# Hatching eggs? I can help..



## chickens really

Hello if needed I can help with hatching Duck and chickens eggs..
Pretty easy once you know what's right...


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## profwirick

My mix of breeds have made a nest under the deck. We found it with 16 eggs. Variety of colors and sizes. None of the hens seem inclined to sit. They are five, three and one year olds with a five year old rooster. First, how likely is it that he’s done what needs to be done. I mean, he’s done it, but is he too old to breed?
Secondly, is there a way to encourage broodiness?
I did move their nest to a safe place and they continue to lay in it.ill use those eggs if they aren’t going to!


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## John WILKINS

profwirick said:


> My mix of breeds have made a nest under the deck. We found it with 16 eggs. Variety of colors and sizes. None of the hens seem inclined to sit. They are five, three and one year olds with a five year old rooster. First, how likely is it that he's done what needs to be done. I mean, he's done it, but is he too old to breed?
> Secondly, is there a way to encourage broodiness?
> I did move their nest to a safe place and they continue to lay in it.ill use those eggs if they aren't going to!


well to start out if he is still able to cover his hens he is young enough

even fertilized are not a guarantee to start and as long as they are with a rooster you should consider them fertilized

if hens have not gone broody yet it is very unlikely they will go broody and no way to get them to be broody they are or they are not.

I would just use the eggs


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## profwirick

John WILKINS said:


> well to start out if he is still able to cover his hens he is young enough
> 
> even fertilized are not a guarantee to start and as long as they are with a rooster you should consider them fertilized
> 
> if hens have not gone broody yet it is very unlikely they will go broody and no way to get them to be broody they are or they are not.
> 
> I would just use the eggs


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## profwirick

Day 7 , 8 little eggs from my White Face Black Spanish and two brown from ???. Tried to candle tonight. All have visible line with “empty” bubble. But I can’t see anything that looks like veins. Just an amorphous blob in the albumen that might be yolk. How soon might I be able to tell if any are viable? I’m leaving them with a sitter for a week. Hate to have her turning loser eggs twice a day.


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## John WILKINS

y


profwirick said:


> Day 7 , 8 little eggs from my White Face Black Spanish and two brown from ???. Tried to candle tonight. All have visible line with "empty" bubble. But I can't see anything that looks like veins. Just an amorphous blob in the albumen that might be yolk. How soon might I be able to tell if any are viable? I'm leaving them with a sitter for a week. Hate to have her turning loser eggs twice a day.


you should be able to tell within the first 3 days if they are going to start! stop wasting time rotating within the first 12 days in an incubator there is no need to rotate just put in pointed end down they are not going to get "stuck"


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## profwirick

John WILKINS said:


> y
> 
> you should be able to tell within the first 3 days if they are going to start! stop wasting time rotating within the first 12 days in an incubator there is no need to rotate just put in pointed end down they are not going to get "stuck"


Ok, thank you. Can you give me hope for these eggs? They have a space on one end and an amorphous blob . I can't discern anything distinct yet.


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## profwirick

profwirick said:


> Ok, thank you. Can you give me hope for these eggs? They have a space on one end and an amorphous blob . I can't discern anything distinct yet.


Follow up: none of those were fertile. Tried again. No luck. Now we want to get eggs from friends with roosters and try out the incubator again. Here's my question: would it be okay to stagger putting them in this small incubator? It holds up to 12. I was wishing the grandkids could come out from the city to see hatching and want to increase the odds of it happening on the weekend.
So, put in a couple at a time for a few days? Marked. Take out any that aren't developing in. Week and try more? With the viable starts?


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## profwirick

John. Do you want to weigh in on the question of staggering incubating eggs in a small incubator? 
Mary


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## Steinwand

you could collect all the eggs your gonna hatch then, set them so that in 21 days the hatch date lands on a Friday or Saturday


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## profwirick

Steinwand said:


> you could collect all the eggs your gonna hatch then, set them so that in 21 days the hatch date lands on a Friday or Saturday


Okay. That will be the plan .


