestly think a silkie will take in anything! lol. One of ours is running around with almost 5 week old large fowl chicks that are at least half her size! They still get lost in mamas "fuzz"

LOL glad you got to witness that! We feed ours fermented food and the first feeding they all ran in it then fell asleep right in the middle standing up! They grow SOOO fast!! One thing I have done when there was one lone chick was put a little mirror and a stuffed animal with them. They seemed to not cheep as much. Hope your graft goes great! Good luck!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

So, to give you an idea of the things that run through my head just before I go to sleep at night I was wondering why you couldn't candle successfully the eggs in the bator. Then it dawned on me, were you candling in a dark room? Candling was done with a candle before we had powerful lights so it stands to reason that you should have been able to see in with a light.


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## Chans_Farm (Apr 27, 2014)

robin416 said:


> So, to give you an idea of the things that run through my head just before I go to sleep at night I was wondering why you couldn't candle successfully the eggs in the bator. Then it dawned on me, were you candling in a dark room? Candling was done with a candle before we had powerful lights so it stands to reason that you should have been able to see in with a light.


LOL. Robin, I hate to say this, but I don't recall. (Sorry. I'm not trying to sound like a politician, here.) I imagined that we probably turned off the lights in the room prior to attempting to candle the eggs. But, I honestly do not remember.

Well, we do have good news, on top of the bad news of only one chick hatching in the incubator. Eight, as of this afternoon, had hatched at the farm. Unfortunately, one of the little guys was afflicted and could not walk. 

The others, we have brought to the house to be with our special one, Randy (or Randi), who was pretty lonely until then.

More good news, we have not one!, not two!, but three hens all setting on eggs at the farm! In fact, there are 31 eggs under 3 hens, currently. We had to send someone to buy some more baskets to turn into nests. The reason being, we had another (yep, a fourth one) who was looking for a nest to call her own, this afternoon. I tell ya, these hens are reproducing like rabbits!

We also have two roosters, one that I call Brewster the Rooster, and another one. Well, it seems Brewster caught the other guy having his way with a hen today. He informed him, in a not so polite way, that was his hen! Unfortunately, I think Brewster claims all eight hens now!

Pictures to follow!

Pic 1: Randy (or Randi) about to be introduced to his other siblings.
Pic 2: The first two of three hens setting.
Pic 3: The third hen setting.
Pic 4: Where's my nest?!
Pic 5: Brewster, keepin' an eye on things.
Pic 6: The "other guy" tryin' to pick one of the hens for himself, which we already know didn't work out too well for him.
Pic 7: All the "kids" having just arrived at home from the farm.


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## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

Fun times!!! So cute!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I was wondering how you were going to deal with the single. They are such unhappy little creatures when alone. 

So, you didn't try to bring Mom too? 

Some times it can work very well having more than one roo in a flock. It seems Brewster is keeping things in line well enough that no blood is being drawn. 

I would use our walk in closet for candling during the day. Dark as pitch in there so it was easy to read the eggs.


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## Chans_Farm (Apr 27, 2014)

robin416 said:


> I was wondering how you were going to deal with the single. They are such unhappy little creatures when alone.


The little one chirped and chirped when alone. Now, happy as can be. They are definitely very sociable animals. That is one thing I have learned, you can't have just 1 chicken.



robin416 said:


> So, you didn't try to bring Mom too?


I would have, but she is still hatching chicks! I guess, when all these eggs were being laid, there were two hens going to the same nest. So, she stays on the job. Two more hatched this afternoon.



robin416 said:


> Some times it can work very well having more than one roo in a flock. It seems Brewster is keeping things in line well enough that no blood is being drawn.


We have just the two, for now. But, I am sure they are both well aware of the pecking order, at this point.


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## Chans_Farm (Apr 27, 2014)

back2simplelife said:


> Fun times!!! So cute!


I hope the vast majority of the 31 eggs we currently have, are going to hatch as well. I am really enjoying this. These chickens are reproducing faster than any chickens I have seen here, to date.


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