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## profwirick

Steinwand said:


> you could collect all the eggs your gonna hatch then, set them so that in 21 days the hatch date lands on a Friday or Saturday


Is it ok to keep them for a week in an air conditioned, not refrigerated, space? Or in the garage or roost where temps will be low 70s this week? How long from lay to incubator?


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## profwirick

So many questions. I heard something about the shape of the egg correlating with male or female chicks. Whether the egg is more pointy on one end means something. Any truth to that?


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## profwirick

Is it true that banty eggs may hatch faster than regular size chickens?


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## profwirick

I want to be ready for hatch time. I have lamps and a clean tub, Organic chick starter feed, a couple of little waterers and a feed tray suitable for peeps. I wish I knew how long they will need heat in November and shelter from the existing eight chickens. And what I’ll do with too many roosters. So much to learn.


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## Steinwand

Egg shape has nothing to do with it unfortunately, bantam eggs can hatch a day or two early its best not to hatch them in the same incubator for that reason, and good luck brooder sounds good!


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## robin416

John WILKINS said:


> y
> 
> you should be able to tell within the first 3 days if they are going to start! stop wasting time rotating within the first 12 days in an incubator there is no need to rotate just put in pointed end down they are not going to get "stuck"


As someone who has hatched thousands of peeps I can tell you that you are not entirely correct. If a person has had time to learn to candle three days is possible. With those new to incubating they should not start looking until day 7.

Rotating is not a waste of time. It allows the person doing the incubating to more closely monitor whether anything is going wrong. It sets a routine for when and how to do the rotating. It might be a waste of time to you but it's something most enjoy.


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## Steinwand

I've seen my broody hens rotate the eggs at least once a day


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## profwirick

profwirick said:


> Ok, thank you. Can you give me hope for these eggs? They have a space on one end and an amorphous blob . I can't discern anything distinct yet.


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## profwirick

Arghhh!!! What is this???


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## profwirick

profwirick said:


> Arghhh!!! What is this???


I started six eggs in Little incubator. After first week I opened one out of curiosity. It had a blood spot not much else. They are blue and brown and I am not able to candle them with my limited abilities. Next week, another one. That one seem to be developing. On the following week, quite suddenly, one egg was oozing something smelly. I opened it and there was some decayed material in it that looked like the start of a chick but definitely not viable. So now I'm down to three. Today there was this slightly granular stuff on the outside of one of the last eggs. I'm totally mystified. I scraped the stuff off and there is no hole visible to the human eye. I put it back in, but I expect it's dead, too. No smell yet. 
Help?
These eggs are from immature too and hens, untested in reproduction. I can't even imagine what other factors to consider. I'm not desperate for chicks. Just trying to learn.


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## robin416

Are you referring to the pic above your post? If it is, toss it. It's leaking and has a high probability of exploding. 

Don't you smell anything nasty, really nasty?


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## robin416

Have you addressed the equipment yet? Like what incubator, what are you using to monitor temps/humidity? If those are not right and of a high enough quality you'll never get anything to hatch.

What are you using to candle with? And how are you doing it?


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## profwirick

robin416 said:


> Have you addressed the equipment yet? Like what incubator, what are you using to monitor temps/humidity? If those are not right and of a high enough quality you'll never get anything to hatch.
> 
> What are you using to candle with? And how are you doing it?


Brand new incubator. Pretty sure it's not temp or moisture as meticulously followed directions.
The eggs themselves were put in as they came from the nest. Not cleaned. 
I found some gnats in the incubator water this morning.

Re candle. Flashlight. I could see in the pale tan eggs and the white eggs, but not blue or dark brown.


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## profwirick

I see an idea to use a box with hole and light beneath. I’ll try that.


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## robin416

Or an upside down flower pot.

Thing is, you can follow directions to the letter but if the equipment you're using isn't accurate you'll fail again and again. So, the question is, what is the name type of your thermo and hygrometer.


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## JediPat

What brand of incubator are you using? Are you using a thermo/hygrometer to double check temps and humidity?


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## profwirick




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## profwirick




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## robin416

I can see right away that thermo is probably a big part of your problem. Those things are notorious for being inaccurate. 

I used GQF digitals which proved to be pretty good for being right on temp. Later I moved to a Fluckers reptile unit that read both temp and humidity. Even though a bit more pricey it was worth every penny. My last incubator was a Lyon turn x, the area where the thermo went was ideal for being able to read temps and humidity easily.


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## profwirick

Well, that’s discouraging! This was pretty pricy


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## profwirick

I just put a digital thermometer in there at the same height and let it sit for an hour. It reads same as installed therm. 99.9


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## profwirick

I also opened the egg, after trying to determine by magnifying and smelling if it was oozing rot. It did not smell rotten, to my great relief. Did not explode. But it did not seem to be more developed than the one last week. So I’d say you were right about that. Just a little fleshy blob in the albumin.


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## robin416

Not the bator, the thermo. You can hatch eggs in just about anything as long as the instruments used to measure temp and humidity are accurate. 

It sounds as though the eggs were not fertile. What day are they at? At seven days, even a newbie would see development. 

Also, if you use a mini mag light you should be able to see in the dark eggs as long as you're in a dark room. That's what I used to see into my guinea eggs.


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## profwirick

robin416 said:


> Are you referring to the pic above your post? If it is, toss it. It's leaking and has a high probability of exploding.
> 
> Don't you smell anything nasty, really nasty?


Robin, I did open it. Not rotten. Surely dead but not yet decayed. Two left. I thought I might just give up on them too, but Mac wants to keep trying.


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## profwirick

What do you think? Just saw this. Tomorrow is day 21. IHow long would it take from this point if, in fact , there's a peep trying to peck out ? I know not to touch, but I sure understand people's impatience!!!


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## robin416

I'll bet you do. 

If peeps are stuck they'll scream in distress so unless/until that happens leave it be. It's generally 24 hours from pip to hatch. So, patience grasshopper and let's hope the other egg is viable. A single chick is awfully stressful for the peep and the humans involved. 

When I've had it happen to me I was lucky enough to have a Silkie girl or two that loved raising peeps whether they were broody or not.


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## JediPat

WOOT! Congrats on the pip. How is the progress today?


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## profwirick

robin416 said:


> I'll bet you do.
> 
> If peeps are stuck they'll scream in distress so unless/until that happens leave it be. It's generally 24 hours from pip to hatch. So, patience grasshopper and let's hope the other egg is viable. A single chick is awfully stressful for the peep and the humans involved.
> 
> When I've had it happen to me I was lucky enough to have a Silkie girl or two that loved raising peeps whether they were broody or not.


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## profwirick

Cute cute cute!!!


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## profwirick

Both made it out. Chick A helps chick B. Pecked at shell, called tweets of encouragement, nudged and snuggles and sort of pushed B around to get him moving. This morning both are dry. A still pestering, sitting on, fussing over B. 
B might be lame. Doesn't seem to get up on feet, yet


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## profwirick




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## robin416

There is no reason for them to still be in the bator so when you take them out check the one. Sometimes it will take a day or two from a newly hatched peep to be up and charging around.

Congrats on the two making it out. I can not tell you how hard it is when it's only one. It can drive you straight up the wall to have to listen to a single cry all day.


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## profwirick

Peep A is a lively little specimen. B can’t stand up YET. (End of day 2) Both peck at starter feed. A is drinking from the little waterer. Di will drink if I dunk it’s tiny egg tooth, but it can’t get to the water on its own.


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## robin416

Have you checked it to see if there is a reason? If not, it's time to do so.


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## profwirick




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## profwirick

This looks like a sore.


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## profwirick

Maybe bit of egg left on shank? Need cleansing? With what? They are ok other than this standing issue. I think


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## robin416

Hold a warm wet cotton ball against it to try to get an idea on what that is. Not being able to see it first hand makes it hard to know just what it is. 

What happens if you try to straighten it?


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## robin416

If it turns out to be a slice, slather it with antibiotic ointment. You night be able to get a thin strip of vet wrap in that spot to keep it moist and clean.


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## profwirick

robin416 said:


> If it turns out to be a slice, slather it with antibiotic ointment. You night be able to get a thin strip of vet wrap in that spot to keep it moist and clean.


I thought about trying to situate his hind quarters with some vet tape. He's just flopping on his belly and paddling with his wings like a seal! His feet are disproportionately large and WAY OUT TO THE SIDES.


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## robin416

I really hate when they hatch like that, it's a nightmare getting them up and about. But hobbling may be the only chance it has. I only ever had one hatch like that, I did hobble it but I also made it a "chair" where the feet were able to touch the ground. She did get stronger but later her legs split again.


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## profwirick

robin416 said:


> I really hate when they hatch like that, it's a nightmare getting them up and about. But hobbling may be the only chance it has. I only ever had one hatch like that, I did hobble it but I also made it a "chair" where the feet were able to touch the ground. She did get stronger but later her legs split again.


No split in shank. It does seem to be a small tidy scab, but it looks "healthy" . I don't think the spot is the problem. Since he is eating and drinking...-and has a handy spinach vitamin mix smoothly available. I'm hoping he will grow stronger quickly. His sister shows him how to eat and drink. It seems so kind. Instinct, but it's hard not to anthropomorphize. My grandkids are like that with siblings.. 
I'm worrying ahead now. I think he will develop but maybe end up too odd to be accepted into the little ten chick flock we have. Current too is six and not super nice. Not awful, but not a sweetheart either. Looking forward to all the learning. 
It's so so nice to have your support! Thanks a peck.


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## robin416

Oddness does not seem to really affect how the others treat the well, oddies. It's whether or not there is some health issue. They all have their hierarchies to establish, that's normal.

I had a dwarf Silkie, ugliest little bird ever, but she was dynamite if anyone thought they were going to bully her. She ruled the world.


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## profwirick

Chick B is gone. I tried. Now chick A is alone, bored. Apparently healthy. Love to show off her flight skills. She flew out of the tub, but apparently just before I went in to check on her in the morning, because not chilled or thirsty. I don't want to over handle her, but what can I do to keep my singleton content? It seems I'll have to put a wire over her brooder.


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## robin416

You can try showing peep to the adults, see if there is one that is really interested in being a Mom. I've only done that with Silkies and my Hamburgs so I don't know how well it works with other breeds. 

Sorry about the one. There isn't a lot we can do for them when they're that young.


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## profwirick

robin416 said:


> You can try showing peep to the adults, see if there is one that is really interested in being a Mom. I've only done that with Silkies and my Hamburgs so I don't know how well it works with other breeds.
> 
> Sorry about the one. There isn't a lot we can do for them when they're that young.


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## profwirick

Mac seems to be thriving with stuffed rooster


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## JediPat

That is adorable. Any stores near you selling chicks this time of year?


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## profwirick

No. I checked around. Mac is now two weeks and flying and chirping lustily. Eats, drinks and poops. Temps here, mid Atlantic, just tumbled from 80s to 50s this week so my plan to start easing her/him out to the coop is shot. The brooder bin is in my studio. Guess I'll get back to painting and keep peep company now gardening is over.


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## robin416

Or pop a couple of eggs in the bator? Just kidding. 

Did I mention the feather dust those guys create? You might not want to brood many in your studio all of the time. 

So, it's pleased having you as part of it's flock? What about when it comes to bedtime?


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